Where You Belong

"Alright, babe, you can do this," I heard Zack's voice in my ear as the doctor instructed me to push everytime I felt a contraction. The contractions were long and came quickly after each other, sometimes overlapping.

I looked back at him, as he was seated behind me in the hospital bed and I was leaned against his chest, in between his legs. Mattie held one of my hands while Jason held the other, and the doctor was stood at the foot of the bed. I was sure most births weren't set up like this, but I'd given the medical staff hell when they'd told me only one person could be in the room with me. So they'd given into my demands, and all three were given scrubs, masks, and gloves to wear.

"Am I doing anything?" I asked him, as I couldn't feel anything below the waist. I thought I was pushing, but as much as the doctor kept telling me to push, I didn't think I was doing it right.

Zack laughed, "You're doing just fine. Keep going," he urged as I continued pushing, tensing my body as each contraction hit. Mattie and Jason both groaned in pain as I squeezed down on their hands, but didn't say anything out loud. Zack wiped my sweaty bangs out of my eyes before pressing a kiss to my temple, whispering words of encouragement in my ear.

"Alright, Brittany," the doctor grinned, "He's starting to crown! Because he's gonna be small, the rest of this is gonna fly by, okay?"

I nodded quickly, taking a deep breath as he again instructed me to push. I gritted my teeth as I pushed and pushed, taking a deep breath and exhaling every once in a while. The doctor informed me that the baby was almost here and with a final push, the room was filled with cheers and laughter as I heard a high pitched cry.

"Wow," I heard Zack mumble in awe, but I couldn't see anything since my legs were still propped up.

"Congratulations, Mommy, you've got yourself a little boy," the doctor smiled over at me, before looking at Mattie and Jason, "Which one of you two gentlemen would like to cut the cord?"

That was all it took for all fucking war to break loose in the room. The brothers fought and bickered for a good five minutes straight as the doctor threw them an unimpressed look. I looked up at Zack, who rolled his eyes playfully, and I giggled, "Why don't you both cut the cord at the same time?"

"Oh yeah," Jason mumbled, and the doctor eyed them warily before handing them both a pair of scissors, "Here?"

The doctor nodded, "Yes, sir. Go ahead."

Jason counted off, "On a count of three. One..."

Mattie grinned, "Two..."

"THREE!" they both yelled simultaneously, and I heard a snip before the crying continued, and a nurse whisked past everyone to the other side of the room, where several other nurses were waiting.

I frowned, seeing that the doctor wasn't holding my baby, and I still hadn't seen him yet, "Where is he?" I asked, feeling tears well up in my eyes as I looked around the room frantically.

"Shh," Zack whispered, pulling me back against his chest and rocking me from side to side, "They have to clean him off and put some clothes on him first."

The doctor nodded, coming over to my side and gently patting my arm, "Because he's a few weeks early, he may suffer from some mild complications," he explained quietly, and I bit my lip as I screwed up my eyes. That was something I didn't need to hear before I could get a chance to even look at my own child for the first time, "No, no, it's alright. He's small, but he seems fairly healthy. However, he'll most likely have to stay in an incubator for a little bit to regulate his body tepmerature. We're gonna check all that out after you've had a chance to see him and hold him, okay?"

I sighed deeply nodding my head, "Okay." I whispered, feeling tears spill down my cheeks. I was happy to have my baby here, but not at the expense of his health. I wanted him to be a happy, carefree baby, not hooked up to machines and spending every waking moment in the hospital. I was scared for him.

"He'll be fine," Zack promised, pulling me back further into his chest as the doctor moved back to the foot of the bed.

"What are you doing?" I asked him warily, noticing that he'd put a new pair of gloves on.

He smiled sympathetically, "It's time to birth the placenta."

Oh fucking kill me.

[ZACK'S POINT OF VIEW]

That was officially the most uncomfortable thing I'd ever had to witness. Britt was my best friend and one of the most important people in the world to me, but I never expected to see her pop out some big, bloody...thing after she'd already had the baby. It made my stomach churn, and as much as I knew I needed to stay with her, I knew I'd need some fresh air before I dropped dead on the ground.

The Berry brothers had followed me out of the room after watching the whole placenta deal; they too were just as creeped out as I was. The doctor and nurses had laughed, and Britt didn't seem to mind that we'd kind of scurried out on her. She was still loopy from the meds the doctors had given her, and she'd slowly slipped into sleep the second I'd stood up. I knew she had to have been exhausted from the whole ordeal.

"Well? How are they?" Val asked excitedly, bouncing up from her chair in the waiting room the second we'd stepped into sight. The other girls jumped up quickly, whereas the guys were kind of slumped in their seats.

We'd gotten here close to midnight, having come straight offstage without so much as a break or nap. It was now almost eight in the morning, and I was sure that everyone was feeling the effects of not sleeping properly in a bed or bunk.

I smiled, "They're both doing great. She's pretty out of it from the meds though. Which is good, because she hasn't seen the baby yet because they had to clean him up first."

"Did you see him?" Matt asked curiously, sitting up straighter in his seat.

I shrugged, "I couldn't see him that well. I was sitting in the bed with her, but Jason and Matt got to cut the cord."

Lacey gasped, looking at the two brothers with wide eyes, "You did?! What'd he look like?" she asked, her eyes looking between the two wildly.

Matt B eyed her, clearly confused, "Uh...a baby? A...black...one? I guess?" he answered dumbly, and Johnny snorted at his description.

"Yeah, cause that really tells us a lot," Brian drawled sarcastically, causing Michelle to giggle at his side.

Matt B was ready to reply when a nurse walked out, smiling at our large group of friends, "Are you with Ms. Williams?" she asked, and the girls squealed in excitement, "Alright, come with me but keep your voices down."

Leana could barely contain herself, and I wrapped her up in a side hug before Jimmy snatched her away and ran towards the nurse. We followed her back to the room we'd been in before, and she stepped aside as she opened the door. I grinned and went straight over to Britt's bedside, sitting on the edge of the bed beside her as she glanced down at the bundle of blue in her arms.

"He's gorgeous!" Val and Michelle gasped in unison, having one of their weird twin moments.

I smiled as Britt looked up at me, tears trailing down her cheeks, "He really is, B. You did great." I said encouragingly, and she turned herself so that everyone in the room could see him.

"He looks just like you," Jimmy mused quietly, causing her to smile.

It was true. The baby, who still had yet to be named, was still a pinkish looking shade, but I knew that would wear off and he'd end up having the same creamy brown complexion as his mother. His nose and lips were shaped just like hers-- small and round, and pouty. His eyes hadn't opened yet, and I was sure that they wouldn't for the next few days, but I imagined that he'd have the same brown eyes she had. Beneath the cap they'd placed on his head to help him keep warm, dark, shiny locks of hair stuck out in tight curls.

"They say he has a hard time keeping his body temperature stable," Britt whispered softly, leaning down and pressing a kiss to his tiny face, "So he'll have to stay in an incubator and all these clothes to keep warm."

Val smiled comfortingly at her, "It's a miracle that that's all he needs, as early as he came," she said gently, and Britt nodded with a shrug of her shoulders.

"I guess you're right," she mumbled quietly, her gaze fixed intently on the tiny little boy in her arms.

"So, what'd you name him?" Johnny asked suddenly, most likely in an attempt to keep her from getting upset at the fact that he might have a few health issues from being born so early. She looked up at us with a frown, her eyes flickering over every person in the room, before looking down at her son, a smile lighting up her face instantly.

"Mason," she answered confidently with a smile, "Mason Zachary Williams."

I grinned so hard I thought my fucking face would split in half. She honestly wanted to name her own son after me? I felt the air leave my lungs as I stared down at her, my eyes fixed solely on her face, which held a tired expression.

"That's a gorgeous name, kid," Brian smiled down at her before flashing me a knowing wink. I rolled my eyes but the shit-eating grin stayed plastered on my face. "We obviously know he's named after the Zee-Man, here. Where'd you get the first name from?"

"It's a combination of two names," she smiled softly, looking in the direction of the Berry brothers. I grinned even more as soon as I caught on to what she was saying, just as the girls began squealing in excitement, "Matt and Jason."

"ME?" Matt B all but shit his pants as he raised a finger to point to his chest, to which Britt let out a giggle and nodded.

"And me? Really?!" Jason gaped at her, his mouth wide open, and she nodded again. "Why us? We just met today!" he asked incredulously, just as Jimmy snook up and plucked the sleeping baby from her arms as gently as possible.

She chuckled and leaned back into the pillows, allowing her eyes to flutter closed for a moment, "I named him after y'all because you three were the ones in here when he was born," she answered, eyeing them before smiling brightly at me, "And had it not been for you two, who knows what could've happened when my water started leaking. I couldn't have gotten here without you two, and I'll forever be grateful to the both of you."

My day had officially been made.

We'd stayed for about half an hour longer, each of us taking a turn holding baby Mason. He was so tiny when I'd held him in my arms, and I couldn't even begin to explain how I'd felt at that moment. I'd never had someone's child named after me before, and it was an incredible feeling. In a way, the two of us were bonded for life, and I would make sure that I was always there for Mason.

Mason had stolen everyone's hearts.

All of the girls teared up at the sight of him, cooing over every single movement he'd made as they passed him back and forth. Johnny burst into tears the second he held Mason and got a good look at him, which got the girls riled up again. Matt B and JB had smiled the brightest I'd ever seen, though I was sure I was no different when I'd held the baby as well. Shadows was hesitant to hold the baby at first, but once he'd gotten used to the idea, he wouldn't let Mason go. Jimmy and Brian had to threaten his life and take the baby from him just so they could get their own turns.

By the time everyone had gotten a turn passing Mason around, he began getting fussy.
Lacey smiled, gently pulling him from Johnny's grasp, "I think he's hungry, John," she said, turning back to Britt, who we found was already fast asleep.

"Poor thing," Val smiled sympathetically, reaching over and brushing a golden lock of hair out of her face, "She must be exhasuted. No doubt her stress has been getting the best of her over all of this." she sighed lightly, and I moved over to pull the thin blankets on her legs up to her chest, knowing how cold she would end up from all the A/C the hospital was using.

"Well, it should all get better from here," Shadows smiled encouragingly, pulling Val towards him as Lacey took Mason and brought him towards his mother, "Hopefully soon her health will be back up, and she'll feel better."

Val frowned at that, not seeming all that convinced, nor was I. Everyone knew that being a single parent with a newborn wasn't a walk through the park, though I knew the girls would be there every step of the way to help her. In a few months, the guys and I would be back home from tour, and there was no doubt that she and the baby would never be alone once everyone was together again.

For the first time ever, I found myself wishing that I could fast forward through the tour and come straight home.