“I said my water just broke...” Gwen replied.

“Wait a second...I went to lamaze classes with you, I know you water doesn’t just break...you have contractions before that...” He was getting frantic.

“I know,” she replied simply.

“What?” he asked looking at her, “you mean to tell me that you knew you were having contractions and you didn’t tell me?” A look of intense pain crossed her face and Gwen doubled over grabbing her stomach in pain, causing Nick’s expression to soften. “Are you having one now?”

“Yes,” she said thru clinched teeth.

“What can I do...baby, tell me what to do?” Nick yelled, he didn’t know how to respond to this and he saw the intense pain she was feeling.

“Put your clothes damn on Nick...god dammit...UGH!” she shouted in pain, “and get me something to wear and grab the bag.”

“The bag? We don’t have a bag do we?” he said as he got up and started frantically searching.

“Yes we do, we packed it the other day, it is in the closet...”

“FOUND IT!” he grabbed the bag in his hands and looked back over at her, she suddenly seemed fine, “is it over?”

“For now....” They sat there, him staring at her and her looking at him with tears in her eyes. Moments past and then Gwen let out another yell, “AHHHHHHH!!”

Nick knew this was another one, he decided that he should be better equipped for this one, dropping the bag he went to her side, holding her hand and allowing her to lean her weight against him, he dropped butterfly kisses on her forehead. When it passed, he dressed her before another came on.

Getting her to the car was a challenge in itself.

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After making it to the hospital, with Gwen screaming at Nick the entire way about his driving between contractions, she was checked in and on a monitor in a private room. They were able to predict when her contractions on a monitor and they were watching for the next one as Dr. Morello walked in, “How are you doing Mrs. Carter?”

She looked at him like he was nuts as another contraction came on. Nick answered for her, “Gwenny is fine as long as she isn’t having a contraction.”

Before the words had barely left his lips, she had already started having another one and she began screaming, “God...why didn’t you tell me it was coming, you should have been watching the monitor Nick...what is your fucking problem?”

Dr. Morello checked her out as she was having the contraction, ignoring her orders to ‘get the fuck away from her’. After whispering something to the nurse and pulling out the stirrups on the bed, Dr. Morello said something softly to Nick and then left. Coming down from her contraction, Gwen asked, “what’s going on?”

Nick smiled and took a seat on the bed, whipping the sweaty hairs off of her forehead and kissed her softly on the lips, “Dr. Morello is going to go get ready so we can have our baby.”

She smiled at him sincerely before they both glanced at the monitor and heard the speed picking up and watched as the contraction began to come on, “Just hold me Nick,” Gwen said calmly. Then, it hit, “God dammit...ugh...why did I say no to an epidural?”

****************************************************************************************************

Less than an hour later, Gwen was completely exhausted. Nick was at her side urging her on, “Gwenny, just one more, I know you can do it...you’re so close.”

Gwen looked at Nick, she was completely drenched with sweat from head to toe and she had been crying. She wasn’t even yelling anymore, each time a new contraction came on now, she just bawled. “I can’t...I am so tired...”

“Yes you can Mrs. Carter...I can see the head...all you need are a couple more big pushes and it will be over,” Dr. Morello said thru the mask. She could barely see the top of his head between her legs. There was a nurse standing beside him and she was smiling. “Push Gwen....”

Grunting, Gwen pushed. She felt the same pain once again, but at this point she had grown accustomed to the feeling of having her insides being ripped out or so it seemed. She didn’t say a word, just pushed. Nick was looking between her legs expectantly while he held onto her with one arm around her shoulder and one hand in hers. When he saw the baby leave her body he dropped both of her hands.

Gwen heard a cry and she laid back against the pillow, letting more silent tears stream down her face. She watched in slow motion as Nick went over to the lit up area with Dr. Morello and the nurse cleaned up the baby that had just come out of her and Nick began taking pictures while another nurse videotaped everything. Gwen was spent. She closed her eyes briefly before feeling something warm against her chest. She looked down and she saw a beautiful baby. She then looked up and saw her husband standing next to her, tears brimming his eyes, “Kylie, I’d like for you to meet your mommy.”