To Have, To Hold, and To Leave: A Bryce Hall FanFiction «completed»

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"Oh, shit," Josh mumbled. 
"Oh, shit is right! What the hell are you doing, Bryce? Go get her to the hospital!" Nessa yelled at Bryce, who was standing there, staring at me.
"Bryce," I whispered, stepping closer to him and putting a hand on his cheek. "This baby wants to come and meet us now. That means that I'm going to need you to get it together. This isn't our first rodeo."
"Shit, yeah," Bryce replied, shaking his head as if to shake him out of whatever was keeping him glued to the floor. "Let's go."
"Ness, can you guys pick up the kids from school today?" I asked, taking a deep breath as a contraction hit. 
"Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Go! Go have this baby! Call as soon as you're ready for visitors, and we'll bring the kids up," she said, waving us out of their house. 

"This argument isn't over, Kate. I hope that you know that," Bryce said as he helped me into the car. 
I let out a sigh of frustration. "Can you just let it go for one day, please? We're having a damn baby."
"Oh, yeah, you're right. We're having a baby, so that means that all of our problems disappear," he snapped. 
"Do I need to remind you that none of this would have happened if you hadn't cheated on me in the first place?" 
He slammed his fists against the steering wheel. "You were never this big of a bitch before."
"Blame it on the labor. Just get me to the hospital," I answered, turning to look out the window. 

"You know what, Everleigh?" Bryce said, clearly over talking to me directly and deciding that conversing with our unborn child was the way to go. "You have the best timing. I mean, I try to leave your mom, and surprise! You exist. I move out, and surprise! You give your mother bed rest. I move back in, and surprise! I'm never allowed to leave the house because you're a little stinker. Mommy and I are arguing about what Auntie Addison said about her and surprise! You're ready to be born."
"Ignore him, sweetie," I murmured, rubbing my belly. "Daddy's just mad because he has to be a responsible adult instead of living like he's still twenty-one. Silly Daddy should have thought of that before he gave Mommy a ring and four kids."
Bryce sighed. "Daddy didn't know that Mommy was a lying sociopath when he gave her a ring and four kids. Daddy thought that she was just a normal girl."
"Oh, I'm a sociopath now?" I exclaimed, looking over at him. 
"Who the fuck changes their name and just neglects to mention it to their husband of ten years?" 
"Me! It didn't matter, Bryce! Kathryn Williamson only exists on paper. I am still Kate Hall. The same Kate Hall that you married thirteen years ago. The only person who changed was you. Shit, that was a big one."

That contraction ended the argument for the time being, and the only expression on Bryce's face was one of concern. "How close together are they?" he asked. 
"That was about fifteen minutes, right?" I asked, judging the time based on the fact that we had just made it to the hospital, and my last contraction had been as we left Josh and Nessa's house.
"Yeah," he agreed. "That sounds about right. Let's get you inside."

Even though Bryce and I had had a rocky relationship these past few months, he was clearly jumping into supportive husband mode, and I was beyond grateful. I wasn't about to give birth alone. 
"Hello. My name is Bryce Hall, and this is my wife, Kate. Her water broke about fifteen minutes ago, and her last contraction just happened as we pulled in," Bryce said to the nurse at the front desk.
"Let me just pull your wife's chart up quickly, Mr. Hall," she replied. Bryce grabbed my hand, squeezing it tightly. 
"I love you, Bryce," I whispered. 
"I love you, too," he whispered back. "Let's go have a baby, huh?" 

The nurse led us to my room. "Alright, Mrs. Hall. You know the drill. Someone will be by in just a moment."
I stepped into the bathroom, changing into the ugly hospital gown. I stared at my C-section scar from when I had Isaiah. I traced over it absentmindedly. It was crazy to think that ten years ago, Bryce and I had been going through childbirth for the first time, and today would probably be the last. 
"You alright in there?" Bryce called out.
I wiped a tear from my face with the palm of my hand. "Of course! I'll be right out."

As I opened the bathroom door, I spotted Denise, the nurse that had been there when all three of my children were born. "Denise!" I exclaimed, crossing the room to hug her. 
"Oh, baby, it's so good to see you! I had them page me as soon as you got here. If I'm being honest, I had them put me on the list as soon as Dr. Samson told me that you were having another baby," she laughed. 
"Remember how sad I was with Owen because I thought that he was our last one?" I asked, chuckling. 
"I know, girl! I was sad, too! I went home, and I looked at my husband, and I said, 'baby, I lost my favorite patient today,' and he's gonna say some, 'people die, honey. It's okay.' Like, sir, she didn't die; she just isn't having any more kids!"

"Oh, Denise, that contraction was closer than the last one," I said, grabbing my belly again. "Ten minutes this time."
"Alright, honey. Let's get you into bed. I'll do a quick exam for you, and we'll see where you're at, okay?" 
She did my IV quickly, remembering that that was my least favorite part of giving birth if one could even say that they had a favorite part. 
"Alright, how far are we?" Bryce asked. 
"Eight centimeters, sweetie. This baby is coming sooner rather than later. Dr. Samson should be here soon," Denise said, taking her gloves off. "I'll give you two some time alone."