Ever After New York

The Birth.

Hero sits up, his hands frantically finding mine. "Are you sure?"

"Yes." I gasp, feeling another sharp pain shooting up my spine.

Hero thrusts the duvet off of him before racing over to the dresser. He pulls a pair of sweatpants up his legs, then a sweatshirt over his head. He's in front of me within seconds, kneeling down so that he's eye level with me. "What do you need, love? What can I do for you?"

I rest a hand on his shoulder, gripping it tightly as another contraction hits. "Can you help me up?"

He gently grips my forearms before slowly pulling me up, my legs numbing from the intensity of the pain in my lower back. "There's a bag in the nursery. It has everything we will need. Can you get it?"

Hero nods his head before walking over to the nursery. He returns with the bag and grips my hands. "Can you walk?"

I nod my head slightly and begin to take slow steps towards the wardrobe.

"What're you doing?" Hero gushes.

"I can't go like this." I groan, gesturing to his shirt that I was wearing.

"Let me." He offers, pulling out a pair of yoga pants from the drawer. He bends down in front of me, dropping the bag to his side before helping me step into the yoga pants. Once they're pulled up and over my backside, I slide into a pair of flats and slowly follow Hero out into the living room.

He looks over his shoulder at me, noticing my obvious discomfort. "Jo, wait here for me. I'll put this in the car and come back for you."

"I'm fine." I tell him.

"Jo, please?" Hero begs.

I reluctantly nod my head and he heads for the door.

"You couldn't give me a few more hours of sleep, huh?" I say to the baby.

It was nearing four in the morning. I was exhausted and in pain. But I was relieved that I didn't have to wait much longer.

Hero comes back into the apartment and rushes towards me. "Put your arm around my neck." He instructs, and I comply. He lifts me up from underneath my legs and carries me towards the door.

"You don't have to do this." I weakly say.

"You need to save your strength." He argues as he slowly carries me down the entryway steps.

Once we are outside, he kicks the front door closed with his foot and carries me towards the car. "You can put me down." I tell him.

He gently does so, before taking out the keys and unlocking the passenger door. Hero helps me up into the seat before jogging around to the driver's side.

We make it to the hospital in record time, given that there was close to nobody on the road at this time of the evening.

The second we pull into a parking space, I feel an incredibly painful contraction rip through my backside. "Shit!" I yelp in agony.

"Hang in there, baby." Hero says in a soothing voice before unlocking the doors.

I let him carry me inside, my legs feeling like liquid at this point.

The nurse at the front desk watches Hero carry me through the automatic doors, her face filled with exhaustion. "How can I help you?"

"My girlfriend is in labor, we need a room." Hero demands.

"I'm going to need you to fill out some paperwork." The nurse informs him.

"I don't have time for fucking paperwork! My girlfriend is about to deliver a child." Hero shouts at her.