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 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.

Resting is exactly what she's doing. She's fast asleep when he comes back in, her hand resting next to Henry. He's been part of her for so long that she's not ready to let go of him yet.

Neal smiled when he saw her and wondered if he should wait. After a moment he decided that it might be best to sleep in her own bed, plus his car was now right out front. He stepped forward and gently shook her awake.

"Hey, Emma. I'm going to take you and Henry home to rest. I have signed the release forms and I have some medication to help you rest." It's just sleeping pills in case Henry wakes up sleeping.

Neal will be on baby duty.

"What? Okay." She has to get up now, doesn't she. She's moving a bit gingerly as she gets out of the bed to gather her things.

Neal stepped over to Henry and gathered him into his arms. He had already taken most of their things down to the car and he had the car seat they had gotten already in place for Henry.

"Ready?" He placed a free hand against Emma's lower back while the other gingerly cradled his son.

"Yeah, I guess." As ready as she's going to be, at least. She just wants to go home and sleep some more, and this is the way to do that.

Neal nodded his head and guided them all from the hospital. He'd asked one of the nurses to help Emma into a wheel chair so that he could get her and Henry safely to the front of the building. As promised their car was sitting out front and he'd set up the cradle in the back seat for Henry.

He first got the baby into the car and then focused on Emma. Twenty minutes later and they were heading home.

She looks nervously out the window during the whole drive, looking for anything that might be a threat to Henry. Namely other cars that don't stop far enough away for her comfort.

It was the city which meant that the cars didn’t go very fast and they were all crammed close together. Neal preferred not to drive while he was in the city but it was the only way to get the pair of them home safely. He found a parking spot, mostly due to the strange hour, and carefully ran over to help Emma from the car.

"I know you’re worried about Henry but I’ll get him. You worry about yourself, okay?" He spoke in a firm tone and when Emma was up right he opened the back door of the car to grab Henry. Neal would come back for their bags after Emma had fallen asleep; right now he wanted to get the two loves of his life inside and resting. Henry had fallen asleep on the car ride though Neal had a feeling that it wasn’t going to last.

"Come on." With Henry’s rocker under one arm he led Emma inside.

She slowly makes her way out of the car and into the building, trusting him with Henry. For the moment. Soon enough she'll have her son back.

Neal lead them inside of the house. He took them both straight to the room, placing Henry's cradle on the chair while he helped Emma undress and slip into bed.

"You lay down. I'll get Henry set up next to you and you can both sleep." He was going to push the cradle into their room.

She crawls into the bed, but knows somehow that she probably won't sleep more than another couple of hours. Henry's going to need to be fed at some point, and basically it's up to him when that happens.

It's noon when he gets Emma in bed and Henry asleep in the crib next to her. He decided to spend that time mulling quietly around the apartment, cleaning up and doing what he can to make it so there was less to do later.

He stashed his sketchpad and a few other items in his desk and set up his laptop to work from home for a few days. It'd be a request he made when Emma first got pregnant and he's glad that the office was alright with it.

Around 4 he'll sterilize the bottles and feed Henry. He's going to wait for Emma to wake up on her own.