Lindsey's head immediately snapped up, his eyes widening like he may have misunderstood exactly what I said. It was only a second before he comprehended what was happening and he bounded over towards me, gently supporting me with his hand on the small of my back as he took my arm and helped me sit down.
"Do you feel okay," he asked. "Are you in any pain?"
I smiled a bit, "I'll be fine."
I'd informed him I'd been having some contractions most of the evening, dismissing them as Braxton Hicks. I could tell he was already quite anxious, gathering our prepacked hospital bags and asking if he should call my mother and Karen. I shook my head no, asking him to call only my physician right now, advising I'd be to the hospital in an hour or two.
He looked at me as if i'd lost my mind. "Stevie we need to go NOW! Your water just broke, what are you talking about an hour or two?"
I remained calm for the both of us. "Lindsey, it's okay," I reassured him. "I know my body. My contractions are still so far apart, it's okay, we're not in a major hurry. I just want to take a bath and then we can go."
He bit his lip, beginning to protest, but after he studied my face he backed down. "Okay," he relented, "I trust your judgement. Just please be on the safe side."
I nodded my agreement, running my hand through his hair. This was the moment of truth for us- this was it. And though we hadn't been on the best of terms in the weeks leading up to this moment, I knew that we would both put that aside for tonight and get through this together.
"Steph, I'm sorry," he almost whispered, "I shouldn't have-"
"Shhhh," I told him softly, "It's all okay, lets just not go there tonight."
He quickly agreed, kissing me on the forehead.
"I'm going to need a little help," I told him, blushing slightly.
"No reason to be embarrassed, my angel," he told me, "I want to be with you for every step of this. It's just me, don't worry about anything."
He ran a warm bath while I waited, coming back to hold my hand for another contraction. I tied my hair into a loose bun on top of my head and slowly removed my clothing, Lindsey helping me step over the side of the tub. Once I lowered myself into the warm water my body was immediately at ease. He scratched the back of his head awkwardly, rocking slightly from his heels to his toes, standing next to me as though he had something he wished to say.
I looked up at him, curious.
He cleared his throat. "Um, could I, uh, join-"
I nodded my head yes gladly before he could get the entire sentence out. He took his jeans off, hesitating a bit. "You're not going to give birth in there are you?"
That elicited a laugh from me as I shook my head no. "I'm too high risk, Lindsey, I have to be at the hospital. I'm just trying to relax for as long as possible. Nothings going to happen in here if you want to join me, but if you don't I understand that too," I reassured him.
He slipped into the tub behind me, and I relaxed into his arms. We were mostly silent, my eyes closed as I attempted to get a minimal amount of rest as I knew it would be a long night. He hummed a familiar tune in my hear, leaving soft kisses on my shoulder and running his hands over my stomach in the most gentle manor. He timed my contractions and held my hand as they systematically ripped through me, whispering reassuring words in my hear as I tried to breathe through the pain. I knew that our issues were far from resolved, but at that moment I was at peace with what we were and I was at ease in his presence.
The water was beginning to grow cold as I heard him gently whisper to me that it was time to go, we were getting close.
I nodded in agreement, letting him help me out of the water and getting dressed as Lindsey grabbed our things and walked me to the car, giving me the kiss I had desired for so many weeks, and safely buckling me in before making our way to the hospital.
"This is it," he told me, grabbing my hand. "We're about to become parents."
I nodded, still hardly believing that after all these years our dream was coming true.
