I make a cursory search of the waiting area and take stock of what’s in the vending machines so I can fill him and Dean in when they get inside. But all that completely loses my attention when I see Eric come in.
Running toward him, I gather him in a close hug.
“How is she?” I ask.
“Powering through,” he says. “They say she is definitely in labor, but it’s still pretty early in terms of how far along she’s progressed. They’ve got her hooked up to a monitor right now to make sure everything’s going well with the baby.”
“She should be walking,” Xavier announces, coming into the waiting room. “Gravity. Hi, Eric. Happy baby emergence day, assuming all body parts are fully independent of Bellamy before midnight.”
“Thank you, Xavier.”
“Can I go back and see her?” I ask.
“Absolutely. She’s been asking when you were going to get here. Come on,” he says.
“Dean, look out for Sam. He should be here any time now. Let him know I’m back with Bellamy,” I say.
He nods as he tries to work a remote hanging in a plastic sheath from a cord attached to the TV. He’s ready to settle in for the long haul.
Eric and I hurry out of the waiting room and through doors that lead us into the halls of the maternity ward. He opens the door to one of the rooms and I step through. A curtain separates the door from the bed, and I call out to Bellamy.
“B?”
“Emma! You’re here!”
I walk around the curtain and find her propped up in bed, attached to the monitor beeping beside her. Even with her hair clipped onto her head in a messy bun and wearing a pink paisley hospital gown, she looks beautiful.
“How are you feeling?” I ask, taking her hand and leaning down to kiss her cheek.
“Doing okay right now,” she tells me. “The contractions are getting stronger, but they haven’t gotten regular enough yet.”
I remember what Xavier said and pull the blankets off her. “You should be up out of that bed. Come on. Let’s get you walking around. Gravity will get things going for you.”
“I’m attached to things, Emma,” she protests.
“Well, call the nurse. Get unattached. We’ve got to get those contractions going.”
Eric laughs. “And you were just saying you wished you’d gotten a doula.”
“Should have known I already had one,” Bellamy chuckles.
She presses the call button on the side of her bed, and a few moments later a nurse appears at the door.
“Everything alright?” she asks.
“Can I get up and walk?” Bellamy asks.
“Absolutely,” the nurse says. “You’ve been on that monitor long enough. Getting some laps in will help move things along.”
“Told you,” I say.
“Xavier told you,” she counters.
“How did you know that?”
She looks at me and I just nod. The nurse disconnects the monitor and helps Bellamy up. She’s wearing hospital-issued socks with grippy bottoms, so she doesn’t have to put shoes on before we’re on our way. Eric and I walk along with her up and down the hallways, talking about anything and everything to keep her distracted.
We’ve only been walking for a few minutes when she suddenly draws in a sharp breath. Turning to Eric, she wraps her arms around his neck and leans against his chest. Eric puts his hands on her hips and holds her, swaying her back and forth as he whispers into her ear.
It’s surprisingly beautiful. I find myself blinking away tears.
A few moments later, we continue on our way. This process repeats several more times before the nurse catches up with us at the corner near her room.
“The doctor wants you to come back in for another check,” she says.
“I’m going to go see Sam,” I say. “I’ll come back in a little while. Do you need anything?”
Bellamy shakes her head and I look at Eric.
“Some coffee would be amazing,” he says. ”I haven’t been getting a lot of sleep the last few days, and I have a feeling I’m not going to be getting much in the next couple, either.”
“No problem. See you in a bit,” I say.
As they head into the room, I make my way back to the waiting area. Sam is standing at the vending machine just outside. He’s gripping several bills in one hand and deeply contemplating the snacks and drinks inside the machine.
“Hey,” I say.
He turns around, his face lighting up when he sees me. In an instant, his arms are wrapped around me, his face buried in the curve of my neck and shoulder.
“I missed you,” he says.
“I’ve missed you, too,” I say. “What are you focusing so hard on?”
“I can’t decide what kind of snack to get,” he says. “I already looked through all the machines in the waiting room, but I can’t settle on anything.”
“Well, don’t ask Xavier to help you choose. That would get you into a whole conversation you are not ready for yet.”
“How is Bellamy?” he asks.
“Doing well. We got up and walked around a bit. Her contractions seem to be getting more frequent. But I wouldn’t expect anything to happen within the next couple of hours,” I tell him.
“So, I should probably settle in with a couple of snacks?” he asks.
I nod. “I would go for the full assortment. Whatever catches your eye, grab it.”
He takes that suggestion to heart and chooses several snacks and drinks before we make our way back into the waiting room. Xavier has taken up residence on a giant teddy bear and is lying on the floor staring up at the TV that Dean managed to tune to a game show channel.
“Nothing yet,” I tell them. “Looks as though we’ve still got a ways to go. I’m going to the cafeteria to get Eric some coffee. Anybody want anything?”
“One of those
