Grown (Lumax) COMPLETE

Waiting For Barb

TW// Mentions of childbirth

It was safe to say Max was not leaving the hospital. Lukas learned that the hard way, and eventually stopped arguing with her. Instead, he just settled down and got ready to stay there for the rest of the evening.

"Max, she's going to be okay." Lukas reassured her as she chewed on her fingernails anxiously. "She has emotional support in there with her, and she won't have to handle the grief alone."

"She's not grieving." Max pulled her fingers out of her mouth. "She's in premature labor."

"She's having the baby?" Lukas' jaw hit the floor.

"Mhm..." Max hated to admit that she wanted the miscarriage. She didn't want Barb's baby to survive. As twisted as that sounded, it was her darkest and most real feelings in the moment. Of course she wouldn't celebrate if Barb's baby did die, but she'd sigh in relief.

"Oh...that explains why you're so stressed out..." Lukas knew her true feelings. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "This okay?" He wasn't sure if this was a good time to offer affection or not.

"You're supposed to ask before you touch me." Max responded sarcastically.

"Oh- yeah, that makes more sense." Lukas apologized and pulled his arm away.

Max leaned into him, putting her face on his shoulder. "But yeah, it's okay. I'm not like...going to hit you."

"Good to know..." Lukas wrapped his arms around her. "Barb and you are two separate people. Just remember that you'll never have to go through what she's going through. Not even miscarriage... Again...never again. As long as I'm alive."

Max nodded and let out a frustrated sigh. She noticed an old people across the waiting room, the woman eyeing them. At first Max was going to snap at her, needing to take her frustrations out on someone. Then the old woman smiled, and nudged her husband to get his attention. Then they were both smiling at Max and Lukas. They shared a hug, as if celebrating love. It even made Max feel a little electricity in her heart. "Honey?"

Lukas jolted a little at the word. Max didn't call him things like that often. "Yeah?"

"I know I'm difficult...but I promise I'll never stop loving you, okay?" Max nuzzled into his shoulder.

Lukas lit up, that statement meant so much to him. "You promise?"

"I promise." Max confirmed.

"I'll always love you too." Lukas rubbed her back. "Just stay in my arms and we'll make it through this together."

Max relaxed, trying to focus on Lukas' heartbeat instead of the hospital ambiance. "Promise me that if I ever have to go through this, it'll be because of you."

"Child birth?" Lukas laughed awkwardly. "I assure you if it did happen, it would be because of me...but that being said, I'm never getting you pregnant. Unless you want to be a mom one day."

"I think I'll pass." Max wasn't fond of the idea of having kids. She thought she'd mess them up, end up being like her mom in the past. An absent alcoholic.

"Okay, then I'm gluing my zipper shut." Lukas joked to lighten the mood. It worked, he got to hear Max's soft giggles.

"It's not like we do anything anyway." Max reminded him.

"Good point, but I'm not taking any chances."

"Weirdo." Max teased him. "...You think Barb is doing okay? I'm trying not to think about it, but it's hard."

"I'm sure Barb will be fine, she's tough."

-

"Keep breathing like that, you're doing really good." Susan encouraged Barbara while holding her hand and rubbing her shoulder.

Steve was holding her other hand, and biting down on his free one. Barb was being torturous with him. He was pretty sure he heard his hand crack at one point. "You're doing so well Barb, keep breathing." Steve told her, muffled from his own hand.

"I can't!" Barb argued the whole time. "Somebody fucking kill me!" It was safe to say Barb wouldn't be doing this again willingly. Neither would Steve, be had already almost passed out once. Just from the doctor explaining to Barb what to expect during the process.

Susan rubbed Barb's hand and kept reassuring her. Then she noticed the doctor and nurses communicating with their eyes. "Is something wrong?" She asked immediately.

The doctor continued to check on things underneath the thin sheet. "We're going to have to perform a caesarean, the baby is in a breached position."

All three hearts sank at the same time. Susan and Steve both wrapped their arms around Barb as she started to passionately refuse the procedure.

"It'll be okay, Barbie." Susan promised before turning to the doctor. "You need to fully sedate her."

"That's not standard, and time is precious." The doctor and nurses were already prepping for the procedure. "Taking the time to sedate her, heightens the baby's risk."

"Did I ask about the baby's risk?" Susan snapped. "Put her under general anesthesia." Susan wanted the baby to make it, she really did. However she still valued Barb's physical and mental well-being more. They would be okay if they lost a fetus they never met. They'd never feel the same without Barb's sweet personality.

"Ma'am, we don't-" the doctor tried to argue.

"I don't give a damn, general anesthetic." Susan could tell by the way Barb was trembling, a C-section would traumatize her if she was awake. It could cause more psychological damage than Barb already had from this whole thing.

The doctor looked at Barb for her confirmation. Barb just needed quickly and squeezed Steve's hand harder.

"Okay..." The doctor listened to Susan's orders.

-

"I'm so tired." Lukas complained, leaning against Max.

"I'm too scared to be tired..." Max yawned, she clearly was tired too. "How long do you think it'll take?"

"I'm not sure..." Lukas yawned after hearing Max yawn. "Do you want to go home?"

"No way..." Max wasn't going to go home until she knew how everything went.

Lukas checked the time. It wasn't extremely late, but they had a tiring day. "We could go out in the car and take a nap?"

Max hated how much she loved that idea. At least in the car, they technically didn't leave the hospital. They'd be in the parking lot. It might be cold though. "Wouldn't we freeze? You can't just turn the car on for an hour straight without using it. That's a waste of gas."

Lukas shrugged. "There's a blanket in the back of my car. We can get in the back and huddle together."

"Okay, but we have to set an alarm for an hour. Text Steve and tell him we're taking a little break. That way if he comes back and we're gone, he won't be worried."

"Okay, come on." Lukas texted Steve on their way out.

Lukas tilted his back seats so they could get comfortable. He crawled in first, then Max followed. Lukas found the blanket and put it over Max first. "You want to cuddle up?"

"That was the plan." Max opened her arms and let Lukas cuddle into her. She made sure to give him some of the blanket so he didn't freeze. "Did you set an alarm?"

"Yeah, don't worry." Lukas put his hand on the back of Max's head gently. "Cuddle into my chest, I'll keep you warm."

Max gladly shoved her face into his chest. It wasn't the most comfortable, being in the back of the car and all. However she appreciated how willing Lukas was to compromise his comfort, all to keep her happy. Lukas fell asleep before her, but she managed to fall asleep a few minutes after him.