37. This Love is Like Nothing I've Known
Thanks for the reviews. I hope that you guys like this chapter.
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"I think I'm in labor"
Trudy Platt looked in the passenger seat at Erin and shook her head. "Shut up"
Erin leaned back against the seat and closed her eyes. "I need Jay"
Platt looked out at the open and empty road and then back to Erin. "If we're on one of those fucking joke shows right now, I'm not into it"
Erin shook her head "I'll be fine. Don't panic"
"Don't Panic?" Platt asked "What do you mean, "Don't Panic?" There's a person who is trying to come out of you. I think that signals that it's time to panic"
"These things can take hours" Erin assured as she finally caught her breath and looked over at Trudy who had a look of horror on her face.
Platt turned the key to get the car to turn over and had no luck. "Piece of shit. I told the city that we needed new cars, but nobody listens to me at town council. "It's not in the budget" Well, look where it's gotten us"
Erin opened the passenger door and got out. "We're going to have to walk"
Platt looked over as Erin got out of the car. "Are you sure you're ok to walk?"
Erin nodded "We have to. At least until we find a phone or I can get service"
Platt got out of the car and followed Erin. She tried to hit the lock button on the car key, but it did nothing. Finally Platt gave up and tossed the key down. "Steal the son of a bitch. I don't care"
Platt quickly followed after Erin as the two started to walk down the road.
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Jay walked up the steps of the precinct and stopped in his steps when he saw Nadia sitting at the front desk.
"Hey, where's Erin?" Jay asked.
Nadia put the desk phone down on the base and looked at Jay. "She and Sergeant Platt went to pick up some paperwork from one of the CI's about an hour ago"
Jay nodded and walked up the steps as he dialed Erin's cell. He shook his head when he didn't get an answer and went to take a seat at his desk.
"Something wrong?" Atwater asked as he looked up from his paperwork at Jay.
"I can't get ahold of Erin" Jay said. "It's not like her to not answer her phone"
Atwater nodded "I'm sure she's fine. She's with Platt, I mean what kind of trouble can they get into?"
Jay shook his head "You're right. I mean what's the worst that could happen?"
Ruzek walked to his desk carrying his cup of coffee. "You guys ever been to Tru in downtown Chicago?"
Atwater looked up from his paperwork "Little too fancy for my taste, why?"
Adam shrugged his shoulders. "Kim and I are going there tonight to eat. I've never been, but I made these reservations at Thanksgiving so, I'm hoping that it's good"
"Laura and I went for her birthday one year. It's pretty fancy. I don't usually go for a place that doesn't put the prices on the menu" Antonio Dawson added.
Ruzek sighed "So, we're talking expensive, right?"
Dawson nodded "It's about $120"
"For what?" Ruzek asked.
"It's a seven course meal, Ruzek" Dawson said simply.
Adam nodded and looked through his wallet. "Well, that means I'm going to have to hit the ATM after work"
"What else do you have planned for Burgess?" Atwater asked.
Adam shook his head "That's only for my girl to know, man"
Atwater laughed and shook his head "What about you, Jay?"
"Huh?" Jay asked looking up from his phone after his third failed attempt to get ahold of Erin.
"Valentine's Day...do you and Erin have plans? I mean three weeks from now you're going to have your hands full. So, any last plans before your duo becomes a trio?" Atwater asked.
Jay shook his head "Um, just going to stay in. Everybody says rest now, cause you won't rest later"
Jay stood up from his chair and started to walk towards the stairs as Voight walked out of his office.
"Halstead. where are you going?" Voight asked holding some paperwork in his hand as he walked over to the board to pin it up.
"I'm just going to go make a call" Jay said holding his phone up.
"Personal calls are on your time not mine" Voight said "Now take a seat"
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Erin groaned and hunched over and held onto the fence post as another contraction radiated over her. She and Platt had been walking for the last hour and hadn't found any source of human life.
"Come on" Platt said. "We're close to something I'm sure"
Erin shook her head "I need a minute"
Platt put her hands on her hips as she looked around up and down the empty highway. She turned to face Erin just as Erin knelt to her knees on the ground.
"Get up" Platt said "We've got to keep going"
Erin shook her head "I can't walk anymore"
Platt walked over to Erin and reached down for her arm. "You've got to keep walking. You're not going to have your baby on the side of the road like some wild animal"
Erin reached for Platt's hand and stood up as the contraction passed. They were definitely getting stronger and closer together. "This sucks so much. You don't even know. Nobody ever said it would hurt like this"
Platt shrugged her shoulders. "Nobody ever does. It hurts like a son of a bitch"
Erin held onto Trudy's arm as her breathing returned to normal. "What?"
Platt looked down the road as she and Erin started walking down the highway again.
"When I was 16 I had a son that I gave up for adoption" Platt said simply.
"I never knew that" Erin looked at Platt as they walked down the road.
"Well, it's not something I really tell a lot of people. And you guys upstairs don't ever make an attempt to get to know me" Platt said.
"I'm really sorry, Trudy" Erin said holding a hand to her stomach.
Platt shook her head. "It's fine"
A silver speck appeared in the distance as Platt let go of Erin and Erin hunched to the ground. "There's someone coming"
Erin walked over to the fence and leaned against it as another contraction rolled over her back and pelvis. She took harsh pants as she tried to breathe through it. Tears brimming her eyes from the pain.
Trudy waved her hands in the air as the semi truck came closer to them. She sighed relief as the sound of the truck braking filled the air and it slowly came to a stop.
Trudy walked up to the semi as the driver rolled the window down.
"Can I help you little lady?" The driver asked.
Platt narrowed her eyes at the driver. "Um...first off, my name is Sergeant Trudy Platt. So refer to me as that. Second, my friend is in labor and our car broke down. So I need you to take us to the hospital"
"I can do that" The driver said hopping out of his truck.
Platt walked back over to Erin. "Erin this guy is going to help us"
Erin nodded reached her hand up to shake the driver's hand. "Hi"
The truck driver gave Erin a sympathetic smile "Erin? My name's Scott. Let's get you to the hospital"
Erin nodded and reached for Scott's arm as he reached for her. She took a few steps and knelt down as a rush of liquid gushed down her thighs.
"Oh my God, my water broke"
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"Erin, I'm not sure where you guys are, and I don't know why you're not answering your phone. But, I'm really starting to get worried. So if you could please return any call or text I've sent you in the last hour, I'd really appreciate it. I love you" Jay ended the call on his iphone and leaned against the wall of lockers in the changing room.
"Everything ok?" Ruzek asked as he walked from the back of the locker room from where he'd just showered.
"Yeah...I'd just feel better if I could get ahold of my wife" Jay sat his phone in his locker as he started to unstrap bulletproof vest.
"I'm sure that things are ok, man. They're probably on their way back here" Ruzek assured as he started getting dressed. "Don't worry so much"
Jay nodded and sat his vest on the bench. "You're right. You did a great job on that bust today, man"
"Aw" Ruzek said looking over at Jay. "Thanks buddy"
Jay pulled his shirt off and tossed it in his locker and Adam raised an eyebrow at his friend. "Shit, where did that come from?"
Jay looked down and saw the cut on his chest and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. Doesn't hurt"
Ruzek nodded and grabbed his phone out of his locker to look and see if he had any messages from Burgess.
"I'm going to take a shower man" Jay said as he grabbed a towel out of his locker and went off towards the showers.
"Ok" Adam said as he sat on the bench and started texting Kim.
The sound of the shower running drowned out the sound of Jay's phone ringing
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"Well, he didn't answer" Platt said as she and Erin sat back in the Triage area of the ER.
Erin laid back against the pillows on the bed and closed her eyes. "It's ok"
"I can try again" Platt offered.
"Give him a few minutes. He'll call back" Erin groaned and grabbed the bar on the side of the bed as a contraction started.
"Should I do something?" Platt asked.
Erin shook her head "No" as she panted through the pain.
The ER doctor walked in and looked at Erin's chart. "Hello, I'm Dr. Ward. How are you doing today, Mrs. Halstead?"
"I'm fine" Erin said as she tried to catch her breath.
"How far apart are your contractions?" Dr. Ward asked as he sat Erin's chart down and went to wash his hands.
"Um, Five Minutes" Erin laid her head back against the pillows and watched as Dr. Ward grabbed some gloves and put them on.
"Ok" Dr. Ward said "Let's see how far you're dilated and we will work on getting you a room up in Labor and Delivery"
Dr. Ward walked to the edge of Erin's bed as a nurse came in and slipped some gloves on as she grabbed a bottle out of the drawer and walked over to Dr. Ward's side.
"Just life your legs for me Erin and try to relax" Dr. Ward explained.
Erin nodded and put her feet flat on the bed and watched as the nurse squirted some of the lube on Dr. Ward's gloves and Erin turned her head to look at the ceiling as Dr. Ward pulled the bottom of the blanket over Erin's legs up. Erin gasped and grimaced as she felt Dr. Ward examine her. She knew she'd never look at the gesture the same way again.
"You're right at five centimeters" Dr. Ward said as he pulled Erin's blanket back down and slipped his gloves off and tossed them in the garbage. "We're going to work on getting you a room upstairs. Probably going to be about 15 minutes"
Erin nodded as Dr. Ward washed his hands and walked out of the room as Erin's cell rang with Jay's ring tone.
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Jay came running into the hospital in a dead sprint. He bypassed the elevators and went straight for the stairs running up the six flights of stairs to the labor and delivery floor. He opened the door to the floor and quickly walked down the hall and stopped when he saw Platt standing at the end of the hall.
"Platt" Jay called jogging up to her.
"Finally" Platt said turning to look at Jay.
"Where is she?" Jay asked as he caught his breath.
"She's in there" Platt said gesturing to a room in front of them. "They're getting her settled in her room. We just got up here from the ER"
Jay shook his head and pushed the door to Erin's room open. He looked over his shoulder at Platt "Thank you"
Platt nodded "I'm just going to go down to the waiting room"
Jay stepped into Erin's room as the nurse finished hooking Erin up to a fetal monitor.
Erin's eyes welled with tears as she met Jay's gaze. "Thank God"
Jay smiled and quickly walked over to Erin's bed and leaned over and kissed her. "I knew when Platt answered your phone that something was going on"
Erin nodded as Jay took ahold of her hand. "Our car broke down and we didn't have service. We walked until someone finally picked us up and brought us to the hospital"
Jay kept ahold of Erin's hand as he reached behind him for a chair and sat down. "When did you go into labor?"
"On the trip back from getting the paperwork from the CI" Erin explained as a contraction radiated from her lower back.
Jay watched as Erin leaned forward in the bed and exhaled through the pain. He looked over at the monitor that was keeping track of the baby's heart rate and Erin's contractions. "You're doing great, baby"
Erin nodded as the contraction slowly passed and she laid back against the pillows and looked over at Jay. "We're not ready for this. We have a lot left to do"
Jay squeezed Erin's hand reassuringly and brought it up to his lips and kissed it. "We're ready"
"We're going to have a baby tonight" Erin's hazel eyes locked with Jay's and a small smile formed on her face.
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Erin looked up at the ceiling as Dr. Backus examined her. She held tight to Jay's hand and looked down at Dr. Backus as she pulled the blanket back down over Erin's legs.
"You're definitely almost there 8 centimeters" Dr. Backus offered with a smile.
Erin nodded as she felt a contraction radiate over her. "Oh God"
Erin let go of Jay's hand and leaned forward on the bed and panted as the pain spread across her back to her pelvis. Jay stood up from his chair and rubbed Erin's back in an effort to try to alleviate some of Erin's pain. His gaze lifted to the monitor that was keeping track of Erin's contractions and he watched as the the line on the screen hit a peak and slowly started to come back down.
"It's almost over, baby. Just breathe" Jay encouraged.
"It hurts" Erin panted as she tried to focus on breathing.
"You're doing great" Jay assured as Erin started to relax as the contraction came to an end.
Erin opened her eyes and looked over at Jay as she laid back against the pillows.
"Would you like an epidural?" Dr. Backus asked making a note on Erin's chart.
"No" Erin said shaking her head. "I don't want the baby born drugged out"
Dr. Backus shook her head "It won't be. In fact, it'll help you get the rest you need for delivery"
Erin shook her head "I can take the pain, I'm fine. It's my fault that the baby's coming early"
Jay took Erin's hand and stood up and moved to sit on her bed. "Don't say that. You did nothing wrong"
Dr. Backus put Erin's chart back down and looked at Erin. "Erin, babies come early every single day. You're 36 weeks, the sonogram shows that the baby's measuring at around six pounds. Everything looks really great"
Erin nodded "It just really hurts. I just want it to stop"
Dr. Backus looked at Erin and Jay and gave a sympathetic smile "I'll get the anesthesiologist"
Erin pulled the blankets off of her legs. "Can I shower first?"
Dr. Backus nodded "Yeah, the hot water should ease your back labor"
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Voight sat next to Erin as she got settled back into her bed. The anesthesiologist was running behind with patients and Erin wasn't sure how much more she could take. It felt like her contractions were right on top of each other. Her shower hadn't eased her labor pains any and those birth classes? Total shit. They didn't prepare her at all for this.
Jay had stepped out to call everyone to give them an update on Erin and the baby.
"You didn't have to come down here" Erin said using a spoon to eat ice chips that Nurse Carley had brought her.
"Are you kidding? I wouldn't be anywhere else" Hank assured.
"Thanks" Erin gave a slight smile and sat her cup of ice on the tray as a contraction started.
She reached for Hank's hand and he ran his hand up and down her arm as she breathed through the pain. "Just tell me when it's over"
Hank nodded as he watched the monitor. "You're doing great, kid. The worst part of it's over"
Jay stepped back in the room as Erin's contraction ended and the anesthesiologist walked in behind him. "Hello, Mrs. Halstead. I'm Dr. Barnett. I'll be giving you your epidural"
Hank stood and let go of Erin's hand. "I'll wait outside"
Erin nodded and watched as Hank disappeared around the curtain and out of the room. Dr. Barnett hit the call button on Erin's bed and paged for assistance and a few moments later Nurse Carley and another nurse named Vanessa came in.
Dr. Barnett read over the effects of the epidural and gave Erin the paperwork to sign. He sat the clipboard down as the nurses helped Erin into a sitting position.
Erin turned and faced Jay. He leaned in and placed a soft kiss on her forehead as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Erin, I need you to stay perfectly still. It's very important that you don't move once I start, ok?" Dr. Barnett explained.
"Ok" Erin answered.
Jay watched from over Erin's shoulder as Dr. Barnett cleaned Erin's back and reached down onto the bed for a needle filled with a local ansthetic.
"Just a little pinch" Dr. Barnett said as Jay turned his head to place a kiss on Erin's temple as Dr. Barnett numbed the epidural site.
"Oh no" Erin groaned.
"What's wrong?" Jay asked as Erin pulled her head back.
"I'm having a contraction" Erin groaned as her eyes welled with tears.
"You're fine, Erin. Just breathe" Nurse Carley soothed as she held onto one of Erin's shoulders to keep her back curved so Dr. Barnett could administer the epidural.
"I have to lay down...please" Erin begged as she held tight to Jay.
"Erin, you have to stay still" Dr. Barnett scolded as he reached down for the needle that would give Erin the pain relief she was seeking.
"I can't. I need to lay down please" Erin begged. "It hurts"
"Just breathe, Erin" Nurse Vanessa said.
"I can't" Erin pulled her head back as tears rolled down her cheeks. "Jay please help me...please"
Jay felt his heart breaking as he took a deep breath to fight back his own tears. Hearing Erin plead with him to help her was killing him and it was even worse knowing he couldn't help her.
"It's almost over Erin" Jay assured.
"Erin don't move" Dr. Barnett said again as he held the needle in Erin's spine with a steady hand and squeezed the syringe containing the medicine into her.
"Ow" Erin cried as she tried to breathe through the pain she was feeling. Her shaking hands clung to Jay's shirt as her contraction started to subside.
Dr. Barnett finished the epidural and cleaned off Erin's bed. "All done"
Erin pulled her head back and Jay used his thumbs to wipe the tears that had fallen from Erin's hazel eyes down her cheeks. "You did great, baby"
Erin shook her head "I'm sorry"
"Don't be sorry. You're fine" Jay assured.
Erin gave a slight smile as Carley and Vanessa helped Erin get settled back in bed.
"It's going to take about 15 minutes for the epidural to have it's full effect" Dr. Barnett explained. "Once it sets in, I'd try to get some rest, you're going to need it to deliver"
Erin nodded as she felt her legs starting to get heavy and numb. "Thank you"
Dr. Barnett nodded "You're welcome. And good luck and congratulations to you"
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As soon as Erin's epidural kicked in she was asleep. Jay took the opportunity to try to get some sleep as well. He and Erin had managed to get almost two hours of sleep before Nurse Carley came in to examine Erin and see how far along she was.
Erin's eyes were still heavy with exhaustion as she watched Carley take a seat at the end of the bed and examine her.
"Well" Carley said "You're fully dilated. I'll page Dr. Backus and get things set up for you to start pushing. Looks like you're going to have a little Valentine after all"
Erin tilted her head up to look at Jay and he gave her a nervous but excited smile as he leaned down to place a kiss on her forehead.
"I'm going to go let everyone know what's going on" Jay said as he gave Erin a quick kiss and went down the hall to where everyone was waiting.
The sound of the fetal monitor going off caused Carley to stop what she was doing and walk over to the monitor and look at it.
"What's wrong?" Erin asked.
Carley furrowed her brow "Nothing major...The baby's having a hard time with your contractions being so close together. I'm going to get Dr. Backus in here and let her take a look"
Jay came back in the room just as Dr. Backus came in and looked at the fetal monitor.
"What's going on?" Jay asked as the monitor started beeping again.
Dr. Backus looked at Erin and Jay as she examined the monitor. "Baby Halstead is having some trouble with the stress of back to back contractions. It's heart rate keeps dropping"
"What?" Erin asked as panic started to fill her body.
"It's nothing too serious. I just want to keep an eye on it" Dr. Backus explained.
"What are you going to do?" Jay asked taking ahold of Erin's hand as he took a seat. His knees were shaking and he was sure he was about to fall if he didn't sit down.
"We're going to deliver you in the OR" Dr. Backus said. "Just in case baby's heart rate drops too much from the stress of you pushing. I can do an emergency c-section"
"A c-section?" Jay felt his heart racing as he looked at Dr. Backus.
"That's only if we'd need to. If the baby's hear rate drops too low, I can do an emergency c-section and have the baby out in 90 seconds if I'd have to" Dr. Backus explained. "I'm going to go on to the OR and get ready. We're still ok"
Erin nodded and looked at Dr. Backus "No matter what happens, my baby comes first"
"Erin it won't come to that" Dr. Backus assured.
"If it does. My baby comes first" Erin repeated again. "Promise me"
Dr. Backus was quiet for a moment before speaking "I promise"
Dr. Backus walked out of Erin's room and Jay quickly followed her.
"Dr. Backus?" Jay called following her down the hall.
"Mr. Halstead?" Dr. Backus said as she turned around.
"Everything's ok, right?" Jay asked.
"Everything will be ok. The low heart rate happens sometimes, this is just a precaution" Dr. Backus said.
"That girl in there..." Jay gestured towards Erin's room."... is my entire life. It's my family..."
Dr. Backus watched as Jay's blue eyes welled with unshed tears "I know. But believe me when I say, we're ok. If you want to come with me, we'll get you some scrubs to put on"
Jay nodded and wiped the tear that slid down his cheek and followed Dr. Backus down the hospital corridor.
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Erin looked around the OR as she was wheeled into it. It was so much more sterile and cold than the room she was in and she groaned as she felt her epidural starting to wear off.
Erin was moved to a smaller OR bed and a surgical orderly adjusted the bed so that Erin was in a reclining position as another place her feet in stirrups and covered her legs with a sheet.
"Where's my husband?" Erin asked.
"He's on his way" the orderly behind Erin said.
Erin watched as a hospital baby bassinet was wheeled into the OR and Erin felt tears well in her eyes as the realization of what was about to happen finally set in.
The doors to the OR opened up and Jay came in dressed in hospital scrubs. "I'm here, baby"
Erin reached for Jay's hand and looked at him "I'm so glad you're here"
Jay placed a kiss on Erin's head as Dr. Backus finished getting her gloves on and she took a seat at the end of the bed.
"Ok Erin, are you ready?" Dr. Backus asked lifting the blue sheet up over Erin's thighs.
Erin nodded as the rhythmic sound of Baby Halstead's heart filled the room.
"Ok, when you feel a contraction, I want you to take a deep breath, put your chin to your chest and push" Dr. Backus instructed.
Erin nodded and adjusted her grip on Jay's hand as she felt the tightening in her pelvis and she leaned forward and started to push.
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"Oh God, it hurts so bad. Just make it stop" Erin cried. She'd been pushing for the last 45 minutes and didn't feel like she'd made any progress.. She just wanted it to be over.
"You're doing great Erin. I can see the head." Dr. Backus encouraged.
"It burns. It hurts so much. Please make it stop." Erin cried as she looked at Jay. Her eyes were wild, the pain ripping through her body was agonizing and it was killing Jay to see her like that.
"You're almost there Erin. The baby's almost here." Jay kissed her sweat-slicked forehead in an attempt to provide comfort but Erin just pushed him away as another contraction hit her full force.
"If you're not going to help me then get away from me." Erin released his hand and shoved it away from her as she gritted her teeth.
"That's it Erin, give me a good push." Erin held her breath and pushed with every ounce of strength in her.
"That's good. Relax a second." Dr. Backus soothed as she watched Jay step back to Erin, now used to her outbursts when she was in the midst of a contraction.
"You're doing so great Erin. I'm so proud of you." Jay assured.
"I'm sorry Jay," Erin whimpered as her body collapsed back against the pillows.
"Shh. It's okay Baby." Jay murmured against her forehead again as he took her hand, prepared for her grip when the next contraction hit.
"Now Erin when the next contraction comes I want you to bear down and push as hard as you can." Dr. Backus encouraged.
Erin nodded as she felt the contraction building and she leaned up and pushed as hard as she could.
"That's it Erin. Big push." Dr. Backus saw the first of the head appearing.
Tears streamed down Erin's cheeks as the burning, searing, excruciating pain radiated throughout her entire body.
"We're never doing this again" Erin groaned as she looked over at Jay. "I want you to get a vasectomy. Or you'll never touch me again"
"I promise." Jay assured her as the contraction passed and she whimpered again softly. He'd been expecting her to say that all night and was surprised it had taken her that long to finally say it.
"The head's crowning, Erin. This baby's got a lot of hair." Dr. Backus ignored Erin's outburst. "Now on the next contraction, give me a big push and let's see if we can get the head out."
Jay stood on his tiptoes and tried to see over her leg. He wanted to see the top of the baby's head but Erin held onto him too tightly.
Considering the scare earlier in the night, Baby Halstead's heart rate remained strong and the sound filled the OR from the fetal monitor that was connected to Erin's stomach.
"You're doing great Erin."
Another contraction hit and Erin reared up as she squeezed her eyes shut.
"Alright Erin. The top of the head is out. I know I've asked you so many times today to push as hard as you can, but this time I really need you to. Okay? I want to get the baby's head out." Dr. Backus motioned to the nurse to bring the pan over to catch the fluid that would be released with the baby. "But I'm going to need you to stop pushing when I tell you to so I can check to make sure the cord isn't around the neck and so I can clear out the mouth and nose."
Erin shook her head and laid back against the pillows. "I can't. I really can't. I'm sorry"
Jay looked at Erin as she placed her free hand over her eyes and cried. "Hey, look at me"
Erin dropped her hand from her eyes and looked at her husband.
"There's nothing you can't do. You're so close to being done, Erin. Our baby is almost here. Baby you survived almost dying. You can do this. You can do anything" Jay encouraged.
Erin nodded her head, the next contraction hit and she pushed down as hard as she could. Dr. Backus held onto the baby's head slipped free.
"Erin stop pushing for a minute" Dr. Backus said as she looked up at Erin.
Erin clenched her teeth again and held back as Dr. Backus checked the neck for the cord. "No cord. That's good"
Dr. Backus grabbed the bulb syringe and cleaned out the baby's mouth and nose.
Jay looked over Erin's legs and saw the scrunched up face of the baby and he gasped softly and a strangled sob escaped his mouth.
"I have to push," Erin cried as Dr. Backus held the baby's head steady.
"Alright Erin. Give me a nice big push." The baby's left shoulder slipped out and Dr. Backus pulled up on the baby to help dislodge the right one. Erin didn't let up on her pushing and she cried out as she felt the rest of the baby slip from inside her.
"It's a girl" Dr. Backus announced holding up the baby for her parents to see.
Love: A moment of impact hit both Erin and Jay as they finally met thier baby. A headful of chocolate brown hair and blue eyes was laid on the blanket on Erin's chest and she was perfect.
"Oh my God" Erin sobbed as they placed the baby on her chest. Erin ran her hand across the baby's face and the baby's blue eyes locked onto Erin's face.
"She's so beautiful" Erin looked up at Jay who didn't hide the tears that rolled down his face. Jay leaned down and kissed Erin on the mouth before turning his attention to the baby.
Jay tentaively reached his hand down to touch his daughter's back before looking at Dr. Backus.
"Can I touch her?" Jay asked.
"Of course" Dr. Backus smiled as she injected a syringe of Oxytocin into Erin's thigh to help her uterus to stop contracting and deliver the baby's placenta
Jay reached down and touched the baby's hand as she slowly stopped crying.
"Hi Evie-bug I'm your daddy" Jay softly said as Everly wrapped her hand around his finger.
Erin looked from her daughter up to her husband and raised her hand to wipe the tear that slid down Jay's cheek.
Jay looked down at Erin and smiled before speaking "I love you, Erin, I love you so much. Thank you"
"I love you" Erin said as Jay leaned down and gave her a slow kiss on the lips.
Everly let out a soft cry as if she somehow realized that the attention was now off of her.
Jay pulled away from Erin and they both gave a laugh as they looked down at their daughter.
"How about we get this baby checked out and we will bring her right back" Carley said as Dr. Backus cut the umbilical cord and Carley reached down to pick Everly up off of Erin's chest.
Erin looked up at Jay and watched as his gaze followed Carley and where she was going with the baby. "Go on. I'm fine"
Jay looked down at Erin and then over in the corner where Everly was crying as they examined her and cleaned her up. "I'll be right back"
Erin turned her head and looked over at Jay as Dr. Backus finished cleaning Erin up from delivery.
Jay stepped over to where Everly was laying under a heat lamp as Carley and Vanessa worked on cleaning her up and keeping her warm.
"Is she ok?" Jay asked.
"She's perfect" Vanessa said "I've never seen a baby with so much hair"
Carley swaddled Everly in a blanket and picked her up. "You want to hold your baby girl, dad?"
Jay nodded as Carley stepped forward and for the first time ever, placed his daughter in his arms.
Jay looked down at Everly and he was in awe. Everly's cries subsided as soon as she was in her father's arms.
Jay walked slowly over to where Erin's bed was and he looked down at Everly as she focused her blue eyes on him.
Erin smiled an exhausted smile as she watched her husband holding their daughter. Everly Katherine Halstead was finally here: 6lbs 4oz, 18 inches long and perfectly healthy. The perfect combination of her and the man she loved. And as Erin watched her husband smiling down at her daughter she knew in her heart.
Life wasn't going to get much better than this.
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Thoughts?