the unforgiven | james hetfield [2]

thirty four

chapter thirty four: star hetfield

tw: childbirth

Iris looked like she was ready to pop any second now.

James made sure she didn't do anything without him being there in case something were to happen. That included walks in the park that she usually took on her own. 

He didn't like that. He was stressing over the baby more than she was, and he kept warning her that something would happen while he was away and he wouldn't be there to help her.

So one day, something told her to wait for James to get home before she would go off and take a walk for fresh air. She didn't want to hear him complain about not waiting up for him later on.

Things were fine for the most part. They were most certainly not the most perfect couple in the world, but they appeared that way. A regular happy couple who couldn't wait for their newborn.

Perhaps it would be the driving factor of having them stay together this time. For good.

Although they were walking around at a steady pace, the weight of Iris's stomach never failed to make her feet hurt and put pressure on her bladder.

"God damn it, I have to pee again." Iris complained as she sat down on a nearby bench to rest her feet for a bit.

James sat beside her, rubbing her back. "Just take a minute to rest and then we could find a bathroom." He knew she didn't want to wait, but she had been on her feet for a while.

After she took a minute to rest, she stood up to make her way to the bathroom. However, she doubled over for a minute and held her stomach.

James put his arms around her, preparing to hold her if something happened. "Iris, are you okay?" He asked, his voice filled with concern. 

She opened her mouth to say something, but a sharp gasp left her lips instead. He looked down to see the pool of liquid below her feet, his eyes widening.

She looked down at the puddle before looking at him. "I think my water just broke." She was too shocked to even process what was about to happen next. 

"We have to get to the hospital right now." He told her, grabbing her hand and walking back to the apartment to get the car. James thought she was way too calm about all of this.

Iris felt embarrassed, watching everyone stare at the two of them as she waddled out of the park. "I can't believe everyone saw that." She whined.

The trip to the hospital was not a fun one. While James was trying not to crack under the pressure of everything, Iris was screaming in the passenger seat.

The contractions wasted no time in hitting her, causing her to cry out in pain every few seconds. He knew it was painful, but her screaming wasn't exactly helping his nerves.

He kept one hand on the wheel and the other held her hand, looking between her and the road. "Calm down, Iris. We're almost there."

If he wasn't speeding right now, she'd grab the wheel and make him pull over. But for now, she just screamed at him. "Don't tell me to calm down, I'm in pain!"