Moving Forward

Ordinary Miracle

9 months later...

Niomi was just about to leave Jim and Tanya's house after celebrating an early Christmas Eve with the whole gang; minus Marcus, of course. Suddenly Niomi felt a rush of panic as a sharp, shooting pain graced her abdomen.

"Oh bloody hell!" exclaimed through gritted teeth as she scrunched up her beet red face and attempted to breathe through the pain.

"Nimbob, are you alright?" Alfie asked as his chocolate brown eyes filled with concern for his expectant friend.

"Are you mad, gorgeous? Of course she's not alright. We've got to get her to the hospital. I'll phone Joe on the way and tell him to stay the night with Silas if we're going to be out all night" Zoe replied, the urgency evident in her voice as she grabbed her purse, Niomi's diaper bag and the three of them headed out the door and on the way to the hospital.

~X~

As Zoe, Alfie and Niomi made their way to Royal Sussex County Hospital, Niomi began to envision once again what life would be like with her baby. As she took three slow and deep breaths, she began imagine meeting her baby for the first time and experiencing their milestones. Even though things with Marcus ended rather tragically and Niomi could not picture letting another guy into her life at the moment, she wound up picturing that she had given birth to a little boy and named him Noah. He would have some of her features such as her hazel eyes and thin lips. But she could also imagine him having Marcus' nose, jawline and big monkey ears. Suddenly, Niomi found herself in a larger panic than before. She had no idea how to raise a baby, let alone a rambunctious and energetic boy. But Zoe and Alfie assured her that she would be a natural at motherhood and that Marcus would regret leaving once he fully understood what he was giving up by doing so.

No more than five minutes later Zoe, Alfie and Niomi arrived in the hospital parking lot and rushed to check in to the reception area.

"We'll be here for you the entire time, Nims. Don't you worry about anything" Zoe assured the perspiring and stressed out blonde.

"Are you sure? I mean what if Silas is having some kind of a blowout and is missing you like crazy?" Niomi asked in a panic.

"It's alright, Joe's kept him company dozens of times and he's been there for the worst ones. So, I'm sure he'll know what to do" Zoe answered.

After a battle of insisted that Alfie and Zoe head home, husband and wife excused themselves from the delivery room to discuss who should stay with Niomi. They were both sensitive to the fact that she was alone during this life altering occasion but one of them had to be home with Silas on Christmas eve. Once they had come to a conclusion five minutes later and re-entered the room, Niomi had already received an epidural.

"Nimbob, Zoe and I have decided that one of us is going to stay with you tonight so that the other can be with Silas and relieve Joe from his babysitting duties" Alfie announced.

"Look, it's like I told you earlier. You don't have to stay with me. I'm fine, really. I probably won't feel a thing until I have to start pushing" Niomi insisted as her hazel eyes widened.

"Are you absolutely sure?" Zoe asked.

"Of course. I won't be alone forever. Soon enough I'll have been given the greatest gift ever" Niomi answered with a pain free smile just as a contraction passed on the monitor on her bedside.

Upon realizing that there was no use in going against their pregnant friend's wishes, Zoe and Alfie agreed to leave Niomi to deliver the baby by herself so that they could be home with Silas on Christmas Eve.

"Congrats again, Nims. I'm sure you'll be fine" Alfie said as he and Zoe exited the delivery room and made their way to the parking lot on that cold and blustery winter's night.