it's coming up

 It was coming. Finally. 

Hope took it slow. She knew they wouldn't want her at the hospital anytime soon. After all, they looked at her every time at the emergency as if she was overthinking. She didn't know. 

"Well, I can't just leave you," Kyle called in. He would stay with her. It was as if he would do whatever she wanted. 

"Oh, I hate for you to miss work," she didn't know why she was so emotional. Of course, her lower back was killing her, and every time she went to the bathroom she didn't know what to expect. She'd remembered how lovely that birthing suite looked at the hospital that she'd seen early on. She didn't know how it might be now. She guessed there would be equipment. She hoped they would be monitoring every moment.

Finally, after lunch, Kyle said they were going. He'd made pasta for her, but then she couldn't take three bites. It was a good thing he did. Naturally, the nurses were on to her about eating on such a big day.

"Well, I didn't know," she felt like a fool now. And yes, she and the baby were hooked up to all those monitors. The suite might not have been as elaborate, but friends and family could come. There was a couch for Kyle to sleep. 

Of course, it was only Frankie who showed up. It was as if he needed to know if they were treating her well. She knew he could hardly watch her in labor pains. Later, Roman dropped by with some burgers and fries for Kyle. It made her hungry yet a little ill.

After Kyle ate and they were alone, she asked for him to come closer so she could smell that burger, but it didn't set well with her. She grabbed him by the shirt as if she just might have her way with him, just to push him away.

"Go take a shower, you're making me sick!" She demanded so he scurried to the bathroom in the room and showered.

Naturally, in the next breath, she was screaming for him. The nurses and the doctor all showed up. Something seemed to be a miss on the monitors.

When Kyle showed up, he was afraid he'd missed something. They had her sitting up. He didn't know it was actually part of the whole birthing process. Hope was practically standing up when she had the baby, but he was there and within eighteen hours she had the baby girl.

He was the first to hold baby Jewel. Thankfully, he hadn't had to do this alone. It was baffling to know if Hope even liked him today. But she was happy. Happy to have the baby in his arms. For the first time, it felt as if they were a family unit.

Of course, everyone thought of him as the baby's father, but he needed to be honest. He showed them the information they needed. Caitlin sent him pictures of the document. The man who was Jewel's father was in jail, somewhere in Virgina and it didn't look like he'd be out anytime soon, on kidnapping charges.