Halley
Part Nine
By Claire
cartersgirl@handbag.com

 Notes- Phew, I’m getting tired now. I haven’t written a story with so many parts before!! I’m enjoying it though, and if you are enjoying reading it, them mail me with feedback… This is a happy part people…

It was three months later, and Halley was due in three weeks time. She and Carter were standing in the baby’s nursery, as they had just finished decorating it. They had done the walls in yellow with Winnie The Pooh on it, and they had a crib and a nice little rocking chair beside it. There were stuffed toys everywhere, and a bookshelf with baby books on it. They had a small crib in their room for the baby when it was very little, and then when it got bigger it would come in the nursery. 

 The little crib was actually the Carter family crib, and it was quite tall on rockers. It had beautiful lace over the top, and Halley giggled as she tried to imagine Carter as a baby lying in that crib. 

 Halley was on maternity leave now, and Carter was reluctant to leave her at home while he had to work, but Halley forced him out of the house every morning, waving goodbye to him from the front door with a hand on her now huge bump. 

 Halley was sitting at home watching the TV, sighing with boredom. Although she was too tired to even think about working at the hospital right now, she still wished that she could do something. Carter wouldn’t even let her go grocery shopping, fearing that she would try to carry something too heavy. 

 Halley winced as she felt a sharp pain in her stomach. Her back was really hurting, and she realised that she was probably starting labour. She waited for the contraction to finish. Before she walked slowly upstairs to pack her overnight bag for the hospital. She didn’t see the point in rushing; the labour could take hours. Halley packed her stuff, and she decided she would stay at home for a little while until the contractions were a little closer together. 

 About an hour later, Halley decided she had had enough of waiting on her own at home, and the contractions were starting to get closer together. Halley picked up the phone and rang the ER. ‘ER’ ‘Hey Frank its Halley, can you get John for me?’ ‘Just a second Halley’ Halley waited for Carter. ‘Halley it’s me.’ ‘John I’m in labour, can you come pick me up?’ ‘How long have you been having contractions?’ ‘Just over an hour. They are about 15 minutes apart now.’ Carter started to get really excited at the prospect of his son or daughter being born soon, and he said ‘Ok, I’ll be there in a minute, just remember to do your Lamaze breathing and pack the bag and don’t push just sit down and relax..’ ‘John, calm down, stop babbling’ Halley laughed. ‘Ok, I’ll be there soon.’ Halley put the phone down and laughed, but then doubled over in pain as a really strong contraction hit her. 

 Carter put the phone down and raced into the lounge, throwing on his coat. He saw Weaver and said ‘Halley’s having contractions and I need to pick her up’ ‘Ok Carter good luck’ Carter shouted back ‘Thanks’ as he ran out of the door. Mark came up to Weaver and said ‘Where’s Carter going?’ Weaver smiled and said ‘Halley’s in labour and he’s going to pick her up.’ 

 Carter drove as fast as he could throw the city without getting a ticket. He arrived at their house and ran inside. Halley was sitting against a wall near the front door, trying to do her Lamaze breathing as another strong contraction hit her. She looked up at John and said ‘Hey’ in a strained voice. Carter knelt down on the floor next to her and said ‘Can you stand up Halley? I want to get you to the hospital as quickly as I can.’ Halley nodded as the contraction subsided, and Carter helped her stand up and they both got in the car and drove towards the hospital. 

 They got up to OB, and the OB nurse checked to see how dilated she was. ‘You’re six centimetres Halley’ Halley groaned and said ‘Is that all? I want the baby now.’ Carter laughed and said ‘Me too. Are you going to have any pain killers?’ Halley shook her head and said ‘I’ll stick with gas and air for now’ Carter kissed her hand and said ‘That’s my brave girl’ 

 A while later, Halley’s contractions were a lot more closer together, and all of a sudden her water broke. Halley was in the middle of a contraction at the time and said between gasps of air ‘Ugh, I peed myself’ The OB nurse laughed and said ‘No you didn’t, your waters broke’ Halley smiled and said ‘Well, that’s better’ Carter held onto her hand, and wiped a damp cloth on her head when she needed it. 

 Half an hour later, Halley heard Carter say to her ‘You are at ten centimetres Halley, you can go ahead and push now.’ He helped her to sit up and she pushed down as hard as she could. ‘That’s good Halley, keep pushing, keep pushing, put some effort into it.’ Halley looked at Carter and said ‘Shut up John!’ Carter grinned and said ‘Sorry’ The contraction finished and Halley lay down for a rest. Carter looked at her and said ‘You are doing a great job Halley.’ ‘Sorry for shouting at you earlier’ Carter smiled and Halley screamed as another contraction hit her. Carter sat her up and Halley pushed until she heard the OB nurse say ‘The baby’s crowning. Ok, shoulders are clear’ Halley lay back down, and Carter watched as the rest of the baby was delivered. ‘Congratulations you two, you have a healthy baby boy’ 

 Halley and Carter both smiled as their son’s cries filled the room. Carter took him from the nurse and put him in Halley’s arms, who kissed him and kissed Carter as well. Carter looked at the tiny hands on the baby, laughing and crying at the same time. Halley started to cry as well, and watched as Carter cut the cord.  

 Halley held onto the baby and said to Carter ‘What do you think we should call him?’ Carter thought for a while before saying ‘What about Joshua Bobby Carter?’ Halley though about it for a while and said ‘Yeah, I like that’ They both looked at Joshua and smiled. 

 They transferred Halley and Joshua to their own room, and some of the ER staff came up to meet the new baby. Carter sat next to Halley at all times, feeling so proud that he was a father and that he was with the woman he loved. Halley eventually fell asleep, very tired from the days events. Carter held onto Joshua, rocking him back and forth and singing to him. 

 A day later, Halley and Joshua were both released from the hospital, and Carter took a few days off work so he could spend some time with them both. They both took Joshua upstairs and put him in the Carter family’s crib, watching him with pride as he slept soundly. 

 But that didn’t last for long, and at 3:00 am in the morning, Joshua started crying. Halley and John both woke up with a start and picked him up out the crib. They figured out that he was hungry, and Halley sat down on the bed and fed him. Even though it was early morning, she couldn’t help but feel so happy about feeding this baby, her and Carter’s son, and a smile hit her face. Carter noticed it and said ‘What are you smiling about?’ ‘I was just thinking about how lucky I am to have you and Joshua. This time two years ago, I never thought that I would never love a man again, and I certainly didn’t think I’d have a baby. But here we are, and I am more happier than I have ever been before.’ Carter kissed Halley and watched as Joshua slowly drifted back to sleep again. They put him back in his crib and held each other before going back to sleep themselves.

 TO BE CONTINUED