The Labor
Angel paced in the living room, worried about Max who was currently in the tub. She’d been having contractions for the past day. He’d taken her to the hospital once, but the doctor cheerfully informed them that she wasn’t ready yet. Max had simply climbed off the table, gave him an ‘I-told-you-so’ look and went to change. So they’d returned home. They’d given her a mild sedative to take the edge off and she’d fallen asleep in the car. He’d carried her into the hotel, surprised to see their friends there. Clearly, they were disappointed that the baby hadn’t come yet. Angel had to chuckle at that. If they were disappointed, it was nothing to compare to him.
All these months had passed, and there was still no sign of Sandeman. Angel wondered at the validity of Whistler’s warning, but told himself that just when he’d let his guard down, danger would arise. So the group kept their guard up. They’d employed the employees at Wolfram and Hart to keep their collective ear to the ground, looking for information, of which there seemed to be none. They protected Giles, who’d finally moved into the hotel. He didn’t like being too close to Max, just in case he was the way the attack was going to come, but it made her happy. So he acquiesced. And they generally waited. And now one of the moments they’d been anticipating was upon them.
Max had slept until seven a.m., but the strengthening contractions woke her up. Her little moan of pain brought Angel to her side. He hovered over her all morning, but the contractions stayed exactly one hour apart, lasting for a few minutes only. Angel was frankly shocked that Max hadn’t minded the hovering. She used the time for her last minute preparations for the baby and since he was close by, used him to do the majority of the hard work. She had him rearrange the nursery, help clean the bathroom, prepare a few casseroles to freeze and then bake more cookies. Angel smiled to himself as he thought of that. Max didn’t like cookies while pregnant. But she did like to bake them. It was the one thing she could do well in the kitchen, in a related to cooking matter. Angel could think of all sorts of other things they enjoyed in the kitchen. They had enough cookies in the freezer to last a few months and so did the rest of their friends. He’d protested that they didn’t need to make meals, but her logic was impeccable. Taking care of a new mother, baby and business would take a lot out of anyone, even a vampire, so it was nice to have things ready in advance. Plus it humored her and anything that made her happy, Angel wanted to do.
She’d finally decided that she wanted a warm bath to soothe her aching back. Angel had called the doctor to check if that was allowed, which it was. Her water hadn’t broken yet, but the doctor warned him not to let the bath water be too hot. So Max was relaxing and Angel was brooding. He was really wishing that Max would deliver at night. There was no way he could be there during the daytime. Max wasn’t really looking forward to being at the hospital. But Angel had enough to worry about, so she didn’t argue.
Finally Angel heard her call his name. He moved into the bathroom and smiled at the sweet, sexy picture she made. Her nude body was glistening from the warm water. Her stomach protruded above the waterline, gently rounded. It still amazed them both to see the flow of movement as the baby pressed out against various areas of its confinement. They’d declined to know the sex. But Angel was secretly hoping for a little girl. Max smiled up at him, even though he could see she was in some pain.
"You okay, sweetie?" he asked, kneeling beside the tub.
"Contraction," she panted, trying to concentrate on her breathing. Angel glanced at his watch.
"Whoa, that’s only twenty minutes since the last one," he noted, surprised at the sudden time jump. Max nodded, realizing that herself. He murmured to her until the contraction was over. "So can we go then?" Max shook her head.
"Not until my water breaks, or they’re five minutes apart," she recalled the doctors instructions. Angel sighed. He was getting very antsy about this whole thing.
"You’re amazing you know," he smiled. "I imagine any other woman would be cursing me right now."
"You’re deluding yourself," she teased. "I’m saving the good stuff for the hard part." She nudged the drain with her foot and the water began to slowly drain. "Help me up please?" Angel grabbed the towel she had left on the counter and moved it closer to her. He stood and leaned over the tub, grasping her shoulders. Together they got her ungainly self upright and he balanced her while she stepped out. He wrapped the towel snugly around her, receiving a smile and a tiny foot kick for his effort. Max smirked down at her stomach.
"Always knows Daddy’s touch," she sighed. It was the strangest thing. Except for rare occasions, the baby would cease kicking or punching if anyone other than Max, Angel or Giles touched her stomach. The babe kicked Cordelia once and the woman was over the moon about it, lording it over their other friends that the baby liked her best. Unfortunately then, Lorne had sang to the baby and earned a punch.
Angel concentrated on drying Max off, then helping her slip on a maternity dress. He kissed the crook of her neck as the dress floated into place. He exited the bathroom to let her finish getting dressed. And it wasn’t long before she emerged, a brush and comb in her hand. Angel took them from her and let her sink gratefully to the sofa. He combed her hair straight, then used the brush, just because she enjoyed the softness of his touch. That was quickly abandoned when she had another contraction and he rubbed her back to help ease the pain. He checked the time and saw that it was another twenty minutes. At least the intervals were getting closer.
The phone rang and Angel was going to ignore it, but Max motioned for him to get it. He reluctantly rose and answered. It was Fred, asking for an update. Everyone was gathered at Cordelia’s, waiting as much as the happy couple. Angel filled her in as he saw a strange expression come over Max’s face. He watched her rise and return to the bathroom. He was a little alarmed and quickly made his excuses and set the phone down. He hurried to the bathroom door and tapped on it.
"Max, baby, is everything okay?"
"Just a second," she called back. Angel waited there until the door opened. Max wore a look of relief and Angel noted that she had changed. Her previous dress was lying on the floor. She grinned up at him. "My water broke."
"Finally!" was all he could say. He made sure Max was comfortable by the door as he quickly called the doctor. He received the go ahead to take Max to the hospital. He then called Giles cell phone to let him know. Max had asked him to be there a few weeks ago. He’d agreed, then asked why. Max had laughed and explained that she needed someone to spell Angel. Giles had beamed. It was a very special moment for both of them. Once Giles had promised to meet them there, Angel hung up and noticed Max having another contraction. One glance at his watch told him it was happening faster now. He decided to have Giles call the others from the hospital. In a few steps, he was escorting her out to the car, her bag in hand.
The drive was over quickly, during which he’d pulled over to coach her through another contraction. Since her water had broke, things were moving along at a fast clip. There’d only been ten minutes in between. Angel pulled into the underground parking, seeming calm, but was a bundle of nerves, excitement and trepidation. They made their way up to the labor and delivery wing where Giles met them. A nurse arrived quickly to lead them to their assigned room. She informed them that everything Max had asked for was ready. Angel glanced around to note that the usually cheesy curtains had been replaced by black out curtains and an extra cot was at the far wall.
Max smiled through the pain at the look on his face. "I thought it best to be ready in case this went on too long." He just kissed her on the temple and said a quiet thank you. Giles beamed at them. The nurse led her into the room, producing a smock and shooed the men out so the little mother could change. Giles and Angel lounged in the hall, exchanging grins.
"Good lord," Giles suddenly laughed. "I’m going to be a grandfather."
"You mean you just figured that out?" Angel teased. "Oh hey, I didn’t call anyone else. Do you think you could?"
"Of course. I’ll take care of it now and then let me know when you need me." He turned to head for the phones when they heard Max scream. Angel reacted instinctively. His mate was in pain. He burst into the room. Max was sitting straight up in the bed, one arm wrapped around her distended middle, the other gripping the metal rail of the bed.
"Ow ow ow ow," she was chanting, her eyes screwed shut. Angel bounded to her side, ready to help however he could. She let go of the rail briefly to lock her fingers with his as she labored through the contraction. It wasn’t until it was over that he noticed all the machinery around them. Max lay back, absently rubbing her stomach in small circles. Angel knew that just like a cat, she loved being petted and stroked. It made sense to him now that it was relaxing for her and the baby. He hesitantly joined in and Max smiled sleepily up at him. She always enjoyed having his hands on her.
"What’s all that stuff?" he asked the nurse, jerking his head towards the beeping machines. The woman finished writing on a chart, then answered. The first one she pointed out had readout coming from it.
"That one monitors contractions," she told him. She put her hand on the one next to it. "This one is monitoring the baby’s heartbeat. Nice and strong." She smiled at them both. "Okay, I’m going to get the doctor so he can do an exam on you and then we’ll know where we’re at."
"I thought we were at the hospital," Max joked softly. The nurse laughed.
"Just so honey," the woman shook her head in amusement. She always preferred ladies with a sense of humor. It made labor easier for them. "We’re going for the high tech approach nowadays. Be back in a few."
It didn’t take long for the doctor to return. "Well, we finally made it, eh?" he teased, knowing Max was two days past her due date. He pulled on his examination gloves and the nurse who’d accompanied him moved a stool over for him to use. She moved to the head of the bed to introduce herself.
"Hi, I’m Karen," she spoke softly. "I’ll be your labor nurse. I’ll be here with you as long as this takes." Angel barely paid attention as the woman continued to ramble. He wondered why she was talking to them now until he realized that her purpose was to distract Max from the uncomfortable exam the doctor was doing. It worked, until Max gave a sharp gasp. Another contraction had hit while the doctor was still checking her out. With a grin the doctor stood up and removed his gloves.
"Sorry Max, I wasn’t expecting you to accelerate then," her apologized. "I know it hurts, but it’s necessary." The now placid Max nodded. "Okay, your water broke and drained well. You’re fifty percent effaced and at seven centimeters dilation. You’re doing great." The nurse took down the information. "I’m going to check on a couple other labors, but I’ll be back. Have Karen page me if you need me." With that, Dr. Reid strolled out. Giles knocked on the door and Angel called him in. They introduced Karen and she busied herself in the bathroom to give the family some privacy. Angel updated Giles and the older man moved around the bed to take a seat on Max’s other side.
"What would you like me to do then?" he asked gently. Angel smiled; glad at how the baby had brought the two even closer. Max continued rubbing her stomach as the labor had moved around to her front finally.
"If you want to stay, that would be great," she spoke softly, as if she were reserving her energy. She glanced up at Giles, then at Angel. "Could you get the book?" He knew immediately what book she had meant. Over the past few months, she’d written down a lot of the old stories that Ben used to tell them as children and the fairy tale that Tinga used to tell her son Case at bedtime. She’d had a lot of free time on her hands. And now that she was faced with the reality of her own child, she wanted to remember her siblings and honor them now that they were no longer with her. She looked at Giles. "Could you read to me, please. It’ll help distract me."
"Of course," Giles was slightly choked up. He’d never thought to have this kind of fatherly pleasure, but it was now happening. "Anything for you Max."
The Garden Of Eden
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