The Reagan Siblings

You Scared The Hell Outta Me

Joe Reagan always thought he was a patient person. He could wait for hours on end, content with a magazine or his Walkman and earphones. But when he sat in the hard hospital chair next to his young brother, he thought he would die of every feeling he had. He watched as his older brother's wife paced up and down, every now and again furiously rubbing her eyes.
Joe looked at Jamie, who had a pile of magazines on the table next to him. Their mom was quietly sitting in a corner, clearly trying not to cry. Their grandpa sat next to her, rubbing her back, trying to calm her down. He watched as his sister stood up and put a hand on the pacing blonde's shoulder.
"You should sit down."
"No. I can't."
"Linda..."
"I can't sit!" She said loudly, her tears coming fast. She shook her head and bit her lip, letting Erin lead her to the chair next to Joe.
He put a hand on her shoulder, "he'll be okay."
She shook her head and buried her face in her hands.
"Danny will pull through," Joe tried again, "it was through his shoulder. He'll be okay."
"But it's been hours!" Linda stood up again and paced.
"Seriously, Linda," Jamie looked up from the magazine, "you're gonna freak out the baby."
Linda Reagan was eight months pregnant with her and Danny's first baby. She was being extra careful considering what it took to get pregnant. "No, I won't." She shook her head for the umpteenth time, the stress and worry taking a toll on her.
Frank Reagan had finally been able to breakaway from work. He came up to Linda, and put a hand on her shoulder, insisting she hold still. "How is he?"
"We don't know." Linda wiped her tears, her free hand going to her stomach.
He nodded, "How long has it been?"
"Long." Joe said from his spot, "we lost count thirty minutes ago."
Frank sighed as Linda started pacing again. "How's your mother?" He asked, sitting next to his daughter.
"Not good." Erin looked over at her Mom, "she's trying to be strong, but she's really scared... like the rest of us," she added quietly.
Frank put a hand on her shoulder, the silence hanging in the air uncomfortably.
Everyone looked at Linda as she let out a small scream.
********
Linda laid on the hospital bed, her hand under her husband's. She put her left hand over her husband's and sighed, "you sent me into fake labor."
"Sh!t, are you okay?"
"I'm okay, Danny.... are you?"
Danny nodded, "Yeah. Sorry I scared you two."
"That's okay.... Joe came with me into the delivery room.... I wanna name our baby after him. Probably the middle name."
He nodded, "he'd like that."
"It'd probably be okay if I had gone into labor. They could've rolled you in there and it would've been okay."
Danny smirked, "it'd be better if the little one cooked a little more."
Linda smiled and turned her head to face Danny, "you scared the hell outta me. I never wanna feel like that again. Don't do it again."
"Never." He kissed her lips, subtly realizing he couldn't keep that promise. What he didn't realize was that he'd break that promise almost every single day. "I'm glad you're okay."
"Me, too, Danny. Me too..." Linda sighed and rested her head on his good shoulder, the adrenaline and worry wearing off.
He kissed her head as she drifted off to sleep, praying she'd have a healthy pregnancy and birth.