Underestimated Part 70

"Drew," I called to him, sleeping beside me.

"Hmm," he moaned, rolling over.

"My water broke."

He jumped out of bed wide eyed and nervous as h.e.l.l. "Are you sure?"

I gave him a look and then looked down at the soaked bed.

"I'll call Dr. Long," he stated.

"Drew," I called before he got out of our room.

"What?"

"Where are you going? Your phone is right there."

"Oh," he said, realizing the obvious. He called Doctor Long, my mother and the one dreaded call to Dawson. That one caused an argument more than once, but I had promised I would call before I ever left. I hoped that he didn't come, but I was still going to hold true to my word.

I was only two centimeters dilated when we arrived. It was going to be a while. I wasn't even allowed to have an epidural yet because they said that it was too early. The contractions weren't too bad, and I was tolerating them okay.

By ten in the morning, my visitors started to arrive.

Celeste and Alicia were there first, and then my mom. I couldn't believe she had gotten there so quick. I wasn't looking for her until early evening, of course my husband had a hand in on that and got her a private flight out right away.

I had been in labor for nine hours and the contractions were starting to come stronger and more frequent. Drew was great. He held my hand and talked me through every one of them. I finally got the epidural around three in the afternoon. It helped, a lot, but the pain was still there, and I was feeling a lot of pressure. My visitors except for my mom and Drew stepped out to wait for the news.

At exactly five pm, after many bouts of nausea, sweats, and downright demon behavior, I finally felt like I needed to push.

Drew stepped out for just a second to tell our waiting party that it was time. I knew as soon as he came back that Dawson was there. I could tell by the look on his face. d.a.m.nit. I didn't want him there. Why couldn't he just wait and see if Drew was the father before he flew all the way there.

"Is Lauren with him?" I asked, Drew.

"With who?" he asked, trying to feign ignorance. I gave him a look.

"Yes, she and Star both are here," he answered.

"Star's here?" I was so excited that Star was there.

Dawson, not so much, and I wasn't sure how I felt about Lauren being there. I mean, I forgave her, and I was glad that she was with Dawson, but I still felt a little betrayed. I wasn't about to let it ruin my day. I was finally going to meet this baby that I had been waiting months for. I couldn't wait.

I pushed for forty five minutes, and it just wasn't happening. The baby would crown and that was it. He wasn't coming out. I would have said at that moment he was no doubt Drew's baby, being was stubborn as his daddy. Doctor Long explained that he wasn't going to let me go much longer. He was going to have the operating room setup for a C-section. I didn't want that. I wanted him to be born natural, and although I didn't think I had one more push in me. I tried. I tried like h.e.l.l, over and over until his head was finally out. Drew never left my side and my mother was the best birthing coach ever. Had it not been for her I'm sure I would have pa.s.sed out at least ten times from hyperventilating.

Finally, at seven twelve in the evening, baby Nicholas was born. He came out screaming, and I couldn't have been happier. It was no wonder he had such a hard time coming into the world. He weighed in at nine pounds, seven ounces and was twenty two inches long. He was a big boy.

Drew was the proudest papa ever, although after they laid him on my stomach I was scared. I swear he looked just like Dawson. Drew wasn't seeing it. He was seeing his son, and that was it. His hands were as b.l.o.o.d.y as the baby. He couldn't keep his hands off of him. He kissed me and told me that he loved me at least ten times before they took baby Nick to clean him up. Drew washed his hands and went out to give the good news.

"Drew," I called for him before he got out.

He was by my side, kissing me again in a split second. I couldn't help but laugh at him.

"I want to see Star," I said.

"You've got it, baby," he said with another kiss.

My mom went out, just as proud, with him. Star came in alone with a big smile about ten minutes later.

"I can't believe you're here, Star," I said as she wrapped her arms around me and hugged me.

"I wouldn't have missed this for the world," she said, walking over to the baby. The nurse held him up so that she could see him. She looked straight back to me.

d.a.m.nit, she saw it too.

"He's just lucky I was going to be here in a couple of days anyway for the swap meet," she teased, coming back to me.

"How are you?" I asked.

"Me? How are you? You're the one that just gave birth to a football player."

"He is a little football player," I said, smiling down at him as the nurse placed him swaddled in a blanket back in my arms. I loved him already.

"How's Dawson been?" I asked not taking my eyes from my bundle of joy.

"He's been good. I have told you before. Things tend to work themselves out."

"Yes, you have. I still can't believe him and Lauren though. It's so hard to picture the two of them together."

Star didn't know what to say. They were both her friends as much as I was. I respected her for that, and knew that she would stay loyal to both sides. That's just how Starlight was.

Drew came in, still smiling, of course. He kissed me, and then took the baby from my arms. He held him like he had done it a million times before. Celeste and Alicia came in next. They made as big of a fuss over him as my mom and Drew.

Everyone had been in except for Dawson and Lauren, and once Drew, and I were alone again, I brought it up.

"Drew, you have to let him see him," I said "I know. I was just hoping to wait until we got the test results back."

"That could be two or three days."

"Not when you just donated a quarter of a million dollars to the hospital," he grinned.

"Drew, what did you do?"

"I didn't do anything, just wrote a check and let them swab the inside of my jaw."

"There're doing it now?"

"Yup, four hours, tops," he said, staring down at sleeping Nicholas. "There is no way I was going to wait for two or three days. I want this behind us, today."

"Drew," I started to say. He stopped me.

"Don't, Morgan. We're not even going to discuss it."

I could tell that he was scared s.h.i.tless that baby Nick was going to be Dawson's and not his.

"Okay, Mom and Dad. What are we putting on the birth certificate for this little guy's middle name?" the nurse interrupted.

Drew and I looked at each other. Why the h.e.l.l didn't we talk about any of this before now? We couldn't give him Drew's name yet. Dawson would never let him have Drew's last name.

"We're waiting on a paternity test for that," I was the one to say. There was no easier way to say it. I was glad that she didn't ask any more questions.

"I'm going to take him to the nursery for his newborn screening, and then I will bring him back. Do you want to carry him to the nursery?" she asked Drew, no longer calling him dad.

"Yes, absolutely."

"Drew," I called.

He turned and smiled a warm, scared, smile. "I'll send him in," he said, knowing what I wanted.

Dawson walked in without Lauren. I was glad. I wasn't sure if I wanted to see her. He was wearing the same sacred smile. I wondered if he was now hoping that the baby wasn't his.

"Hi," I said.

"Hi," he said, kissing my cheek. "I think this has been the longest day of my life. How are you?"

I snickered a little. "I'm good. Happy. Scared."

"I bet. You look good," he smiled.

"Thank you. How are you?" I wanted to know if he was happy. It meant a lot to me that he was.

"I have been good, nervously waiting for you to have this baby."

He didn't call him my baby. That was the first time I had ever heard him not say his baby.

"Did you see him?"

"No, but Star said he looks just like me."

I looked down. I didn't want him to look like Dawson. I wanted him to look like Drew. I wasn't sure what to say. "Drew put a rush on the test. We'll know before the night's out."

He nodded. He already knew that.

We shared an awkward silence. Neither of us knew what to say.

"Lauren wants to see you," he said, kind of in a question.

I smiled and nodded. He left. I never thought that I would see the day when Dawson and I couldn't talk. It was sad.

Lauren on the other hand acted like we were still best friends. She hugged me with a big smile.

"Congratulations," she said. "I just saw him through the window. He is beautiful, Ry."

"Thanks, how are you?"

She held up her left hand.

"Engaged!?" I said, shocked. Wow. That didn't take long. "Are you pregnant, Lauren?" I just spit it out.

Why else would he be jumping into that again already?

"Dawson proposed on Christmas Eve, and yes, Ry.

I'm pregnant."

"Oh, my G.o.d." I squealed, grabbing her and hugging her. I was ecstatic for her. It was weird. I felt no bitterness toward her whatsoever. "I'm so happy for you, and I'm sorry I am making things so difficult for you guys."

"You stop that. This is a happy day for you. It will all work out, besides if the baby is Dawson's, we'll have to stay friends forever," she stated.

I smiled. I really was happy that she was there. I could see me back in my little house in Maine while my son was next door with her and Dawson. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. It would take Drew some time, but I knew he would love him like he was his own. Maybe I was just trying to place a little sunshine on a bad situation, but in the meantime, it seemed to be working.

Drew came in carrying our baby with a happier smile than he had left with.

"Do you want to hold him?" I asked Lauren.

"Yes, of course."

She held him, playing with his little fingers. "Ry, he is beautiful."

I was trying to read her face. Was she seeing Dawson in him too? If she was, she hid it well.

She talked about the shop, the radio station, Star dating John, my beach friend. I was glad she was talking like nothing had ever happened between. I laughed when she said she had to take up cooking and how the first time she tried to make Dawson a nice meal, it all had turned out to be a nightmare. They ended up going to Millie's for supper.

She handed me my baby when he started to fuss.

The nurse came in with a bottle and Lauren hugged me.

"I'll see you later," she said.

"Geesh, I didn't think she was ever going to leave," Drew stated, kissing me.

"I'm glad she came," I said, watching my little man take his bottle.

"Yeah, but I have been dying to tell you something, and she wouldn't shut up," he exclaimed.