trueloveskid | (no subject)

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psl: neal

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It's almost time for this to be over, she can tell. Any time now, really, and she's been ready for that for days. She waddles like a penguin anytime she goes anywhere, she can barely reach her own feet to put shoes on, and even sleeping has been uncomfortable lately. She's still unsure about what comes next, but at least Neal seems to think that they'll know what they're doing.

At least she'd found a different job, as the receptionist at a salon down the street. Answering phones is something she can do, they don't care if she sits all day, and since she'd started out as a client, they already knew her when they hired her. They also said they could manage without her for awhile after the baby's born.

Which she's really hoping is what's happening now. She's had twinges all day, irregular but unrelenting, and although she hasn't mentioned them to Neal, she knows that he probably knows something's up. She's been wandering around the apartment since she got home, even when he tried to insist that she should sit, because the book and the doctor both said not to go to the hospital yet, and that being active could help the process along. Besides, she's just restless and doesn't want to sit down.

She's in the kitchen getting a drink of water when it happens. There's a release of pressure, like popping the top off a bottle of champagne (or so she imagines, having never actually had champagne), and wetness down her legs. It's a good thing she's wearing a dress.

It's time, there's no doubt about it now, and she grips the edge of the sink as another contraction, a real one now, moves over her. "Neal!"

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Neal looked over at her, his eyebrows raised. "Are you sure?" There was a couch, he'd sleep there. He wasn't about to leave her alone now.

"Only if you promise to wake me if you need me."

"Yeah." She gives his hand a bit of a squeeze while her other hand continues to rest on her belly. "You heard the doctor. It could be a couple of hours still. I'll wake you up if I need you."

He squeezed her hand before standing, kissing her on the forehead and walking towards the couch. He placed their things carefully beneath the sofa before stretching out as best he could. It was a little awkward, a little small but Neal didn't care.

He turned towards her with a smile, his eyes feeling heavy as they spilled closed.

She attempts to sleep when he does, but it doesn't really work, between the pains coming over her and the doctors and nurses coming in to check on her. Mostly she just watches Neal sleep, on the last night either of them will have peace in awhile.

Finally, after a couple of hours, the doctor confirms that it's time to go to the delivery room. Time for the baby to be born. "Neal! Time to earn your keep."

Neal jolted up from his place across the couch, almost falling to the floor when he does. He scrambled to take his place at her side, his hand reaching for hers while the nurses rushed around him. He paces at her side as they move her, keeping her hand in his.

"I'm here. I'm here. It'll be perfect. you got this Emma." He smiled at her, keeping himself strong, ready to take whatever she has to dish his way. He'll be her support; both of their support.

When they get to the room, he's made to take a detour to put on a gown of his own, and when he's let into the room again, she's on the bed with her feet in the stirrups, doctor and nurses bustling around. She reaches out her hand to Neal. "I doubt this is going to be perfect."

Neal tried to be quick but he fumbled a bit when he was putting on the gown. Once inside he moved to her side and reached for her hand, standing out of the way.

"No but it's you and me and our son." He kissed her forehead, not caring how sweaty it was. "I'll always be here for you."

He'd better mean that, because there's about to be a lot of squeezing of his hand. And screaming. Some of it at him.

But then, miraculously, after what seems like a long time but really isn't, there's a cry that comes not from her but from their baby, who has just been rather rudely shoved from his warm home into a cold, bright world, and Emma collapses onto the bed with a happy sob.

Neal's hand was aching and sore but he didn't consider that an important detail to this moment. He took one of the cloths from the nurses and wiped at Emma's brow and face. He smiled at her, his words soft and encouraging.

"You did it Emma." The nurse stepped over once they were finished, a crying baby boy in their arms.

"It's a healthy little boy." One of them spoke with a smile, passing the child to Emma.

"Hey," Emma says as she reaches out to take the baby. "Hi baby. I'm your mom. You've been giving me a lot of trouble for awhile now, but that's okay. It's just what babies do."

Neal smiled brightly at the pair of them, his eyes wide and proud as he looked down at his family. He lightly kissed Emma’s forehead again, unable to stop touching her or showing her small bit of affection. "He’s beautiful, like his mother." His voice was raspy and tight.

He’d always dreamed of a family and now he had one; one that he was going to protect no matter what happened. He loved them both with every last part of himself.

"Did you decide on a name?" They didn’t have family to name him after and there were so many names that were unpleasant. They’d talked about it a few times and narrowed the list down to three names: James, Michael and Henry.

"Henry. I like Henry." She doesn't know why. It just sounds classic to her. "He looks like a Henry."

Neal laughed, his heart light and warm. "It's perfect." The nurse steps over to take the baby and document it's birth. Neal holds up a hand to her to make her pause. "One moment? I'd like to do one more thing?" The nurse nods reluctantly and waits for Neal who's digging around in his pockets.

"I have something for you and the baby. I didn't want to give it to you until he was here too." Neal smiled feeling his excitement grow. "I made if for you two."

He pulled a small music box from his pocket and begins to turn the crank. A sweet melody plays and Henry's soft sobs begin to quite. It was the song that his mother once sand to him when he was a baby. "I'm going to engrave his name on it when we get home."

Emma will hand over the baby, reluctantly, because the nurse needs him for something. Until she gets Henry back, she'll look at what Neal brought.

"I didn't know you could do that."

"It's just a music box. A lot of the pieces I was able to recycle or find." It was a very simple thing to put together and Neal only knew how it worked after fixing Wendy's music box one afternoon.

"Do you like the song?"

"It might be just a music box, but not everyone could put the pieces together to make that." She peeks over at what the nurses are doing. She wants her baby back.

"Yeah. It's a nice song."

Neal smiled at her. "They're going to roll you back to the room. I'll meet you there. You should sleep. When you wake up both Henry and I will be there okay?"

He wanted her to rest.

"Wait," she says as the bed starts to move. She turns to look back behind her. "Henry. My baby." She settles back down when the nurse assures her that Henry will be following along shortly. She hugs the music box to her as she goes.

Neal watched her go before turning to the nurses. He spoke with them before following them to where Henry was. There were a few things that needed to be done but Neal hoped to hurry that along so that he could get Henry back into Emma's arms.

A few hours later he walks in with a clean wrapped Henry in his arms. "Emma? Somewhere is here who wants to see you."

She'd been dozing, or trying to, because while she is really tired, it's a hospital and people keep coming in to check on her, and every time she heard a noise in the hall she'd open her eyes in case it was Neal coming back with her baby.

Which this time it is. She reaches out her arms for Henry, and then tucks him in close to her. "Hi Henry. Remember me? I'm your mom."

"He won't forget you. Ever." Neal leaned forward and kissed her head. "I'm going to get the car soon and take you two home. I finished all the paperwork with the doctors but I'm waiting for their okay for you to leave." He didn't expect her to listen but he spoke so that she knew that he had taken care of everything and she didn't have to worry.

"How are you feeling?"

"Already?" She didn't realize she'd been here so long that she gets to leave already.

"Tired. But I don't want to sleep." She'd rather just stay here and stare at her perfect little boy.

"Yeah. You've been sleeping on and off. figured you do better in your own bed." Plus he had to make sure everything was ready for Henry as well.

"We'll keep Henry next to the bed but you should sleep too."

"Okay. I'll see you in a bit then." She really does want to sleep some more. "Can Henry stay here with me?"

"Yeah. Let me put him in a bed though okay? You guys can sleep together then." Neal leaned forward and carefully gathered Henry from Emma's arm's. There is a cradle rolled in where Henry was placed to sleepy, right next to his mother.

Neal waits for a nurse to be in the room before dashing out and checking with the hospital staff. He wants to get his son and his love home to rest properly. He's called his work, her work and made sure that they both had the next few days off.

He wants everything to be perfect and for Emma to rest.