Iris

20. An Executive Decision As Dad

The ride home from the hospital that evening was eerily quiet. The radio was turned off and neither Chloe nor Lucifer said a word. Only the sound of passing traffic disturbed the silence. 

Today was October twenty-first, also known as Chloe's due date and the end of the third trimester of her pregnancy. They had a regularly scheduled appointment today to see how Baby Deckerstar's progress was, but the results weren't exactly hopeful. 

Over the last few days, Chloe had begun to feel extremely uncomfortable and officially started her maternity leave when she clocked out a few hours ago, none of which she was overly thrilled with, but she knew that all of this discomfort and waiting would be over soon. She had also been experiencing some Braxton Hicks contractions, but they weren't excruciating, just annoying. She had experienced them about thirteen years ago in the weeks leading up to Trixie's birth.

But then Dr. Johnson performed an ultrasound and crushed Chloe's hopes. Since Chloe was just shy of forty weeks along, they would now be checking to see for further signs of labor. Chloe had none, except that there was a fully-formed baby in her uterus. Despite the early contractions, the baby had not dropped yet, nor had Chloe begun to dilate. 

Dr. Johnson didn't seem overly concerned, but she didn't exactly like that there were no signs of the baby coming in the near future. 

Lucifer didn't say much while Dr. Johnson explained what was happening, but Chloe imagined he was just confused by all of this, being a first-time parent. 

"So...at this point, I really don't think your baby's coming this week, like we had all hoped. At least...not on her own."

Lucifer squeezed Chloe's hand gently and asked, "You're not planning on cutting her out are you?"

The panic in his voice alarmed Chloe, but also warmed her heart. He had really stepped up to the plate in the last few weeks, and he was extremely protective of their unborn daughter, his fight early last month with his sister proved that. He may be getting a bit dramatic over this, but it was definitely an option to consider. 

"No no no," Dr. Johnson assured quickly. "Your plan from the start, Chloe, has been a vaginal birth, and I want what you want. We can, of course, schedule a C-Section if you decide that's the way you want to go, but I don't think we have to go there just yet. My advice to you would be to induce labor, sooner rather than later."

Chloe suddenly felt very nauseous. 

"We could make an appointment for this time next week. Normally, I would be able to give you more time to think about this, but considering that you're already forty weeks and the baby isn't even in the position to go through the birth canal, I'd say the longest we can wait is seven days before inducing labor."

Lucifer shifted uncomfortably in his seat next to the table Chloe was on. 

Chloe's words came out smaller and weaker than she had intended them to, "I, uh, I think we're going to need some time to talk about this."

Dr. Johnson nodded with a polite smile and replied, "All right. For now, I am going to have the nurse at the desk schedule you an appointment for the twenty-eighth. If, by some miracle, she comes before then, that's great, but I've got a feeling I'll be seeing the both of you early this time next week."

Lucifer and Chloe shook Dr. Johnson's hand as she left the room, and soon after, they left without a word. 

 Lucifer pulled into his reserved spot in the Lux parking garage and turned off the engine. They  both unbuckled their seat belts, but neither made any moves to leave the car just yet.

Chloe looked down at her stomach that looked ready to pop, but clearly wasn't according to Dr. Johnson. She felt tears prickle her eyes and she sniffed.