Thursday 31 January 2013

19. Labor of Love *Sneak Peek*

Just a lil' sneak peek of a section of the next chapter, which could also be the last chapter so it'll probably be longer than usual.

~

"Any news Safaree?" Mama Carol's voice sounded as though it was full of sleep and quite honestly he couldn't blame her. They'd been sat in the hospital for hours now and no change had occurred.

"No, nothin'. I just thought I'd come see how you were all holdin' up." He remained in the doorway of the family waiting room, he wanted to stay with Nicki but she kept asking how everyone else was.

"We're fine, it should be us asking about her." She paused and ran her palm of Caiah's head as he slept on her lap. "How is she doing?"

"You know what she's like." He smirked momentarily before his solemn stance returned. He didn't know whether to tell them or just see how things panned out first. "Uhm, yeah she's good. Tired and really, really grumpy but good." It didn't matter what he said though, everyone in the room could see right through his lies.

"Tell me the truth, Safaree." Not a question but a statement. She always got him with that tone and the face she gave him. Feeling everyone's worried eyes landing on him he rubbed the back of his head nervously.

"We don't know for sure yet but the baby girl's heartbeat is droppin' like, a lot." His folded lips emphasised how much he was trying to fight his own emotions, especially seeing Lauren and Candi tear up a little.

"So what's gonna happen?"

"I'm not sure 'cause she keeps havin' like, mini panic attacks. They're afraid that if they go ahead with the c-section she'll just get worse." There was a moment of silence before Carol spoke again.

"Has she started pushing yet?"

"No. Not even close to that yet, they tried layin' her on her side but it made her worse so they're tryin' the other side now and if that don't work she's gettin' in the pool."

"And then the c-secton if that fails?"

"Yeah." He sighed and nodded after speaking but before anyone could ask him anything else a young nurse interrupted their conversation.

"Mr Samuels we need you back in here, please?" The urgency in her tone was pretty clear and he followed without hesitation.

~

Wednesday 2 January 2013

18. When The Time Is Right

*Thanku for all the previous comments!*

Drumming her long fingernails along the side of the car door, Nicki waited impatiently for Safaree. By the look on his face as he threw his hat on and snatched the door open he was livid. She figured it would be smart to keep her mouth shut right about now and continued looking out of the window as he pulled out on to the road.

"You couldn't just sit and ignore her could you? You had to go an' make some big, dramatic ass exit and storm outta there."

"Excuse me?!" She whipped her head around suddenly. "How the hell are you abouta start yellin' at me?! I ain't do shit SB! Lauren's the one who started makin' bitchy ass comments! Fuck outta here sayin' shit like that!" Shaking her head she turned stroppily to stare out of her window again, feeling the tears of anger threatening to fall.

"Look, I ain't hear what she said but you shoulda just let it slide. Not dragged the both of us away like that. I was havin' fun and now I gotta go home and stay in with-" He stopped himself quickly before he got the last of his sentence out. Focusing back on the road he could feel her teary eyes burning into the side of his face.

"Go on. Stay in and what Safaree?" She sniffled and swiftly swiped at the tear tickling her cheek. "Stay home and spend the rest of the night with me? Is that what you was gon' say?" Her voice was full of hurt, instantly making him feel bad.

"No, it's not that it's just..." He paused for a moment or two. "Can't you see, Nic we've been in the house forever. I'm abouta lose my goddam mind if I spend another second locked in there, it's messin' us up! We always up under each other."

"So you're sayin' you wanna spend time apart from me?"

"No. I never said that and you know that ain't what I'm gettin' at." He let his words process through her mind before speaking again. "I just think that bein' like this ain't healthy and I know it definitely ain't good for the babies for you to be gettin' all worked up like you are now. So could you please stop cryin', I hate seein' you like this." He used his free hand and placed it under her chin, making her look up. He could only look back at her intermittently since he was driving. He wrapped his hand around hers as he carried on driving with one hand, thankful that with her hormones all over the place their argument hadn't escalated to the level it usually would have. Although they'd done the short and easy version of one of their fights and made up at the end she continued to stare out of the window, the tears still trickling down her cheeks.

As soon as they made it into the house Nicki went and changed into something more comfortable whilst SB set the alarm system. She had no idea what was wrong with her right now, she desperately wanted to curse out the fact that she was pregnant but then thoughts of Lauren would pop into her head. She should feel thankful that she can even have babies, just as she lay her hand on her bump that precious heart-warming feeling washed over her as she felt them move. Gently stroking the fabric of her v-neck shirt over them she smiled to herself.

"Mommy can't wait 'til you both get here."

"Neither can Daddy." She jumped slightly feeling his arms loop through hers and rest on her stomach as he stood behind her. Basking in the silence and enjoying their moment until Safaree spoke again. "I love you Nicki, you know that right?" With a momentary falter, she answered.

"I love you too."

"You didn't answer me though. I asked if you knew that I loved you." He waited silently for a response but he didn't get one causing him to move around to the front of her. "Nic?"

"I heard you SB." She looked down and pulled away as she climbed on to the bed cautiously.

"Then why you not answerin'?"

"'Cause I dont know the answer." Her eyes followed his frame as he moved to sit on the bed too. "I know that you're sayin' it but I'ont know if I believe it." She trailed off and looked down at her bump in attempt to avoid his shocked expression.

"Nicki, how the hell could you even question that? I always loved you and I always will. Nothin' is ever gon' change that." He pulled her into his arms and held on to her with just the right amount of pressure. Showing his affection without crushing her and their unborn babies.

"Promise?"

"I promise."

As if words weren't enough he went ahead and showed her how much he loved her that night, giving her endless hours of pleasure until the early hours were upon them. Understandably she was knocked out as she slept heavily next to him. They hadn't been together in that sense since before he left to go live in Florida and even with her eight month bump in the way, they still managed to make it possible. Laying back down he wrapped his arms around her again and followed her to sleep, hoping that she was out of her emotional rut by the morning.

***

The next morning he turned over, reaching out for only to feel the space where she should have been laying. He frowned before relaxing his face again, figuring she was just not sleepy and up feeding herself something she shouldn't be. He was about to allow his eyes to close again but hearing bottles tumble in the bathroom he sat up.

"Nicki?" The covers were thrown off of him before he walked over to the slightly ajar door. "Nic? What're you-" He rushed over to her within seconds of seeing her. She was sat, pain-faced on the side of the large bath-tub. Both her hands resting on her bump let him know it was obviously something baby related. "What happened?!" He was knelt at her level immediately, running his hand along the sides of her thighs.

"I don't know, it just started hurting when I woke up!" She squeezed her eyes shut at the pain, trying to hold back from crying.

"Where at? You think it's the babies?" He was trying to read her expression but she kept hanging her head low.

"I don't know."

"Well, how long you been up?"

"I don't know."

"D'you think you can you move?"

"I don't know Safaree!" He flinched a little at the anger and pain in her yell before jumping into action.

"Aight, stay here I'm gonna go grab your bag. We're goin' to the hospital." He kissed her forehead before moving swiftly back to their room, picking up her hospital bag before reaching for his phone. Remembering she was still in her pyjamas he quickly grabbed some sweats and top for her to wear. Entering the bathroom again he saw her stood tiredly only centimetres from where he was knelt before.

"It's stopped now." She looked up at him with clothes in each hand along with a bag.

"You sure?"

"Yeah." She nodded and spoke at the same time as he helped her back through to the bedroom.

"Still, put these on. I'm takin' you to hospital."

"No I'm fine now, really it was pr-"

"Nicki. Just put them on, whatever it was that just happened doesn't sound right. You're goin' to the hospital, even if I have to wrestle you into the car." His gaze looked dead serious as she she took the clothes from his hands.




The drive there was silent during the moments when he wasn't cursing out the early morning work traffic. He managed to steal a glance at Nicki every so often, her face was pale as she stared out of the window whilst rubbing her bump soothingly. Feeling his hand touch hers she flinched slightly before looking at him.

"Faree?"

"Yeah?" The softness of her voice was enough to make him stare at her worriedly.

"Do you think somethin's wrong? With the babies I mean?" She was playing with his hand nervously before making him put his hand over her bump, placing hers over the top with their fingers intertwined.

"No, everythin's gon' fine. I promise." He pulled their hands up to kiss hers before putting them back on her stomach as they pulled into the hospital parking lot. She seemed perfectly fine now but Safaree was risking nothing. Helping her out of the car he kept hold of her hand as they walked in. Luckily she'd picked up a pair of shades and a hoodie to conceal herself before being led to a private room on the maternity ward.

"A doctor'll be thought to see you soon." The young male nurse smiled extra-hard before leaving again. He had already guessed who it was.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I just wanna know what's wrong so we can leave already." Her loud sigh made him move over to her as she sat perched on the edge of the bed.

"It's probably nothin', just a twinge. Stop worryin'."

"I hope you're right."

"I'm always right." He looked down at her, immediately making her smile.

"You're so cocky." He was about to respond when the doctor entered, their head immediately turned in his direction.

"Sorry to keep you both waitin' I had some things to sort out upstairs." He smiled warmly before laying the file of notes on the food tray attached to the bed and slipping some gloves on. "So what's brought you here?" He asked casually and flicked through her notes as he listened.

"Well, I woke up this mornin' with a real sharp pain across my front that I've never felt before." She shifted uncomfortably and looked back up at Safaree, only to feel her hand become enclosed in his securely.

"Okay, well that doesn't sound too nice does it? You wanna lay back for me so I can take a look?"

"Sure." Safaree kept hold of her hand as she lay on the bed, lifting her clothes up so Dr Hall had the access he needed. His hands weren't as cold as she had anticipated and could only thankful about that.

"Alright, and how far along are you again?"

"Almost thirty-four weeks." She kept her eyes on his hands before he removed them and grabbed the ultrasound.

"I'm just going to take a closer look, okay?" Nodding her head she gasped at the coolness of the gel before he placed the equipment on to her skin. Soon enough the image was displayed on the screen and the sounds of their heartbeats could be heard. A sound they both loved to hear. "Well it all looks good to me, their heartbeats are fine." He looked at the screen intently before pushing the machine away and wiping the gel from her stomach.

"What's wrong with her then?" Safaree's voice was full of concern thinking back to the amount of pain visible on her face as she sat in their bathroom.

"I can't really say, it could've just been a twinge or a strong kick." He looked back at Nicki. "You only had the one pain? No more followed?"

"No, just the one."

"Have you been doing anything out of the ordinary in the last couple of hours? Any strenuous exercise? Heavy-lifting?" She shook he head no after each one before he spoke the last of his sentence. "Sexual intercourse?" Her eyes immediately met Safaree's as she blushed a little. That answered his question as he moved to grab a hospital gown. "Here, I'll leave room whilst you change. I want to keep you in for a little longer just to be sure. Get one of the nurses to give me a shout once you're dressed." He smiled again and let Safaree take the gown as they watched him leave.

"Oh my God Safaree. What if somethin' bad happens 'cause we had sex?" The look on her face was one of absolute worry as her hands automatically moved up to her face.

"Stop it Nicki. I'm sure it's nothin', even Dr Hall doesn't seem worried. It'll be fine. Here, lemme help you put this on." He left his stuff on the chair and helped her to undress before slipping the gown on to her, smirking when she turned around and gave him a view of the slit up the back as she climbed carefully back on to the bed. She sat, consumed with anxiety whilst Safaree told one of the nurses they were ready for Dr Hall to come back. They both returned moments later.

"Alright, we're all gowned up. Perfect." He reached over for some more gloves after sanitising and looked back at her. "Could you just lift your knees up? I need to check your cervix." She did as he asked only for him to look up at her humorously. "But first I'mma need for you to take your underwear of Ms Maraj."

"Oh right, yeah." She shook her head embarrassedly before asking SB for help. She hated this part the most.

"Okay, you won't feel any pain as such just a little discomfort." His reassuring smile made her relax a little whilst Safaree held her hand. He was right, the same feeling of discomfort she felt every time soon washed over her as he inserted his fingers whilst she wrinkled her brow irritably. Safaree's stance relaxed as soon as he removed his hand, although he was a doctor and this was his job it still wasn't exactly what every guy wanted to be watching. "You're only three centimetres dilated, so I'll let you get dressed and go home for now, but as soon as you feel any pain come straight back.." He removed his gloves and motioned for her to lay her legs flat again. Both of their faces displayed the same expression. Shock.

"Woah, wait, you mean she's actually in labor?"

"Well, yes. Probably brought on by last nights events I imagine." He smiled at Nicki looking away before fixing his gaze back on a worried Safaree. "Look, she's only three centimetres dilated and her water still hasn't broken yet. It could be another twelve to twenty-four hours before anything happens."

"So you're sending her home? Just like that?"

"Mr Samuels, I understand how scary this all sounds but it'll benefit Nicki more for her to be at home resting before she returns when it really is time."

***

"I can't believe they just sent you home!"

"Mom, it's fine. They said it could be a whole day before anthin' actually happens." She smiled and grasped her Mother's hand lovingly. "We just have to make sure we get there before the babies decide to arrive." Hearing her laugh made both Mama Carol and Safaree smile. He was glad he already arranged for her family to be flown out when he called them earlier on at the hospital. It was now early evening and he was slightly regretting his decision. Nicki was supposed to be resting but with everyone having fun downstairs she'd somehow managed to talk him into letting her sit with everybody.

"What'd you do to her?"

"What?" SB scrunched his face up at Terrence's weird question.

"To make her pop them babies out before they even ripe."

"Hey, I ain''t do shit. It's just time, that's all."

"Yeah, I heard her talkin' to Joyce before. Somethin' 'bout semen-"

"Yeah okay!" He interrupted his sentence before he could go any further. Dr Hall had explained that the adult activity they took part in the night before had in fact caused Nicki to start dilating early, luckily she was close to what was usually classed as full-term for a multiple birth.

"Damn. So your seed put'm in there and now it's bringin' 'em out. That's some good stuff you got."

"Get outta here." He shoved him jokingly before making his way over to Nicki, she was sat sleepily with a blanket draped over herself. "You feelin' okay?"

"Yeah, just a lil' tired." She answered after yawning. "Where's Candi and all them at?"

"On their way over now, so you can tell'm hi and bye 'cause you gotta go rest. That was the whole point of leavin' the hospital."

"Yeah I am kinda sleepy." She pulled her phone out as he took a seat next to her. "You think I should tell the Barbz now or later?"

"Later." He turned to face her seriously. "If you tell'm now then the whole world is gon' know and be all up in our business."

"Oh, yeah." She frowned before retweeting a few things and sliding her phone back into her pocket and rested her head on his shoulder.

"So, you really gonna do it?" He felt her move as she looked at him.

"Do what?"

"Not have the c-section?" His voice sounded concerned and although he wanted to support her decision he still worried for her well-being.

"Well neither of them are in breech position now babe, we already talked about this." She grabbed his hand gently. "They said I'm fine to have'm naturally and if anythin' goes wrong then they can do an emergency c-section." Scanning his face for a reaction she waited for a while before he finally nodded.

"As long as you're fine about it, then so am I." He kissed her gently as he caressed her bump. "I can't believe they gonna be here soon."

"I know." She cooed and looked down at herself as if she could actually see them. She couldn't wait to lay her eyes on them for the first time and see them, having only ever imagined what they looked like.

"You scared?"

"Mm, a little bit." She chewed her lip anxiously. "But as long as you're there I'll be okay."

"I'mma be there through everythin'. The tears, the screams, the blood-"

"Okay Safaree, I get it! You'll be there." She blurted out to cut him off, not wanting to think about the pain or blood she was about to encounter.

"And the names? You still like 'em?" He was worried that she was only saying yes to the names he'd picked because of how much he'd missed out on her pregnancy, but honestly she really did like them.

"I love them." She kissed him again and snuggled into his side as her parents and brothers conversed with Safaree's Mother, Terrence and Joyce. She was glad they were with her too, having not seen them in what felt like forever. Plus Joyce had given her a raw idea of what to expect as opposed to her Mother's rosy version of how beautiful childbirth was. At least now she had a realistic idea of what she was about to endure.

"Hold up, don't fall asleep yet. I think Candi's here." He let her sit up before he went to get the door, it was Candi who'd kindly brought TT and Thembi along with her and much to Nicki's surprise Lauren too.

...

*Thanks for reading :) I hope this was okay!*