Falling for You - Chenford

Part 31

A few months had passed, and Lucy was one month away from becoming a mother again. She and Tim had been preparing for their son, hoping that they would be better prepared than when Harper was born. 

Lucy was about 34 weeks along, which was how far she was when Harper came. Only Braxton Hicks contractions had taken over, but Lucy was able to tolerate them. As the weeks went by, she grew accustomed to the aching and uncomfortable feelings that this pregnancy came with. 

Her nesting stage had quickly set in, resulting in the instinct to clean the entire house. Weeks before, Tim helped Tamara think of a mural theme, and she completed it for the nursery. The two surprised Lucy with it, followed by their help in finishing the room.

As the due date grew closer, Lucy found more to be done around the house. She was officially on maternity leave and had to fill her day-to-day somehow.

One thing she found to pass the time was writing in a daily journal. Lucy wrote about the little things and the big, with pregnancy, marriage, and parenthood. The little boy happily growing inside her found it pretty relaxing, as did his mother.

One morning, Lucy felt off. Tim had left for work, along with T, and the girls were at daycare. She was alone in the house.

Throughout the day, the back pain increased, and she had to stop and breathe every few minutes. She knew it was labor. 

"Hey, babe. Are you ready to be a dad again?" Lucy asked Tim. She had called him a few hours before the end of shift. Tim had decided to help Grey out again, and go on patrol with Juarez. 

"Are you serious?" Tim was excited, and could barely contain it. Celina knew by the tone of the man's voice that it was great news. 

"I am pretty confident that this baby wants out." Lucy said through gritted teeth. Even though the pain was intense, the mom was overjoyed that she would finally meet her first son. 

"I'll be home as quickly as possible, I promise. I need to take the shop back to the station. Call me if you need anything. I love you, Luce." Lucy ended the call, and decided to get into the bath to see if the hot water would dull the pain.

It did, but only for a while. Lucy opted for another hospital birth, but wanted to do a VBAC, not getting the natural birth experience with Harper. She also wanted to labor at home for as long as she could, which Tim agreed with. 

When Tim finally got home, about thirty minutes after their phone call, he found Lucy on the couch laying on her side. 

"Hey, Luce, how's the pain?" 

"Horrible, but I'm surviving. I want to stay home for a little longer. My contractions are seven minutes apart. We'll go in when they're five." Tim grabbed her hand and held it for a while, using his free hand to massage his wife's back. 

Soon, the contractions are closer together, and the pain intensified. Lucy, in immense pain, decided that they needed to head to the hospital, and so the couple packed up the car and drove into the city. 

Once settled in a laboring room, the nurse came and did a pelvic exam on Lucy, informing the couple that she was three centimeters dilated. A long way to go. 

"Would you like to get a epidural, or are you planning to use no medication?" The nurse asked. She was sweet and had great bedside manners. Lucy wanted to go unmedicated, making that her final decision. 

"Alright, I'll put that in your chart. I'll come and check on you again in two hours." With that, nurse left, and the couple was left alone.

"Tim?" Lucy piped up.

"Yeah, Luce?" 

"Are we definitely set on his name? Do you think that it's the right one?" Tim nodded, and told her that it was the perfect name. 

"I can't believe that we're having a boy. That to me seems crazy. A little mini Tim." Lucy said through the pain. 

"I hope he has every part of you." He kissed her forehead, and helped her breathe through another contraction. 

Hours later, there was a little 7lb baby in Lucy's arms. She had done it again. She and Tim made another perfect little human being to love and raise. Their little boy came into this world perfectly. 

The day after he was born, their family came to visit the parents and meet the new addition. First it was Lucy's parents, and with them was Tamara. After they stayed for a little bit, Lucy and Tim's work family came and met the little one. 

Lucy and Tim had revealed to her parents their little boy's name, and wanted to do it the same way for everyone else. 

"He is absolutely perfect, Lucy. You are amazing." Angela said, as she handed the baby to Nyla. 

"Thank you. It was not the easiest labor, but I had the best support system. I am just happy that I finally got my natural labor and birth, and a healthy baby in the end." Lucy smiled, looking over at Tim.

"I think that we should tell everyone this little slugger's name." Tim said. Lucy was pretty sure that their son was going to grow up playing baseball. 

"Tim and I went back and forth between names for the majority of my pregnancy. We settled on one that has sentimental meaning. Everyone... meet our son, Tanner Jackson Grey Bradford. Little TJ." The whole family fell in love with TJ. 

After two more days in the hospital, Lucy was discharged with TJ, and the couple went home to see Tamara and the girls. The two were excited to see Harper with her little brother. And, they were delighted to find out that Harper never wanted to let him go. Those two were going to grow up well together, and Lucy and Tim couldn't wait.