The Kids Grow Up by Trish Hanan (novel24 .TXT) 📖

daddy was there and he would make everything alright, he always did. They brought her in and put her on the operating room table and soon had her open and were performing a c-section to take the baby. Harry didn’t have to do anything but sit around and watch in case something went wrong and he had to heal someone. But everything went smoothly and soon Gloria was in recovery and little Emma was sleeping in the nursery and they were both fine and healthy.
“That was amazing, Dr. George is a really great doctor,” Harry gushed on the drive home. Jake smiled and held his hand.
“Well, I’m just glad everything went okay and you didn’t have to heal anyone so close to your own time,” he admitted to being worried. Harry smiled and kissed his hand.
Fran came running when they were taking off their coats.
“How is Gloria, how’s the baby?” she asked in a frantic voice. Jake smiled and patted her shoulder.
“Everyone’s fine, Frannie, they’re both great,” he told her. She smiled with relief. Then Harry gasped and clutched his belly and they watched the front of his shirt exploded with water. His face was distorted with pain. Jake grabbed him before he could fall.
“I think I’m in labor, honey,” he said with clenched teeth. Jake nodded and he rushed him back out to the car.
“Fran, call the hospital and tell them we’re coming back and call all the girls, they wanted to witness this,” he called out as he put Harry in the car. Fran nodded as she grinned and rushed to the phone.
“We’re going to have a baby,” she muttered excitingly as she reached for the call sheet Harry had prepared for this occasion and made the first call.
“Drive nice and safe, honey,” Harry said as Jake reached the main road. It was empty except for them. Jake laughed and he kept both hands on the steering wheel.
“Don’t worry, babe, there’s no one on the road except for us,” he said and they both grinned. They got to the hospital and Dr. George rushed out to help them when they got there. He was grinning.
“My first Dolphin birth, this is very exciting, boys,” he exclaimed as he helped Harry out of the car. Harry grinned and then a pain hit him and he had to stop walking and almost fell. Jake caught him and held him.
“Its okay, babe, lean on me, I’ve got you,” he cooed and Harry did. A blue Jeep SUV pulled up and Kate rushed towards them.
“I’m coming, Henry,” she yelled and joined them. The three rushed Harry out of the cold and into the hospital. Then they all changed into green hospital uniforms and Harry was put onto a bed in the other surgical room. Fiona smiled as she hooked him up to the monitors.
“This is so exciting, the birth of our Savior,” she gushed. Harry grinned and then another pain washed over him and he grimaced. Kate smiled and held his hand.
“Why don’t you rub your belly, Mouse?” she suggested gently and he laughed through the pain.
“Why didn’t I think of that, Mom?” he asked and did so, the pain went away and they all laughed.
“I think you were a little distracted,” Dr. George told him and they all looked at the view-screen. They could see the baby’s head butted up against the belly button hole which had begun to gap a little. “The baby’s in position, now we have to wait for the contractions to open the hole,” he informed them.
“We’re here, don’t start without us,” Kathleen shouted as she, April and Joon, all dressed in green, rushed into the room. They were putting their hair under the stretch hats as they ran. They saw the baby in position and gasped.
“Lord, we just made it,” April exclaimed. Kathleen stood right behind Harry in case the pressure of pushing caused him to fall off the table; she was there to prevent that. She leaned forward and kissed his cheek.
“How are you doing, Harry?” she asked. He grinned.
“I was in tremendous pain, but it’s better now,” he told her. They all grinned.
“A nice rub from you does wonders doesn’t it?” Joon teased and everyone laughed. Then Dr. George looked at the monitor.
“Here comes a contraction; get ready to push, Harry,” he told him. Harry felt the pressure building and nodded. Jake took one hand and his mother took the other. He felt Kathleen and April standing behind him and Joon stood at his feet. He felt the wave wash over him and began to push. And he did feel some pain, deep inside.
“Shit, it still hurts inside,” he remarked and all the women nodded.
“Just breathe, Henry,” his mother instructed and he did. Then he felt a pop and the baby’s head popped out of him. Everyone gasped with shock. Dr. George wiped the face and eyes off, clearing the mouth and nose with a little hose. Jake gasped.
“He’s not breathing,” he sounded scared. Harry giggled.
“Sometimes they won’t, honey, relax, he’s still attached to the umbilical cord and that will breathe for him,” he assured him and Jake looked relieved.
“He looks just like you, Jake,” Fiona remarked and everyone nodded. Then Harry gasped and another contraction came.
“Here comes another one,” Dr. George announced and everyone tensed. “Let’s see if we can get his shoulders this time,” he said to Harry who puffed and nodded; his face red with exertion. All of the women looked shocked.
“Two contractions to the shoulders, you’ve got to be kidding,” April commented. Kate grinned.
“Dolphin births are remarkably easy, they are designed for this,” she informed them smugly. Harry grinned as the shoulder’s popped out and gave a little yelp. Jake leaned forward and kissed him and then wiped his face with a cool cloth.
“You’re doing great, babe, I love you,” he stated and they kissed. Their son was now half way out and half way in, much like the poor unfortunate spaceman from the Roosevelt. Harry looked down and saw that and giggled. Kathleen saw it and giggled too.
“Oh, Harry, that’s awful,” she rebuked him. He grinned back at her.
“Here comes another, let’s get this baby out of here,” Dr. George declared and Harry nodded, his handsome face strong with concentration as another wave of pain came and he began to push. He clenched the two hands he was holding and pushed with all of his strength. The baby’s body rushed out and into Dr. George’s waiting hands. Harry sighed and fell back on the table. Everyone clapped and cheered. Dr. George carefully tied the umbilical cord and handed the scissors to Jake.
“Here, Dad, you cut the cord,” he instructed and with a steady hand and a solemn look on his face, Jake cut the cord where the older instructed and the baby gave a little gasp and then began to scream at the top of his healthy lungs. Everyone laughed and Jake felt much relief.
Fiona took the baby to take care of him and Dr. George listened closely to Kate’s instructions regarding the handling of Harry’s uterine pouch.
“Now the afterbirth is going to pop out,” she informed him. “Then you flush the uterine sack with solution to clean it out. When the solution runs clear, you use the hose to drain as much of it away as you can and the rest will come out as it shrinks. Then they will be a series of contractions and the belly button will close up. We have to make sure that they aren’t any foreign objects in its path or they will be closed in it and will fester.”
Everyone watched carefully as Dr. George followed Kate’s instructions to the letter. Harry’s uterine sack was washed out and drained. Then a serious of contractions began and his belly wiggled and they all laughed as he giggled.
“It tickles,” he exclaimed and held his belly which was now smaller and a great deal flabbier then the flat one he was used to. Jake grinned as he pinched more than an inch.
“You’re going to be doing a lot of sit-ups, babe,” he teased him and they kissed. All the girls moaned and pinched their own flabby bellies.
“We’ll join you, Harry,” Kathleen exclaimed and they all laughed.
“Oh, crap,” Harry exclaimed and they all looked at him. He blushed.
“What’s wrong?” Dr. George asked; his face worried. Harry giggled.
“I peed myself,” he admitted and the doctor sighed and laughed.
“All of the contractions must have caused your bladder to respond, no worry, we’ll just clean you up and get you clean pants,” he said and patted his hand.
So that’s what they did and then Fiona brought over Jackson who was all cleaned up and wrapped in a blue blanket.
“Here’s Jackson, who gets him first?” she asked cheerfully. Harry and Jake looked at each other and grinned.
“You take him first, honey, I’m exhausted,” Harry decided and suddenly he was extremely exhausted. His face was pale and Jake got worried. He looked at Dr. George who grinned.
“Pushing a human out of your belly button is hard work, we’ll get some green milk into him and he’ll be fine,” he assured him. Jake grinned. Fiona put his son into his arms and Jake fell in love.
“Hello, Jackson Henry Talbert, welcome to the world,” he cooed and everyone gushed.
“He’s so pretty, look at his eyes, I swear they look purple,” Kathleen remarked. And everyone gathered around Jake to see the baby. Harry looked and grinned at his mother who looked confused.
“That’s not possible, the baby shouldn’t have any of Henry’s DNA,” she stated firmly. But when Jackson opened his tiny eyes and looked at her, she could clearly see what everyone else saw, Harry’s purple pixie eyes. She was astonished. Harry laughed.
“Let’s get Dad into his room where he can get some sleep,” Dr. George said and they all rushed Harry into the room next to Gloria and put him into bed. All of the girls left and Kate took some pictures of the happy men and their baby and then went home to show Barb who she said would come with breakfast.
“You did a great job, Henry, I’m very proud of you,” she said and kissed him. He grinned and closed his eyes. He opened them when she left and Jake grinned.
“A little Kate goes a long way huh, babe,” he declared and they both laughed. Jake sat down next to the bed and leaned down to kiss him. Harry looked over into the bassinet where their baby slept and smiled lovingly.
“He’s so beautiful isn’t he, honey?” he said softly. Jake nodded and they held hands.
“He’s the most beautiful baby in the world, babe,” he said and Jackson took this moment to wake up and began screaming. They both laughed and Jake picked him up and felt his bottom.
“He’s not wet, so he must be hungry,” he decided and Harry grinned.
“That sure sounds like a hungry cry to me,” he agreed. Fiona must have heard it because she walked in the room with a bottom of formula and handed it to Jake.
“I knew you would be needing this,” she said cheerfully and then left because