Baby Steps

Collette Maisey Fredrickson

One and a Half Months Later

"Ooh, ice cream sounds so good right now," I said to Max as he drove us home from our date.  We just went to the movies since I was a week from being due, and all you do in a movie theater is sit and watch a screen.

Max opened his mouth to object, and I knew that he was going to say something about the dangers of eating dairy products and eggs while pregnant.

"Before you say no, I'd like to point out that soft-serve is processed and won't cause salmonella poisoning," I interrupted him.

"Are you sure you want to be eating processed foods, right now?" he asked.  My pregnancy hormones screamed at me to slap him, but he was driving.

"I can eat what-" I was interrupted by pain shooting down my stomach.  I winced, and one hand clutched my belly while the other gripped the car seat tightly.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I think I just had a contraction," I sighed out once the pain subsided.  Max's foot hit the brakes on accident.

"Keep track of the time between the contractions and how long they last, okay?" he asked. "I'll turn around and head back to the hospital."

"No, we're fine.  Doctor Hillers said to wait until they were five minutes apart and they last a minute for a whole hour," I said, but he wasn't listening to me. "Maxwell!  I don't have to go, yet!"

"We're already in the car, Collette.  It would make no sense to get out just to get back in," he told me. "Besides, the hospital is a while away from here.  By the time we get there, I'm sure you'll be close to that point."

I just rolled my eyes and focused on keeping track of the time.  Just like I'd said, I hadn't met the requirements that Doctor Hillers had said was recommended when Maxwell pulled up to the hospital

I stepped out of the car, and another contraction hit immediately once my feet were on the ground.  I fought through it before Maxwell and I walked into the hospital.  Maxwell was immediately recognized by the staff, and I was immediately given a room.

Once I'd changed into the hospital gown, they got me hooked up to everything that was necessary and told me that they'd check up on me in a little bit.

It was about another two hours before the contractions lasted a minute and were five minutes apart for an hour.

Maxwell was just talking in my ear the whole time, telling me every choice I had and every risk those choices held.

He was acting like the type of doctor you would never want to be the patient of.

Another contraction hit, causing me to yell, "David!  Call David!"

"But-"

"Call David, Maxwell!" I shouted, breathing through the contraction.

Muttering words that I assumed weren't kind, Maxwell walked off to the corner to call David.  I couldn't hear anything he was saying.

He turned to me and pulled the phone away from his ear.

"David's stuck in a meeting, he said the soonest he can be here is an hour," Maxwell told me as he was about to hang up.

"Give me that phone," I demanded, outstretching my hand.  He handed me the phone, and I put it to my ear. "David, if you aren't here in fifteen minutes, I swear to god it'll be the end of your life."

A few seconds of silence was heard on the other end of the phone before David said, "I'll be there in ten."

I hung up and handed the phone back to Maxwell.