Scream at the drunken moon

Chapter 53

It's been 7 months since our mini break in Hawaii. Alysha is due to have her baby any day now. She found out she was having a boy, which tore my heart out when she told me. Tony and I are still looking into adoption in a few more years. At the moment they're recording their new album and I don't see as much of him as I would like but he has to work.
That night with Tony and Mike has long been - not forgotten, just not repeated. It was a one off. An amazing one off though to be honest.
Today I have felt so ill, it's unreal. I've been feeling sick but haven't actually thrown up and my back is killing me. I had a hot bath this morning to try and ease the pain. It worked briefly. Then it came back with a vengeance. I am currently lying in the lounge, on the sofa, with a steaming mug of hot chocolate, counting down the minutes until Tony is due back. He said about 8pm and it's currently 7:30. Half an hour to wait.
I stand up to go to the bathroom and the pain is getting worse if anything. I rub my lower back as I walk - hobble might be a better word, actually. I sit down to do my business when I feel a popping sensation. What the hell? An even more intense pain shoots through my whole body. Then another. In a different time I would have thought I was in labour, but I know it can't be that. Another pain has me on my knees screaming. I reach into my pocket for my phone and as I press dial on Tony's contact picture, another pain ripples through me. I hit speaker as I'm in too much pain to hold the phone.
"Charlie, I'm on my way. I won't be long baby."
"Hurry" I gasp.
"Char, what's wrong?"
"Help me."
"Hold on babe."
I scream as another pain surges through me. I can't be in labour. I can't have kids. Apparently. Could they have been wrong? Tony and I haven't bothered with contraception at all - there didn't seem any point. Another pain rips through me and I need to push. Oh shit. I take hold of the handle on the side of the bath and wait a moment. Another pain sends me the same message so I follow my body's needs and push. Another one. And another. I feel something between my legs and reach down to feel what it is. It feels like a head. Oh. Another pain, another push and there on the floor is a tiny baby. I pick it up and quickly grab for a towel, wrapping this tiny infant up in it. I reach for my phone again and dial 911, telling them to hurry. I hear the front door slam and shout for Tony. He walks into the bathroom and stops dead in his tracks. He looks at the puddle of blood on the floor, then at me, holding a bloody towel.
"What the hell happened? Charlie, what happened?"
I hand him the towel, the umbilical cord still attached to the baby and me. My hands are shaking so badly I almost drop the towel but Tony has hold. It's ok. He looks down and sees a tiny face in the towel. The doorbell rings and I manage to stammer
"Ambulance."
Tony passes me the bundle of towel and baby and sprints to open the door. I hold the bundle to me and when they come in, it all becomes a blur.

I'm in hospital. I have a daughter. She's small but doing ok. They want to keep her in a couple of days because of her size but they're pleased with her progress. No one can explain how she came about, after what I was told. I don't care how it happened - I have a daughter. I'm sitting in my hospital bed, bored. Visiting isn't until later and I've already been down to the nursery for most of the morning. I'd been breastfeeding my baby but no one told me how much it was going to hurt. I discovered I couldn't do it so she's on formula now. I feel guilty as I know it's not the best but it really hurts far too much.
We have to think of a name for her but so far we haven't quite decided.
I sigh and close my eyes, suddenly feeling sleepy. I wake up to Tony kissing my forehead and I smile as I open my eyes to him and baby, who's lying in her little hospital crib, which he has pushed through from the nursery.
"Both my princesses together" he whispers, the biggest smile I've ever seen on his face. He turns and picks baby up and hands her to me. I sit up before taking her and kissing her tiny fuzzy head. He pulls his phone out and takes a photo of me holding her and then I take one of him doing the same.
He hands her back to me as his phone starts ringing and I hear half of the conversation, which has me intrigued.
He hangs up and his smile is even bigger than before.
"Alysha just had the baby" he tells me.
My eyes go open in surprise. They were born a day apart.
"Is she here?" I ask.
He nods. She's five rooms down. I stand up and with Tony's help, we push our munchkin down to the right room and I knock gently on the door. Mike opens it, a look of shock on his face when he sees us with the hospital crib. He motions for us to go in and Alysha smiles as she sees me. She can't see Tony at the moment as Mike has him by the door. I see her tiny son, the spitting image of Mike and smile.
"Guess what" I say. She still hasn't realised why I'm actually in here or cottoned on to the fact I'm in pjs and have a hospital bracelet on. She looks at me, wanting an answer.
"Tony" I call softly. He pushes munchkin into the room and over to the bed where Alysha's mouth falls open in surprise.
"The doctors got it wrong somewhere. I had her last night. I didn't even know I was because I thought I couldn't be."
"Oh Charlie, she's beautiful. Has she got a name yet?"
I shake my head. I keep running Mair through my thoughts. My mums name and my own middle name.
"Tony, what's your mums middle name?"
"Elizabeth. Why?"
"How does Elizabeth Mair sound to you?"
"I like that. Shall we go with that?"
I nod and Tony hands Elizabeth to me, the smile on his face even bigger again. I sit next to Alysha as she cradles Corey Michael Fuentes in her arms and we both pose for more photos, our huge smiles telling the world how happy we are.