We Can See STARS

Future Chapter 7: March 2025

I'd been feeling weird all day. Laying down didn't help. Walking didn't help. It seemed like nothing was helping. Jamie was having a busy day getting ready for tonight's game so I didn't really get too much of a chance to talk to him. About an hour after he left for the game, contractions started and I realized what was going on. I knew that labor often took a while and I needed to calm myself down so I called my doctor to get some advice. She said that if they weren't coming regularly yet and I could still talk through them then I was fine. But once they became 5 minutes apart that I was to come in at once. I knew I was nowhere near that so I settled in to watch the game and called Ana.

"Hey, are you doing anything tonight??"

"Not really. I was just going to watch Jamie's game."

"Yeah, same here. Do you want to come over and keep me company?"

"I'll be over in 5."

She came over clad in her best pajamas and with her favorite blanket. Once we hugged and settled in, I filled her in.

"So, it's nothing to worry about right now but I've been having some pretty intense contractions today."

She just stared at me. "And Jamie still went to the game???"

"Well, I didn't really say anything before he left. He has no idea. Plus, I called the doctor and I should be okay until after the game."

She sat there silent but I could see the cogs turning in her head.

"Uhhhh...Ana....are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just trying to process this. So, I might have to drive you to the hospital?"

"Maybe. Maybe not. It could be in the middle of the night that things start to pick up. I'm just trying to distract myself and not rush anything. I just wanted to let you know in case I look like I'm in pain."

"Okay..."

—-

The game had finally started. It was halfway through the 1st and the score was tied 0-0 still. The waves of pain were getting a bit stronger but nothing I was too worried about. I'd walk around during commercial breaks and get water. It wasn't until the first intermission that I was getting a bit more worried. I could tell Ana was doing her best to pay attention to the game but was mostly worried about me. About halfway through the second, the contractions were coming with more regularity. The Stars were up 2-1 and Jamie got an assist on the last goal. I was walking around more and more and Ana started getting more involved with what was going on with me.

"D, I don't know, I think we should go to the hospital."

"No, no, no." I said through breaths, "I'm okay. I want Jamie to be there and the game isn't over yet."

"Yeah but, maybe I should call him?"

"No, I'll be okay. Just start timing the contractions for me please."

"Okay, I can do that."

In between them, I was enjoying the game, resting and walking around like I should. When Jamie got thrown in the penalty box for an unfair penalty I yelled at the TV until I was interrupted by another wave of pain. When it was done, I asked Ana, "how far between are they now?"

"About 6-ish minutes now."

I started panicking. The game had one more period to go. I wasn't ready to go. Jamie had no idea. I couldn't cut his game short because of this. It could take so long, hours even after the game.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!! Anaaaaaa!!!! We need to go, now!"

She was ready to go! She grabbed the bag she helped me pack a month earlier, grabbed my shoes and shut the TV down. On the way to the hospital, she called the team manager so that someone near Jamie could be aware. The contractions were at least every 4 minutes at this point. We listened to the game on the way; the 3rd period had just started. When we got to the hospital, I was ushered into a room and put in a gown pretty quickly. We had the game on in the room while it was halfway through the 3rd, I knew I had only a little bit longer to wait. The contractions were so close now. I still walked around to ease my nerves but would occasionally have a nurse come in to check me. With 5 minutes left to go, I saw someone whisper something to the coach who then quickly had Jamie come back to the bench. I knew immediately what he had said to Jamie because all at once his eyes got big and he scrambled to get to the back.