Time Makes You Bolder (Sequel to No One's A Fool)

Chapter 13

As the car pulled up to drive Mick and Lucy to the airport, they all said their goodbyes. Lucy and Amy walked out to put Lucy's suitcases in the trunk, and Stevie grabbed Mick's arm. He turned to her.

"When I go into labor and Amy calls you, you should come to the house. You're the godfather, you should meet her after she's born."

"If you want me to come to the house, of course I will. You can decide after Wrenna is here." He told her. "And you're going to go late. All first pregnancies go late. Don't be upset."

"We'll see." She smiled.

"Yeah, we will. Well, next time I see you, you'll have a baby in your arms!"

"Yeah." Stevie inhaled deeply. Mick put his hands on her shoulders.

"You have nothing to be nervous about. I've been telling you since 1975 that you'd make a good mum someday. I'm glad you finally get to do this. You're going to be great at it."

"I hope so."

"You will. You'll see." He smiled, kissed her on the cheek, and turned to leave.

~~~~~~~~

Stevie knew when she was going into labor. She had felt the difference all day, as the contractions progressed from Braxton-hicks to actual painful, though mild, contractions. Though Lori and Amy were both at the house, Stevie didn't alert anyone at first, wanting to be by herself to prepare for what was to come. She laid in bed that afternoon, rubbing her stomach and talking to the baby as she breathed through early labor, focusing on staying relaxed as her body began to prepare for the birth of her child.

It was evening when she finally emerged from her room, now feeling the contractions coming stronger and closer together, and asked Lori to call Barbara and the midwife.

Barbara was there within minutes, and the midwife and her assistant arrived within the hour. By then, Stevie was in the tub, breathing through steady contractions. Though she was in a lot of pain, she was quiet, mostly keeping her eyes closed and her head down as she breathed through contractions, lost in her own world. Lori kept the record player going, with Joni Mitchell, Carole King, and James Taylor softly crooning in the background. After one contraction, Stevie looked up at Barbara, tears in her eyes.

"This hurts a lot." She whispered.

"I know it does, sweet girl." Barbara murmured, wiping tears out of her daughter's eyes. "But very soon, you're going to be holding your baby. Try to remember that. Soon she will be here, and it'll all be worth it."

"Yeah," She nodded. "Is Amy here?"

"I'm right here." The girl answered, kneeling down next to the tub. She put her hand on Stevie's arm.

"Amy, you don't have to stay here if you don't want to. You can go downstairs, or Chris can take you to my parents' house. I don't want you to think you have to be here if you're uncomfortable."

"No, I want to be here. I'm fine, I want to be here, Stevie." She assured her.

"Okay, but if it's too much you can leave whenever you want. I won't be upset."

"I'm not going to leave, Aunt Stevie! I want to stay here with you." Now that she was a teenager, Amy rarely added "Aunt" to her name anymore, and now it made the woman smile.

"Okay, but can Lori or Mary please make sure I don't traumatize her?" Stevie said, lowering her head again to breathe through another contraction.