Out of the Darkness - A KathNiel Story

Chapter 44

"Don't cry, Kathryn... they'll be here soon, it's going to be okay." Pamu assured her, squeezing her hand and Kath wiped her eyes, but more tears kept falling.

"I don't want anything to happen to Kaia... she's the reason I've been doing all of this - telling my story, learning how to read and how to write... I fought so hard..." Kath trailed off, but she looked over at Pamu as she rubbed her arm.

"I know you have, and you're gonna be such a good Mom and we already know DJ is gonna be a good Dad. Kaia is perfectly safe, okay? Your Mom has a better medical bag in her car than I do, so I'm sure she'll come with better supplies so we can keep an eye on how Kaia is doing, how she's coping with the contractions... you have to try and relax as much as possible - being so tense isn't good for either of you in this situation." Pamu said and Kath groaned, arching her back. "Contraction?"

"Y-Yes."

"Breathe, okay? Breathe... squeeze my hand." Pamu tried her best to comfort her, but with each contraction it just made Kath want DJ so much more. "They're seven minutes apart right now, so you're getting there... it won't be long until we can get you to the hospital." Pamu said softly, but her heart broke as Kath let out a sob. The contractions were getting painful.

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DJ held the door open for a couple as they struggled to get through the door with the stroller and he couldn't help but grin when he saw the tiny baby strapped inside.

"Hi, welcome to the store." DJ greeted the young couple. They looked around his age and by the looks of the baby, who was very obviously a girl as everything to do with her clothes, baby bag and stroller were pink, she was a newborn. "Is there anything I can help you with today?" DJ asked. He enjoyed his job, meeting new people all the time, and getting to be around kids. It just made him more excited to meet Kaia, to finally be a Dad.

"I hope so because we have no idea what we're doing." The father admitted, making DJ laugh and the woman smiled.

"We got gifted a box of diapers at the baby shower, but they were too big for her and we have no idea what we're doing to look for the right ones." The woman said, obviously embarrassed but DJ gave her a comforting smile.

"Hey, don't worry about it. It's confusing and it's literally the most common question I get asked." DJ chuckled, leading them over to where all the diapers were laid out. There were three shelves of diapers, but those shelves ran all the way across the wall in the large baby store. "How much does she weigh?" DJ asked.

"Eight pounds, three." The woman recited and DJ immediately picked out the right box of diapers, showing them how to tell which diapers were the right ones for them.

"You're a life-saver, man." The man said, shaking his hand and DJ chuckled, shaking his head.

"Not quite." He corrected them, smiling at the tiny baby girl as she made small noises in her sleep. "She's beautiful." He complimented and both parents smiled proudly, the woman rocking the stroller back and forth to keep the baby settled.

"She already has us wrapped around her little finger - aren't you the guy from YouTube?" The man asked and DJ smiled, nodding his head.

"Yeah, my name's DJ Padilla." He said, shaking their hands again.

"I bet you like working here - you're gonna be a Dad soon!" The woman said with a wide smile and DJ chuckled, feeling a surge through him of excitement.

"In ten days, a little girl too," DJ said, grinning down at the newborn.

"You never know, they might end up in the same class someday." The man said and DJ laughed.

"I'm not thinking that far ahead yet, I'm just trying not to panic about the day Kath goes into labor and how much I'll be freaking out then," DJ admitted, his eyebrows creasing together in confusion when he saw Karla burst through the door of the store and his smile dropped, seeing the expression on her face.

"DJ! Kath's in labor!" Karla exclaimed and DJ's heart was instantly pounding against his chest and he looked back at the only other person who worked in the store, the woman who owned it.

"Go! Go!" The owner exclaimed and DJ didn't say a word, he just ran out of the store.

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