Bates

30

   *TRIGGER WARNING*

   Norma glanced over at Alex. "They've stopped."

   "What?"

   "The contractions-- they stopped."

   "Well, we're here now..."

   "We should go on in. They could start up again any minute, and I'd rather be there than here," she said.

   Twenty minutes later, she was laying in a hospital bed, watching the flat-screen television with Alex at her side. They were showing Cheers. Norma had never watched much TV; she had rarely used the one they had growing up, so it never became a habit for her. However, she found herself digesting plenty of ridiculous children's cartoons over the years, that and the black-and-white films Norman loved so much. Yet Alex laughed along with every joke, even though he could quote every line like he had heard it a million times.

   "This used to be my father's favorite show," he muttered under his breath.

   Norma winced, and when she didn't respond, her husband's gaze was torn from the television. "You okay?"

   She let out a breath of air. "Yeah. How far apart was that?"

   "It's been almost an hour."

   Norma sighed.

   He held her hand again, squeezing it gently. She smiled back at him, before glaring at the clock.

   She had barely slept the night before and was now so tired that her head bobbed and her eyelids felt heavy. The prospect of sleeping made her anxious, though. I need-- to stay awake, she told herself, shivering.

   Her head eventually hit the pillow. She didn't know how long it was before she was disturbed again, yet at some point the doctor came in and Alex woke her calmly. He asked them a few questions before moving on to check Norma, upon which she was disappointed to learn that she was barely dilated.

   "Hey, it's okay, Norma, your water hasn't even broken yet," Alex said, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "We're getting there, albeit slowly."

   She rolled her eyes, huffing at him.

   Another contraction came and went, and Alex rubbed his wife's neck, doing what he hoped would help to distract her from the pain. "The boys-- neither of the boys took this long," she told him, grasping his hand as the pain started to ease. "It's strange...it's different. I just hope nothing's wrong," she said.

   "Norma, listen to me. Nothing's wrong. You're not doing anything wrong. You just need to try to rest," he glanced at the TV, "Maybe watch a little television, and just stay calm. You're doing great."

   "That's easy for you to say. You've never done anything like this before," she groaned. He was surprised when her expression changed to a smile. "Now, that would be something I'd pay to see," she teased, poking him. "Mr. Tough Guy Romero vs. Labor Pains."

   He smiled playfully at her. "Yeah, I'm not gonna argue with that one. You paint me up as Mr. Tough Guy, but you're the tough one," for a moment, she thought he was getting all teary-eyed on her. "You know, if I had ever known about all those things that happened to you before," he paused, "If I had been the one going through what you went through...I don't think I'd be alive today."

   They shared a kiss. Upon pulling away, Norma steeled herself against another contraction. The hand that was previously interlocked with her husband's escaped to rest on her womb. She gasped. He placed his hand over hers, on her belly, just to see if he could feel anything.