Part 163
Howie managed to get to Nick’s in less than an hour but Nick had called them every five minutes to find out where they were. As they pulled into the driveway, Sarah dug through her purse to find her key.
Before she could get the key in the door, Nick swung it open and grabbed her by the wrist. "THANK GOD! COME ON!" whined a very panicked Nick. "She’s in labor…I just know it."
Nick drug Sarah by the arm into the house and up the stairs leaving Howie standing at the door. He shook his head watching Nick. Closing the door behind him, Howie followed the two upstairs to Becca’s room.
Sarah had hoped that somehow Becca had managed to calm down since she last talked to her but one look at her best friend and Sarah knew better. Becca’s face was flushed, her eyes red and swollen, and her cheeks stained from tears.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Sarah took Becca’s hand and laughed, "Hey, sis! You know, it’s a good thing I’m already pregnant. The way Nick keeps interrupting us, I’d never have a chance."
The tears started again, "Oh, god, Sarah! I’m sorry."
"It’s okay, Bec."
Nick was pacing the floor. "We’ve got to go. I need to call Dr. Warren. Oh damn…the suitcase…and we don’t have any clothes for the baby…."
Sarah grabbed Nick’s hand as he passed her. Sharply but calmly, Sarah
asked, "Nick, did you time the contractions?"
Sheepishly, Nick said, "No."
"Did you help her take a warm shower or get her to go for a walk?"
Tucking his head, Nick mumbled, "No."
"What HAVE you done, Nickolas?" growled Sarah trying not to loose her temper with him.
Speaking up to defend Nick, Becca said, "He’s been holding me. I wouldn’t let him leave the room until we heard you pull up and every time he tried to get me up, it hurt."
Soothingly, Sarah said, "It’s NOT pain, Becca. It’s discomfort. Okay, Blondie, you’re off the hook for now. DO me a favor. Go boil some water."
Nick looked at her confused as Howie stifled a laugh. "Boil water?" he questioned.
As seriously as possible, Sarah said, "Yes, Nick. You need to boil some water so I can deliver the baby."
"But you said….YOU’RE GONNA DO WHAT? HERE?"
"Yes, Nick. It’s an old Southern tradition to deliver the baby at home."
"But…Becca…delivery room…"
Sarah was trying hard not to laugh as were Howie and Becca but the expression on Nick’s face was priceless. He truly believed Sarah was going to deliver the baby here at the house. When Sarah burst out laughing though, he realized what she was doing.
"I’ll get you for this!" he swore.
"Payback for interrupting us," said Sarah. "Go on and do something, Nick! Just get the hell out of my hair so I can calm Becca down. I don’t need two hysterical people in here."
Howie put his hand on Nick’s arm, "Come on, ‘Frack’. I’ll go with you"
Reluctantly, Nick left with Howie and Sarah turned to Becca.
"Sarah, you’re TERRIBLE!"
"I know, but he deserved it. Now, let’s time these things. Do you know when they last one came?"
"Just before you got here."
"Okay…at least ten minutes. Even if you are in labor, we’ve got a while yet."
Becca gasped in pain, "Oh god…SARAH….DO SOMETHING!"
"Breathe, Becca…a deep cleansing breathe…that’s it…now breathe…ten, nine, eight,….." and Sarah did it along with her. "That’s it, Becca. When it’s over, give me another cleansing breath, just like we practiced this afternoon."
When the contraction was over, Becca let her death grip on Sarah’s hand go and she said, "Is it REALLY this hard?"
"This is going to get easier, Bec, I promise. Once we’ve been through
more of the Lamaze, you’ll be more comfortable with the…"
"Don’t you DARE call it discomfort. It’s PAIN, damnit!!"
Sarah laughed, "It’s all a state of mind. Cramps are painful…contractions are a discomfort."
"What’s the damn difference?"
Howie stuck his head in. "Can I join you two?"
"Are you alone?" asked Sarah.
"Yeah. Nick’s cleaning the kitchen," said Howie as he closed the door. He joined the two on the bed sitting behind Sarah and putting his hands on her sides. "Well, is it the real thing?"
Becca gasped again and Sarah said, "Come on, Bec…cleansing breath…just like the last time," said Sarah as she looked at the clock. Definitely false labor pains and she looked at Howie, "No, it’s not the real thing."
Becca let out a cleansing breath and asked, "How can you be so sure? It’s only been two contractions and you told Nick…."
"Bec, between the phone calls on our way in and now, it’s not hard to figure out. They’re too irregular. Now, I want you to go take a warm shower and you’ll feel better. I’ll go down and see if I can calm Nick down now."
"Whoa…explain the difference between cramps and contractions!"
Sarah laughed, "You’ll understand after the baby is born, Bec. I promise."
Becca looked at the two sitting beside her and started laughing. "You two were really worried, weren’t you?"
"Well, yeah…of course, we were," said Howie. "What’s so funny about that?"
"I take it you rushed out."
"Uh, yeah…we made it in 45 minutes, didn’t we?" said Sarah.
"Come on, Bec…what’s so damn funny?"
"Sarah’s always worn your shirts but when did you start wearing HER stuff?"
Howie looked down at his shirt as Sarah started to giggle. "I’m hurt, Bec. You don’t like my shirt?"
"Yeah, it looks sweet," laughed Becca.
"Now we FULLY understand the nickname ‘Sweet D’," teased Sarah.
Howie grabbed Sarah pulling her to him and tickling her. Sarah laughed trying to get away from him. Both of them were laughing so hard they had tears streaming down their cheeks and Becca sat watching the two.
When the two stopped, Sarah stayed in Howie’s arms. They both looked at Becca and Sarah asked, "Better now?"
"Much better. Watching you two would make anyone feel better. You two
were definitely meant for each other."
Sarah looked back at Howie adoringly. "Of course. I can’t imagine my life without him."
Becca tucked her head and said softly, "I can’t begin to thank you for coming in tonight. You’ve both done so much for me…for Nick…and for us…from the very beginning."
Howie and Sarah both leaned together to kiss Becca on the cheek and Howie said, "That’s what friends are for, Bec."
"Go on and get a shower while we go take care of Nick," said Sarah trying to avoid getting too sentimental. She knew that between her hormones and Becca’s, they could BOTH have a good crying jag and Becca didn’t need that at the moment.
Sarah and Howie headed downstairs where they found Nick frantically cleaning the living room. Sarah’s heart melted seeing just how scared he was and felt guilty for giving him such a hard time earlier, especially when she saw his tears.
Nick looked up and freaked. "WHAT’S WRONG? WHERE’S BECCA?"
"Relax, Nick," said Sarah gently as she took his hands. "It’s just false labor pains and she’s taking a shower now."
"Really? You wouldn’t lie to me?" asked Nick looking very doubtful.
Howie said reassuringly, "Nick, Becca’s fine."
Breathing a sigh of relief, Nick wrapped Sarah in his arms. "Thank you," he whispered as tears fell into her hair.
Tenderly, Sarah said, "Nick, listen to me. You can NOT freak out every time she has false labor pains and you certainly can NOT lose it when she actually goes into labor."
Sarah led Nick to the couch where they sat down together. Howie sat across from them and said, "Nick, I know it’s a scary prospect…becoming a father. God knows, it scares the shit out of me."
Nick raised his eyebrows. "You’re scared?"
"Yeah, I am. I know that the birth will be fine because I trust Sarah’s doctor. And I know that Sarah and I will be fine as parents but look at the world we live in. THAT’S what scares me. You just need to relax."
"God, Howie! It’s so easy for you to say. What if we screw up? I mean, I didn’t exactly have the BEST role models in the world for parents and Becca’s mom died when she was so little. Both of you have had Parents of the year."
"But you’ve got us," said Sarah as she rubbed his back. "We’re gonna be here for you…all three of you, Nick."
"Promise?" asked Nick.
"Of course," said Sarah reassuringly.
"You two do know that you’re my role models when it comes to what I think a marriage should be?"
Sarah and Howie both blushed and Howie said, "Thanks, Nick, but if you keep interrupting us, I’m gonna kill you."
It was Nick’s turn to turn red. "I’m REALLY sorry, D. It means A LOT
to us that you came in."
"Why don’t you go get Becca’s midnight snack. I hear her getting out of the shower."
"Are you two gonna stick around?"
Howie looked at his watch. "I don’t know, Nick. It’s late and we both have things to do tomorrow."
Nick whined, "Please…Becca’s gonna…"
"Oh for god’s sake…STOP WHINING! We’ll stay for a little while," said Sarah. "Go on and get her snack."
Nick gave Sarah a quick kiss on the cheek and headed to the kitchen before she could react.
Howie moved over to the couch where he sat so that Sarah could sit between his legs and he wrapped his arms around her. He put his hands on her stomach rubbing gently as he pressed his lips to her ear. "As much as he aggravates you, you have a soft spot for him."
"Shhh…don’t tell him that. I remember the first time I met him. He was so awkward. Howie, he’s like a little brother and I want to protect him."
"I know the feeling, Angel"
"Besides, he did show some intelligence by marrying Becca."
Nick and Becca met each other at the door of the kitchen and looked at the two sitting together on the couch. Becca smiled and said, "We’ve got two special friends out there."
"Yeah, we do."
"Why don’t you go get Sarah some cookies and cream ice cream and there’s some of Howie’s favorite beer in the refrig?"
Nick handed Becca her snack and went back to get the ice cream and beer. When he rejoined them, the two couples sat talking until well into the morning hour and the only reason they called it a night was because Becca fell asleep in Nick’s arms.
"Nick, take her to bed," whispered Sarah. "We’ll see you later."
"Thanks for coming," said Nick as he stood with Becca.
"No problem, Nick. We’ll see ourselves out," said Howie.
"Nite, Nicky," said Sarah standing on her toes to kiss Nick on the cheek.
Howie and Sarah watched Nick carry Becca upstairs and then headed home themselves to get some sleep before they had to be up and back in town the next day.