Sitting on the edge of the bed looking at the tiny baby in his arms, Jimmy almost forgot how scared he’d been just hours before. He’d been out hunting all morning and it was just after noon when he arrived home to find Abby in labor. She wasn’t due to deliver for another three weeks. The midwife wasn’t due to come stay with her for another two. Abby tried smiling when he came into the house calling out for her and she beckoned him to the bedroom. The sight that met his eyes caused his heart to stop and his knees to shake. There was no doubt what was going on, she was in labor. He rushed to the bedside, trying to speak but the words were stuck in his throat. Grasping his hand as a contraction overtook her, Abby grimaced at her husband. When it ended and her grip relaxed on his fingers, Jimmy got out a strangled, “But…but…you aren’t due for three more weeks…this can’t be happening. Not now…” He looked lost and bewildered. Abby gave a little laugh and leaned forward and kissed him firmly on the lips. “I know, but try telling that to your son or daughter.” His eyes locked with hers and she could see the fear in them. “What do I do? I’ve never delivered a baby before…” Her hand gently rested on his face. “And I’ve never had one before,” she told him. “You should go wash and put some water on to boil…there are extra sheets we can use in the chest against the wall.” “Will you be okay? I mean if I go do that?” he asked nervously. Abby was about to have the baby and his mind was turning numb. Laughing again she nodded. “I’ll be fine. I think it’s going to be a while yet. When you return, would you bring me some water?” Standing up and leaning over the bed, Jimmy smiled then kissed her on the forehead. “You bet I will,” he said softly and then left the room. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ The hours seemed to drag as the labor progressed. Jimmy could tell that Abby was in a great deal of pain from the white of her knuckles as she gripped the sheet and by the clenched teeth as the contractions came closer and closer together. He felt so helpless. There was nothing he could do to ease the pain; pain that he was responsible for putting her through. At one point the pain was so bad she’d bitten her lip so hard to keep from screaming that it began to bleed. He kept repeating how sorry he was for putting her through this, for being the cause of the pain she was experiencing. “I’d take your place if I could,” he gulped, flexing his hand, sure it was about to fall off. Abby’s eyes narrowed as she blew a sweaty curl from her face. “Like hell you would!” she declared knowing full well that Jimmy would rather die then go through what she was experiencing right now. “I know you better then that James Butler Hickok and there is no way you’d trade places with me!” As she indicated he take a look to see what progress was being made, his skin turned a notch paler. ‘How the heck am I going to do this?’ he wondered moving slowly towards the foot of the bed. When his eyes looked like they were about to roll up in his head, Abby called out his name shaking him out of his stupor. Looking up at her he grinned. “I see it! I see a head! Abby I see it!” His fear turned to joy at the impending birth of his son or daughter and he hurried around to her side again and kissed her excitedly. “He or she will be here soon…can you believe it?” he asked in awe at what was about to happen to them. “Not soon enough for me,” she ground out as another contraction washed over her. Jimmy wasn’t sure what to do at that point. If he let Abby hold his hand again, she’d probably break it. He never knew she was so strong. Not knowing what else to do he moved back to the end of the bed as she began to push. Instinct took over as he put his hands under the emerging head. He was beyond words as he held the infant’s tiny head in his big hands. He could see a scrunched face; eyes still closed, but couldn’t tell if it was a boy or girl yet. “Abby, you’re doing great sweetheart!” he told her looking up. She’d begun pushing again and the shoulders started to emerge. He had to help ease one arm out so that the other could be pushed through. “Your almost done sweetheart…” his voice trailed off as a tiny hand grasped onto one of his fingers. “Oh, god!” he whispered, tears starting to form in his eyes. “What?!” Abby gasped between pushes. She wasn’t sure what he was seeing and his whisper frightened her. “Huh? Oh! It’s amazing Abby…I’ve never seen anything like it…” he didn’t like calling the baby ‘it’ but at this point he didn’t know whether to call it a he or she. Relief washed over Abby at his words. “The baby looks alright then?” she asked getting ready to push once more. Within moments, Jimmy was laughing and holding up a squirming infant in his hands for her to see. “A son! We have a son!” he cried moving to place the child in her outstretched hands. “Oh, Jimmy!” Abby said breathlessly. “A son…” Her eyes drank in the sight of the tiny baby in her arms. She’d dreamed of this day ever since their wedding and it had finally arrived, the day she gave Jimmy a child of his own. Jimmy remembered hearing that he’d need to cut the cord and set about doing this as Abby cooed over their son. He also knew that they weren’t finished with the whole birthing process from what the doctor had told them once on a visit. He took care of everything and began to clean up as Abby asked for a cloth to wipe the baby off with. Once new sheets were on the bed and he’d helped his wife into a clean and dry nightgown, Jimmy began to feel everything catch up with him. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he watched his wife and son. “What are we going to name him?” he asked. They’d discussed several names for both a boy and girl before but never settled on one name in particular for either. Smiling, Abby looked up at him. “I think Joshua fits him perfectly, don’t you?” she asked trailing a finger over the baby’s downy hair. Moving so he could lean against the headboard, Jimmy settled himself in next to Abby and leaned over to caress the baby’s cheek. “Joshua it is then. Joshua Hunter Hickok.” “I like it,” Abby whispered leaning her head against his shoulder. “Why don’t’ you hold him for a while, I’m so tired I can hardly keep my eyes open,” she said lifting the baby so he could take him in his arms. “Here’s your daddy Joshua,” she said happily as she watched Jimmy gazing at their son. She’d seen him happy before but this was different. Something about holding his own son brought out something in her husband that she’d never seen before and it warmed her heart as her eyes began to drift shut. Talking softly to his son, Jimmy was amazed that he’d helped create the perfect tiny bundle he was holding. The smile on his face grew wider as Joshua’s tiny mouth yawned and a fist escaped the blanket around him and went to the side of his face as he slept. Noticing that Abby had fallen asleep, Jimmy carefully got off the bed and went into the other room and sat in the rocking chair as he held his son. “Life doesn’t get much better then this,” he said softly as he kissed the sleeping baby’s head. Drop me a note and let me know what you thought!