The Unexpected III

Ryo rushed through the apartment with Bikky behind him. “Dee, sweetheart?” he called out, attempting to sound calm, which he was definitely not feeling, as he entered the room. He noticed Dee sitting on the daybed, hunched over, his head down. As Ryo approached him, Dee took a deep breath and lifted his head to look up at Ryo.

He gave Ryo a weak smile. “Hi baby.”

Ryo sat next to Dee, rubbing his back. “Dee, what’s wrong?” he asked.

Dee leaned back into Ryo’s touch, while rubbing his belly. “I-I think…” he replied. “I think you should call Vince.”

“Please don’t tell me something ruptured,” Ryo said.

“N-no. Not that. Not yet, at least. I’m pretty sure this is it. I’m in….” His words cut off as his face screwed up in pain and he clutched onto his belly again. “Contraction,” he managed to get out in a strangled tone.

“Okay.” Ryo took a deep breath himself, willing himself to remain calm. “Sure it’s not false labor? I mean, we still should call Vince anyway, right?” Ryo glanced down at his watch, automatically starting to time the contractions. If this was the real thing, he was going to make sure they were as prepared as they could be.

Dee nodded. “No rupture,” he gasped, attempting to catch his break. “No false labor.” He took a deep breath. “Over. For now. I’m pretty sure I can feel the difference. Our little girl wants to come tonight.” He lifted his eyes to meet Ryo’s. “She’s doesn’t want to wait until next week.”

Excitement and fear coursed through Ryo. He kissed Dee’s flushed cheek. “Bikky, go get Dee’s bag, okay?”

Bikky’s eyes were wide as he watched Ryo take out his cell phone. “Oh… this is really…. Oh crap!” He charged from the room into his dads’ bedroom from the bathroom door in the hallway.

Ryo hit Vince’s number on speed dial. On the second ring, he heard David answer the phone. “David? Hi, this is Ryo. Is your husband there?”

“He’s in the shower,” David replied. “What’s wrong, Ryo?”

“We’re pretty certain Dee just went into labor,” Ryo stated, amazed how calm he sounded.

“Oh…. Hang on, Ryo!”

“I’m sorry, David.”

“Don’t be.” Ryo heard a door open and the rush of water, then it got muffled on the other side.

Within seconds, he heard Vince. “Ryo? How bad are the contractions? And are we sure it’s just that?”

Dee chose that moment to hunch over again, tightly hugging his tummy and letting out a yell, followed by muttered curses.

“Hear that?” Ryo plainly asked. He started to rub Dee’s back soothingly again. “Shhh… It’s okay, Dee. Deep breath.”

Vince asked Ryo a few quick questions, some Ryo was able to answer from observation, others he had to ask Dee and relay the answer.

“Sounds like labor. I’ll meet you at the hospital, Ryo. I’m going to call ahead and make sure there’s a birthing room prepped for Dee.”

“Okay.” Ryo heard the nervous quiver slip into the single word.

“And Ryo?”

“Yeah?” Most of his concentration was on Dee, attempting to take a breath, but not succeeding because of the pain from the cramps. Dee was gasping.

“Don’t panic,” Vince assured him. “It’ll all be all right. Okay, Ryo? From what you told me, it’s not the worse case scenario. It’s not a ruptured lining and we have plenty of time before the baby or Dee is in any danger. You’re going to see your baby girl tonight.”

“Yeah, huh?”

Dee chose that moment to finally catch his breath as he let out another yell from the pain. He leaned against Ryo, whimpering a little. He was rubbing his belly in a combined effort to stop the pain, that at the moment was a low throb, and to calm the child within. It was plain to Dee that their daughter did not want to wait any longer and was anxious to make her way into the world that night.

Ryo was rubbing Dee’s stomach as well with his free hand, as he spoke to Vince.

Just as Dee took one more deep breath, thinking the pain would be manageable for a while, he felt a movement within. He was certain the baby had rolled while kicking furiously, as if she was trying to break her way out on her own.

Dee gritted his teeth, fighting back unreasonable thought, such as the scene from the movie, “Alien” and others where the baby broke through flesh on its own. One thing Dee was able to admit was that he felt as if his stomach was trying to rip open from the inside. He started to worry that the uterine lining would rip open before its time, but decided to keep that from Ryo just yet.

He cried out again at the frantic movement within. “Holy hell! She’s going to be a damn soccer player!” he exclaimed. Dee was amazed at how loud it came out.

Ryo heard Vince chuckle. “I heard that loud and clear, Ryo,” Vince said. “I’ll be on my way in a few. I’ll see you at the hospital.”

“Thanks, Vince. See you there.” He disconnected the phone, slipping it back into his jeans pocket. He kissed Dee’s flushed cheeks, noticing the sweat dripping from his forehead. “Biks!” he called out, pulling Dee into a protective hug. “We’re leaving now!”

Bikky was in the living room, with two overnight bags at his feet, talking on the phone. “I’m in the living room,” he called back. Into the phone receiver he held, he said, “Gotta go, Carol! Yup, I’ll see you there.” He hung up the phone and tossed the handset on the coffee table. He heard his dads make their way through the hallway into the dining room.

Inside the bedroom, Ryo pulled away from Dee with a brief kiss to the forehead. “Are you ready to stand?” he asked softly.

“No,” Dee replied. “But this baby ain’t getting born by my sitting here on my ass, so….” He shrugged. As Ryo rubbed his back, he took another deep breath. “Well, let’s do this.”

Ryo stood and helped Dee to his feet. “Lean on me all you want,” he said, holding Dee firmly around his waist, while the slightly taller man slipped his arm around Ryo’s shoulders for support. Ryo was carefully not to squeeze his husband’s sensitive stomach. Since he entered the nursery, whenever he touched it, he was able to feel the baby moving and kicking like he had never felt before.

While he waited for Dee to get his balance somewhat, Ryo glanced about the room they stood in. The nursery. The almost finished nursery. It was then that Ryo was struck with the overwhelming sensations that the wait was over. Instead of waiting another eight more days for the scheduled C-section, their baby daughter was going to join them that night. Before the end of the night, he was going to hold the baby in his arms.

“Dee,” he sighed as he helped Dee out of the room and through the hallway. “I love you.”

“Love you, too,” Dee replied, finding a smile.

They shared a look, each knowing they were thinking the same thing.

They paused halfway through the dining room, so Dee could catch his breath. “Can you walk more than this?” Ryo asked, not certain if it was going to take them too long to get into the car.

Dee rested a hand on the table, taking another deep breath. “For now,” he replied. “Until that shit starts again.” He started to rub his belly in small circles. “Easy there, Koko. Soon, baby girl.” He could not stop the growing smile as he thought of finally holding his baby in his arms. “Okay, ready,” he said to Ryo and they started to walk again.

They made it into the living room to find Bikky was standing by the open door, fidgeting, while waiting for the two men to join him.

Ryo smiled at Bikky and winked. His smile turned soft as he looked at Dee. “Let’s get going,” he said to both Dee and Bikky. He was aware that this was the last time they were leaving their apartment as a family of three.

He helped Dee out the door and through the hallway. Bikky closed and locked the door behind them, carrying the two bags.

Bikky met up with Dee and Ryo waiting for the elevator. Ryo ruffled Bikky’s hair while Dee gave the teen a small grin. The two men noticed the boy seemed excited, but he was studying Dee with some worry.

As the elevator doors opened and Dee pushed off the wall, he was about to say something about Bikky getting to see his baby sister that night, but a small cry of pain came out instead. He doubled over, hit with another wave of cramping that made him dizzy.

He understood then why Tyler never attempted to get out of that building he was hidden in with Rose. The man would never have made it, and if Rose stuck close to him, as Dee realized Rose would have, then the two of them would have never made it out of there alive. There was cramping between the contractions, and Dee decided the cramping was bad enough and lasted longer than the contractions, only the contractions were more excruciating and scary. The contractions reminded Dee of Settling, something he was hoping not to have to go through for a very long time.

Dee started to wonder if he would make it to the street at his own pace.

Ryo managed to pull Dee into the elevator and pressed the button to go down to the lobby. He held Dee close, trying to do what he could to get Dee to relax. “Shhh… it’s all right,” he murmured, his mouth close to Dee’s ear.

“Ryo….” Dee gasped. He doubled over as he was hit with another contraction. He was trying not to panic, knowing they would just continue to get worse. The baby wanted to go somewhere to get out, but unlike females, the only way out for a Carrier’s body was through a c-section. So the contractions would just continue to hit harder and building up to lasting longer until the baby was properly removed by surgery, or it would kill itself in the attempt to get out and most likely taking the Carrier with it. It was why labor was avoided with Carriers as much as possible. The longer a Carrier was in labor and the longer the contractions lasted, it would stress and weaken the uterine lining until it ruptured. Dee was certain they had more than enough time to get to the hospital, considering how far apart the contractions were and they did not last long, at least from what he had read and what Vince explained during their ‘just in case’ session of planning. Knowing they had time did not make Dee feel better. He had heard that even in a smooth going labor there was always risks to the baby that there was not during a c-section.

The thought of losing his baby scared Dee, causing him to tense up more. The thought of leaving Ryo behind to have to pick up his and Bikky’s lives after losing both Dee and the baby, terrified him more than facing his own death.

Thankfully, Ryo was not helpless. He had a firm arm around Dee, while rubbing his back, murmuring into Dee’s ear how much he loved him, how beautiful their baby was going to be, how he couldn’t wait to hold their little girl.

It helped Dee start to relax and let go of the scary thoughts. It did wonders not feeling like he was going through it alone. Ryo had control whenever Dee felt he had none. It made Dee feel safe and secure, because he trusted Ryo.

Soon he was starting to breathe normal again. The contraction was short and now the pain from cramping was easing up until it became a light throb. He became aware of his surrounding again. They were still in the elevator. Bikky was staring at him, a worried look on the boy’s face.

Bikky’s bright blue eyes moved to Ryo, who was standing behind Dee. “It’s okay for Dee to be in labor, right?” he asked Ryo. “I mean, they said at those meetings that it happens once in a while.”

Dee managed to draw a long, deep breath and let out a soft sigh of relief as the cramping finally eased off. For the moment he was free of the pain and discomfort from labor. He was not feeling completely well since the baby was more active than ever, making him to want to get off his feet, preferably to lay down; the more he stood, the more he was afraid of falling.

“It’ll be all right. We’ll get there and Vince will do an emergency c-section and everything will be fine,” Ryo assured Bikky as the elevator bell rang, signaling they were at the lobby. The doors opened. Bikky stepped in the way to hold them open while Dee regained his footing in an attempt to relieve Ryo of practically dragging him.

As he took a step out, with Ryo’s arm still around him, Dee could not stop from blurting out, “But it’s too early.”

Bikky’s eyes went wide. Ryo placed a comforting hand on the boy’s shoulder. “It’ll be okay,” he assured them all.

Ryo sat Dee down on a chair in the lobby. Dee’s sigh of relief was loud as he sank against the back of the chair and tried to get as comfortable as possible. It was already a relief to be off his feet.

“Stay here while I go pull the car to the front,” he said. “Bikky, keep an eye on Dee. I’ll be here in a few minutes.” Ryo quickly kissed Dee and then took the bags from Bikky. He ran out the front door, heading toward the underground garage down the street where they rented a space.

Bikky sat in the chair next to Dee and took his dad’s trembling hand. “It’s going to be okay, Dad,” he said.

Dee nodded, taking another deep breath, trying to fight back another wave of cramping. “Yeah,” Dee agreed, not wanting to scare Bikky. Never again did he want to scare the boy as badly as when he went into Settling. Try as hard as he might, he still ended up doubled over in his chair as another contraction snuck up and hit him.

Bikky jumped up to hug Dee. “Dee!” he cried out.

Dee gulped for air and managed to raise his head. “It’s okay. Just gonna hurt like fuck for a little while.” The talking actually helped in getting him to breath. “Then we’ll have your baby sister with us.”

“Yeah. That’ll be neat. I can’t wait to hold her.”

“You know what else? Not long after we get to the hospital, she’ll be here. So this won’t last as long as Settling did.”

“No. That lasted way too long,” Bikky agreed.

“And scarier. For us both. And we survived that, didn’t we sport?”

“Yeah, we did.” Bikky smiled at Dee. “The baby’s coming.” He sounded in awe.

Dee laughed, following a surprised pause. “Yes, she is.” He hugged Bikky back. “You know what else?”

“What?”

“You’re the best son a dad could ask for.”

Bikky blushed slightly. “Well… um… thanks… Dad.” He smiled at Dee.

The lobby doors opened. The two looked up to find Ryo striding across the lobby toward them. Beyond the still open doors, Dee noticed their car was double parked. Siren lights were flashing through the open doors from the street beyond.

“Ryo…,” Dee sighed amused. He started to stand up on shaky legs as Ryo was almost before them.

Bikky laughed with excitement. “Ryo will get you to the hospital in no time,” he announced, laughing.

Ryo looked amused himself. “Rose gave me the light to keep in the car for a reason. And this is it. Now c’mon. Express trip to go have a baby.” He put his arms around Dee.

Dee managed to laugh again, automatically leaning into Ryo’s embrace. “At least you know I’m not going to have this kid on the way to the hospital.”

“Thank goodness for that,” Ryo agreed. “Because Bikky would have to be the one to deliver if that happened.” Ryo laughed at Bikky’s face, Dee joining him.

“Was that another contraction?”” Ryo asked. When Dee nodded, he asked, “Did it last long?”

“Not any longer than the others. We’re still good. Assuming I could move to get into the car.”

“Nothing to worry about,” Ryo commented with a cocky grin as he changed his position.

Bikky’s jaw suddenly dropped when Ryo picked Dee up in his arms. As Ryo turned to carry Dee out of the building and to the waiting car, Bikky exclaimed, “Way to go, Pops!”

Dee chuckled as he settled his arms around Ryo’s neck to hold on. He buried his face in his husband’s neck, content that he actually had found someone he felt comfortable enough with to allow this. There were so many things he was able to do with Ryo that in the past had been either a firm no or not a consideration at all. But then, Ryo was carrying him to the car so he could have their baby. He smiled gently with his face pressed up against the smooth skin of Ryo’s neck, feeling the slight scent of soap from Ryo’s after work shower, and marinara sauce for the pasta he had been making for dinner, along with a scent that Dee identified as purely Ryo. He noted Ryo was making better time fully carrying him than lending support.

“It’ll be all right,” Ryo assured him, kissing the side of Dee’s head. He walked across the sidewalk toward the curb. “Just calm down and remember your breathing. We’ll be at the hospital sooner than you know.”

Dee snorted as Ryo stepped into the curb between parked cars. “Easier said than done.” As they reached the car, Dee cried out in pain again. “Cramping,” he alerted Ryo.

Ryo had left the back door on the sidewalk side open and waiting, the car running. He gently placed Dee in the back seat. “Buckle up,” he instructed to Dee. “Biks, get back there with Dee.”

“Roger that.” Bikky ran around the car to get in, while Ryo took a quick glance around, noting people looking out their windows in curiosity. As a car slipped between their mini-van and the parked one on the other side of the street, the driver made a face at Ryo and flipped him the finger.

“I’ll see you again, asshole,” Ryo muttered, getting into the car. If one of his hands were free, he would have gladly returned the gesture. The bags were in the passenger seat next to him. “Hang on and make sure you’re buckled up for this ride,” he said to his passengers.

“I’ll be glad to finally get a seatbelt to comfortably fit around me again,” Dee sighed as he struggled with his seatbelt, finally locking it in place.

Ryo chuckled as he put the car into drive and pulled out, the tires squealing.

Dee was pushed back against the seat. “Ryo!” he yelled out. He grabbed onto Bikky, who was looking for the seat belt latch and almost fell over. He fumbled to find the seatbelt latch, noting Bikky held onto the strap. “Here kiddo. Put it on. Now!”

Bikky did not hesitate doing as Dee ordered.

Ryo approached the corner and sounded the sirens to accompany the flashing lights. He passed the car that previously passed them and now pulled over to the side, barely resisting to finally flip the bird back, then paused at the corner to assure the cars that had the green on the intersecting street paid heed to the siren. Assured he was in the clear, he rolled through the red light, the tires squealing again as he pressed down on the gas petal, making a left turn onto the Bowery and speeding down the street heading south.
Bikky looked out the window with his jaw dropping. Everything went by in a blur, as the Bowery turned into Park Row, and cars were pulling over and stopping to allow them to pass. Ryo muttered blistering swears when cars did not clear fast enough for him.

“Cool!” Bikky exclaimed.

His attention was drawn back to the inside of the car when Dee cried out again, trying to curl up as much as he could within the confines of his seatbelt.

“H-holy shit,” Dee gasped.

“Cramping or contraction?” Ryo snapped out, his full concentration on his driving and getting them to the hospital as fast as possible. They were fast approaching the Brooklyn Bridge and the tricky curve Park Row became. He barely acknowledged that he was about to pass 1 Police Plaza.

“Contraction. I’ve been cramping. This kid wants out… n-now!” He cried out in pain again. “Ah, fuck!”

Bikky tried to hug Dee from his seat belted position, but ended up only putting an arm around his dad’s shoulders.

“Dee, it’ll be okay,” Ryo said, making sure his voice was calm. “Breathe.” He removed his right hand from the steering wheel and reached back, seeking Dee’s hand.

Dee grasped onto the offered hand and cried out again.

“Breathe, Dee,” Ryo demanded, holding Dee’s hand while still driving and starting to navigate the curve on Park Row.

Bikky looked out the window, noting they did not slow down any. “I have Dee,” he warned Ryo. “Just watch where we’re going.”

“Relax, Biks,” Ryo assured him, “We’re fine.” Out of the curve, he made a sharp turn going east that made Dee and Bikky jolt to the side.

“Shit!” Dee cried out. “I-it’s not letting up!” There was panic in Dee’s voice now.

“Bikky, get him talking!” Ryo demanded, still with one hand on the steering wheel, the other holding Dee’s hand. “We’re almost there!”

Bikky glanced out the windshield and down the street Ryo was driving on. “Holy crap, Ryo!” he exclaimed, his eyes wide. He looked to Dee, smiling. “Dee… Dad, there’s the hospital already.” He was rubbing Dee’s back. “Wow, Pops!” He laughed with relief as Ryo made another sharp turn.

“Still having that contraction?” Ryo asked.

Before Dee had a chance to reply, Ryo turned the car into the hospital’s emergency entrance.

Dee finally let out a gasp telling the contraction was subsiding.

As Ryo came to a stop near the door to the emergency room, the hospital staff was already running out at the sound of the siren.

Drenched in sweat, Dee leaned back against the seat as Ryo opened his door. Bikky was already out of the car, grabbing the bags from the front. Ryo had the back door open and was unbuckling Dee’s seatbelt.

A nurse came alongside Ryo. “Excuse me, sir. Is this Dr. Siworski’s patient?” she asked.

“Yes,” Ryo remarked, getting a firm grip on Dee. He quickly kissed his husband’s flushed, sweaty face. “We’re here, Dee. Time to have a baby.” He smiled tenderly at the other man.

“Y-yeah, huh,” Dee wheezed. He allowed Ryo to lift him out of the car. He tried to be helpful as Ryo settled him into the waiting wheelchair.

The nurse who spoke to Ryo stood behind the wheelchair, waiting to push it inside. “We have a birthing room with your specifications ready.” She started to wheel Dee toward the door with Ryo walking alongside, holding Dee’s hand. Bikky was behind Ryo, jumping up and down with excitement.

An aide came over to them. “Sir, we’ll park your car and bring you your keys,” he said to Ryo.

“Great. Fine. Thank you,” Ryo replied to both nurses, the majority of his attention on Dee.

The nurse pushing the wheelchair said, “Please follow me. Dr. Siworski isn’t here yet, but the prep nurse is waiting.” She smiled kindly at Ryo. “Don’t worry. I know you think you’re too close in time with his contractions, but your husband seems to have plenty of time. We’ll just have a quick check-up to get a better idea of how long, to inform Dr. Siworski.”

Ryo let out a huge sigh of relief.

“GET…IT…OUT!” Dee cried out.

“Soon, Dee,” Ryo soothed Dee.

“FUCK YOU! This is your fault, dammit!”

Ryo suddenly found himself with a hug grin, beaming with pride. “Yeah. It is, isn’t it?”

“Bastard,” Dee growled.

Ryo and the nurse laughed. Dee seemed to catch a breath as he sulked. Bikky joined in on the laughter.

Ryo grabbed Bikky’s hand with his free one, pulling their son to walk next to him. He noted that for once, Bikky was not complaining about being too old to hold hands.

The teen smiled up at Ryo. “While I got your bags, I called Carol. She and Elina are on their way. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Of course not,” Ryo assured him.

“Oh Jesus!” Dee cried out, contracting again. “Sweet Mother of…. Mother!” he gasped. “Biks, c-call M-mother, please.”

Ryo squeezed Dee’s hand. “Aw, does my penguinbaby want his mommy?” he teased.

“Fuck you, Ryo!”

Ryo laughed, noting the nurse was chuckling with amusement. Being at the hospital and seeing the business as usual attitude of the staff surrounding them eased Ryo’s mind of worry. He got Dee to the hospital with time to spare. Every time the nurse with them laughed, it further calmed his nerves that something could go wrong. Dee and the baby were going to be fine. Ryo felt they could afford a little humor. Besides, when Dee got fired up, his mind was not on the cramps and it would probably help with the contractions. While he laughed, he took his cell phone out of his pocket to hand to Bikky. “Here, bud. You get to make the happy call.” He winked at the teen, who appeared to once again jump up and down.

“Sure Dee,” Bikky assured his dad. He hit the speed dial for Mother Lane.

Ryo still walked between Dee and Bikky, holding both their hands, joining their family physically at the momentous event in their lives.

Bikky had already made it known he did not want to be in the birthing room during the C-section, but happily agreed to be part of everything up to then.

Dee seemed to be calming down a little as they entered the elevator up to the obstetrics ward. Thankfully Bikky seemed to have a signal. As Ryo murmured words of love to further sooth his husband, he heard Bikky speak in the phone.

“Peng—uh, Mother?” Sounding as excited as he looked, Bikky exclaimed, “We’re at the hospital. Dad’s having the baby!”

At Bikky’s words, Dee’s head snapped up to look at Ryo. “Oh my God, Ryo… the baby… we’re going to see our little Koko soon.”

Ryo’s smile was beautiful as he released Dee’s hand to run his fingers lovingly through Dee’s dark damp hair. “Yeah. We are.”

Bikky handed the phone to Ryo, bouncing happily. “I can’t wait to see Koko too! Penguin’s on her way. Boy, is she excited.” He grinned at his fathers.

Still smiling, Ryo said to Dee, “Hear that?”

Dee nodded. “Y-yeah. Oh shit… n-not so s-soon….” He doubled over in the wheelchair.

Ryo bent down to rub Dee’s back. “Come on, baby. Big deep breath and relax….”

“You’re doing fine, Mr. MacLean,” the nurse assured Dee. While Ryo and Dee preferred their legal hyphenated name of Laytner-MacLean, there were times when they accepted a shorter version. Both Ryo and Dee had previously agreed that once it was known what their full surname was, at times it was fine to just use MacLean. “It may not seem so, but you have time. Dr. Siworski will be here with plenty of time.”

Gritting his teeth, Dee slowly said, “Get…her…out!” He glared up at Ryo.

“Yeah, yeah,” Ryo remarked, smiling. “It’s my fault.” He bent over to kiss Dee’s cheek.

Dee lost his fire and laughed. “I love you.”

“Love you, too.”

The elevator came to a stop and the doors opened. As they left the elevator, Dee gritted his teeth again and squeezed his eyes shut, gasping out. “Goddamn fuckin’ cramps! Shit!”

“Can we give him something for the pain?” Ryo asked the nurse.

“We’re almost at the birthing room. The resident there can give him something. Knowing Dr. Siworski, he already worked out possible labor as part of the birth plan?” she asked both Ryo and Dee.

“Yes, he did,” Ryo replied as they went down the corridor toward the OB reception area. “As difficult as it was for some, he discussed all possible scenarios for birth.”

Vince had covered everything from best scenario – arriving on the scheduled day for the C-section with no complications, to the worse – going into labor in an isolated area. The doctor had modified the basic birth plan Dee had worked out to adapt to all situations as much as possible.

Dee was bending over and cursing from the pain.

“A little bit longer, Dee,” Ryo said softly.

“Easy for you to say,” Dee spat out. “You’re not the one with this little creature trying to break through your belly. Oh fuck!”

Ryo ran his fingers through Dee’s hair. They entered the nursery from the reception area, needing to pass it to get to the Carrier Ward.

Ryo’s eyes rested on the babies inside, belonging to both women and Carriers. He caressed Dee’s cheek, smiling. “Hey sweetheart, our little Koko’s gonna be in there tonight.”

Dee glanced at the babies as they passed. “Yeah, huh?” He cried out, doubling over again. “Goddamn it! She wants to be there now! Like this second… Shit… this chibi wants out…. It’s another contraction!” Dee started to tense up again in fear, which only made the pain worse.

Ryo had an arm around Bikky’s shoulder. The boy also looked at the newborns as they passed. Bright blue eyes went back to his dads. “Wow!”

Ryo smiled assuredly at Bikky. “Before you go home tonight, you can say good night to your baby sister.” He maintained his hand on Dee’s shoulder, sliding it to rub his upper back. “Easy Dee. Relax. This is not making it better.”

“Breathe, Mr. MacLean,” the nurse instructed. “Try to relax. I suspect the contractions are coming closer because you’re tensing up too much.”

“Have you ever had a baby?” Dee spat out without thinking.

“Yes, sir. And I had to squeeze a watermelon through a little hole, which you get to forego. So start relaxing.”

Dee’s head snapped up to stare stupidly at the nurse, then had the grace to look ashamed.

“Breathe, Dee,” Ryo reminded him, still rubbing his back. “C’mon.”

“Pops?” Bikky asked. “I know you have the digital in your bag, but could we take a picture of Koko with your cell? And send it home so I can print it up to show my friends tomorrow?”

“Of course,” Ryo replied. “That’s a great idea. I’m sure the older kids at the orphanage will want to see a picture too.”

“Can’t wait to show off your sister, huh kiddo?” Dee asked Bikky, while the teen basked in Ryo’s praise.

“Yeah.” Bikky nodded.

They went down the corridor through the Carrier Ward, past recovery rooms and recovering Carriers. Some of the men were walking around in pajamas and robes, while others were sitting in a lounge with family. They continued past them, toward double doors. Behind them, people from both the Maternity and Carrier wards were hovering around the window to the nursery gazing at the newborn infants.

The doors at the end opened automatically and they entered the birthing area. Unlike the area where they just came from, the birthing area was quiet.

“You’re the only Carrier labor we have tonight, Mr. MacLean,” the nurse explained to Dee. “Had this occurred early afternoon, we’d be hard pressed for birthing rooms.”

“That many Carriers went into labor today?” Ryo asked as the nurse wheeled Dee into the first room.

“Mostly scheduled C-sections, since they are all performed from late morning to mid-afternoon,” the nurse replied. “But we had two labors. One was because of an accident. Anyway, you have the entire staff to cater to you, unless we get another labor in tonight.”