More Than Us (Ianthony)

Chapter 18: False Alarm

Ian sat there for another minute or two and waited until his current contraction stopped, gritting his teeth and hissing lightly as the pain coursed through his body. Once it was over, he stood up as quickly as he could and started frantically looking around for Anthony. After about five minutes of searching, Ian had not seen him and was starting to slightly panic. Having a contraction right in the middle of the dance floor wasn't exactly on the top of Ian's to-do list.

"Hey Ian." He heard someone say. He spun around to see the fabulous Tyler Oakley standing in front of him, his hair in it's usual style while holding a drink in right hand. Ian had never been more relieved to see such a friendly face.

"Have you seen Anthony?" Ian asked, his voice laced with panic but it came off as rude-sounding. Tyler didn't seem to notice.

"Yeah. I saw him by the dessert bar earlie-"

"Is he still there?" Ian interrupted. Tyler furrowed his brows.

"I-I think so..." Tyler looked at Ian from head to toe, becoming concerned by what he was seeing. Disheveled hair, labored breathing, and nearly white skin. "Is everything okay?" Ian looked over towards the dessert bar to look for his husband, but he couldn't really see anything because he wasn't tall enough to look over a sea of heads.

"Y-Yeah. Everything's fine. I'm just trying to find Anthony so we can turn in for the night. My ankles are killing me." Tyler gave Ian a skeptical look.

"Are you sure? You don't look like you're feeling too well. Do you need to sit down or something?"

"No. I'm alright. I just need to fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiind Anthony." Tyler's eyebrows furrowed even more at Ian's lengthening of the word "fine" and then widened when Ian threw his hand down to his stomach. At that point, Ian couldn't keep it from Tyler anymore.

"Ian, are you in labor?" He asked, panic arising in his voice. Ian only nodded and cursed under his breath, feeling his current contraction sear in his lower abdomen. Tyler went into panic mode and sat his drink down on a nearby table so he could help Ian.

"T-Tyler, don't make a scceeennneeee-FUCK!" He groaned, taking a second to catch his breath before continuing. "J-Just get me to Anthony." Tyler frantically nodded. He grabbed onto Ian's right hand and wrapped his left arm around him to help guide him.

"Squeeze my hand if you need to." As soon as Tyler said that, Ian wasted no time. He squeezed his hand tightly, quiet curses and hisses of pain falling from his lips as Tyler lead Ian over to the dessert bar as quickly as possible. Once they got there, Ian's contraction had passed. Tyler's hand was now very red and numb, but he didn't care. Much to Ian's relief, Anthony was standing there talking to Courtney with a water bottle in his left hand.

"Anthony!" Tyler called, getting his attention almost immediately. Once Anthony's brown eyes fell over to a sweaty and pale Ian being held up by Tyler, he went into protective mode.

"Oh my god!" He exclaimed, dropping his water bottle and running over to Ian, taking him out of Tyler's arms and into his. "What happened!?" Anthony asked Tyler franticly as Courtney ran up to see what was going on.

"I found him on the dance floor. He says he's in labor." Anthony's eyes went wide and looked down at Ian that was still short of breath.

"Are they rhythmatic?" Ian nodded.

"Yeah. They're coming in every Six minutes."

"Are they getting stronger?" Ian nodded. "Oh shit, we gotta go!"

"My car is right outside. I can drive you guys so you don't have to walk four blocks back to the hotel." Courtney offered.

"Alright, but you gotta drive fast."

~~~~~~

"Anything?" Anthony asked, closing the door behind him as he walked into Ian's hospital room. Ian looked down to his stomach and shook his head.

"No... I haven't had one like an hour." Anthony sighed quietly, sitting a plastic bag filled with their belongings on Ian's bedside table and then taking a seat on Ian's bed. He took Ian's right hand into his and caressed his knuckles.

"You feel okay?" Ian nodded.

"Yeah. I'm tired and my ankles hurt a little, but I feel fine."

"Well, I'm glad." Anthony kissed Ian's hand affectionately. "I just hate that we have to say here for the night."

"I know." Ian agreed with a hint of aggravation in his voice. "But it's just for the night. I'll be out of here and back at VidCon by tomorrow morning." Anthony flashed Ian a gentle sideways smile.

"I know, but I hate hospitals."

"I do to, but it's what's best for Mason right now. Speaking of, the doctor  came in here again while you were gone." Anthony's face lit up with a questioning glare.

"Really? What'd she say about the sudden stop in contractions?" Ian licked his lips before continuing.

"She said that the contractions I felt tonight were Braxton Hicks contractions. I told her that they were rhythmatic and stuff, but she said that sometimes they can be uncomfortable, rhythmic, and are VERY hard to tell apart from the real things during the last trimester and that the only way to really tell is to change positions and to drink plenty of water which is something I didn't do. After that, they should dissipate; if not, then it's probably the real deal."

"So, false alarm?"

"False alarm." Anthony let out a quiet sigh of relief.

"Good. I was afraid that you was about to go and give birth on me and the baby not even full term yet." Ian laughed a little.

"I was too there for a minute. I thought that I was going to give birth to a premature child right on the dance floor. How fun would that have been?"

"It might wouldn't have been fun, but it would've been a good story to tell."

"True, but the baby probably wouldn't have made it if it were born this early." Anthony's face went somber.

"Yeah... But, he's still in there." Anthony laid his free hand on Ian's round stomach. "And let's hope he stays in there until you hit at least 36 weeks." Ian smiled and nodded.

"Agreed... Oh, the doctor also said that we should consider taking lamaze classes." Confusion became apparent on Anthony's face.

"Why?"

"She said that we didn't handle the contractions very well and that it would be very beneficial to both me and you when I really do go into labor. It basically just teaches you how to properly deal with the contractions."

"Do you want to take it?" Ian looked down to his stomach when he felt the baby kick slightly and then back up to Anthony.

"If it means an easier labor, then hell yeah. Besides, a couple breathing lessons won't be that bad, will they?" Anthony shook his head.

"Probably not. When we go back, I'll sign us up for a class." Ian yawned as he replied.

"Okay." Anthony smiled at his sleepy Ian and kissed his forhead.

"Get some rest, baby. I know you're tired." Ian stretched a bit.

"Yeah, I'm getting there." Anthony laughed.

"Looks like you're already there to me. Get some sleep. You're going to need it if you're going back to VidCon tomorrow." Ian brought the blanket he was wrapped in up closer to his chin and chuckled lightly at Anthony's comment.

"Alright, Mom. I'll go to bed, but only because I want to and not because you told me to."

"Right..." Anthony giggled as he stood up from Ian's bed and placed a gentle kiss on his forhead. "Wake me if you need anything."

"I will. Love you."

"Love you too, baby."