Trying to Get to You
Chapter 2Disclaimer: I own no one!
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Ugh, I need to stop eating sausage pizza, Lilian thought, gently rubbing her belly. Little One, do I need to evict you? She groaned, the muscles in her stomach tightening beneath her fingertips.
Why did she feel like this? This couldn't be labor… could it? Why hadn't she let her sister stay with her? Why hadn't she convinced Trish to stay home?
A thin coat of sweat seemed to cover her body. Her palms were clammy. Her stomach churned. Her lower back ached.
What was going on?
"Oh God," she moaned, doubling over. "Baby, please stay in there," She struggled to breathe through the contraction; the way the childbirth instructor had showed her. She couldn't believe it didn't work.
Then, the phone rang. For the first time in weeks, she dove for it, hoping, praying it was Trish.
"Hello?" she stammered in a strangled voice.
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"Lilian?" Trish muttered, somehow sensing the stress in her lover's voice. "What's wrong?"
"The baby's coming…"
"Are you sure?"
"Beyond sure,"
"How can you be so sure?"
"Um, I'm having a contraction, and I'm pretty sure my water just broke,"
"What do you mean?" Trish murmured, her eyes struggling to adjust to the lack of light. It was only 4:37 AM there, and while she had called Lilian, she was barely awake.
"I'm standing in a clear puddle of fluid. I don't think this baby wants to wait,"
"Call a taxi. I'm on my way."
"I love you,"
"I love you too,"
"Trish?"
"Yeah, Lil?"
"I'm scared, very scared."
"So am I, Babe, so am I. Everything's going to be fine though,"
"Bye," Lilian hung up.
Trish maneuvered herself over to her laptop. She had never been so grateful for wireless Internet. Hopefully, she could get a flight. Hopefully, she could make it there for the baby's birth.
"Come on," she murmured, watching Travelocity search for flights. This was London. How hard could it be to get back to New York? "Damn it!" Travelocity had nothing. Somehow, she would have to get to Lilian.
Navigating the browser to the US Airways Website, she searched for a flight.
"Fuck!" she cursed. The only available flight would take her to North Carolina, then to Ohio, then to Washington DC, before finally getting to NYC. "Oh well, it's better than nothing." Quickly, she booked the flight.
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Struggling to maneuver her swollen body into the cab, Lilian tried to keep together. She was tired. She was in pain. Most of all, she was alone. Who cared if she had a loving partner if her partner was miles away?
"Ma'am, are you alright?" the driver asked. Lilian nodded, struggling to breathe through a contraction. "You don't look alright," Softly, she snarled.
"I'm in labor and my partner is thousands of miles away," she murmured, thrusting the duffel bags in the backseat. She hunched over, placing her hands on her knees. She groaned, silently vomiting in a gutter.
"Ma'am, where can I take you?" the driver asked, helping her into the cab and closing the door. Lilian struggled to breathe, as the contraction subsided. "What hospital?"
Lilian struggled to remember. The pain had completely caused a lapse in her memory. "Um, please take me to New York Hospital Queens"
"Okay. Do you know what you're having?" the driver asked, pulling away from the front of the loft. Lilian shook her head.
"No idea, but we do have names chosen," she murmured, rubbing her belly. Silently, she wondered why she hadn't taken Trish's advice about choosing a doctor associated with a closer hospital. "Roman Michael for a boy and Rowan Kathleen for a girl, but those names can change at any time. My partner and I want to meet the baby first,"
"I've got two little girls, Tara and Rose." He said. She nodded. She couldn't help but wonder where Trish was. Was she on her way? Would she get home in time to welcome the baby? "Where's your husband?"
"My wife's in England," Lilian muttered, not caring about formalities. "Business trip that she had to take and this baby was supposed to wait," She shivered, struggling to control the chills.
"Babies rarely come when expected," the driver murmured knowingly. "Rose is only three months old, but she came in the middle of the worst blizzard this year," Lilian nodded. She groaned, doubling over. "Everything okay?"
"Contraction. BIG contraction," she murmured, gulping air. "Please Baby stay in there until we get to the hospital," She blinked back tears, wishing for Trish.
Why hadn't she accepted someone's offer to stay with her? Her mother, her sister, Trish's best friend, someone…anyone… Now, she would be forced to do this on her own.
Then, her cell phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Lilian, where are you?"
"Steph?"
"Yep."
"I'm on my way to the hospital. Why?"
"I'm coming in from Greenwich, if you want. I was the first person Trish called. She doesn't want you to be alone."
Lilian groaned. Stephanie McMahon-Levesque was a sweet woman, but she was controlling. She wanted to be alone or with Trish, no one else. Then again, it would be good to have a support system.
"You can come, but when I want you out, you're out. I'm actually having the kid alone or with Trish,"
"That's fine,"
Stephanie hung up.
Lilian rode the rest of the way in silence. She figured it would take Stephanie about two hours to get to her, without traffic. That would give her some time to adjust to the hospital and being in labor.
She could feel each contraction. She could feel the baby moving within her. However, it seemed surreal. She also knew things would only become real once she could hold their baby.
As she moved toward the hospital, she could only wonder if Trish would get there in time.
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