Casey Jones
"God Casey, it hurts!" Jane groaned loudly as another contraction wrecked her body.
"I know, honey. I know." I kept my hands firmly on my wife's back where the nurse had showed me to keep pressure to relieve some of the pain. But it wasn't enough. Ten hours of labor, no sir. Jane was two weeks late and the past weeks had been hell. She was in constant pain, she was intensely uncomfortable and crying uncontrollably. I hated it. The detective was a mess of tears and pain. I wanted to take it away. If I could take the pain away and feel it myself, I would do so in a heartbeat. But all I could do was be with her, whisper soothing words of love and not leave her side for a second too long.
"I can't do this," Jane whimpered as she fell back against the cushions of the hospital bed. "I c-can't..."
"You can." I brushed some hair out of Jane's sweaty face and grabbed the damp washcloth from the nightstand, pressing it carefully against her forehead. "You're doing amazing, Jane. I'm so proud of you."
Jane shook her head as tears formed in her eyes.
"Yeah." I nodded and pressed my lips against my wife's sweaty temple, feeling the brunette trembling next to me. I sighed and carefully moved her over as I quickly slid in behind her, wrapping my arms around Jane's chest from behind.
Jane sighed deeply and rested back into my arms, one of her hands resting on her pregnant belly, the other tangling with me on my chest. "I just want it to be over," she whispered hoarsely.
"I know." I nuzzled into Jane's frizzy curls. "Before you know it, we'll be holding our beautiful baby in our arms. It'll be over soon."
"I'm only dilated four or five centimeters, Casey."
"Yeah, isn't that enough for a baby?" I smirked against her. "Let's just start pushing that kid out so we're done with it."
Jane let out a sad chuckle. "Casey."
"How big can a baby be?"
Jane shook her head, closing her eyes as she rested her temple against my cheek. "Too big to push out of my vagina," she said, her voice suddenly fearful.
"Jane." I pulled her closer. "You've done it once, you can do it once more. Women are made for it, aren't they?"
Jane nodded weakly.
"And you are the strongest woman I've ever known. Pushing a kid out? That's peanuts!" I smiled as I heard a soft chuckle from her. "You can do it. I know you can. You're going to get through this and you're going to give us the most beautiful baby on the planet."
Before Jane could answer, another contraction started wrecking her body. She groaned and leaned forward, allowing me to press on the muscles in her back as she let her head fall down, squeezing her eyes shut to get through the pain.
When the contraction subsided, she slumped back against me, silent tears trickling down her cheeks. At the sight of those tears, I felt my throat closing up, my chest tightening. "You're so brave, Jane," I whispered huskily, "you're so amazing, so strong and so beautiful. I'm so proud of you."
Jane wasn't listening. She was crying silently as the pain slowly left her system. She took a deep, shuttering breath and wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand. "Casey?"
"Hm?"
"Could you get me some ice chips?"
"Of course." I kissed her head and carefully slid out of the bed. "I'll be back as soon as I can."
"Give Isa a kiss from me, okay?" Jane smiled a sweet, tired smile as she mentioned our five-year old. "Tell her I'm alright."
I nodded, tears burning in my eyes. Jane was in a world of pain but she would never let her daughter know that. Isa would worry too much. "I will." I smiled and hurried towards the waiting room where Angela, Isa and Frankie were anxiously waiting for hours now. I fought the urge to run as I headed down the white walled hallways.
