More Than Us (Ianthony)

Chapter 23: Pre-Delivery Jitters

"Knock knock!" Mari called, knocking on the side of the door. Anthony jumped up from his sleep at the sudden sound and let out a quiet breath of relief when he saw it was only Mari and Peter.

"Jesus, you guys scared the shit out of me," Anthony said, keeping his voice quiet when he saw that Ian was still sleeping.

"Sorry. I didn't know you guys were asleep." She apologized, her voice now a whisper as she sat her bag down and walking over to Ian's bed. Peter sat down their breakfast they had picked up from McDonalds on Ian's bedside table and sat down in the empty chair on the other side of the room. Stretching his legs out that were still a bit tense from their crammed fight. "Where's everyone else," She asked, looking around the room. "I figured you guys would have a room full."

"We did for like the first three hours we were here, but Ian and I told them to go home after we figured out that he was going to be in labor for a while. We didn't want them to sit here all night and possibly all day tomorrow." Mari nodded her head.

"Understandable. I would've waited, but the other flights were booked and I didn't want to miss seeing the little guy after he's been born. I'm so glad that Lasercorn was willing to babysit."

"It's okay. I've actually been pretty lonely since he's been asleep, but I'm just happy to see that he's resting. He was so miserable before the epidural." Mari looked down at Ian and sighed quietly.

"Has he dilated anymore since your last text?" Anthony shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know. They haven't checked him since I last texted you."

"Well, he has to be pretty close by now. He was at eight last you texted." Anthony grabbed Ian's hand and caressed his knuckles.

"I really hope so." Mari and Peter made themselves at home in Ian's hospital room, eating their breakfast quietly while Anthony watched quiet reruns of The Fresh Prince of Bell Air. Ian stirred a bit in his sheets, feeling his stomach growl at the smell of Mari and Peter's breakfast. Anthony was the first thing he saw when his eyes fluttered open.

"Hey sleepy. Feeling better?" He whispered, taking Ian's hand into his again. Ian smiled up at Anthony and nodded.

"Yeah," he grunted, stretching out his muscles a bit.

"Hey there, sleepy head. How dare you sleep before giving birth, huh?" Mari joked, getting up from her chair to stand next to Ian's bed. Ian's smile grew larger.

"If you dealt with five hours of labor and then didn't feel pain anymore, you would've fallen asleep too." Mari chuckled at Ian's response. Anthony rose up from his chair and placed a kiss on Ian's forehead.

"Is there anything you want?" He asked. Ian felt his stomach grumble as the smell of Peter's chicken biscuit danced under his nose.

"I'm pretty hungry, actually. Can you get me some more ice chips? It's no McDonald's chicken biscuit," Ian paused, giving Perter and Mari the death look which drew a chuckle from the both of them. "but it's better than nothing until I can pop this kid out." Anthony nodded.

"Okay. I'll be back in second." Anthony gave Ian's forehead another light kiss before leaving the room. He came back shortly, but he wasn't alone. The perky Dr. Wilson was right behind him to check Ian's progress.

"Good morning, Ian! How did we sleep?" He asked, washing his hands at the sink and putting on a pair of rubber gloves.

"Good," Ian replied as Anthony handed him a cup of ice chips.

"Fantastic." Mari and Peter left the room for a moment so Ian's examination could be private. "Okay, are you ready to see how much progress we've made?" Dr. Wilson asked. Ian nodded while chewing on an ice chip.

"Please." Dr. Wilson chuckled lightly and checked Ian thoroughly for about a minute and a half. There was a large smile on his face after he was finished.

"Alright, Ian. You're ten centimeters dilated and you are ready to push." Ian nearly choked on a piece of ice at Dr. Wilson's words.

"Seriously?" Anthony asked, a large grin being painted on his face. Dr. Wilson nodded.

"Seriously. We've got the delivery room ready to go and we will wheel you down as soon as possible." Ian and Anthony looked at each other with large smiled and started laughing with joy. Finally. After five years, nine months, and three weeks, they were finally going to become parents. When Ian was being wheeled back, Anthony had to stay back for a moment with Mari and Peter to put on some rediculous-looking scrubs. He had to wear them to be present for the birth, but it was also used to pass the time as they prepped Ian for the delivery. After Anthony was all scrubbed up, he stood next to the delivery room doors, pacing back and fourth with Peter while Mari was back at the nursery waiting to see Ian's baby while calling and texting everyone the news. Anthony could feel his breathing creating condensation in his scrub mask, only seeming to make his anxiety worse as the minutes passed. Anthony moved the mask away from his face and took in a couple of deep breaths. He had been anticipating this moment for five years yet never imagined that he would be dealing with anxiety when this amazing even finally occured. It was rather jarring to him.

"You look nervous," Peter said, breaking the overwhelming silence. Anthony looked up at Peter and nodded, feeling only slightly better after peeling away the suffocating material from around his face.

"I am..." Peter smiled at Anthony and walked over to him, placing his hand on Anthony's shoulder and patting it lightly.

"Don't worry, man. Everything is going to be okay. I know it can be overwhelming especially in your guy's situation, but I promise that once you hold that little baby in your arms for the first time, nothing else will matter." Anthony chuckled lightly at the irony. He'd been giving Ian this exact same speech over the past 40 weeks and now here he is getting the same one. As ironic as the situation may be, it did help Anthony's anxiety. He was still nervous, of course, but Peter's speech really did help give him the confidence he needed to push through for Ian.

"Thanks, Peter. I appreciate it." Peter pat Anthony's shoulder a few more times. Suddenly, the delivery room door opened, revealing a young nurse fully dressed in scrubs.

"We're ready for you, Mr. Padilla." Anthony looked back at Peter and smiled at him.

"Let's go have a baby," Anthony said, putting his scrub mask back over his face.

"We'll be at the nursery when you guys get out." Anthony nodded and walked through the delivery room doors with the nurse ready to finally become a father.