i can't help it, the sequel (mj fanfic)

ONE: Push

Michael took his red shirt off so he was just wearing his white t shirt. He opened the shower door and turned on the water. "How ya feeling?"

"I'm okay right now. Just uncomfortable." I yawned. "And tired."

Once the water was warm I stepped inside. An instant feeling of relief washed through me. The warm water beat down on my tired skin. The water pressure was so perfect it was like a massage. Michael sat on a chair he brought in and watched as I rested my hands on the wall and leaned in so the water was running down my back.

"Does it feel good?" He tapped his feet on the tile floor.

"Yes. Very." I shifted my weight from one foot to another.

I massaged at my scalp and tried to control my breathing while another contractions aches my body.

"Another one?" He stood up and opened the shower door. "Lean against the wall." He instructed me. I placed my hands against the tile wall and leaned against them. His hands pushed and pulled at my lower back again. "Breathe in." He breathed in with me. He had been reading tons of books on what happens when a woman goes into labor and ways that can help her be more comfortable. He was so excited to experience this and be able to help me. "Breathe out." I whimpered while it began to get worse. "You're okay. You can get through this."

"It hurts Michael." My face scrunched up.

"I know it hurts. I know. I'm sorry Penny." He said sincerely.

One of my hands rested on my lower back and rubbed slightly. We heard a knock at the bathroom door before the nurse peaked inside.

——————

4:32 pm

I squeezed his hand while the doctor checked to see if I was dilated. It had been 14 hours since my first contraction. I was 4 centimeters dilated. I had a long way to go. Michael kept telling me the first one is always the hardest. He said it was the most common thing said in the books he read. Some women take days to deliver the baby I was honestly kind of lucky I had gotten this far and this quickly, although it felt like an eternity.

Michael curled up on the couch beside the window, his head resting on his arm while he tried to sleep. I stared at his soft face. His eyelashes laid across the top of his cheeks, his lips softly closed, his hair draping behind his head. His eyes fluttered open. "You should sleep too." He whispered.

"Come here." I moved over on the hospital bed to make room for his lean body. He laid on his side facing me.

"Go to sleep, you don't know how long it will be till the next one." He kissed the tip of my nose while I shut my eyes.

——————

10:06 pm

I rocked back and forth on my yoga ball, trying to soothe the painful contractions that made my body ache and sweat. Michael squeezed my hands while I bounced on the ball in front of him. Around my stomach were wires connected to monitors which had a graph showing us the contractions and how far apart they were.

Michael looked at the screen. "Our babies gonna be here soon." He hummed. "How intense are they?"

"Intense." I squeezed his hand while it slowly went away. "Before it was like a painful period cramp... but now it's like a period cramp that I've never had before. It goes up and down and squeezes."

Michael pursed his lips and furrowed his eyebrows. "You're doing such a good job. Im so proud of you."

I stood up to rock my hips back and forth and stare out the window. I was wondering how on earth no one had figured out we were here. There was not a person in sight. Not a helicopter to be heard. No flashing cameras outside the door. I was so relieved.