"Lisa."
She starts awake and lets her eyes flutter open. Her arms tighten around Jennie's body and she clutches her as close as she can.
"Lisa," Jennie whispers again and that's when Lisa realizes how scared she sounds. She leans up on her elbow and waits for Jennie to turn her face to her, knowing exactly what she's going to say when she does.
Her own eyes widen. She tries to remember if it's time yet. The days feel like they're blurring into each other and she can't remember.
Jennie's thirty-nine weeks. Everything's ready. There's a baby bag and a nursery and they put together a very small baby shower a couple of weeks ago. There's nothing left to do.
Everything's prepared. Everything's ready... except them.
"It's time?" she asks nervously.
Jennie nods, panicking. Lisa leans down and kisses her cheek to calm her down.
"It's okay," she whispers. "It's okay. I'm here," she promises.
"Yeah?" Jennie asks, like that wasn't already clear.
Lisa nods. "Yeah," she smiles. "Let's go to the hospital."
//
Everyone looks at them when they arrive but they ignore them. Jennie's in too much pain and Lisa doesn't care. They can think what they want.
Some bitch nurse comes in once they're settled and asks Jennie if there's a father that needs to be called with a smirk. Lisa's eyes drop to where she's clutching Jennie's hand, her heart jumping in her throat. Jennie doesn't say anything, just asks the woman to leave and not come back. The doctor doesn't argue and promises that he'll deal with it.
They know it's just the beginning.
//
Lisa rubs her back, just like she's been doing for months, easing her through each contraction and asking her if she's sure she doesn't want the epidural.
Jennie refuses it, determined to feel every single minute of this experience and Lisa smiles proudly, kissing her on the forehead.
"I'm glad you're here," Jennie says softly when she's exhausted and delirious and it's almost time.
Lisa kisses her neck, her cheek. She can't stop kissing parts of her if only to stop herself from kissing the one place she really wants to.
"Me too," she whispers softly and smiles.
//
She has no idea what time it is or how many hours it's been when the doctor tells Jennie it's time to push. She hasn't slept and she's running completely on the adrenaline of being here. It never really occurred to her how important it makes her feel that she's Jennie's next of kin, that she's the only person Jennie wants here when the baby is born.
She kisses her on the nose and wraps an arm around her back to help her lean forward to push, brushing her hair from her eyes.
"You look beautiful," she whispers because it's completely true. Jennie smiles her gummy smile and it melts Lisa. "I'm so proud of you."
Jennie's eyes flutter open to look at her softly. She glances down at the doctors and the nurses but they're too busy doing other things.
"I love you," she mouths.
Lisa nods.
"I know," she says, acknowledging it for the first time. "You need to push now, though."
//
Lisa doesn't know if it's five or fifty minutes or hours later, but before she knows it there's a tiny cry breaking the air.
She watches as this tiny thing is pulled from Jennie and then lifted onto her chest. Lisa laughs and then she chokes on a sob as she looks at the pair of them. She's never been more proud, more madly, madly in love, and she's honestly never seen anything more beautiful than the sight of Jennie sobbing as she meets this little girl she made for the first time.
There's really nothing she wants to do more than the thing she does.
It's really been too long coming.
"Jennie," she whispers gently and Jennie turns, melts into her when she feels Lisa's mouth hit hers. She gasps into the kiss and then softens immediately, mouth opening as Lisa doesn't move away. Instead, Lisa kisses her over and over again, her hand reaching to cup Jennie's cheek to keep her there, and Jennie just goes with it, kissing her back like she's been waiting for it forever.
Lisa guesses she has and, in that moment, she can't remember for the life of her why she made her wait so long.
"I love you," she whispers against Jennie's lips. Jennie's eyes widen in shock and she nods. She looks down at the tiny person on her chest and then at Lisa and nods.
"Yeah," she nods and Lisa holds her breath, waiting for the refusal.
It never comes.
Jennie smiles. "I love you, too," she says.
It feels like a beginning.
YOU ARE READING
Developments // Jenlisa
Romance"I'm in love with you," she whispers, her voice breaking. Jennie's face softens completely. "So much that I think it might kill me, except I don't even like you right now. I don't even know who you really are. I don't even think you do." She shrugs...
