Bang: Challenge Accepted

by M. Dauphin H. Q. Frost

  Jack chuckles when Liam runs his hands through his hair nervously. Able adjusts himself in Jack's arms and Jack locks eyes with me.

  "You'll call with any updates?" he asks still looking at me because at this point Liam is so nervous he isn't going to remember any of this.

  "Absolutely. I'll have Annie come by sometime tomorrow so you can meet us up here. Now scoot, this poor baby needs a bed." I smile kissing Able's forehead then lean in for a quick kiss to Jack. "Love you," I whisper on his lips.

  "Love you too, babe," he grins. "Have fun with that one." With a grin he nods to Liam who's staring at us like the world just exploded in front of him.

  Bringing Able a little higher on his shoulder, he turns and walks out of the room.

  "So… I…." Liam stutters then sighs. "Fuck this night, come on Bang." He mumbles something as he walks out the door which makes me laugh.

  He's so out of his element right now and this is exactly where I feel at home. With freaking out dads, and moms whose screams you can hear from four doors down.

  Good God, Ryley!

  "So… she's been doing that. A lot," he says stopping in his tracks.

  "No shit? Huh… never heard of a pregnant woman being in pain." I raise my eyebrows and grin as he gives me a look like I've lost my damn mind.

  I'm not certain it's me that's gone mindless tonight.

  "You're the doctor. Is that normal?" His eyes widen and they flick back to her door.

  We're stopped a few doors down and I can honestly feel his nervousness radiating from him.

  "It's totally normal," I say in the best soothing tone I can find around him.

  As much of a hard time as I give him, Liam's actually turned out to be a good guy.

  "The contractions can hurt like nothing else on this earth. Screams are okay and totally, completely normal. Which room is hers? I'll go on in and you can go get some coffee. It's gonna be a long night, daddy." Smiling, I pat him on the shoulder.

  "Three. Room three. I'll… I'll be back," he mumbles something again and walks away, hands on the back of his neck.

  I smile and shake my head remembering the patient last week who had an unexpected middle of the night delivery and how unprepared the father was for his first baby.

  This isn't Liam's first child, but it's his first that he's actually here for. Childbirth is hell on the mom physically and mentally. The dad's just go through the mental part of hell… unless the moms turn violent in their pain. That's always fun.

  The door is cracked but I still knock gently before opening it.

  "Yeah?" I hear Ryley mumble.

  "Hey," I say gently, walking into a dimly lit room.

  She's definitely got a better setup this time around. There's gentle lights, gentle mood music. It's like she's insanely prepared for this to be a more peaceful delivery than Able's was. The fact that she's seven years older will probably help that too. Maybe.

  "Hi," she whispers smiling at me. "You're here."

  I sit on the bed next to her taking her hand, watching the IV that's already been placed.

  "Of course, I wouldn't miss it, bitch." I smile and wonder if I'll ever be in her shoes.

  Lately I've really been thinking about having a kid or two. Why not?

  Then I'm reminded why not.

  "Aaaah!" she starts screaming and squeezing my hand. Tight.

  God, now I know what Liam was talking about. Counting the time until the contraction stops, I mentally take note and wait for the next one. Coming down from the pain, I wipe her forehead with a cloth that's near and give her a bite of ice. She's looking pretty good, everything seems pretty normal.

  "It cool if I check your charts, babe?" I ask hoping she let's me in.

  "Go ahead." She smiles and rests her hand on her belly.

  "Aren't you getting an epidural, Ry?" I ask furrowing my brows while taking a look at the notes the doctors left.

  Why do they all have to have such terrible handwriting?

  "You're already at six, Ry! You can have it anytime now, babe."

  "I don't want…." She trails off, taking a breath. "I want to do it without."

  "Oh, Ryley, stop. You're not superwoman. You had one with Able and it went so… great." I muster a smile when she glares at me.

  "I remember exactly how painful that went. WITH the epidural. No. I can do it without."

  Liam takes that moment to walk in the door and look at us like he's in trouble.

  "Hey. Jack made it back safe with Able. I uh… Jenny, I got your… stuff." His eyes flick to Ryley and she laughs.

  "I'm not gonna bite, baby. You can come back in." Ryley smiles and reaches her hand out for him.

  "Yeah… absolutely." He cautiously approaches her side like she'll lunge for him. "What can I do for you?"

  "Make Jenny stop trying to talk me into meds." She lays her head back and closes her eyes to rest.

  "I'll stop," I whisper rolling my eyes at Liam's glare. "I don't get it, but I'll stop. For now."

  Liam shakes his head and looks back at Ryley, pushing her hair out of her face. My heart swells watching these two. I never thought I wanted a connection like that with anyone but watching them makes me picture how Jack would be if we were ever to have kids. I love that man, and I know he'd be just as supportive.

  "How much longer does she have to go through this?" he whispers caressing her hand with his thumb.

  Just a simple gesture like that would've made me roll my eyes a few months ago but now I actually miss having Jack here with me. Is this how it's going to be when I go back to Tennessee, without him? Is everything going to make me miss him more?

  "I can't tell. It could be a half hour from now, or hours on end. Babies make their own schedules, Porter."

  "Right." He sighs dabbing her face with the cool cloth.

  His love for her is incredibly apparent.

  We agree to take shifts sitting by her bedside so the other one of us can get a little rest. I pull out a few blankets and a pillow curling up on the recliner in the corner of the room. Smiling at the attentiveness that Liam's paying to her every need, I resolve to make sure Jack really knows how much I love him.

  Three hours later I wake up to Liam whispering to her gently as she tries to ride out the end of another contraction. Leaving my eyes closed, the snoop in me lays there and listens to his words, letting them have this moment.

  "I'm so sorry I wasn't here for Able's birth, Ry. I never knew. God, I'm so sorry. I love you, baby. You're so damn strong, Ry. You've got this," he whispers as she moans. "God Ryley…." he huffs as I hear the machines calm down and the beeps level out.

  Smiling, I open my eyes and slowly get up. Shooting a quick text to work, letting them know I won't be back today and to reschedule things for today and tomorrow, I put my phone away and walk to the bedside taking Ry's other hand.

  "You need a break, daddy," I say to Liam, smiling. I can't believe I'm actually here for this. "I'll take good care of her."

  He sighs, kisses Ry then walks to the makeshift bed and is asleep within mere seconds. Being that it's almost six in the morning and he's been up all night, he's more than ready to sleep. I dab her forehead right as the nurse walks in for morning checks. Blood pressure, temperature, and fluid check takes just a few minutes then we're alone again until her OB/GYN arrives.

  "You want me in here when it's go time?" I ask watching her smile with her eyes closed.

  "Of course, asshole. Someone's gotta stop Liam from freaking out and passing out on me."

  "Good. Because I'm not certain he's going to enjoy the birthing of the placenta after the baby is out." I chuckle remembering when Able was born and how Ryley didn't realize that had to come out too.

  Oh man, the joys of motherhood.

  "Right. Just make sure he doesn't vomit." She rolls her eyes then closes them to rest.

  I hold her hand, enjoying the quiet of the room for the time being.

  ***

  Four hours later and still no baby but
things are moving along nicely. The doctor's been in to check her a few times already and has been talking about using Pitocin to speed up the progress, which would bring on stronger contractions and make her want an epidural like, yesterday, but she's holding strong on no meds.

  After Liam gets up and takes over, I head out into the hall to call Jack.

  "Hey, you," he answers.

  I hear Able in the background and suddenly remember how sad he probably is that there's no Firefly to play with.

  Oh god, how could I have forgotten about our dog?

  "Hey. How's things?"

  "Good, good. Just playing outside." He laughs and says something to Able then I hear the phone rustle, probably on his beard.

  I smile, wishing he could be here right now.

  "You need anything? You're gonna keep me updated, right? I need updates, sweetheart," he says sternly and I giggle.

  "It was the middle of the night, Jack. I didn't want to wake you." I smile holding the phone to my shoulder while throwing my hair up into a ponytail. "I promise hourly texts, okay?"

  "Perfect," he mumbles. "I miss you, babe."

  "Miss you too. I don't think she has much longer, everything's been moving pretty good so hopefully in a few hours we'll have a new niece," I say trying to keep the squealing from my voice.

  "We will," he emphasizes 'we', which makes me smile.

  Yes we will.

  ***

  "Push, Ry!" Liam demands as he holds onto her face with one hand and her hand with another.

  She started pushing about a half hour ago. I can tell she's getting tired but she's got more to go.

  "You've got this, bitch," I say smiling when she scowls at me.

  Liam reaches over and slaps me but Ryley ends up smiling and throwing her head back on the pillow, groaning.

  She ended up getting an Epidural a few hours ago when the pain from the contractions just got to be too much, and she's been a much nicer person to be around. For a while there I thought Satan was going to make an appearance and murder both me and Liam, but she held it at bay. I'm proud of her, she's always been my fighter.

  "Alright, I can see her hair. One big push, mom," the doctor says.

  Ryley grips onto my hand so hard I know I won't be able to feel my fingers for days. Liam's face is hilarious and it takes everything I've got not to crack up right now. It's like he's the one pushing a bowling ball out of his vagina.

  "Big push, mom, come on," the doctor says as the nurses help push her legs up.

  When the cry comes I watch Liam's face go from pure fear to pure love. Instantly.

  Ryley's head falls back and I grab the cloth to help cool her off as Liam moves towards his new baby girl while they place her on her mom's chest. The three of them are so perfectly in love right now my heart almost melts. I grab my phone and snap as many pictures as I can, laughing when Ry bitches at me not to get her lady-bits in the picture.

  "Woman, please, that baby is covered in your lady-bits. And I love every piece of it." I smile leaning down to kiss her cheek as the doctor asks Liam to cut the cord.

  "Oh… uh…." he looks frantically at me and Ry.

  I know he has a weird stomach when it comes to things like this but he has to do it. It's his baby girl!

  "Don't be a pussy, Porter. Cut the damn thing!" I laugh when his shaking hand takes the scissors and cuts, having to saw at it a few times to make the cut good enough.

  He's a trooper, making it all the way through. Who would've thought Liam Porter has a weak stomach?

  The doctor thanks and congratulates them both then goes on to finishing up the delivery of… well… everything else. When he asks Liam if he wants to hold the placenta I honestly think Ryley is going to bust herself open more from the laughter than comes out of her. His face turns pale and he backs away, shaking his head.

  "No, thanks…." he trails off.

  "Wait!" I say grabbing gloves.

  The doctor knows I'm an OB so he doesn't hesitate to let me hold it.

  "This is so cool, Liam. She lived in here the last nine months," I say grabbing it and walking towards him.

  His eyes grow wide, but he stands his ground, mostly since I've backed him to the wall.

  "Look at how amazing this is."

  "I'm good, Bang. I see it. Fine. Now get rid of it. What the hell do you do with this thing, Doctor? Can't you make her get it away from me?" He's talking faster and more frantically as I get a little closer. His jaw clenches and he closes his eyes.

  "Ha! I knew it! Pussy," I grumble walking away.

  Ryley's too busy ogling the new baby to notice the vomit that's almost made it's way to Liam's mouth before I back off. No need for even more of a mess today. Ry's made enough for all of us.

  "I'm gonna go call Jack," I whisper to her kissing her cheek and leaving the new parents alone for a bit.

  "Hey, you," he says gently into the receiver.

  "She's here, Jack. And she's absolutely perfect," I say holding back the emotional tears that are threatening.

  Probably because I'm not certain I'll ever have that type of love with a newborn, maybe because I'm so tired, and more than likely also because I know I'll be going home in the morning and I haven't got to see Jack enough during my stay.

  "That's fantastic!" he exclaims. "Send me a picture! I need Able to see his new baby sister."

  I hear Able scream in the background and we both laugh at him. He's so insanely excited to be a big brother that he's actually the one that helped pick out her name.

  "I most definitely will. I'll call Annie and have her come sit with Able for a little bit so you can come up here. I think later on Liam's planning on coming to get him to bring him to meet his new sister, so just hang tight."

  "Love you, babe. I miss you," he says.

  "I love you and miss you too, Lumber-Jack. I'll see ya in a little bit."

  A few hours later and the four of us are all in the same room, staring at the new baby as Jack rocks her to sleep. I still can't believe all of this is happening right now. I never thought I'd be so in love with a man that just watching him take such gentle care of a newborn would make me want to break out in tears. What the hell are all these feelings? I never knew love could feel so complex, but it definitely does.

  "Allie Faith," he whispers as she sleeps soundly in his arms. "Perfect, Ry. She's perfect." He smiles at her then looks at me.

  The smile on his face turns to something more but I can't place it.

  What's he thinking about?

  "I'm getting pretty hungry, Jack. You wanna take me to grab some dinner?" I ask praying that we can at least have a few more hours to ourselves before having to get Able for the night.

  "Sure, sweetheart, just give me a few more minutes. She's so comfortable." He smiles sweetly down at her and I smile picturing him being one of the best new fathers out there.

  Looking over at the new parents I notice Ryley smiling at me from across the room, the same type of smile Jack wore just moments ago, and I feel like I'm missing something.

  ***

  Jack's 'few more minutes' turns into about another hour but I'm okay with that. I can't get enough of watching him with Allie. Baby Allie. Even the name makes my ovaries scream at me for not impregnating them yet. What the hell is my problem?! I didn't think I wanted kids, then everything these last few months happen and my body is suddenly pissed I'm not a mom yet. Why can't my brain and body get on the same page? The one thing they do agree on at the moment is that Jack in his white t-shirt and dark jeans looks completely fuckable. Even in the hospital elevator, surrounded with old people in wheel chairs. I must be giving him a look because he groans and squeezes my hand.

  Leaning over, his breath right next to my ear, he whispers, "Hold that thought. Don't need any more heart attacks."

  I giggle and shake my head. Thank God his mom is all right. I'm not certain I'd ever forgive myself for that. Even though it was his fault for not watching what he was showing her.

  B
y the time we make it to the truck it's all I can do to keep myself from straddling him right there in the parking lot.

  "I need you, Jack," I whisper stroking him as he starts his truck.

  The low rumble from his growl tells me he's in the same boat. He pulls me to him and pushes his lips against mine. Moaning, I open my mouth inviting him in. He tastes me which can't taste the best since I haven't brushed my teeth yet today, but he doesn't seem to notice. Exploring me as best as his tongue and hands can in the front seat of his truck, it feels like we just started when he pulls away.

  "Let's get home," he growls keeping me by his side as he puts the truck in drive.

  "I feel dirty from the hospital. Can I take a shower when we get there?" I let my fingers trace the collar of his shirt.

  He moans and smiles. "Only if you let me wash you." That grin is so hard not to kiss off his face.

  I laugh and slap his arm. "Someone has to wash the baby guts off of my back!"

  "Oh god," he whines. "Don't. I'd rather not talk about the guts and blood that you witnessed today."

  "Why are men so weird about that? I had a dad pass out last week when he looked over the cesarean curtain. It's just body parts!"

  "Right… body parts that men aren't supposed to see. I'd rather not see my girls junk split open and broken or her guts laying on a table."

  I glare at him. He really wouldn't be able to watch his own child be born?

  "There's so much wrong with what you just said that I'm not sure where to start."

  He parks the truck opening his door. Grabbing my hand he silently pulls me out of the truck and lifts me to carry me to the door. Caveman.

  "Then don't. Fuck me and don't think about anything else," he demands as he throws the door open and kicks it behind him.

  Making his way to the bathroom, his mouth ravishes mine as he sits me down in front of him.

  "Strip." He crosses his arms in front of me and stares expectantly.

  I raise my eyebrows at his demand and feel the heat start to grow between my legs.

  "Excuse me?"

  "I said strip. Now. Like you did that one time over the computer." Biting his lip to hide his grin he watches me start to play with the hem of my shirt.