A New Addition

An agonizing scream wakes Nicky Nichols from her sleep; she jumps out of bed to find her wife standing in the hallway as she holds tightly on to her very protruding-rounded stomach. She hurries to her side and becomes alarmed when she sees the puddle of water underneath where the short woman is standing. "The baby – I think, I think it's time," Lorna yells out, feeling a strong contraction overpowering her entire body.

Nicky sits beside Lorna – who's lying in a hospital bed in the maternity ward – and continuously runs her hand through her hair, hoping to help her through the intense contractions she's experiencing. "You're doing so well, kid," she encourages softly, feeling terrible the amount of pain her wife must endure. The only thing that keeps her from worrying too much is the fact that once the baby comes all of Lorna's pain will vanish. "I love you so much and so does our little rugrat. You're giving her or him the gift of life, Lorna. In just a short while, that baby is gonna be out here and in your arms." She grabs the brunette's hand, stroking it tenderly as she stares softly down at her.

Her face and hair all sweaty from the intense pain, Lorna tearfully looks up at the redhead. She squeezes her hand bone-crushingly tight, "I love you too, Nicky...and our precious little miracle. You two are the only reasons I'll ever go through such torture! I just wish the baby would come out already; I don't know how much longer I can deal with this pain." Just then the door creaks open and in come Lorna's sister – as well as her herd of kids – and Red, which brings a smile to both Lorna's and Nicky's faces.

"Where's the baby?! Mommy said you had to give birth or something," Jovani, the oldest of Lorna's nephews, wonders aloud as he looks around the room to see where it might be.

Laughing through the next contraction, Lorna stares over at the five-year-old boy. "The baby hasn't come yet, Vani. But hopefully it will decide to make an entrance very shortly." She squeezes hard onto Nicky's hand as the contraction keeps getting stronger, trying to keep from screaming as to not frighten her sister's kids. It's proving to be difficult to not scream – her stomach feels as if someone's lit it on fire.

Franny, holding her one-year-old son on her hip, walks over to stand on the other side of her sister's bed. Watching her about to have her first baby brings back memories of her three births. She pats her head gently, easily empathizing with the pain that her sister is experiencing. "They don't call it labor for nothin', Lorn. I remember when I had Jovani – Oh God, did he just not wanna come out; took me almost three days to give birth to him. But then little Annette came out in like not even a half-hour after my water broke...Almost had her in the car!" She notices the angry look on Lorna's face, realizing her stories aren't helping and smiles sadly, "I'm sure the little one will be here real soon, Lorn. All the pain is really worth it in the end!"

Standing beside Nicky, Red gives an encouraging smile to Lorna. She places a hand onto her forehead and gives it a comforting stroke. "This is the worst part, Lorna. And the first child is always the hardest birth – I was in labor for twelve hours with my oldest son. But the minute that beautiful baby comes out and the nurses put him in your arms – that is the best feeling in the world. I can hardly believe in just a short few hours that my two beautiful girls will be mothers and I a grandmother," she presses a soft kiss to both Lorna's and Nicky's heads, so grateful to them for giving her the gift of a grandchild.

Hours pass and Lorna still lays in agony as she and her wife await their first-born child. The doctor comes in the room, a somewhat sorrow look in her eyes. That look causes a queasy feeling to build within Lorna as she stares up at the woman. She hopes to God that nothing is wrong with her baby. "I hate to tell you this, but it looks like you'll have to have a C-section. The baby is breach and you're starting to show early signs of preeclampsia," the OBGYN informs her patient.

Nicky holds tightly on to Lorna's shaking hands as they wait in the operating room for their child to make an entrance. "You gotta calm down, baby. Freaking out like this is not going to help you or the baby," she softly says, pressing her lips soothingly against the smaller woman's forehead. The small amount of tears that run down her wife's cheeks breaks her heart; she tenderly wipes them away with her thumb. "Lorna, don't cry; it's all gonna work out. In a few minutes our baby will be here, and we'll be parents."

Slowly nodding her head, Lorna sniffles a bit while keeping her eyes on Nicky. She grips her hand tight in her own and strokes it lovingly. "I love you so much, Nicky. You have been so wonderful to me, especially through this pregnancy. I'm so lucky to have you, sweetie," her voice cracking with her crying. She wraps her arms gently around Nicky's head pulling it towards her face so that she can plant a loving kiss to her lips, and then she holds her wife's head on her chest – hugging her tightly to her body. "I can't wait to see our baby. The most beautiful gift to ever be given to us, Nicky. You're gonna be such a great mom; I hope you know that." She runs her hand gently through Nicky's long locks of hair and presses a delicate kiss to her head.

Within ten minutes, the doctor gets the baby out and holds it up for the mothers to see. "Congratulations, it's a beautiful baby girl!" She says, handing the baby over to the nurse so she can be quickly cleaned off. Once the baby is all clean, the doctor brings her over to the eagerly awaiting parents and carefully hands her to Lorna.

"She's-She's absolutely the most perfect little girl ever," Lorna softly says, cradling the baby in her arms. Happy tears come streaming down her cheeks as she kisses her daughter's bare head tenderly. "Hi sweet little girl; I'm your mommy...well one of your mommies!" She strokes her baby's tiny face, smiling euphorically down at her. All the pain is suddenly just a distant memory to her now. She looks over at Nicky, who has tears in her own eyes, and motions for her to come closer. "Come meet our beautiful little angel, Nicky."

Nicky very slowly makes her way closer to her wife and daughter. She's never held a baby before or even seen one this close before. Nervously, she reaches down to very gently touch the baby's cheek and feels her heart melt when a tiny hand grasps onto her finger. "She's stunning, Lorna. She looks just like you," her voice shaky as she stares at her daughter. Being a mother used to be something Nicky could have never imagined for herself, and even now she's still a bit apprehensive about it. She has no idea how to nurture a baby.

Sensing her wife's nerves, Lorna stares lovingly up at her. "Don't be scared to touch her, Nicky. She's our daughter; you won't break her or anything." Her heart aches some when she notices the tears running down Nicky's cheeks and how bad her legs are shaking. Laying the baby onto her chest, she reaches her hand up to gently touch the redhead's cheek. "What's the matter, sweetheart? Come here; sit with us, Nicky," she warmly says, stroking her forehead as she makes room for her wife.

Sitting beside Lorna and their baby, Nicky wraps an arm gently around her shoulder. She looks at their daughter, tears still in her eyes, and smiles at how peaceful she seems to be in Lorna's arms. "I just – I can't believe we're actually mothers now... And to a gorgeous little girl, who fits so perfectly in your arms, kid. You're a natural at this," she kisses Lorna softly on the forehead, and presses one to her daughter's head as well. "What should we name this little girl?" She runs her hand gently over the baby's short fuzz of a brown hair, smiling down at her.

"You'll soon be a natural at this too, my love," Lorna smiles, looking across at her wife. She presses a quick kiss to her lips while peering warmly up at her. Staring back down at the baby, she kisses her softly on the forehead and caresses her chubby cheeks. "I've always dreamt of naming my daughter Antonia Rosa; what do you think of that, Nicky? Do you like it or you got something different?"

Nicky beams a soft smile at Lorna, squeezing her arm tighter around her shoulder. "I think that's a beautiful name for our little girl, baby. She does look like an Antonia now that I get a good look at her. Our little bambino baby, taking after her gorgeous Italian mommy!" She strokes Antonia's little baby hairs, kissing her cheeks gently. After, she does the same to Lorna – kissing each of her cheeks tenderly. "My two beautiful girls; I'll take care of the two of you for eternity. I love you both with my entire being. We're gonna have such a wonderful life with our precious daughter, Lorna. You mean even more to me now for going through this and giving birth to this gift of ours. I will never take either of you for granted, baby; you two are my whole life." She wraps her arms tight around Lorna and their baby, not ever wanting to let them go.