A.K.A. The one with the baby....

MPREG 7

The time was passing slowly. One week became two, then three, and Phillip was getting frustrated. He was huge, he was sore, he was grumpy, and really, he was lonely. Gareth made the three hour round trip drive once during the school week, and at least one day per weekend, and brought the kids twice. They also skyped nightly, but it just wasn't the same. It was funny, really. While in the hospital, he interacted with people more on a daily basis than he ever had before Gareth and the kids lived with him, and he couldn't figure out how he'd survived those lonely years. Although he still wasn't the most social person in the world, he needed Gareth, needed the kids, and needed the human interaction provided by whoever came by his room. He supposed he'd survived due to his gardening, because now, Scotty dropping by on a daily basis to deposit another plant into Phillip's makeshift greenhouse or take a recovering 'patient' away, was one thing that really helped keep him sane.

Jon, Mel's older brother and Scotty's husband, had visited twice, mostly to provide the muscle to deliver some basic gardening supplies. He was a structural engineer, and he and Phillip had a few interesting conversations around the incorporation of living walls into new office developments, not that it was really in Jon's area of expertise, but he did work in a firm with architects that were exploring this 'healthy building' option. Phillip also found it interesting to watch the dynamics of the long time couple, as aside from he and Gareth, he didn't really know any gay couples. Mostly Jon and Scotty were a lot like Vern and Mel, just with a more tame sense of fashion.

Phillip sighed heavily and tossed the Kindle aside. He was sick of reading novels, sick of playing the few apps he had on there, and shockingly enough, sick of the plants he was tending to. He wanted to walk around and do some laps of the halls, but that wasn't possible.  Even if he was allowed to be upright, he couldn't walk the halls and risk the other patients seeing him. It was sad that his only reprieve from bed was the quick bathroom trips he was allowed and the daily five minute showers. Phillip swung his feet over the side of the bed to make his way to the bathroom, again. He really needed to pee. Oddly, though, he felt damp. Had he become incontinent, too? He was loathe to admit that he'd actually peed a little bit the other day when he was laughing at one of Franny's jokes when she'd come on to skype with him. Damn pressure on his bladder. The baby inside him kicked to reiterate the point, and Phillip felt a warm dripping of fluid.

There was a light rap on his door, and Scotty poked his head in. "I'm just finished my shift and was heading out. I thought I'd check to see if I could get you anything." He looked at Phillip's stricken face, and the little puddle forming on the floor. "Oh shit. Stay there Phillip, your water's broken."

Phillip could feel the wetness beneath him, slowly soaking through his robe, running down his leg, gathering in his thick socks. Strangely, he was relieved he wasn't wearing his slippers. "What do I do?" He realized that this wasn't urine, it wasn't coming from his penis at all, and his face coloured in mortification.

"Just stay sitting. I'll get your nurse and call Gareth for you. The baby's early, but you are in the exact right place for that, so don't worry," Scotty reassured him.

"Should I get a towel or change of clothes? I'm afraid I've made a big mess."

"No, don't worry about it. Just stay there while I get someone," Scotty replied, motioning down the hall to the nurses station.

Phillip wasn't happy with the idea of just sitting. Instead he picked up his phone and dialled.

"Thank you for calling Parklane Elementary School, how may I direct your call?" Linda said.

"Hi Linda, it's Phillip." He addressed the secretary of Gareth's school, and one of his clients.

"Well, hello Phillip! To what do I owe the pleasure today?"

While Gareth had informed the school and school board that he was going to be a daddy again and would be requiring leave, most people wrongly assumed they were adopting, so Phillip was careful not to let anything slip. Linda was a lovely woman, and her referrals had brought Phillip a lot of business, but there wasn't a piece of gossip she didn't relish, so there was no way he was going to tell her his water broke.

"Please tell Gareth that the baby is on the way. Water's broken and everything."

"Are you at the hospital, dear?"

"Yes, I am, actually."

"How fantastic! You can witness the birth! I'll tell him immediately!" she chirped down the line.

"Thanks, Linda," Phillip said quickly before hanging up. He was struck with a huge cramp and another spilling of fluid. He was pretty sure he didn't want to witness the birth, but he wasn't going to have a choice in it.

Shortly after Phillip hung up the phone, there was a rush of activity at his door. An older nurse wheeled in a cart with a belt contraption that was really a fetal heart rate monitor and way of tracking contractions all at once. A younger nurse in fushia scrubs brought in an IV and tray with needles.

As the older woman was hooking him up to her contraption, she explained, "We're going to administer a drug to slow your contractions, but there is a team being set up now to safely deliver your baby. The head physician for your case is on his way." She deftly wrapped the velcro belt around the top of his baby bump, then plugged in the monitor.

Phillip was stressed, beyond stressed, really. While the woman continued to talk, he tried to focus on something, anything other than her chatter and the wet mess he was sitting in. How was it even possible he could do this? He was going to die, the baby was going to die, and he'd do it alone in some huge hospital far from home and everyone he loved.

Scotty could see Phillip's distress and stepped forward to comfort the labouring man. "Don't worry, Phillip. I've messaged Mel, and she's on her way to your house to watch the children when they get home from school, and she's also going to tell Gareth's parents." He put his hand on Phillip's arm to try and steady him or at least slow his rapidly firing brain. "The best thing you can do right now is try to remain calm."

"Scotty's correct. Look, here," the older nurse pointed to the flashing screen of the monitor. "You can see your blood pressure and heart rate there, and here's the baby's. Both of you are doing well."

"Now it's time for the IV," the perky younger one stated.

"I'm perfectly capable of eating and drinking, I'm not ill." Phillip was not being an ideal patient, but kept his eyes on the heart rate monitor.

"No, of course you aren't, Phillip," Scotty said gently, "but you are going to have surgery. And in your case it won't be a completely routine c-section. You know they need an IV to administer drugs as well as fluids. Please let Victoria do her job, she's really good at finding a vein and the more you cooperate the easier it is."

"Fine." Phillip held his arm out towards Victoria, who gave Scotty a relieved look before tending to the testy patient.

She carefully wiped the injection site in the back of Phillip's hand, then proceeded with the needle. In no time, Phillip was hooked up to the IV bag, needle taped to the back of his hand. "Now, the doctor has ordered terbutaline, antibiotics, and antenatal corticosteroids, which I will inject into the drip."

Scotty could see the questions forming on Phillip's lips, so he quickly explained the drugs. "Terbutaline will halt your contractions, which is good because there's no easy place for the baby to go, antibiotics are to prevent infection from the rupture of the membranes, and the steroids are to promote fetal lung development. In the case of premature babies, often the lungs aren't fully developed. The steroids can help."

Phillip recalled hearing about the issues with lung development and even the drugs to slow labour, he just had been momentarily overwhelmed. A contraction wasn't something he wanted to experience ever again, and the fact he was still leaking fluid was more than embarrassing. "The baby should be fine, though, right?"

"That's what you're here for, to make sure both of you are good," the older nurse stated.

"Besides, you're already thirty-eight and a half weeks. That's within the realm of normal for delivery," Victoria assured him.

They were interrupted by the chirp of Phillip's phone, which Scotty handed to him. "Gareth is on his way here," Phillip said after reading his message.

"And everything is looking great with the monitor, too, so we'll see when surgery happens, but it could be in a few hours."

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The rap at Gareth's classroom door had startled the man during silent reading. And it had been mostly silent, too. But there was Helen at his door informing him he was needed at the hospital. Gareth scarcely remembered what he told her or his class, but rushed home to get his duffle bag only to find Mel waiting. He ran in to change out of his work clothes and go to the bathroom quick before the familiar but long drive ahead.

"Scotty's with him right now and said he's doing well. I've gassed up my car if you want to take it so that I can take the kids for dinner, then bring them to the hospital tomorrow. Phillip might not be ready for visitors tonight," Mel called through the bedroom door as he tugged on some comfortable clothes. It was going to be a really long night most likely.

"Thanks, Mel. That's a great idea. I'm not sure what we would have done without you." Gareth gave Mel a hug after opening the door, then grabbed her keys, making his way to the front of the house.

"Do you have your wallet? Phone? A book or two?" she queried as he slipped on his shoes.

"Yeah, I'm good." He quickly messaged Phillip that he was on his way.

"Great, then what are you doing standing her talking to me?" She gave him a good natured wink and pushed him out the door. "Drive carefully!" And Gareth did, for two and a half hours.

It was a Friday afternoon, and traffic was a nightmare. The 401 was completely packed, there were a few places where construction had narrowed lanes, and more than one broken down car by the side of the road causing slowdowns. By the time he arrived at the hospital parking garage Gareth was a nervous wreck. He fumbled three times with the parking ticket system before finally driving through the gate, then there was the search for a spot in the packed garage, making him drive down four levels until he finally spotted one. Gareth locked the car and dashed to the elevator, switching from the parking one to the hospital one in the lobby.

"I'm here!" he finally announced, pushing the door to Phillip's room open, only to find it empty. Phillip's belongings were there, but all the plants were gone, as was his husband and his bed. Gareth stashed his bag on the counter, then checked his phone quick to see if he'd missed a message. Sure enough, when he checked in the garage, he hadn't had any service, but now there was one from Phillip's phone.

>It's Scotty, Phillip's in surgery. The desk nurse can bring you down.

It was a brief message, and made Gareth nervous. Was his husband okay?

He ran back out to the desk and one of the nurses on duty had him follow her to the surgical suites. "I can't inform you of his progression because I don't know, but they took him down to prep for surgery about twenty minutes ago," she told him, as they made their way down the hallway, following the yellow line on the floor. "One of the surgical nurses will scrub you up so you can be with him."

Scotty met them in the waiting room, "I can take it from here, Liz, thanks." He was wearing a cloth hat and full scrubs. "Phillip is doing okay, but they needed to start surgery right away because he wasn't responding well to the anti-contraction drugs. Rather than risk it, they decided to get the baby out before there was a problem. You want to come in, right?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess." He'd been in for the birth of Franny and Gabe, but this was different, it was surgery.

"Okay, then, let me help you."

Scotty put a surgical gown on Gareth, tying it snugly in the back, then added his hat and mask.

"Phillip is awake, but partially sedated. He's had a spinal block, so he can't feel anything on his lower half and there's a partition up so you won't be able to see where they are operating. He is restrained on the table, with his arms tied down also, but only to prevent injury. And he'll be wearing an oxygen mask. There's an anesthesiologist monitoring Phillip's vitals and pain, and he's right by Phillip's head, then everyone else will be lower down. There's a team for the baby and a team for Phillip. I'm just telling you ahead of time so that you aren't concerned. This is a packed house due to the rarity of the case, but I've worked with a few of the surgeons in there, and they're fantastic at what they do," Scotty explained before they entered through the double doors.

As soon as they stepped in the room, Gareth was thankful for Scotty's warning. The surgical suite was packed. There were probably about twelve people flocked around Phillip's lower half, a few people readying what looked to be an incubator for the arrival of the baby, and the lone person up at Phillip's head. He leaned down and said something to Phillip, causing Phillip to turn and look at Gareth and Scotty, grinning drunkenly.

"Glad you could make it. No need to rush though, I'm just laying around." He blinked a few times as though focusing was difficult.

Gareth stepped up and took Phillip's hand, rubbing his thumb over the back of Phillip's hand softly. "I wouldn't miss this for the world, Phil."

"I love you, Gare." Phillip blinked again, then his eyes stayed closed.

Gareth looked questioningly at the anesthesiologist. "Don't worry, it's normal for him to be in and out. Depending on how things go, we might have to put him all the way under, but it's better for the baby if we don't. He was waiting for you, though, and fought sleep from the start. I guess he's more relaxed since you've arrived."

"I would have been quicker if the highway wasn't so bad," Gareth felt that he had to justify his late arrival, even though that's probably not what the doctor was getting at. "I'm just thankful Scotty was here to help."

"Here's a stool for you, Gareth. You're going to be here for a bit. Since I'm not actually on shift, I can come back and forth to give you updates." Scotty place the stool right by Phillip's hand and Gareth gladly took a seat. He chatted amicably with the doctor who explained Phillip's vitals to him all the while clutching Phillip's hand and averting his eyes from the large cloth screen used to keep the surgery from view. It was hard to ignore the flurry of activity taking part in the other half of the room, and Gareth was getting more than a little tense.

He must have been getting a little white, too, because Scotty came over with a juice box. "I think you need a bit of sugar. Drink this, it will help. We don't want you passing out up here."

"Thanks, Scotty. Is everything going properly down there?"

"Well, they've had to do a bit of fancy maneuvering to get to Phillip's uterus, as he's got some parts in the way that aren't generally there for a typical cesarean, but things are clamped and moved well enough that there should be room to get the baby out safely. Right now they are just trying to control a little unforeseen bleeding."

Gareth could see a nurse open another bag of clamps and pass them to a doctor whose gloves looked rather bloody. It was more than a little nauseating, so Gareth returned his gaze to Phillip's face and carefully sipped his apple juice.

A few minutes later there was a great rush of movement, a suction sound, then the noise of a baby crying. Gareth looked over to the area where the team of people for their son were working. This part Gareth knew. They were doing an apgar test on the newborn, checking for responsiveness and possible health issues. Then the baby is weighed, measured and diapered before a second apgar test is performed.

"Do we have your permission to administer the vitamin K shot?" one of the nurses seeing to his baby asked. Gareth nodded. He had no clue what it was, but if the hospital needed to do it to his baby, then he was going to agree. Besides, he seemed to recall Leann telling a nurse to "do whatever the fuck was supposed to be done to keep the brat healthy" at the last birth he'd attended. He was certain the shot had been given when there were very lusty cries filling the room. Did that mean the baby's lungs were okay, too?

After what seemed like a lifetime, Scotty placed a tiny bundle into Gareth's arms. The baby was so small, Gareth couldn't even remember how little Franny had been. Was it ever possible his youngest daughter had been this small?

"He's perfectly healthy, Gareth, and doesn't even need the incubator. You and Phillip have done so well." There were tears in Scotty's eyes, although Gareth knew there were tears in his, too. He just wished that Phillip could share this moment. Very carefully, Gareth leaned over, brushing their son's fist against Phillip's fingers. Gareth's tears fell on the sheet, making little marks.

"He's really here, Phillip, you did it. It's our son," Gareth said quietly, reverently.

Phillip's eyes flickered a little and his fingers moved to stroke the baby's fist. A slight smile broke across the prone man's face, just before a monitor started going off.

"Scotty..." the doctor said, a hint of something in his voice. Gareth caught Scotty giving a grimace, before his features smoothed. Another monitor began wailing.

"The doctors have some work to do to get Phillip presentable. Let's take your baby into the recovery room so you can have some daddy time," Scotty suggested, although it wasn't really a suggestion, Gareth could tell.

He rose from the stool very carefully, holding the baby to him, then walked towards the door that Scotty was holding open. "He's going to be okay, right?"

"They will do everything they can. Phillip is strong." Scotty put his arm around Gareth's waist and led him to a recliner in the surgical recovery room, helping to remove his surgical garb. "I'm not going to lie to you. Phillip's bleeding heavily, and there was a problem with how his uterus was situated. It could also be a amniotic fluid embolism. They are working to stabilize him now and he's got excellent doctors with him."

The severity of the situation hit home. "You mean I could lose him?"

"They will do everything they can to make sure that doesn't happen. For right now, all we can do is wait. You should probably do some skin to skin with your son, though. That's the best thing for your baby. Honestly, if they hadn't been worried about the lung development, it would have happened right away."

"Of course," Gareth said, remembering this from previously. He undid his button up shirt to the navel and slipped the baby against him, removing the blanket, so they were chest to chest. Gareth could feel the fast, fluttering heartbeat of the tiny infant and he knew he would do anything in his power to protect his little boy.

"I'm going to see what I can do, I'll be back," Scotty said, slipping from the room.

Gareth clung to the baby carefully, keeping him balanced against his chest, but he could feel the infant begin to root around for some food. It was a natural response to hunger, and he knew that Phillip had wanted to try to breastfeed, but obviously it wasn't going to happen anytime soon. They were still waiting in the surgical recovery room, and had been for a few hours. In fact, despite all the fear coursing through his system, Gareth was hungry, too. His stomach growled as he considered what was really happening. This had to be worst case scenario for Phillip. This had to be why he'd insisted on being married, and insisted all the proper paperwork be filed. A mewling cry interrupted his thoughts. Obviously the tiny infant was unhappy with what he'd found. There was no milky nipple.

"Right, Mr. Cameron-Lewis, your partner is still in surgery, but we do need to attend to the baby," an unfamiliar nurse came in the door. "We need to take the baby to your husband's room so that we can care for the baby." Gareth's stomach grumbled again. "And you, too, from the sounds of it."

"You can't take my son," Gareth stated firmly.

"Of course not, you're coming too." She motioned for him to rise. "In the case of a premature birth, studies have proven that bonding with the parents is of utmost importance to the infant's health. Ordinarily a great deal of that care would be done by the mother, with the father helping, of course, but given that Mr. Phillip Cameron-Lewis is unable to take part, we shall make sure there is a bed for you in the room," she informed him as they walked away from the surgical unit.

"I can't leave Phillip."

"I'm sure he would want you to care for your son," she said sympathetically. "He has a whole team helping him. You are the most important member of your baby's team right now."

When they arrived in Phillip's room, there was, in fact another bed, all made up and the plexi-glass sided newborn bassinet that could be wheeled right alongside. The bassinet had drawers beneath containing various baby items, like newborn diapers, washcloths, and some cream.

"Now, why don't the two of you settle on the bed, and I'll see about getting you some food. How were you planning on feeding your son?"

"Well, Phillip is lactating, so we were hoping to breastfeed and supplement as necessary," Gareth informed the nurse.

"Hmm, well, often the drugs from surgery can interrupt the milk production, and seeing as Phillip might have some issues, would you be adverse to bottle feeding?"

"No, of course not, although we really were hoping to get the antibodies from breastmilk, although formula is fine."

"Thankfully, that's not a problem. If you sign the consent, we have a breastmilk bank here at the hospital especially for preterm infants. It's donated by volunteers and is pasteurized for safety before being given to the infants."

"I'll sign whatever is necessary if it's for the good of my baby." At least there was something he could do.

"Great! I'll be right back with the form, a warm bottle, and a tray of food for you. You're lucky, the food in this ward is quite nice."

Gareth took the opportunity to rock the baby back to sleep, wrap him back in his blankets, and settle him in the bassinet. In addition to being hungry, he also really needed to use the bathroom.

When he emerged a few minutes later, the nurse, Scotty, and the tray were waiting.

"How's Phillip?"

Scotty looked exhausted. "They've gotten him stable and are going to wheel him to recovery soon. He'll stay there until the anesthetic has worn off and he's responsive, then they will bring him here if all is well. He will have to stay here for a few more days than originally planned, though. The doctor will be up in a little bit." Scotty fought off a huge yawn.

"Scotty, you need to go home to that wonderful husband of yours. You've been up since last night," the nurse scolded him. "How are you even still here?"

"Family friend. I was just helping out," he explained.

Gareth felt guilty that Scotty was still here. "And I am so incredibly thankful for it, but Nurse..."

"Andrea," she offered.

"Nurse Andrea is right. You need your rest. You don't have a shift tonight, do you?" Gareth inquired.

"No, I'm off until the next rotation, days, starts up. I really wanted to be here for you, and Mellie would have insisted anyway." He grinned and so did Gareth.

"That she would."

Scotty said his farewells, took a few photos of the baby to show Jon, then left while Gareth ate his tilapia in a lemon sauce, vegetable rice, broccoli, and tomato soup. Andrea explained the paperwork to him and fitted himself and the baby with their patient bracelets. After he signed, she passed over a small warm bottle.

The rest of the night passed in a blur. There was a diaper change, a few more feedings to attend to, then finally, around four in the morning, a lightly snoring Phillip was wheeled into the room, along with a whole bunch of monitors.

Gareth was awestruck to see Phillip look so completely frail and vulnerable. It was terrifying. His skin was sallow and cheeks were sunken. Where there had once been a baby bump, there was a noticeable absence, and he was prone on his back, a position Phillip almost never slept in. There were far more tubes and wires attached to the man than the last time he'd seen him, and he was wearing an oxygen tube in his nostrils. Phillip's hair was greasy and stuck out oddly, and he was far too still. If it wasn't for the heart rate monitor tracking his pulse and blood pressure, Gareth could have mistaken him for someone near death. But they wouldn't have brought him back to the room if that was a worry, would they?

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Phillip could barely remember anything. He remembered Gareth arriving in the room, and he could recall the softness of his son's skin, and that was really it. There was an overwhelming coldness, a loud beeping, then nothing.

Now he could hear a noise. More than one noise actually. There was a rushing sort of sound, almost like wind, but there was no breeze, and then behind it there was something else. A cat maybe? A kitten? No, that couldn't be right. He went to open his eyes to look around, since aside from the fact he was in a bed, he really couldn't be sure where he was but they were crusted over and didn't seem to work too well. Phillip tried to raise his hand to wipe his eyes, but it ached really badly and felt heavy. His other hand felt oddly heavy too, but this one seemed to work. Rubbing his finger and thumb over his eyelids, Phillip was able to slowly open them to take in the sight of his dimly lit room decidedly more crowded than before.

"Gareth?" his voice cracked, his throat was so dry. Phillip tried to get himself to a sitting position, but the tingling numbness mixed with pain in his lower abdomen hurt way too much for that to be the slightest bit feasible. When Phillip went to touch his stomach, it all came rushing back. Where was their son! "Gareth!" His call was much more frantic.

Gareth shot up like a bolt. "Oh, God! Phillip!" Then he realized where he was when their son weighed in on the conversation, giving his lungs a stretch. Gareth's tone got gentler, quieter, as he leaned over the bassinet and picked up their very loquacious infant. "It's okay, baby, Daddy just woke up." Cradling the swaddled infant, Gareth took him over to Phillip.

"He's perfect," Phillip croaked. He realized now that one hand still had the IV in, so rather than get the baby tangled, he lifted his unencumbered hand to touch his child again, and for the first time, really. 

A/N: So the baby's arrived and all seems okay....I guess we'll have to wait for the doctor to discuss the surgery with Phillip and Gareth.

Also, I am a bit rushed getting this out, so hopefully there aren't too many errors, as I haven't had a time to fully proofread and edit.

Hugs! <3 JJ