Christmas With Family
Chirstmas With Family
Sequel to Flight To Paradise
©1999-2000
By Sarah
Chapter 17

        Sarah tucked Brian into the bed and kissed his forehead gently, backing away as he turned over in his sleep, clutching the covers tightly.  Sarah smiled and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her quietly.  She walked down the stairs of the now quiet house and passed a window on her way to the living room.
        "Its really snowing, isn’t it?"  Jackie asked as she came up behind her.
        Sarah nodded.  "Yeah, there must be a foot on the ground already."
        Jackie smiled.  "A foot and a half, Harold measured it.  He was trying to get out the back door before and couldn’t, its been snowing steadily since you found Nick and Kevin outside."
        Sarah smiled back and followed Jackie to the living room where Kevin was helping Elaina to stand.
        "Thanks for dinner and everything, Aunt Jackie, but we have to be going, we stayed a little long," Kevin said.
Jackie shook her head.  "I don’t think so, Kevin, you three are staying the night.  You can’t even get outside, let alone be able to drive.  The snow is still falling, get comfortable, you’re here for the night," she said.  She left the room and went into the kitchen.
        Elaina looked at Sarah with a pained look.  "Is she right?  The snow is that thick out there?"
        Sarah nodded.  "Yeah, it’s over a foot deep.  Let me fix up the other guestroom for you guys, you can get comfortable for the night."
        "Umm, Sarah, do you mind taking me upstairs and helping me find something to wear?"  Elaina asked.
Sarah nodded.  "Sure, let’s go," she said.  She led Elaina to the stairs and helped her up, leading her to her room, going to the closet and pulling a bag out from the floor.
        "We put all my old clothes from when I was pregnant in here.  Jackie told me to bring them here for you, since you and Kevin are staying in Kentucky for the next year or so," she said, untying the top of the bag.  She rummaged through the bag for her old nightgown when she heard Elaina gasp behind her.
        "What’s wrong, Elaina?"  Sarah asked, turning to face her.  Her face turned white as she saw something hit the floor.
        "Umm, Sarah?  I think my water just broke," Elaina said.  Her face screwed up in pain and she let out a small scream.
        "Oh, God, of course it has to happen now," Sarah said.  She stood up and led Elaina to the bed, lying her back against the headboard.  "Stay here, use your breathing, scream if you need anything, I'm going to get Jackie," she said.  She ran out of the room and down the stairs, going to the kitchen.  She found Jackie, Harold, Kevin, and Brian all sitting at the counter, talking.
        "Sarah, honey, what’s wrong?"  Brian asked, putting down his mug and starting for her.
        "You aren’t going to believe this.  Elaina’s water broke," she said breathlessly.
Jackie ran past her and up the stairs, and Kevin hurried over to her.
        "Laney?  My Laney?  Her water broke?"  He asked, confused.
        Before Sarah could reply, a scream ripped through the air and Kevin ran to the stairs.
        "That’s an affirmative," Brian said jokingly.
        "Brian, this is no time to joke.  Grab the phone and get upstairs," Harold said, hurrying past them.
        Sarah felt numb as she grabbed the phone off the counter and dragged Brian upstairs with her.  She led him to their room and gestured for him to take Katie out, who was crying because Elaina’s screaming woke her up.
        "Elaina, I need you to keep breathing," Jackie said.  She looked up at Sarah and she suddenly realized what she should do.
        She dialed nine-one-one on the phone and waited as the phone rang, then finally someone picked up.
        "Hi, um, my cousin just went into labor and we cannot get out of the house, we’re snowed in," she explained as calmly as possible, pacing next to the bed.  She winced as Elaina screamed again and listened as carefully as possible to the woman on the other end.
        Sarah nodded as she listened to her instructions.  She ran into the bathroom and grabbed some towels out of the cabinet, bringing back to her bedroom.  She set them on the floor by the bed and shooed Harold and Brian out of the room, leading Kevin to Elaina’s side and gesturing for him to take her hand.
        "Ok, Jackie, we have to deliver the baby," Sarah said quietly as she took her mother-in-law aside.
        "Ok, just tell me what to do and I’ll do it," Jackie said breathlessly, her hands already spotted with blood.
        Sarah took a deep breath and listened to the operator on the other side of the line.  "Ok, she said that an ambulance is on its way, but its going to take some time, she’ll give us instructions until then," Sarah said.  She led Jackie back to the bed and sat in front of Elaina, instructing Jackie what they had to do.
        "Elaina, don’t push," Sarah called to her, trying to make herself heard over Elaina’s screaming.
        "I’m not, just make the pain stop!"  She screamed.
        Kevin looked nervously at Sarah.  "She’s, um, breaking my hand," he said quietly.
        Sarah nodded.  "You see, you should’ve been there the first time, it was even worse," Sarah said, holding the phone next to her ear by her shoulder.  She remembered how Kevin was away over-seas when Elaina went into labor, she was there with her the entire time.  When Elaina had finally had Courtney, Kevin arrived the next morning.  He apologized profusely for missing the birth and promised to be with her for their next child.
        ‘Well, you can’t be anymore involved than this,’ Sarah thought as she saw the baby’s head start to crown.  She took a deep breath and described to the operator what she could see and asked what to do.  She followed instructions and, about a half-hour later, she was holding a baby in her arms.
        "Kevin, Elaina, it’s a boy," she said, smiling.  She wrapped the little baby in the towels on the floor and tied a shoelace from one of Brian’s sneakers around the umbilical cord like she was instructed.  She smiled next to her at Jackie, who was smiling brightly, wiping blood off her hands with another towel.
        "See, I told you it would be a boy," Elaina said breathlessly.
        Kevin chuckled.  "Yes, you did, you were right."
        Sarah looked up at the door as it opened the rest of the way and Nick stood in the doorway.  "Whoa, what on earth did I miss?"  He asked, running his hands through his ruffled hair.
        "You can’t tell me you just slept through that," Kevin said.
        "Slept through what?"  Nick asked.
        "Idiot, Elaina just had her baby," Brian said from behind him, hitting his head.
        "Whoa," Nick said, looking at the baby in Sarah’s arms.  Sarah laughed at his expression.  "He even looks like Kevin when he first wakes up," he said jokingly.
        "Hey, stop that, that’s my son," Kevin said.
        Sarah shook her head.  "I don’t know, Kevin, I think he’s telling the truth," she said.  She looked up at Kevin as he moved around the side of the bed to look at his son.
        Kevin cracked a smile.  "Yeah, he kinda does," he said.
        Sarah smiled as she handed Kevin the baby and took the towel from Jackie, wiping off her hands and arms.  She backed away from the bed as the EMTs came in the room and started loading Elaina and the baby onto a gurney.
        "Hey, what’s the baby’s name?"  Sarah called to the two of them as they walked outside to the waiting ambulance.
        Kevin looked down at Elaina, who nodded.  "I believe, Nickolas Scott Littrell Richardson will do," Kevin said.
Sarah smiled and looked up at Nick standing next to her, who had a shocked look on his face.  She waved as the ambulance rode away slowly down the street and sighed as Brian took her in his arms.
        "Merry Christmas, Sarah," he whispered.
        Sarah chuckled and looked at Brian.  "Merry Christmas, Brian," she whispered in reply.  He leaned forward and kissed her gently, then turned and led her back into the house, slowly closing the door as the snow lightened to a dusting.

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