"Casey!" Frankie stood up as soon as he saw me. "Any news?"
"Daddy!" Isa's eyes went wide and she immediately squirmed off Angela's lap to run towards me.
I smiled tiredly and scooped the girl up in my arms, pulling her close. "Hi, Izzy."
"Where's Mommy? I want Mommy!"
"Mommy's still in the hospital room, honey." I sighed and pulled Isa's head to my chest as I looked at my mother and brother in law. "No news. Still the same situation."
"God, how long has she been at it?"
"I don't now, more than eight hours." I furrowed my brow and brushed my fingers through Isa's hair.
"Something wrong then?" Frankie asked in a concerned tone. "Why's it taking so long?"
Angela smiled and stood up from her chair. "It's not unusual. With Tommy, I spent twelve hours in that stupid room. Your father just pacing back and forth, drinking too much coffee and being a pain in the ass..."
"Whoa, Ma." I motioned at the little girl on my hip.
"I'm just sayin'!" Angela held up her hands. "I should've known that man was trouble back then."
"Yeah yeah." Frankie placed his hand on his mother's arm and looked back at me. "Anything we can do?"
"I was just gonna get some ice."
"I'm on it!" Angela immediately hurried off towards the machine in the corner of the room.
I smiled and shook my head before looking at Isa's head on my shoulder, seeing worry edged on her young face. She had grown, but she was quite short for her age. Her eyes still sparkled like the day I met her. She was getting more and more beautiful with each day that passed. "Mommy told me to say she's doing alright," I said softly, tucking a strand of hair behind Isa's ear. "And to give you a kiss from her." I took Isa's chin and quickly pecked her cheek as I smiled at the girl. "She's gonna be okay."
"I wanna see Mommy."
I sighed. "You can't, baby. I'm sorry."
Isa's bottom lip quivered and I took a deep breath to compose myself. "You're going to have to stay with Nana and Uncle Frankie just a bit longer. I promise to get you as soon as the baby is here, okay?"
"Okay." Isa wrapped her short arms around my neck and snuggled in close. I saw Angela getting back and knew that I had to let my daughter go, not wanting to leave Jane for a minute too long.
"I have to go back to Mommy, Izzy," I said softly as I pressed a kiss to Isa's forehead. "I'll give her a kiss back from you, okay?"
Isa smiled a tired smile and allowed me to hand the girl back to Angela. I took the cup of ice from her and was happy to see Isa resting comfortably on Angela's hip, her small body curled up into her grandmother's warm side.
"I'll be back if there's news!" I said when I was already heading back to Jane. When I entered the room, I saw Jane sitting on her hands and knees, biting her lip to keep from screaming out in pain. "Oh babe." I almost dropped the ice as I put it on the table and placed my hands on Jane's lower back, putting the pressure where I knew it would relieve some pain.
It must have been going for a while because Jane slumped back down after only a few seconds. "They're getting closer together," she mumbled, out of breath. "A n-nurse should-..."
"Already pushed the button." I brushed Jane's hair out of her face and gently helped her rest back against the pillows, pulling the blanket over her bare legs, the hospital gown ridden up during the contraction. I pressed my lips against her sweaty cheek and carefully sat down on the edge of the bed. "That's a kiss from Isa."
Chapter Forty-Four: The Final
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