My Life Would Suck Without You

Labor Woes

Ariana's face relaxed and she seemed to come out of her pain-induced stupor just as Jai was rolling the wheelchair through the Emergency Room doors.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Where are you going? Stop this thing right now. We've got to go back and do the video bonus question."

"Ha, ha... very funny, Ari." Jai rolled her up to the admissions window and stopped.

"I'm not kidding. Why did you take me out of the taxi? We weren't finished."

"Maybe it was because you told me to. You said you couldn't do the gameshow anymore, so we quit."

"Quit? Where the hell was I during all this?" She was livid.

"Oh I'm not sure, Ariana", Jai snapped back at her. "Maybe you were the one writhing in pain and pleading with me to quit." His tone with her was very brusque and a far cry from the unending patience he normally exhibited.

"I did not!"

The admissions nurse was tired of watching these two argue. "Excuse me; this is the Emergency Room, so if there's no..."

Jai interrupted her. "My girlfriend needs to be admitted."

"No, I don't", Ariana insisted from her position in the chair, but she was already beginning to feel that tell-tale tightening in her abdomen, signaling the start of another contraction.

Jai continued as if she hadn't said anything. "She's in transition labor and her contractions are about a minute apart."

Ariana also continued as if Jai hadn't said anything at all about labor; although she was secretly impressed that he had been paying attention during their childbirth class. "What I need is to be back in that cab watching the video bonus question."

This statement caught the nurse's attention. "Video bonus? Were you on the Cash Cab? That's so exciting. How'd you do?"

She addressed the question to Jai who looked like he wasn't able to follow both conversations - one where he was trying to admit Ariana into the hospital and the other where they was discussing the joys of appearing on a TV game show.

"I ... uh."

Frankie picked that well-timed moment to arrive, breathing hard and flashing a stack of cash in their direction. "Hey, Ben Bailey forgot to give you the money, so here it is ... $1,050." Frankie smiled wryly. "Not bad for a free cab ride, but why didn't you stay for the bonus question? You could have doubled this", waving the money around wildly.

"You people are crazy!", Jai ranted at Frankie and Ariana. "She's about to give birth and you all want to go on a game show!"

"You're already pre-admitted", the admissions nurse told him as the shoved a clipboard in his direction. "... so just sign here and you can go straight into one of our birthing suites. Did you take the tour?" She asked Ariana, referring to the tour arranged by their childbirth class instructor a few months ago.

Ariana was deep in the throes of another contraction and didn't respond. Jai didn't look up from signing the documents, but answered anyway, "Yes, we came a couple of months ago. It's very nice, but it doesn't seem like we're going to be in there very long."

"Usually, first-time parents come here too early", the nurse commented as she studied Ariana dispassionately while the younger woman sat withering in pain. "But it looks like you almost didn't make it. Do you feel the need to push yet, honey?"

"Gggrrrr! I've felt like pushing for the last twenty contractions", Ariana barely managed to bite out.

Frankie grabbed Jai's arm and pulled him over away from Ariana. "Okay... so I've got the guy to do the ceremony."