Cresswell: The Lunar Chronicles

Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Nine

"Do you always have lunch down there?" Cress asked.

Thorne shook his head, standing up and gathering their trash. "Van usually bring lunch up to the office."

"Oh I'm sorry, we could have stayed up there."

"Nah. Any excuse to spend some extra time with you," he said, kissing the side of her head.

Cress grinned up at him, though it look strained.

"You okay?" he asked, lightly frowning.

"Yeah."

"I just have a little more to do and then we'll go."

"No, no, don't rush."

Thorne waved a hand in the air. "We're almost finished."

Cress shot him a grateful smile. Thorne made sure to wrap things up as quickly as possible, but it still ended up taking upwards of an hour and a half.

"Stomach still bothering you?"

Cress nodded, managing a smile. "Yeah, a little. I probably just ate to fast."

As soon as they got home, Cress knocked out one more homework assignment and then ended up falling asleep on the sofa. Thorne sat in the living room while she slept and goofed around on his port, just in case she needed something or started to feel worse.

"Do you want anything to eat or drink?" he asked when she'd blinked her eyes open.

She shook her head, sitting up and reaching for the blanket. "No thanks."

Thorne partially stood, resting a hand on her forehead. She didn't feel warm, so maybe she was right and had just eaten something that didn't agree with her. Hopefully she'd sleep it off.

When dinner time rolled around, Cress said she wasn't hungry and ended up going to bed at only eight-thirty. Thorne made himself some leftovers and settled in front of the TV for a couple hours. At one point he started putting together a list of things he needed to get done before leaving for France--getting the Rampion checked out, installing the baby-seat that had been delivered yesterday, and getting as many scripts written and episodes recorded as possible.

Finally, around eleven, Thorne's eyes started to burn so he reluctantly pushed up from the sofa and switched off the lights downstairs. He took a quick shower and then slid into bed beside Cress, feeling her forehead just to make sure she hadn't come down with a fever or something. She still felt fine and was sound asleep so he didn't disrupt her.

"Carswell?"

Thorne sucked in a breath, his eyes shooting open. "Hm? What?" He pushed up on his elbows, craning to look at Cress.

"My stomach really hurts," she said, tears trickling down her face.

Thorne snapped awake, pulling his legs beneath him and sitting up. "What?"

Cress nodded. "Yeah."

"Like you're gonna throw up?"

"No, it's... I don't know, achy?"

Thorne scooted closer, resting a hand on her stomach and then reaching for his port. "Like it did the other time?" he asked, already dialing for an emergency hover.

"No, its different."

He nodded, relieved when an operator picked up and he was able to relay what was happening. As he explained, he started to get frustrated that there seemed to be no sense of urgency in the woman's tone.

"How far along is she?" she asked.

"39 weeks."

"Sounds like she's having contractions."

Thorne blinked. "What?"

"Start timing them and see how far apart they are. I'd also call her doctor."

"Okay, okay, thanks." Thorne hung up. "She said she thinks they're contractions. Is the pain coming and going?"

Cress nodded. "Yeah."

"Let's time them then and see how long they are."

She nodded again and as soon as she said this next one started to fade, Thorne called her doctor's office and received the same instructions.

"Do you want anything? Some water or something to eat?"

"Some water would actually be good."

Thorne nodded. He kissed her forehead and stood up. "If another one starts, just start timing it."

"Okay."

He hurried downstairs and filled a glass of water and then also grabbed a granola bar. Even though she said she wasn't hungry, she'd skipped dinner and only had half a sandwich at lunch. And if this was the start of labor, she'd need her strength.

"Another one's starting," she said as soon as Thorne came back upstairs.

He set the water and bar down on the nightstand and started a timer on his port. He sank down beside her, wrapping his arms around her when she moved against him. Around the two minute mark, she said it was starting to go away.

Another one started about seven minutes later.

"Carswell I'm scared," Cress murmured, her voice going up as she started crying.

Thorne gently squeezed her, rubbing her arms. "Oh don't be scared. Hey, it'll be okay."

"What if I can do it, though? Or something happens and it takes days--I've read horror stories of labor lasting an entire week--"

Thorne gently shushed her, not wanting her to get herself more upset than she already was. He brushed a tear away. "Nothing's going to happen. And you can get that numbing stuff so you won't be in pain, okay?"

Cress managed a nod.

"I'm gonna start getting our stuff together, you keep timing them, okay? Hey, don't be scared."

She nodded again, managing a small smile.

Thorne quickly started getting their things, glad Cress had already put together a hospital bag list. He grabbed a couple jumpers for the baby, pausing for a split second at the repeated realization that they were going to have a baby.

Aces.

By the time he was finished getting everything packed and ready to g, Cress's latest contractions were eight minutes apart.

"Alright, let's head out," he said, keeping his tone light.

Cress, who had changed into a comfortable pair of sweats and was pacing nervously at the front door, paused as a look of pure terror crept into her eyes. She immediately shook her head and started crying again.

Thorne set his jacket on the counter, walking up to her and wrapping his arms around her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think I'd be this nervous," she said through tears.

"It's okay. It's something new, which can be scary." He kissed the top of her head. "But don't be scared, you'll be well taken care of."

She sniffed. "Thanks."

"And just think, next time we're in our apartment, we'll have us a baby."

At that, Cress actually smiled.