JUST WHEN I NEEDED YOU
Chapter Fourteen
March 3, 2002
"Damn it all to hell," Rose
muttered, glancing at the bedside clock. 2:16 AM. Unable to sleep, Rose got up
and went into the kitchen to warm up some milk. It usually calmed her and
helped her sleep, but tonight it only seemed to wake her more. As she made her
way to the dishwasher, a sudden gush of water puddled at her feet. Startled,
Rose stared at it for a few minutes, until reality set in. Her water had
broken. Taking a deep breath, Rose moved cautiously towards her room to wake
Jack.
*****
"Jack...Jack! Jack, you have to wake
up," Rose frantically whispered, shaking his sleeping form.
"Come back in the morning," Jack
mumbled, pulling the blanket over his head.
Immediately, Rose had to smile. Jack had
never been an early riser. "Jack, wake up!" she said louder.
Slowly, his eyes opened, and he stared at her
in confusion. "Rose? What the hell..." he asked groggily, sitting up.
"Jack, it's time. We have to get to the
hospital."
The confused look stayed on his face for a
few minutes, but then was replaced by a look of pure panic. Jack jumped out of
bed. "Are you okay? Does it hurt? Oh, shit!"
Rose sat on the edge of the bed, chuckling at
his worry. "Jack, calm down. I'm fine and the pain isn't too bad yet. You
get dressed and I'll go get in the car."
Jack nodded. "Right. Okay. You can walk
that far?"
"I'll be fine. Now, go, get
dressed."
*****
Jack paced back and forth in the waiting
room. They'd been at the hospital for over four hours now and he'd been allowed
to stay with Rose for the first three, but had escorted out shortly after. He
was overcome with worry. Fathers were usually allowed in the delivery room. Why
had they made him leave? Was Rose okay? How was the baby? These thoughts
plagued his mind as he waited. After twenty minutes had passed, a nurse
approached him. "Mr. Dawson?"
Jack whirled around. "Yes? Is she
okay?"
The nurse smiled. "She's fine. She's
asking for you, so just follow me..."
*****
Once Jack had put on a smock and washed up, a
nurse ushered him into the room where Rose was. Her hair was matted against her
head with sweat, her eyes squeezed shut in pain, but to Jack, she'd never
looked more beautiful. He sat down next to her and took her hand, giving her a
reassuring smile. Rose smiled faintly at him, then gripped his hand tightly as
another contraction hit.
The doctor glanced up at the couple, amazed
that just the presence of this woman's husband had calmed her so. Not more then
ten minutes ago, she had been screaming obscenities at anyone who came near
her, and now she was quiet. "We're almost there, Miss. Another half hour
or so and it'll be time to push."
Rose nodded, but then screamed out in pain
with another contraction. "Get this damn thing out of me!"
Jack squeezed her hand and leaned over to
whisper something to her. That seemed to calm her down. "Thank you,
Jack," she whispered.
Jack kissed the top of her head. "Just a
little while to go, Rosie. Then we'll have our very own baby."
Rose nodded and grimaced slightly, squeezing
Jack's hand to the point he thought she was going to cut off his circulation.
Rose eventually let go of her death grip when the doctor announced it was time
to push. She looked up at Jack, worry and panic written all over her face.
"I can't do this, Jack. I can't."
Jack shook his head. "You have to, Rose.
I understand you're scared, but you have to do this. Don't worry. I'll be right
here the entire time," he reassured her, giving her hand an affectionate
squeeze. Rose nodded and closed her eyes, ready to bring their child into the
world.
*****
"Congratulations! It's a boy!" the
doctor announced proudly. Rose fell back, exhausted, as the doctor brought Jack
towards the screaming baby. "Care to cut the cord, dad?"
Jack's eyes glowed as he did just that. A
son, he had a son. Rose had fallen asleep, so once the baby was cleaned, a
nurse placed him in Jack's arms. Jack sat on the edge of Rose's bed, careful
not to wake her. Almost hesitantly, he pulled the blanket away from the baby
and looked him over. "You're so tiny..." Jack murmured, in complete
awe. The infant fidgeted for a moment before falling back asleep. Gingerly he
kissed him on his head, which was covered by blonde locks. Glancing upwards,
Jack whispered, "Mom, Dad, Karen...this is for you. I love you."