123 - Labor of Love

The pounding in his chest wasn’t getting any better as his wife pushed.  He was about to be a daddy – again – and he was unaccountably scared shitless.  He should be used to this.  He had four kids for God’s sake.  None of them had been dropped on their heads or ruined beyond repair.  Why was he worried about this one.

Not this ONE.  These TWO. 

Twins.  It was going to be an entirely different scene with double trouble and he was damn nervous about being responsible for a pair of girls who couldn’t tell him what they wanted or needed.

“Jon.”  Sheridan’s voice was just sharp enough to draw his head out of the fog of near panic between contractions. 

He fixed an easy, relaxed smile to his face and focused his attention on her.  “What is it, Kitten?”

“I love you, but your duck paddling can NOT take priority right now.  Seizure-riddled cat takes priority today.  Stay with me.  Please.”

The superficial smile found roots and grew for the woman who knew him so very well.  “Yes, dear.  Sorry.”

“Thank- Oh!”  The next contraction had her head and shoulders lifting off the bed, bowing up and following the encouraging instructions for “One big push”. 

The next directive of “Again” had the relative quiet of the delivery room split with the cry of a newborn child.

“And here’s your little girl,” Dr. Orbuch announced cheerfully, placing the messy, squirming bundle on Sheridan’s chest.  Tiny arms and legs flailed in the air with fingers splayed outward as her little lungs got their very first workout.  Her sparse hair was too wet to distinguish the color accurately, but it looked to be some shade of blonde.  Her wrinkly little face was just as pink as it could be and the little button nose was appropriately dainty for a baby girl.

Jon’s eyes misted and his heart ached as it stretched wider to give his newest baby as much room as her siblings.  Each one of his children was different, but they all had their own irrevocable space staked out in his heart.  That included daddy’s newest girl, with the scrunchy blue eyes. 

She was the prettiest thing he’d ever seen in his life.

“Isn’t she beautiful, Kitten?”   

“That’s Noelle,” his wife breathed, arching her neck to get a better look at their first daughter.  “Noelle Catherine.”

Sheridan had been nothing short of amazing during the six hours of labor, taking each contraction in stride.  The months of research had evidently paid off, because once she equated what she was feeling to what she had read, his wife had pretty well taken control of the situation. 

There had been none of the stereotypical emasculation of the man who did this to her, no cussing, no crying, no screaming.  Sheridan had simply calculated the time between contractions, requested the epidural when they hit the right intervals and had a baby.  Jon would swear she hadn’t even broken a sweat – up until the moment he saw a droplet running over the arch of her cheek.  It wasn’t until it was followed by three more than he realized they were tears.

“Hey, hey…” he crooned, wiping them away with a fingertip and squeezing the hand he hadn’t released since arriving at the hospital.  “You did good!  There’s nothing to cry about.”

 “I know,” she sniffled, her eyes never straying from the tiny new life cradled against her bosom.  “I just need a minute.”  Watery green eyes flicked up to lock with his for a split second.  “She’s real Jon.  Noelle isn’t just a name anymore.  She’s a living, breathing child.  Our child.  My heart isn’t big enough for the love inside of me right now.”

The words came rushing back to him like a re-run from the hot Jamaican beach where they spent their honeymoon.  He had told her almost exactly the same thing when she was freaking out over not being able to love a poppy seed. 

“That feeling…  On Christmas morning... That’s exactly what you’ll feel like when they hand you your baby for the first time – only better.  There won’t be enough room in your heart to hold all the love.  I promise that if you don’t feel that way, I’ll buy you another car.”

If it had been any other time or any other place, he would’ve given her a hard time about being right.  Too full of love for both his wife and daughter to say ‘I told you so’, he leaned over and pressed a kiss to her forehead.  “I knew I wasn’t gonna have to buy you that car.”

Her lips quivered a bit around the edges of a teary smile as a nurse swept Noelle away for vitals and cleanup.  “Lucky for you.  I was going to ask for a minivan.”

“Alright, Sheridan.  Are you ready to do this again?” Dr. Orbuch overrode Jon’s quiet chuckle with the business of their other daughter’s imminent arrival.  “The second baby’s crowning.”

Jon’s hand tightened briefly around hers and he nodded with encouragement.  Considering the ease and grace with which she’d delivered the first baby, this was going to be another quick walk in the park.  He just knew it. 

“Nicole’s ready, Kitten.  It’s time to make our family complete.” 

It was only a matter of moments before his wife had stoically gone through the necessary motions and a lusty wail filled the room.  Nicole Suzanne had arrived and she was wanted the world know it. 

“Well that’s a surprise,” the doctor mused dryly, causing Jon’s forehead to furrow with concern.  She placed the baby on Sheridan’s chest just as she had done the first, informing them, “Your son has ten fingers, ten toes and is a hide-and-seek champ already.”

Eyes glued to the squirming infant, Jon’s heart grew to five times its usual size when he confirmed that there was, indeed, outdoor plumbing on their second child. 

“You beautiful, beautiful woman,” he crowed, planting an enthusiastic kiss on top of Sheridan’s head and laughing with delight.  “It’s a boy!”

The green eyes he loved so much were swimming with confusion.  He could visibly see her trying to make this unexpected piece of the puzzle fit into her pre-assembled, organized picture.   “A boy?  But...  I bought pink teddy bears... and named him Nicole.”

❧❧❧

“You threw Mommy for an awful loop, Nicholas Anthony,” Sheridan chided softly to the bundled baby in her arms. 

It was almost midnight and all was quiet in the Bongiovi family hospital nest.   After his boys had visited with their new siblings, Jon had taken them home and was going to get some rest before coming back in the morning.  Noelle was sleeping quietly in a bassinette within arms’ reach, her little pink skull cap peeking out from the brightly printed receiving blanket. 

She brushed a gentle fingertip down her son’s pink cheek and his perfectly bowed lips parted, working hungrily before closing again.  “I was all set for two little girls and then there was you.  I don’t think you understand how Mommy operates, sweetheart.  I like to know what’s going to happen.  I like to make plans and you did not give me time to plan.”

Touching the tiny cleft in his chin and marveling at how beautifully perfect he was, she continued on in a soothing lecture. 

“Is this how it’s going to be?  Hmm?  You’re going to always keep me guessing, aren’t you?  Probably at your daddy’s urging.  If there was any way he could have a hand in this, I would swear he did, just to ruffle Mommy’s feathers.

“Well, I just want to warn you that Aunt Riley is going to expect accolades from you for the rest of her life.  She’s bringing a non-pink outfit for you tomorrow and considers herself your savior.  Of course, I’d be surprised if Daddy doesn’t call Uncle Tico and get a full line of Rock Star Baby wear.  You’ll be wearing black leather and skulls before you know it.”

“Tony’s sending him a little leather Harley jacket.”  Sheridan’s head snapped up to confront her stealthy-footed husband, who stood over the bassinette, his broad palm was stroking Noelle’s sleeping back.  “He’s all kinds of happy to have a namesake.”

“I’m glad, but what are you doing here?”

Fatigue was digging deep trenches around his eyes as he smiled fondly.  “My wife and our brand new babies are here.  Where the hell else you think I’m gonna be?”

“Home in bed, getting some sleep.”  She tried to be stern, but in truth, she was glad to see him.   This first night...  It seemed like something they should be sharing.

“Sleep is for pussies,” he scoffed softly, a fingertip tracing the tiny shell of his daughter’s ear.  “How ya feelin’, Kitten?”

“Tired, but okay.”

He nodded absently, his attention drifting from daughter to son as he approached the bed and cradled the baby boy’s tiny head.  “How’s my Nicky?  Did he eat?”

The tender endearment filled Sheridan’s eyes  until they spilled over with tears.  Nicky.  Of course their son wouldn’t be something so stuffy as ‘Nicholas’, and the endearment suited the youngest Bongiovi to a tee.

“Yeah,” she sniffled, grateful that Jon didn’t either notice or comment on the tears.  “They’ve both eaten and should be good for a couple of hours.  I’m supposed to be taking a nap so I can feed them when they wake up.”

“Then gimme.”  With the practiced hands of a seasoned father, he scooped up the tiny bundle and tucked him into the bassinette with his sister.  Turning back to Sheridan, he patted her hip with the back of his knuckles.  “Now scoot over.  I’ll lay with you awhile.  We’ll both catch a nap.”

Making room for him in the hospital bed, she gratefully snuggled into his chest when his arm dropped around her shoulders.  He smelled musky.  Not like cologne, nor sweaty, but simply the scent of Jon after a long day.  He smelled like bedtime. 

She took a deep, relaxing breath and her hair scraped over his t-shirt when she nodded toward the babies.  “We did that, Jon.  Those are our babies.”

“Yeah, they are.”  He sifted his fingers lazily through her hair and crossed his ankles on the bed.  “I wouldn’t have asked for this in a million years.  Not the way it happened and maybe not ever, but damned if I could be any happier right this minute.”

“Mmm...  You sure Karma wasn’t just being a vindictive bitch by bringing us back together at that party?”

His chest rumbled under her cheek as he chuckled.  “Doesn’t matter.  I still say she was my vindictive bitch.  You... me... all of us... how our lives are playing out.   I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“Yeah.  Me either.” 

Several moments and an untold amount of heartbeats went by as they enjoyed Karma, each other,  the babies and the sweet familial glow that surround them all.  There was something undeniably right in this hospital room – and Sheridan’s world – tonight.  There was no place she’d rather be and no one she’d rather be with – and she had the peace of knowing that Jon felt the same way. 

The best thing?  This wasn’t just tonight.  This was the rest of their lives.  Loving, fighting, together, apart, up, down and everything in between, it was always going to be them.  Some people didn’t have the luxury of knowing that deep down in their soul and Sheridan considered herself not only lucky, but blessed.

She arched her neck to press a soft kiss on the underside of her biggest blessing’s jaw.  “I love you, Jon.  Now and always.”

“Back at ya, baby.”  His arms drew tight and a lingering kiss found the top of her head.  ”Right back at ya.”
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