Jiley Oneshots

Lives Changed Forever (i) [f]

"Tell me to 'hang in there' one more time and I'll kill you James!" Riley yelled angrily, holding the car door handle with such a tight grip that her knuckle had whitened significantly.

James swerved the car down the empty streets, putting his foot on the gas and accelerating faster with every sound from his very pregnant wife. Riley's balloon of a belly tightened as another contraction took over her body, causing her to emit a loud groan through her gritted teeth.

Her husband reached his hand and rested it lovingly on her knee as he continued to drive down the dark roads. Glancing at the dashboard, he saw the digital clock flicker to 00:03- it was officially their baby's birthday.

"Nearly there Ri" he reassured her as he pulled into the hospital car park and switched off the engine. Adrenaline pumping through his veins, he leapt out of the car and darted round to her side, opening the door and attempting to help her out.

Riley swatted his hand away, shuffling her body weight onto her feet and pushing herself up. Reluctantly accepting the support of his arm around her waist, she began to hobble towards the maternity unit.

They checked in and were immediately taken to a room where Riley could be examined. She hoisted her body onto a bed, watching as her husband flitted around the room, rummaging through bags and taking out his phone to aimlessly scroll through his homepage.

Riley cleared her throat to get his attention, achieving her goal and having him immediately rush to her side. James placed his hand on her stomach, feeling the life moving around under her skin.

"I'm so excited" he whispered, leaning over to press his lips against her temple. "We're going to be a family of three"
He looked at his wife, seeing her smile faintly before her forehead crumpled into a frown.
"I'm scared Jay" she admitted, looking directly into his brown eyes with poorly concealed fear. "It hurts so much already and it's only just beginning"

"I know baby" James sighed, taking her hand and squeezing it reassuringly. "But I'm going to be here the whole time and at the end of it we will have our baby"
Riley nodded, smiling at him just as a midwife entered the room.

"Right Riley" the midwife said with a friendly tone, "let's see how far along you are"
She stuck her fingers where the sun doesn't shine and determined that Riley was in fact only 4cm dilated. "I suggest walking around a bit and maybe try grabbing something to eat or getting some rest as you will need the energy for later" she told her, snapping off her gloves and making some notes on a clipboard.

She left the couple alone, promising to return later to check Riley again. In her absence, James turned to his wife.
"Do you want me to get you something from the vending machine? Or I can run to the food court if you'd prefer"

Riley pondered on the idea of getting some fries, but ultimately shook her head, deciding she'd rather have a snack from the vending machine as it would mean James was away for less time. She told him as much, trusting him to pick her out something she would like.

While she waited for him to return, she clicked on her phone. The dreadful time on the screen seemed alien to her as she felt wide awake and was surrounded by the white lights of the hospital. She scrolled through her contacts, contemplating whether to tell her family that she was in labour.

Her finger hovered over her family group chat, eventually migrating back and not typing any message. She'd message them later, when she was closer to giving birth.

James re-entered the room, holding something behind his back suspiciously. Riley eyed him, wordlessly asking what he was hiding. He saw this look and smirked, walking up to her bed and stopping.

"I got you something" he announced with a goofy grin, "from the top of a mountain"
Her face broke into a smile as he held out a bottle of mountain spring water and passed it to her, along with a snack from the vending machine.

"Aw thank you" Riley gasped, feeling her eyes well up with tears. She dabbed at them hopelessly, watching as James laughed at her hormonal reaction. "Stop laughing at me!"

James just shook his head, kissing her forehead as he sank his body into a chair beside her bed.
"Why don't you try and get some sleep babe? I won't go anywhere I promise"

She nodded, shifting until she could get remotely comfy- a challenge at 9 months pregnant. Her eyelids felt heavy as she closed them, shutting out the bright hospital lights and succumbing to her exhaustion.

The next time her eyes opened, it was when she woke up in intense pain a couple hours later. As promised, James was still slouching in his chair beside her, looking down at his phone.

His head shot up when he heard her whimper, "how did you sleep?"
As the contraction waved over her body, Riley ignored his question, reaching her hand out for him to take so that she could squeeze it.

When the feeling passed, she looked at the clock and inwardly groaned at the time, 03:27. James pressed the button to call the midwife and tell her that Riley was awake. Moments later she appeared in the doorway and gave a cheerful smile. Her positive demeanour was met with Riley's tired glare but did not falter.

She checked Riley, announcing she was at 8cm and was progressing nicely. This time, after snapping off her gloves, she did not leave the room.
"Not long to go until you can start pushing Riley" the midwife said, marking something down on the same clipboard. "Do you know what you're having?"

Riley shook her head, "no it's a surprise, we decided to wait"
She felt James' thumb rub circles on her hand, something he always did when soothing her. In itself, the simple act reminded her that he would always be there for her.

In a brief moment of bliss before another contraction, Riley looked at her husband, content in the knowledge that their lives were about to change forever.

~

I split this into two parts because it was quite long, but I'll be nice and publish the second part immediately so you don't have to wait x