Chapter thirteen - radical carrot
Credit for the title goes to my loyal skittle child, @velvet_sharpie xoxo
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I couldn't believe they'd let her in. Maybe they'd taken pity on us. I could certainly see why.
Donna had been quickly wheeled off to a proper room to give birth in, Gerard scurrying after her, but Mikey couldn't go without Ray (and Ray wasn't a relative so wasn't allowed in), so the two of them were forced to stay in the waiting area with Bob and me.
It had been four hours. Nothing had happened. No one had even spoken.
Ray and Mikey were squished up together on one of the cushioned chairs, blankets wrapped around them, and Mikey had been asleep for about half an hour. Ray had been humming quietly for about forty five minutes.
Bob was staring at the wall, bored out of his mind. I was staring at the floor, not quite as bored as Bob. I was trying to be positive.
"I'm so fucking fed up," Bob groaned, breaking the silence.
"This is pretty boring," I mumbled. "But it beats double maths with Mr Collins, right?"
Bob snorted, recalling the shitty hours we'd spent face down on the desks, trying to tune out Mr Collins' rambling, droning voice. We hadn't learned anything this year except for how to fall asleep in thirty seconds.
"I guess," Bob agreed.
"How bloody long does it take to have a baby, though?" Ray asked.
"It took my mom twenty two hours," I mused.
"Jesus Christ," Ray mumbled.
"But she's having a caesarean, it could be faster."
Ray sighed, and Mikey curled closer into his chest. It looked comfy, but there was no way that would make up for the soul crushing boredom. "I should hope so."
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It took five more hours, but finally, after what seemed like forever, Gerard appeared at the doorway of the waiting room, with tired eyes but a radiant smile on his face. "You can come in," he murmured.
Ray gently woke Mikey up, and we all stretched and slipped into the recovery room that Donna had been moved to. She lay in a clean, comfortable bed, looking exhausted, her hair plastered to her forehead and a sheen of sweat over her skin. But she was smiling too, holding a tiny fragile child in her arms. The baby wasn't crying, but it was gurgling and making small soft little sounds, squinting its brown eyes and flailing its little hands.
"Oh," Mikey said softly, and Ray smiled and kissed his shoulder.
"You're a big brother now," Ray said quietly.
We all stood around the bed, our hearts warmed from the scene before us. The other women in the ward were all looking at us, frowning at us in disdain, but we didn't care.
Well, we didn't care until a rather angry looking doctor marched up to us and informed us that we had to leave.
"My mom is still recovering," Gerard said. "Can't we stay with her for just a few more hours?"
"I'm not sure you understand," the doctor said unhappily. "She has to leave too."
"What? Why?"
"This is a white hospital. This woman is not white, and neither are you. Only you two are white," he glanced at me and Bob, "and you have absolutely no need to be here whatsoever."
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Disgusting (Frerard)
Fanfiction"There's a reason we are white and pure, and they are black and dirty. There's a reason they stain our skin. That we are shamed if others see those stains. They're bad people, Frank. They're disgusting."
