Lotto

12

February 2, 1976

Stevie was forty-one weeks pregnant and Lindsey didn't like the fact that she was at work. So he was miserably sitting at home like he has done every day since she hit 37 weeks and was told she could go into labor at anytime. She still hadn't gone into labor, and she was officially a week over due and she was miserable. Lindsey wanted to have the doctor induce her but Stevie said if it had to deal with her body he couldn't make decisions for her. So that meant even though he wanted her to breastfeed the baby she wasn't going to and he had to go to the store and buy formula. 

It was around three in the afternoon and Stevie was sitting in her office in tears her elbows on her desk her hands folded in a fist pressed against her forehead and she was crying into her forearms.

"Are you okay?" She heard from the hallway. Her door had been opened because when she got back from working with her last student of the day, she needed to sit down due to the amount of pain coursing through her body and she wasn't stupid she knew exactly what was happening and she hadn't been able to get up and shut it.

She sniffled and looked up to see her boss with a worried expression on her face. "I'm not going to be at work for a while."

"Are you in labor?" She questions and Stevie nods a sob falling from her lips.

"Okay, should I call your husband?" 

"No, he'll freak out and I don't want him to try and rush here. I can drive home it just hurts and I really want to leave but I can't leave for fifteen more minutes." She sniffles as the school bell rings.

"No Stephanie Go, I won't penalize you." Her boss shakes her head.

"Thank You." Stevie states finding the ability to stand up and cry out as the pain peaked slightly. 

"Are you sure you can drive?" 

"I'll be fine sitting feels the best." Stevie shakes her head.

"Okay, if you're sure." 

"I'm sure." 

"Good Luck, call me tomorrow and tell me how it went hmm?" 

"Okay." Stevie nods. 

Stevie was in a substantial amount of pain when she pulled up to the house and she didn't even pull into the garage she went right up to the front door and opened it bracing herself against the door. 

"LINDSEY!" 

She could hear Ginny barking and she ran to the front door to see Stevie and she started jumping up and down because she knew she couldn't go outside without her leash attached to her.

"LINDSEY!" Stevie screams again buckling over and sobbing as her stomach contracted.

"What, What's..." He comes into the entry way with a clothes basket. "Steph?"

"Hospital. AGHHHHH-HA." She says before breaking out into a scream clutching at her stomach.

"Okay, okay, go back to the car. I'll get the bags alright?" Lindsey asks.

"I can't move." She shakes her head.

"Okay, don't...Just stay there and I'll be right back." Lindsey bends down and grabs Ginny with his free hand. He ventures upstairs and sets the dog and the laundry in the middle of the bed and he grabs the hospital bag and the diaper bag and he goes downstairs. He shuts and locks the door and then he hands her the bags.

"Why?" She sniffles her contraction having clearly passed.

He doesn't answer her he just swoops down and collects her in his arms carrying her bridal style to her car that was still running in the driveway. 

***

They get to the hospital and Stevie is admitted, Lindsey being allowed to go in the room with her  against the doctors and the nurses wishes because a law had been passed that banned the banning of fathers in the delivery room and Stevie was thankful he was there because she was in a lot of pain and she didn't want to and certainly couldn't do this without him. 

The screaming had stopped because laying down was the best position for her and she had rolled onto her left side giving Lindsey the ability to knead at her lower back.

"Oh this hurts." She groans.

"I know Angel but you're doing amazing." Lindsey coos kissing her shoulder blade.

He feels helpless. She's moaning and groaning and all he can do is hold her and rub her stomach and her back.  

The doctor comes in to check her and it's evident that it hurts her by the way she tenses up and rolls her head towards Lindsey, bringing up his hand to her mouth and lightly biting on it. He flinches at her teeth sinking into his hand because he wasn't expecting it, but if that's what's giving her comfort he'll take the bite marks. 

"Relax baby, relax." He coos, she releases his hand and shakes her head.

"I can't, Lindsey his fist is inside my vagina there's so much pressure from that and the baby and it's all concentrated at my pelvis." She breathes out. 

"I'm sorry." Lindsey sighs again. 

"Mrs. Buckingham you are seven centimeters." Stevie groaned in annoyance at that. 

They had been there for several hours at that point and Lindsey could tell she was tired but she couldn't get herself to give into sleep. 

"Could you break her water would that speed things up?" Lindsey asks out of the blue.

"What?" Stevie looks at him wrinkling her nose.

"The amniotic sac, it talks about it in the pregnancy book I read." Lindsey shrugs.

"I was just going to suggest that actually, good job for brushing up on that. Maybe mom should do more studying." The doctor says in a judgmental tone and it hurts Stevie because it made her feel like an unfit mother. 

"So are you going to do it?" Lindsey asks.

"Yep, right now." He nods going to a drawer and pulls out a wooden crochet needle looking thing.

"Is it going to hurt?" Stevie asks.

"Shouldn't, little bit of pressure and a puddle of water under you but that's about it, raise your hips." The doctor demands and Stevie does as she's told the nurses sliding what looked like a dog training pee pad under her.