first_in_time | This Can Hardly Wait

Barbara glanced at the clock on the kitchen wall. Ian's break time had just started. She knew because he sometimes called her instead of going into the staff room and eating with everyone else. Today, however, she wasn't going to give him the chance to eat for the moment, not with such important news.

The dial tone ws loud and clear as Barbara picked up their telephone, and each number she punched in had it's own sound to make. When she heard the ringing on the other end, her heart sped up and almost leapt from her mouth when a secretary answered.

"Yes, hello. I'd like to speak to Ian Chesterton please. This is his wife."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

splendid_roman

Ian looked over at her, concerned, and hating that she was in pain and there was nothing he could do. "Maybe the baby's just determined not to let me go to school," he said, chuckling, hoping that would take her mind off the contraction a bit. "I just hope it doesn't feel the same way about going to school itself."

From:

first_in_time

Barbara breathed deeply through her nose as the cramping eased. "I'm sure they'll grow to love school. How could they not when they have two teachers for parents?"

She visibly relaxed into that seat and placed a hand over her stomach. "Maybe our baby is just keep to meet its parents."

From:

splendid_roman

"Maybe it is." He looked over at her. "How could it not be, with us for parents?" He grinned. "It's been hearing us talk all this time, it wants to know what we look like too."

From:

first_in_time

"I hope that it likes us," Barbara said and smiled a little. "I suppose that it doesn't have a choice in the matter, really. I'm not giving our child up for anything in the world."

From:

splendid_roman

"I'm sure it'll go through periods of hating us when it's a teenager." He grinned. But Barbara was used to dealing with teenagers and he would be too, in thirteen years time.

"I can't imagine having a teenage child," he said thoughtfully. That was probably because it was a long way off and their baby hadn't even been born yet.

From:

first_in_time

"Let's just work on having a baby first. It's going to be difficult enough and we won't be getting full nights sleep for the next however many months." That sounded more difficult than having a teenager to Barbara.

From:

splendid_roman

He nodded. "I'm not looking forward to that. I hope the baby takes after me and learns how to sleep well." He grinned.

From:

first_in_time

"If the baby takes after you, it will never wake up to feed or anything else. I'll have to wake myself up to make sure that it actually grows to be nice and big," Barbara chuckled.

From:

splendid_roman

"I wake up to eat," he protested. "In fact that's mostly why I wake up."

From:

first_in_time

Barbara giggled but another contraction cut her off and she groaned. They was getting more painful but at least they were still short. She sat back panting a little when it finished.

"How far away are we?" she asked and looked out the windows trying to get a feel for where they were.

From:

splendid_roman

Ian gripped the wheel tightly. It wasn't getting any easier watching her in pain.

"It's just down the road and round the corner." At least at this time of morning there wasn't much traffic about. He would have sped up, but there were traffic lights and roundabouts in their path and he didn't think Barbara would appreciate being thrown about. "We'll be there in a few minutes."

From:

first_in_time

Barbara nodded and breathed deeply. She knew that she was only at the start of things and that was not a comforting thought. Instead she tried to think about cuddling her baby or sitting with him in their lounge.

"Tell me about what you were going to teach today."

From:

splendid_roman

"Not much. It is only the first day of school and the kids will have had six weeks of getting used to not getting up early and going to school." He'd be looking forward to that himself, if it wasn't for the baby. Who knew how long it might be before he got a lie in again.

"I thought I'd do some fun, simple experiments that won't seem too much like work, but will still teach them something."

From:

first_in_time

"I'm sad that your students won't get a chance to have that lesson," she told him apologetically. "Your such an amazing husband. I know this wasn't my choice but I am sorry that you won't get to start your new job today."

From:

splendid_roman

He put a hand on Barbara's knee, briefly. "Maybe I'll just move my lesson plans on a day and give them today's lesson tomorrow." Assuming the baby came early enough for him to go to work tomorrow. For some reason people were keen to tell them horror stories of women spending 24 hours or more in labour.

He swung into the hospital car park. It was fortunately not too busy and he drove round to park as close to the hospital entrance as he could.

From:

first_in_time

"I'm certain that your students won't mind too much," Barbara continued once she'd hauled herself out of the car, "or the other teachers for that matter. Just make sure that you tell me...or rather, us, all about it when you get home each afternoon."

From:

splendid_roman

He smiled, looking forward to being able to see the baby when he talked to it. "I will," he promised. He put an arm round her to support her. "I'll probably have things I'll need your advice on. You've had more experience of teaching teenagers than I have."

From:

first_in_time

"I'll help you with anything you need. You know that."

Inside, the hospital was unchanged. Lots of people waited for attention, nurses and doctors rushed about, telephones sang, people were called of over a paging system. Barbara put a hand over her stomach and watched everything as she walked with Ian to the reception.

A nurse looked up at them, dark circles sitting under her eyes. "Yes?"

"My contractions have started," Barbara ventured and glanced up at Ian, not sure if she was saying the right things. "I woke up to one at about two thirty this morning and they've been growing stronger since."

"How far apart are they, roughly speaking?"

"Um, twenty minutes or so..."

The Chestertons gave their names and were directed to wait for the moment since Barbara didn't appear to be anywhere near any stage of urgency, not that she thought that of course. Contractions were very painful indeed! She experienced another one as they sat down and leaned against Ian since the seats were so oddly shaped that she couldn't find a comfortable position.

"Hopefully we won't be here for too long," she said to Ian once her muscles had calmed themselves again.

From:

splendid_roman

"I'm sure we won't be," he assured her, rubbing her back. "They didn't seem worried that the baby was imminently about to be born, and I'm sure they know what they're doing."

From:

first_in_time

"I'm sure they do," Barbara agreed and sat up a little straighter, reaching for Ian's hand. "And I suppose that if anything goes wrong, there are lots of people around who know what to do."

From:

splendid_roman

"That's why we're here." He squeezed her hand. "I'm sure nothing will go wrong."

From:

first_in_time

Barbara bit her lip. "Yes. Yes I'm sure."

She sat by her husband through two more contractions when a nurse finally came to see them both with a wheelchair.

"We've a bed prepared for you now, Mrs. Chesterton. We'll take you there now."

Barbara looked down at the wheelchair. "I can walk."

"We would rather you used the wheelchair." The nurse didn't sound impressed to be having an argument over whether or not a woman in labour should be in a wheelchair.

From:

splendid_roman

Often Ian would just let Barbara do whatever she wanted, for the sake of a quiet life. But this wasn't the best time for an argument with a nurse. "Maybe it's best just to do what they say," he said quietly to Barbara.

From:

first_in_time

Barbara looked to Ian and sat in the wheelchair without further argument. The nurse picked up her suitcase and put it in her lap. Barbara frowned.

"Ian is coming with us, isn't he?" she knew that men weren't allowed in the actual birth but surely he could come for the moment.

"Mrs Chesterton it isn't proper for a man to be present."

"But the baby isn't coming right this moment."

"We do not allow men-"

"Please, I'm frightened."

From:

splendid_roman

Ian put a hand on Barbara's shoulder, not sure if she was really scared or just saying that to make the nurse let him in.

"Can't I just come and see her settled in?" he asked the nurse. "Then I'll leave."

The nurse pursed her lips. "All right. But you have to leave straight away."

Ian smiled at her. "I will," he promised.