Daddy Unknown

Chapter 20

As if it wasn't embarrassing enough that her water had broken on top of Harry, it was also his birthday. Fantastic.

The fact his pants were soaked didn't even seem to bother him, because minute he realized what was happening, he jumped up and began aimlessly walking around the living room. With no idea what to do next. He'd imagined what it would be like when Moira finally gave birth to that little nugget, but now that the time was here, his mind was blank.

Moira -on the other hand- was suspiciously composed, which didn't pass him.

"How can you be so calm? Don't we have to rush to the hospital?"

She snorted in reply, "Yep."

"Then what are we doing still standing here?" He frowned.

"Ollie isn't gonna pop out within the next 5 minutes, I haven't felt the need to push yet, and I'm probably barely dilated. Stress will only speed up the process. So relax, Harry."

In return, Harraël seemed confused. As if he couldn't fathom the fact babies didn't simply crawl out of their mother's belly's and greet the world with happy smiles and tears of joy.

"Besides," Moira continued "I already called the hospital for a car. And haven't even had contractions, just a bunch of small cramps and they aren't so ba-"

She spoke too soon.

"You know what, never mind." She winced and reached for her bump, cradling it with the palms of her hands. The white flash of pain that had shot through her was unexpected, and unlike anything she'd ever felt. It wasn't a soul-piercing kind of pain, but it was foreign and, well; uncomfortable.

Looking back now, Moira could see she's been in labor much longer than she had realized. She would describe the contractions as cramps, that's where she went wrong.

Several times during that day, she'd felt these 'cramps' and thought she needed to go to the bathroom. Though she couldn't, so after a few minutes the cramping would go away. It finally clicked what those cramps meant when her water broke. It's kind of funny because weeks prior Ollie's due date, she'd been looking for labor signs. And then when it happened, she was oblivious.

Harraël came rushing towards her, like a hero to her rescue. Cupping her face and closely inspecting it to determine the severity of her suffering. "Are you alright? Does it hurt a lot? When did you call the hospital?"

Despite the seriousness of the situation, she let a small giggle escape. Worried Harry was a very cute Harry. "You were too busy freaking out, I suppose," she paused, rubbing her belly "I'm fine for now. Let's just get downstairs."

When they arrived to the lobby of their apartment building, Moira shot Miles -the concierge- a look that Harry didn't understand.

"Is it time?" The old man asked, with a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

"I'm afraid so," she confirmed "Is the car waiting?"

Miles walked back to his desk and fetched a leather weekend-bag from beneath. Handing it over to her, he momentarily squeezed her shoulder. "Good luck, dear. And yes, the car's waiting out front."

As a precaution measure, Moira had asked the concierge to keep her hospital bag here, in the lobby. In case she was out while her water broke and didn't have the time to go back up to her apartment to get it. Harraël wasn't aware of this so when he unzipped the bag, once they were seated in the car, it dawned upon him what the vague interaction between Moira and Miles was about.

Arriving at the hospital, two nurses were already waiting for their arrival with a wheelchair. In which Moira reluctantly took a seat, she considered protesting; since she could still easily walk. But knowing Harry's over-protective side, she decided against it. Instead of letting the nurses do their job, he insisted on pushing the wheelchair. Placing the leather bag on her lap, he rolled her to her private room in the delivery ward. Both of the young nurses shot Harraël flirty looks, and it made jealousy flutter within Moira. But who could blame them really, he was an Adonis. An Adonis in a rock band.