Thanksgiving came and Ginger was definitely tired of being pregnant. Jenny was four now, Kris and Taylor still hadn't set a date for the wedding, and Zac was losing sleep over worry that if he did, Ginger would go into labor and he wouldn't be able to get her to the hospital on time. Ginger thought it was a stupid worry, but he still did it anyway.
Thanksgiving dinner was at Zac's house. Ginger sat on the couch watching football with Kris, who read the latest Cosmo instead of watching the game, and continued to shift uncomfortably. Kris finally got fed up with it. "What is your problem?" Kris asked, putting down the magazine and looking at her beached whale of a sister.
"My back hurts," Ginger said. Kris paused.
"Is that a sign of labor?"
"No," Ginger said, "It's a sign of being fat."
"You're not fat," Kris said. "You just have a baby inside of you." Ginger suddenly froze. "What?"
"I think my water just broke."
"Ew!"
"Go get Zac."
"ZAC!!" Kris screamed. She went to the hallway that led to the kitchen. "Your wife is in labor!"
"What?" Zac asked, half appearing in the hallway. "I'm cooking a turkey! She can't be in labor now!"
"Well she is," Kris said. "I suggest you get her to the hospital before she gives birth in the living room."
"Shit," Zac said. "Taylor, take care of the turkey."
"I don't think we're going to be having turkey today," Taylor said. "We're all going to be eating hospital food."
"Just shut up and take care of the food, I've got to get Ginger to the hospital." Zac ran over to Ginger, who was perfectly fine in the living room. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Ginger said. "I've got plenty of time."
"What do you mean you have plenty of time?" Zac asked.
"Let's just go," Ginger said. Zac helped her up and they began to walk through the kitchen to the garage. "I'll see you guys later. Jenny's upstairs. Bring her with you when you come and see me later." Ginger waved goodbye and they left, Zac grabbing the suitcase that was by the door.
In a flurry of activity Ginger found herself waiting yet again for her baby. By now it was five-thirty and Zac's eyes were closing. He was exhausted from his lack of sleep and Ginger, having been through this before, was sitting back in her bed with a good book. She kept an eye on Zac and whenever he looked like he was just falling asleep she would speak to him.
"Did you call your mother?" Ginger asked as Zac was nodding off again. His head snapped back up and he looked at her. She grinned a bit behind her book. He wasn't going to be able to sleep for a very long time, so she decided not to give him the opportunity to start now.
"Why do I have to call her at all?" he asked, shifting in his chair. "She doesn't need to know."
"This is her grandchild, Zac," Ginger said. "I think she'll want to know."
"You call her."
"Zac, I'm in the process of pushing a baby out of me. I don't feel like calling my mother-in-law," Ginger said. "I'm in enough pain as it is."
"Is it really painful?" he asked.
"No. It tickles."
"Your sarcasm isn't appreciated," he said. "Where is my brother?" Ginger shrugged. "They should be here at now. The turkey should have been done at five and it's five-thirty."
"Well, Zac," Ginger said. "They couldn't just stick the whole thing in the fridge, they had to cut it up and wrap it and put it in the fridge, and find room for all of the food we were supposed to eat, then they had to get Jenny and drive all the way here�and knowing my sister like I do they won't even leave the house until six."
"All right. Don't have the baby until after six."
"Zac, this baby is not coming out for a very long time," Ginger said. "I am nowhere near dilated enough and my contractions are ages apart. I don't even know why we came, we're just going to be here for a while."
"I didn't want to run the risk of having the baby in the car!"
"That wouldn't have happened, Zac�"
"Whatever. I'm fine with this little getup we've got now."
"Yeah, me in an uncomfortable bed and you in a chair. I know I put a pillow in the suitcase, and I'm sure there's a blanket in there too. Why don't you lie on the floor and take a nap? If you're still asleep when I'm getting ready to deliver I'll have one of the nurses poke you with a sharp stick or something."
"Every time I fall asleep you keep talking to me!" Zac said. Ginger smiled.
"I know. I'm doing it on purpose." He gave her a look. "I won't do it anymore. Lie on the floor, get comfy, someone will wake you up if we're afraid you'll miss something." He looked skeptical. "Do it."
"All right." He walked over to her suitcase, opened it up, and pulled out the pillow and blanket she'd packed a few days before. He set himself up on the floor on the far end of the room and within minutes he was dead asleep. He was out for maybe a half an hour when Taylor and Kris got there with Jenny.
"Hey you," Kris said. "Where's your husband?"
"Over there," Ginger said, pointing to the corner. Kris looked over and smiled. "I told him to take a nap. He was falling asleep in the chair."
"He's missing out."
"Nah, nothing's really happening. It'll be a while before he comes out." Ginger looked down at Jenny. "Hey Jenny, you're going to have a little brother pretty soon." She smiled but still looked less than enthused. "Great, Jenny, try to be a little more enthusiastic there."
"She's fine," Kris said. "Once she sees him she'll be just fine with all of this. How dilated are you?"
"Three centimeters," Ginger said. "It's going to be a long while."
"Looks like it."
"If it gets too late one of you should bring Jenny home. She's just going to be bored here."
"We'll set her in the corner with Zac," Kris said. "Anyway, I got you another book to read in case you finish that one." Kris handed Ginger a book.
" 'One Hundred and One Great Wedding Gifts,' " Ginger read. "Gee, is that a hint?"
"We decided on a date," Kris said. "February 15th." Ginger eyed her.
"Why not February 14th?"
"Valentine's Day weddings are so overrated," Kris said. "We're doing it the day after just to be different. It's a Sunday, though, so we're only going to do really important people and nobody else, and we're going to do it in a hotel."
"Who gets married on a Sunday?" Ginger asked. "Isn't that sacrilegious or something? And how are you going to find a priest who'll do a wedding on a Sunday?"
"We're not having a priest," Kris said. "We're having�who is it?" She turned to Taylor who spoke up.
"It's a friend of mine, his name is Neil. He's one of those people who are certified on the Internet or something like that, I don't know. We already booked everything, we just have to send out invites."
"Ooh," Ginger said, "am I the maid of honor?"
"No, Rose, I was saving that job for one of my other non-existent friends," Kris said. "I don't even think I'm going to have any other bridesmaids."
"We don't have any other friends, do we?" Ginger asked. Kris shook her head. "Well, that doesn't matter. I'll be at your wedding and it'll be the best damn wedding there ever was."
"Because you were there?" Kris asked.
"Because I was�ow!" Ginger held her stomach but in a moment relaxed. "Damn, it's going to be a long night."
Christopher Joshua Hanson was born nearly one o'clock in the morning on November 28th. Zac was asleep for most of the labor, and actually, so was Ginger, who kept nodding off in the bed as night fell. Zac woke up around midnight and just in time as Ginger was taken away to have Christopher.
"Jenny, this is your little brother." Jenny was lying in the bed with her mother, looking down on her little baby brother. Christopher was a red crying child with dark hair, but he hadn't opened his eyes yet.
"He's ugly," Jenny said.
"Jenny�" Zac warned. He was sitting on the other side of Ginger, looking down at their new baby. Kris and Taylor standing on Jenny's side of the bed.
"He is!" she said.
"Well I'm sorry to say you looked just like this when you were only a few minutes old," Ginger told Jenny. Jenny looked at her mother with disbelief. "You were! I have photos!"
"I was never that ugly," Jenny said.
"You were pretty ugly," Ginger said. Jenny gave her mother a look.
"Mo-om!"
"I'm just saying the truth, Jenny. Wait a little while, before you know it he'll be so cute you'll just want to spend all of your time with him." Jenny put her head up against her mother's shoulder and didn't say anything. Ginger looked up at Zac. "Do you want to hold him, honey?"
"Yeah�" Ginger smiled and passed Christopher over to Zac, who held him carefully. "This is so amazing."
"I know," Ginger said. She turned to Kris and Taylor. "How many kids are you guys having?"
"Um�" Kris said, glancing at Taylor. "We haven't really talked about that yet."
"But you are having kids, right?" Ginger said. "I am going to be the godmother of some baby, aren't I?"
"Of course we're going to have kids," Taylor said. "It's just we don't know how many. Or when." Ginger shrugged.
"Well, better get cracking. My kids need friends."
"All right. We'll start right now. Come on, Taylor�" Kris started to go but Ginger's stern look made her stop. "Okay, we'll stay." Kris paused. "Who's going to be Chris's godmother?"
"I don't know," Ginger said. "Can it be you?"
"I don't think so. I don't think I can be the godmother of both of your kids," Kris said. "The godfather's going to be Taylor, isn't it?"
"Yeah," Ginger said. "Yeah we decided that a long time ago."
"We did?" Zac asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, I decided that a long time ago," Ginger said. "But that doesn't help the problem! We still need a godmother. See, the problem with having children is you need friends. We need more friends."
"True," Kris said. "Zac! Let me hold your baby!"
"No," Zac said, turning away. "It's my baby." Ginger groaned and put her head in her hands.
"Can I for once have a normal family?" she asked. She felt Jenny tug on her sleeve. Ginger looked over at her daughter. "Yes, my child?"
"I'm normal," she said, giving her mother a smile. Ginger smiled back.
"Yes you are." Ginger kissed her daughter's forehead. "Yes, Jenny, you are the only normal person in the room." Jenny smiled and hugged her mother.