A week later.
It was way, way too early for someone to be calling her. None of her friends or relatives would EVER call her at 2:30 in the morning, and Justin, who was in New York working on one of the tracks with the rest of the guys, would know better to call her that early, and with the ways things have been going, he wouldn't even call at 2:30 in the afternoon!
So she ignored it. She snuggled back into her pillow and covers and prayed the person would hang up.
But they didn't. She couldn't hear the answering machine from upstairs and didn't really care. But then the faint sound of her cell phone barely echoed into the bedroom. She sat up and realized this must be something really important.
Right when she threw her covers off her the phone rang again.
"Hello?"
"Meredith."
Meredith stood off her bed and ran a hand through her messy hair. "Kelly?"
"Yeah, that's me. So my husband is in New York, with your husband and everyone else, and since you were my back up for when this happened, I'm calling you."
She plopped back on the bed. "Wait..you mean."
"Yup my water just broke."
Then shot up standing again and screamed. "Are you sure?!"
Kelly was giggling. "Um, yeah I'm pretty sure."
"Oh god..oh god." Immediately Meredith started pacing back and forth with just her oversized t shirt covering her.
"Stop panicking. Get some clothes on because I know you are in pjs, get your keys and cell phone and get over here and take me to the hospital. It's ok. I'm not really even feeling the contractions yet."
"Have you called Joey?"
"I'm trying but his cell isn't on."
Meredith ran to her closet and started throwing out clothes on her bed, running around like a chicken with its head cut off. "Well call all the other guys too. Call the hotel. Call Johnny. Call everyone, Leslie too, and Chris, and Kris, and...yeah so I'm..I'm coming."
"Breathe Meredith."
"I think I'm supposed to tell you that."
"I know but I've done this before...you haven't."
"Right. Um, I'm on my way."
Meredith hung up the phone being left with Kelly's laughter.
She looked around her bedroom. Big. Empty. And suddenly she felt extremely lonely.
She sighed and hurried to get ready.
-----
Justin groaned when he heard banging at his door. He growled, "GO AWAY!"
He opened one eye and realized the banging wasn't coming from the main door to his hotel room but the side door that connected to someone else's room. Joey's room.
"Dude! OPEN UP!"
"GO AWAY JOEY!"
"KELLYS HAVING HER BABY! OPEN THE DAMN DOOR!"
Justin shook his head and thought he was hearing things. "WHAT?!"
"LABOR! KELLY! MY WIFE! MY BABY! DOOR! OPEN! NOW!"
Justin scrambled up from his bed and unlocked the door, Joey barged in and started sorting through Justin's duffel bag, throwing clothes at him. Justin just stood there in boxer briefs and a undershirt, eyes half closed. "Huh?"
"Come on. I already called and booked an emergency flight! Thank god the people at Jive still let us use that private jet! The cab's gonna be here in 10. HURRY UP!" Justin was amazed.
Joey was giddy, pushy, happy, all smiles. He didn't look nervous or scared at all.
"Well get to it. I'm going to call JC and tell him that me and you are going."
Justin sat slowly down on his bed and scratched his head, waiting for his sleep to wear off. "You aren't going to have them come too!?"
Joey beamed and moved his arms animated. "Why?! They can stay up here and record. I just need a flying buddy because I'm going to get really nervous and shit in about an hour and I need company. Then we can ship your ass back up here and you can finish your vocals. I got most of my part laid down already. READY!?"
"Um...not yet. Go call JC. I'll be ready by then time you are off the phone." Justin moved his hand in a motion towards Joey's room and stood up and walked to his duffel bag, picking out his own clothes and stuffing in the ones Joey had carelessly pulled out.
"K." Joey disappeared into his room and then popped his head back in.
"Hey Justin?"
"Wha?"
"I'm going to be a daddy...again!"
Justin turned around from where he was squatted down on the floor. He couldn't help but smile at his older friend. Joey had on a faint smile and his eyes were turning watery.
But Justin couldn't help but have jealousy soar through him. "I..I know man. Congrats."
-----
Meredith looked down at the little girl that was sitting quietly beside her. "Wanna go get something from the machines?"
She nodded. "Sure."
She reached for the tiny girls hand like it was second nature. It had been a long time since she had been around Brianna, but the two were rather close. Meredith considered herself as a big sister figure to Bri, so holding her hand was no big thing.
Brianna was being extremely quiet for her normal bubbly self. "Nervous?"
She looked up at Meredith and bit her lip. "A little."
"It's going to be fine. In a couple of hours you'll have your own baby brother."
"That was kinda a big needle. They put it in your back?"
"Yeah. Epidural. It makes your mom not feel nearly as much pain as she normally would."
"So it's a good thing?"
Meredith looked down at her and winked. "It's a very good thing."
It didn't take them long to get to the drink and snack machines. Meredith scanned the contents and pulled her wallet out of her purse to search for some change.
"So what cha want? Peanut bar? Cheese Crackers? Skittles? Chips?"
"I'm not very hungry." The young Fatone had perched herself on the chairs by the machines, swinging her feet under the chair and holding on to the end of the seat, pushing her weight up on her arms and then letting herself rest back in the seat, and then doing the routine over again.
"You ok Bri?"
She rested her back against the chair and slumped down. "I just. This is scary. I don't think I want to have babies."
Meredith nodded and started putting in some quarters to get them a snack. "You will. Believe me. You'll get to a point where you will find an amazing guy, and you will want nothing more than to have a family with him."
"Are you and Justin going to have a family?"
She stopped halfway in punching in the number to the Gold-n-Cheese crackers she was purchasing. Her eyes turned to Brianna, but nothing else. "W what?"
"Well I over heard mommy and daddy talking about how you two were really hurting because you were having trouble making a baby."
Meredith turned, shocked. "Oh I.."
"I..oh man. I wasn't supposed to say anything." The little girl had slapped her hand against her forehead and bit her lip hard, scrunching up her nose.
Meredith sat down cautiously beside the girl, staring at her hard. "Say what?"
"Well..the other day I asked mommy why you and Justin weren't...well, fun anymore."
"We aren't fun anymore?"
Brianna stared back into Meredith's widened brown eyes, shaking her head and her ponytail hitting her cheeks. "Nuh uh. You never babysit me anymore. And whenever Uncle Justin is around he doesn't talk to me like he use to. He wont take me to McDonalds. And me and you never made our cookies. And you guys are mean to each other too."
"We are?"
"Yeah. Do you not love each other anymore?"
Meredith was shocked. But the young girl had such a concerned and almost hurt look on her face. Her head was tilted and her eyebrows bunched. A frown graced her lips.
It almost caused Meredith to lose it.
"Brianna, let me tell you something's."
"K."
She sighed and took a deep breath for courage to tell this little girl about her confusing life. "Me and Justin are going through a really, really rough time right now. But it doesn't mean I don't love him anymore, or less than I use to. And it doesn't mean he doesn't love me either. We just are having a hard time being able to talk to each other because we aren't very happy people right now."
"Why aren't you happy? Because you cant have a baby."
Meredith nodded. "Yeah, I guess."
"My friend Nat is adopted! You can adopt! Then you'll be happy."
Meredith tried to return the girls bright smile, but she was unable. "It's...it's not that simple Bri."
Brianna shook her head like she didn't understand. "But it is! If you guys love each other you should be able to work things out. That's what daddy says. One time he and mom got in a big fight and I was upset and he said that when two people fight that love each other, they always can make it work out. You just gotta try."
Meredith couldn't believe it but she was actually taking advice from this girl. Bri seemed to have more insight on the whole situation than she did. And Brianna didn't even KNOW the whole situation. "Well what if one person tries, but the other doesn't."
Brianna shrugged and jumped up walking to the machines, now bored with the conversation. "I don't know. I'll ask daddy when he gets here. I think I want Skittles!"
-----------
an hour or so later
Kelly was regaining her breath from her most recent contraction and Meredith smoothed back the older woman's hair and gave her hand a little squeeze. "That wasn't so bad now was it?"
"No."
She looked into the cup that was sitting on the stand beside her. It was mainly water with a few floating ice shavings in it. "Want more ice chips."
Kelly smiled, and closed her eyes breathing heavily. "No thanks."
"I'm surprised Kel. I can remember the Full House episode with Becky and the twins. I thought you were going to be bitchy. But you aren't..not at all." The two woman smiled at each other.
"I've done this before. Last time I told Joey I wanted to cut off his penis for what it did to me."
A laugh fell from Meredith's lips. "I'm sure he enjoyed that."
After a moment of silence, Kelly tried to sit up some and looked towards the door of her room. "How's my baby doin?"
Meredith looked at her like she was crazy and pointed down to Kelly's spread but covered legs. "Um, you want me to look?!"
She laughed and rolled her eyes. "No no..Bri."
"Ohhh...She's asleep in the waiting chairs. One of the nurse at the desk is looking after her for us."
"I wish Joe would get here." She sighed and Meredith squeezed her hand that Kelly was holding on tight to once more.
"He'll be here soon, hon."
"I just hope he doesn't miss it. He didn't want to go ya know. I made him though. I mean how was I to know our little Joseph Jr. was going to be 5 days early?"
Meredith smiled genuinely at her and shrugged. "Life's a mystery."
After a few seconds Kelly's staring was grating on her nerves. She didn't know why she was being stared at like that. It made her very nervous.
Finally Kelly spat out. "Is this hard for you?"
"Huh?"
"Being here. With me. Baby stuff."
Meredith gasped then shook her head. "Oh Kelly, no..no. No."
But obviously Kelly had figured out that she wasn't doing too well in this environment. She took her hand from Meredith's and put her face in her hands and shook her head. "Dammit I should have called Leslie. I..I'm sorry Mere I didn't think."
Meredith shook her head at her, trying to reassure her. "It's ok. I'm ok. I've gotten use to it."
"Have you?"
A fake smile adorned her lips and she nodded, trying not to let her watery eyes go noticed. "Kel you don't need to be thinking about me right now. Just keep your mind on you and that beautiful baby boy that's gonna be born in a few hours."
"Meredith seriously. You look really pale."
"I'm fine."
She abruptly stood up.
"Where are you going."
"To get some water."
Meredith took a step towards the door and grabbed a hold of one of the bars on the side of Kelly's bed. She felt the blood rush form her face, yet at the same time felt hellishly hot. She couldn't catch her breath, and the room started to spin. Kelly's voice shook and she called out. "Mere...a are you ok?"
"I..fine..."
The next thing she knew her vision blurred into a mix of colors then faded to black.
--------
a little later
"Where are they!" Joey shouted stepping off the elevators and scanning the floor with his eyes.
"Joey!...well hey Justin!"
A voice called to them and Joey turned and smiled brightly. "Dr. Conner! Thank God. Where are they?"
Dr. Conner approached them with a smile, patting Joey on the back. "Well Joey just follow me. Everything is going smoothly. I got Brianna in there being her Lamaze coach."
Justin was left behind and he was confused to why Brianna was doing the Lamaze ..and not Meredith. "What about-"
Dr. Conner looked over her shoulder and said. "Justin, your wife is in room 414."
"Oh ok. Wait...what?" Justin was speed walking up to Joey and the doctor.
HE couldn't breathe.
"Oh, where is my mind! Joey, I'll be there in a sec. She's right down there, room 422." Joey smiled, his mind on his wife and his new baby and sprinted down the hall.
Justin stared hard at Dr. Conner, and pleaded with his blue eyes. "Why is Meredith in a room."
"She passed out about 30 minutes ago."
"WHAT?!"
The shorter woman placed a hand on Justin's outstretched forearm and tried to calm him. "She's fine. I think all this was a little too much for her. She was a little dehydrated and fatigued. She's laying down in there, they put an IV in just for safety and to help her get rejuvenated faster. She's sleeping now, but she'll be fine."
"Can I..."
She nodded with a smile. "go ahead."
He ran faster than he ever had before down the hall. He found the room quickly. The door was shut and he had to gain all his strength just to push down the hand and open the door.
She was laying there, in her jeans and a t shirt, under a blanket. One of her arms had a tube going out of it. She looked pale, thin, sick.
She was sleeping with her legs bent to her side and one of her arms across her stomach, her other arm laid out flat as not to mess up her IV. Her head was turned away from the door.
He was scared out of his mind. He didn't know what to do. He hadn't known it would come to this.
He had never been this sorry.
His legs carried him towards her, pulled a chair from the wall and he ending up falling down into it.
He knew, this was all his fault. It had been too much. He hadn't been supportive enough. He hadn't done the right thing. He had distanced himself.
And now she was in the hospital with a tube up her arm.
Tears filled his eyes and then fell. And before he knew it he was sobbing.
He pulled himself to the edge of the chair and laid his head down on her stomach, and then wrapped his arms around her, almost pulling her to him. His tears were falling into her shirt, wetting it, but he didn't care. He needed to hold her, needed to know that she was going to be ok.
His voice cracked and he whispered between cries, "Oh, my angel..."
He didn't look up when he felt her hand touch his head, or when her fingers started running through his hair.
He was ashamed to look at her, so he just kept his eyes closed, continued crying, and held her never wanting to let her go. Back Forward