The Crown (Prince Harry fanfic #5)

Chapter Thirteen

"Though she appears to be having contractions, baby has yet to drop down. He seems quite comfortable in there. If he doesn't drop down and this is labor, we're going to have to do a cesarean. However, we don't know this is labor. This could be something else."

"Is Lucy okay? Is the baby okay?"

"Breathe," the midwife said. "We'll find out." The midwife turned to Lucy. "We can't give you any pain medications until we know what we're dealing with. You're going to be okay?"

"I'll be fine," Lucy grunted, trying to get comfortable on the bed.

The midwife nodded and left the room.

Harry sat down beside his wife and squeezed her hand. He moved around in his seat, and Lucy gave him a look. He tried to settle down.

"Everything is fine, Harry. It's just pain. Everything is good." Lucy rubbed her belly with her other hand. "If the baby comes, he'll be fine. It'll all be good."

"We don't have any baby stuff."

"That won't be a problem. I'm sure they'll be toys everywhere." Lucy smiled through the pain. "If the baby is born, does that mean I still have to have a baby shower?"

Harry huffed a chuckle. "I... probably. You can't escape that one."

"Dammit," Lucy grunted and sucked in a breath. Her back arched on the bed.

The midwife came back with a sonogram machine. A few other midwives did a few tests on Lucy quickly, some blood and urine tests, and then left. The main midwife went to the sonogram machine and started. Automatically, the baby popped up on the screen. "There is baby boy. He looks healthy." His heartbeat filled the room. "His heartbeat is healthy. Everything is good."

"He hasn't dropped?" Harry asked.

"No, which is good. You two still have time." The midwife cleaned of Lucy's stomach. "It is just as expected: Braxton-Hicks contractions."

"What?" Harry asked.

"False labor," Lucy answered.

The midwife nodded. "False labor," she repeated. "It is your body training itself before the baby comes. Labor will hurt more than this. Think of it really as your body getting ready. You have a month left?"

"Yeah," Harry agreed.

"First baby, I suspect two months. He still wants to grow, and he's already big. He'll spend as much time in there as he can."

"What about the pain?" Harry asked. "Lucy will still be in pain. Or we just supposed to ignore or can she get something or...?"

The midwife paused. "There's nothing we can give her. This is her first batch of Braxton-Hicks contractions. Could be her last." The midwife's eyes turned to Lucy. "What were you doing before coming here? Something stressful perhaps? In this weather?"

Lucy nodded.

"That's what caused the Braxton-Hicks contractions. If the stress stops, the false labor shall. She'll be fine; baby will be fine." The midwife paused. "We shall keep you over night, in case real labor begins, but I wouldn't suspect it. If real labor doesn't begin, we'll send you home. You'll spend the rest of your pregnancy there, hopefully out of stressful situations."

"How will you know when real labor begins?" Harry asked.

"Waters break," she said. "That's how you know for sure." The midwife walked to the door. "I'll get you a dress for the night, and we'll see what happens." She left.

Harry and Lucy sat in the room alone. The smell of the cleanness burned their nostrils. The walls weren't wall at least but happier, like it was supposed to welcome baby into the world. The walls were a dull pink and blue. Everything was shiny. The only sound came from the heartbeat of Lucy's monitor over her belly; his heartbeat filled the air. Sometimes the other sound with a grunt and groan from Lucy.

With her husband's help, Lucy managed to change out of her old, cold, wet dress. It crumbled on the ground. The cotton dress Lucy was given was warm and it felt so nice on her skin. Her high heeled shoes clanked across the ground. The shoes were put in the corner. Lucy shed all of her jewelry, even her engagement ring and wedding ring.

"Well," Harry said, "everything is good. We're safe. He's safe. He'll be great. He needs to get bigger, but I don't know how. You saw him, Luce. That's going to hurt to push out." Her eyes came to him, and Harry moved onto a different subject. "You're so perfect right now, so beautiful. I love you. You're so strong, and I don't know how you could do this. You're perfect and brave and beautiful and--"

"Harry, shut up."

"Yep."