The Deception (48 page)

She
went over a few last-minute details before she
banged her gavel and turned her attention to her clerk. As the other people in the gallery started to leave, the deputies hauled Maggie away.

"It's all over, Carrie-Anne." Alex stood up to leave. He bent to down kiss her on the cheek. "I have to go over to the superior court and take care of business, but I should done by lunchtime at the latest. Are you sure you're all right?"

"I'm fine, Alex. I'm still a little shaken by the things she was saying about me, so I'd like to stay here for a few minutes and pull myself back together, if that's okay."

"That's fine. As soon as you're ready your dad and stepmom will run you home. I'll call you as soon as I'm done."

Alex said goodbye and made his exit. A few minutes later she felt ready to leave, but as soon as she stood she doubled over. Jonathan and Julia helped her back into her seat.

"Holy Mother of God, make it stop!"

Judge Jarrett banged on her gavel.

"Are you alright, Mrs. Montoya?"

"I think so," replied Carrie, trying to catch her breath. "For a moment there I thought I was dying. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to disrupt the court."

"I was watching you during the hearing and I thought something might be happening. I think we need to get you to a hospital. Would you like to have my clerk call an ambulance?"

"No thank you, Your Honor. For the moment I'm okay and I'd rather have my father take me." A bad memory suddenly flashed across Carrie's mind. "What about Alex?"

"We'll take care of that," said Jonathan. "I'll send him a text message as soon as we get to the hospital."

He helped Carrie to her feet and began walking her out of the courtroom. When they reached the door Carrie turned back to face the judge.

"Thank you, Your Honor."

"Good luck, Mrs. Montoya, and have a happy, healthy baby."

J
onathan pulled the white Camaro up to the plaza. Julia walked Carrie to the passenger door and helped her into the passenger seat. Once Carrie was inside, Jonathan briefly stepped out to help
his wife
b
into the backseat.

"She had another big one while you were gone," Julia remarked as they sped away.

"You know, I've really missed this car," said Carrie. "I'm glad it's still in the family."

"Yeah, but I'm having a hell of a time keeping your brother out of it."

"Here we go again." She started having another contraction.

"Breathe, Carrie," said Julia, reaching over the seat to hold her by the shoulders. "C'mon, deep breaths. There you go. That's right."

As the contraction eased, Carrie looked up and noticed the traffic light ahead was turning yellow.

"No! Don't change. Don't change."

"Carrie, calm down." Jonathan reached over and squeezed her hand. "I'll get you to the hospital in plenty of time and in one piece, I promise."

"Sorry, Dad." She reached into her purse and grabbed her phone. "I need to send a text message to Allison. She's my birthing coach."

The light changed while Carrie was texting. She knew Allison was in class and wouldn't be able to leave for a few hours. She sent a message to Alex as well. When he didn't reply, she knew it meant he was still in court. Ten minutes and another contraction later, Jonathan pulled up to the birthing center at Sonoran Southwest Medical Center. Julia exited the car on the driver's side, helping Jonathan get Carrie out of the car. Each had their arm around her as they walked her inside.

"Our daughter's gone into labor," announced Jonathan as they approached the admissions clerk. She handed Carrie the usual paperwork to sign. By the time she finished, someone arrived with a wheelchair.

"Oh my God, it's happening again," she shouted as they began wheeling her down the hallway toward the elevators. "I don't think I can take this much longer."

"You'll be fine," assured Julia. "Tell them to give you a epidural."

"But I wanted natural childbirth. I want to be able to push."

"Hey, Carrie, it's the twenty-first century, and you don't need to impress us, okay. Take it from me, get the epi. You'll still be able to push."

The elevator arrived. Moments later they reached her floor and wheeled her into her room. It looked more like someone's bedroom at home instead of a hospital room. Here Carrie would have her labor and delivery, and the baby would stay in the room with her once it was born. Two nurses were waiting, explaining they would be with her throughout the whole process. One of them handed her a hospital gown. She took it into the bathroom to change. Julia went with her to help. She'd no sooner gotten into the gown when her water broke.

"Oh no! This is so embarrassing. Let me see if someone will bring me a mop so I can clean it up."

"Carrie, relax," said Julia with a smile. "You're about to give birth so don't worry about cleaning up the floor. They'll take care of it. You just saved them the trouble of having go in and break it for you."

When they opened the door, Carrie announced that her water had broken. The nurse stepped in the bathroom to take a look. She smiled, saying they'd take care of it.

"See, what did she tell you? You're fine."

Carrie glanced at the bed. It had been covered with plastic and disposable pads.

"If you ladies don't mind, I think I'll go hang out in the waiting room for awhile," said Jonathan. "I'll send Alex another text message. Come get me if you need anything."

Carrie walked up to her father and hugged him.

"Thanks, Dad. I love you."

"I love you too, Cara Mia. I'll be right outside if you need me."

"She'll be fine, Jonathan," added Julia. "I'll be right here with her."

He kissed them both goodbye and stepped out. After he left, Julia helped her onto the bed, holding her hand while the nurse examined her.

"Wow, five centimeters already. Good job."

Carrie looked at her stepmother. "I'm scared, Julia."

"It's okay." Julia reached over and smoothed Carrie's hair. "I know it's scary, but you're in the best of hands and you're going to be just fine. I'll be right here with you, I promise."

"Uh-oh!"

Carrie started having another contraction, this time she screamed in pain. Once it finally stopped and she caught her breath, she asked for the epidural. An anesthesiologist was summoned, and once it was administered she began to relax. Her pain was under control. She even joked about going out and getting her nails done. Julia sat by her side and held her hand. An hour later Jonathan stepped back in to check on her, and as soon as he left the nurse examined her again.

"Still five centimeters."

"You mean there's no change?"

"Not yet, but don't worry. We're watching the fetal monitor closely and everything's fine. This'll take awhile. It usually does."

Carrie groaned as she leaned back on the bed. A minute later she heard her phone beeping. Julia handed it to her.

"It's a text message from Alex."

They could hear the relief in her voice. She quickly responded to his message, asking him to bring her overnight bag. He arrived about an hour later to find Carrie sitting up on the edge of the bed.

"Carrie-Anne, are you alright? Is everything okay?"

"I'm fine, Alex."

"You're sure you're okay?"

"She's fine," said one of the nurses. "We've given her an epidural, so she's not feeling any pain or discomfort from the contractions."

"The epidural won't hurt the baby?"

"No," said the nurse, shaking her head. "It won't hurt the baby at all, and trust me, it makes things a whole lot easier on the mother."

Carrie started rolling her head around.

"You know what would feel really good right now? A nice backrub. Right along my neck and shoulders."

"You got it," said the other nurse, who immediately started to work.

"We're helping her relax," added Julia. "She needs to save her energy for when the time comes to start pushing."

"When will that be?"

"Not for some time," said the nurse. "She's only dilated six centimeters."

"It's a waiting game," added Julia, "but as you can see, she's doing fine."

"So how long do these things usually take?"

One of the nurses started to respond, but Carrie cut her off.  "Alex, why don't you go get my father, and you guys can go out and get a pizza, or go to a movie, or a ballgame, or whatever. I'm not on a time schedule. It's going to be awhile. You need to go take a chill pill, and let me do what I gotta do, okay. We'll call you when we're ready."

"Carrie-Anne?"

Julia walked up to him and gently pulled him aside.

"She's in labor, Alex, and even though they've given her something for the pain, she's still, understandably, feeling very anxious, so please, don't take it personally. It'll be sometime yet, so why don't you and Jonathan go grab some lunch? We'll call you as soon as she's ready."

Alex grudgingly stepped out. A few more hours passed with little progress. Allison finally arrived around four-thirty.

"Uh-oh, so what happened to you?" asked Julia.

"Steve and I got a suite at the Double-Diamond Resort the night of Carrie's wedding, and now the joke around his office is if you want to get knocked up, go to the Double-Diamond. At least my baby bump isn't that big yet."

"Hey guys, I think something's happening," exclaimed Carrie. "I'm starting to feel some pressure and the urge to push."

The nurse examined her again. "Finally. You're fully dilated and the baby's head is beginning to crown. Do you want to watch in the mirror?"

"No thanks, but would someone please go get Alex."

"You got it," said Julia. "What about your dad?"

"It's up to him. I could care less right now about who else wants to come in here. I just want to get this baby out."

Julia stepped out, returning a few minutes later with Alex. Someone handed him a surgical gown while she explained that Steve had just arrived, and Jonathan wanted to stay in the waiting room with him. As Alex was getting into the gown, the nurse midwife took her position at the foot of the bed and examined Carrie.

"It's show time," she announced. "When I say, 'push' I want you to lift her up by the shoulders. When she's done pushing, let her rest. Dad, you can stay up there with her, or come down here with me. It's up to you."

"I think I'll stay and help with the lifting, for now."

Alex took Carrie's hand, and as she started having the next contraction, she was told to push. They lifted her by the shoulders and afterwards they let her relax. They quickly fell into a routine. An hour later the midwife announced that the baby's head was visible.

"You may want to come down here, Dad. You really don't want to miss this."

Alex squeezed Carrie's hand and walked to the foot of the bed.

"Whoa!"

He could see the top of a small head, covered with reddish hair, protruding out from between Carrie's legs. A moment later she pushed again, and more of the head began to appear. Alex watched in total awe. His child was coming into the world. As she continued pushing, one of the nurses began to suction the fluids out of the baby's nose and mouth.

"Just a few more, Carrie. We're almost done. Once the shoulders are out, I can ease the rest of the baby out."

"Come on, Carrie-Anne." Alex reached over and began stroking her leg. "One more ought to do it."

Carrie took a deep breath and gave one last, final push. The midwife pulled the rest of the baby out and she let out a loud squall. They quickly noted the time of birth. Alex stood in awe as the nurse handed her to him.

"Congratulations, Dad, you've got a beautiful baby girl. Did you want to cut the cord?"

The baby quieted down, opened her eyes and looked around the room. They were gray, just like her father's.

"You go ahead," said Alex. He was still in too much in awe. The cord was clamped and as soon as it was cut, he walked up and presented her to her mother. Carrie sat up and held her for a moment as the others looked on.

"You've finally got your family princess, Alex."

"I know, Carrie-Anne. I love you, more than you could possibly know."

After he leaned over and kissed her, one of the nurses tapped him on the shoulder.

"We need to get her cleaned up and checked out, and we have some final business to take care of with her mother, so why don't you come with me?"

"Go with her, Alex," said Carrie. "The baby clothes are in my bag. Could someone please get something for her to wear?"

"I've got it," replied Allison. She opened the bag, quickly picking out a little white outfit. The nurse told her to come and bring it along. He stopped to give Carrie another kiss before he took the baby and followed them out.

"I'll go tell the others," said Julia. She stepped out to the waiting room where she was met by two anxious faces.