And Then There Was You (Chris Evans AU)

May (Part 5)

  *unedited*

Third Person POV

  "You are lucky that man loves you," Laura reminds her daughter, helping her walk back to the hospital bed after using her hospital room's restroom. 

  Daphne rolls her eyes at her mother, along with everyone else in the room who is glaring at her like she ran over someone's dog. "I said I was sorry, like ten times already," she whines out. The sound that comes out can be interpreted by the pain she's feeling through her body, or by the scolding she continues to receive.

"Yelling like that bc you wanted an M & M  McFlurry on the way here was not okay, Daphne." Her mother's eyes chide her, only adding to the frustration from her words. 

  "It was fine," Chris says, coming to her rescue both by words and location. He pulls back the bedding completely, holds up her IV, so that she can scoot into bed comfortably. Or at least as comfortably as she can in this particular situation. 

  He covers her up as her eyes meet his. "Yeah?" she asks timidly, knowing how ridiculous it was for her to react that way over a craving.

  "Yeah," he whispers back to her as her hands cup his face, feeling the slight five o'clock shadow that has begin to appear. He leans in giving her a gentle kiss. He passes her what's left of her ice cream goodness.  "At least for now."

  Dr. Kallen did exactly what he said he would and called the hospital to let them know the couple were on their way. They went straight to the maternity ward and were greeted by a couple of nurses ready to take care of them. Daphne's parents arrived shortly after them and joined them in the room once she'd changed into the hospital gown. 

  "Remind me to pack a more comfortable gown for the real thing," Daphne requests as she takes another bite from her spoon. She holds a spoonful up to Chris. He quirks his brow questioning her silently. "Take it now, I may not offer later." He leans in as she moves the spoon to his mouth. She pulls it back from him, completely cleaned off as he licks a small remnant from his upper lip. 

  Adam had stepped out to let the nurse know she was back in bed, ready to be hooked up to the monitors. A young nurse comes in wearing navy blue scrubs, her blonde hair up in a ponytail, telling us her name is Natalie. She pulls a couple of monitors and wires from a drawer next to the bed. "I've gotta say, you look a little too put together to be in here," she chuckles out as she begins lacing the monitor behind Daphne's back, meeting in the front, securing it in place. 

  Daphne then realizes that she's still wearing the wedding day make up and touches the curls through her hair. "We were in a wedding earlier," she says with a smile. 

  "Brave girl. A wedding at seven months pregnant? How'd you manage heels?"

  Daphne chuckles as she points to the bottom of the bed. Chris pulls the bottom of the blankets over, revealing her very swollen feet and ankles. "I didn't. The bride, thankfully, insisted I wear my slippers."

  "Ouch!" Natalie stops her task of hooking up wires to apply pressure by squeezing certain places around Daphne's legs, ankles and feet. She watches the skin as it indents, changes color and then goes back to her natural skin tone. "Did you leave your urine sample in the bathroom?"

  Daphne nods with a hum, grimacing from the pain in the tightness of her feet. 

  "Alright, let's finish getting you hooked up. I'm suppose to run your urine, get about thirty minutes of monitoring in and then call Dr. Kallen to see what's next. But," Natalie pauses her movements, "if I had to bet, I'd say you'll be here at least over night."

  The room stays silent as she works. She moves the monitors around until she locates the baby's heartbeat, tightening its spot in place. After grabbing the sample from the bathroom she walks out of the room.

  "Ugh," Daphne moans in disappointment. Chris takes his place next to her in the bed, letting her find that familiar spot under his arm. His finger tips stroke her arm lightly. "You'll need to go home."

  "No I won't."

  "But, Dodger-," she begins to say before Adam jumps in.

  "We'll go by and grab him. He can stay with us." He runs his hand over the blanket that covers her feet. "Stop worrying." 

 "You know that's not possible." At that point the automatic blood pressure cuff turns on. Chris shifts to watch the monitor.

  "Well, you're gonna need to learn to stop worrying. 145 over 93 is too high, love," he tells her. "Roll onto your left side." 

  With a groan, Daphne does as her husband instructs, taking great care in not moving the tight belts that rest against her belly. She whimpers when she's no longer against his warm, comforting form. "What's wrong?" her mother asks. 

  Daphne pouts before reaching behind her, trying to grab any part of Chris she can. "Come back."

  "Are you sure?" he cautiously asks. He looks around the room, not wanting to make anyone uncomfortable but it is his wife.

  "I can't see you, but I know you're wondering if it will make my parents uncomfortable to see you in bed spooning me," she says matter of factly. "But, I don't care. So get in the bed and spoon me, Christopher."

  Adam chuckles at his daughter. "You heard her." 

  Chris climbs back onto the bed, laying on his left side as well, getting as close to his wife as he can without disrupting any of the wires and monitors. He feels her body relax a bit more against his with each breath she takes. His hand rests against her stomach. 

  After a few minutes of silence, nothing but the sound of Juniper's heartbeat and the paper threading through the machine, Chris' brow furrows as he feels Daphne's stomach change.  He sits up carefully, noticing that she's finally comfortable and has drifted off to sleep.

  "What's wrong, Chris?" Laura asks, noticing his change in demeanor.

  His hand moves around, gently pushing against his baby's home. His eyes dart to the machine that's feeding paper out down the cabinet it rests on. "She's contracting."

  Laura's eyes go wide as she moves across the room, taking note of the readings as well. "It's too early," she whispers lowly.

  "Probably just Braxton Hicks," he assures Daphne's parents. "If she's sleeping through them, it's not the real thing."

  Adam lifts the call button, alerting the nurses station. He stands by the door to tell Natalie what's going on as to not wake up and alert Daphne. She walks quietly into the room pulling the paper off of the machine. She makes a couple of notations before confirming Chris' suspicions. "She is contracting, but it's not consistent. Let me call Dr. Kallen and give him the update and see what he says. He may want me to check her cervix, but I don't want to do that until he tells me to. Let's just let her rest." 

  Before she's out of the room Daphne is already beginning to notice Chris' movement and starts to shift herself, looking for his comfort. "I'm here," he says quietly, getting close to her again. "Shh..."

   He watches her facial features. He can tell she's asleep, but not deeply. Her brow furrows as he feels her stomach go rock hard again. After just a handful of seconds her abdomen goes soft again, relieving the tension across her brow as well. 

  Chris begins to hum a song against her temple, an attempt to help her relax even further. He hums the first thing that comes to mind. The song that he himself needs to hear right now as well, knowing that the person he needs to hear it from can't help him in this situation. "Somewhere, over the rainbow..."