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“Hurricane Sam is now 20 miles from the coast of mainland America. When the storm hits the mainland later this afternoon, it will land near the Florida city of Orlando and spread across to the city of Tampa,” the weatherman reported before a sleepy Nick Carter turned off the morning news and weather.
The sound of the clicking of the remote awoke Nick’s wife of two years, Mina, who stirred lightly at his side. Mina had always been a light sleeper, especially since the two of them found out that they were expecting their first child. Mina’s due date was a few weeks away but she was still worried about the incoming storm. Mina was a strong believer in old saying and superstitions, such as her grandmother’s favorite saying, “Every stormy, full moon night brings new life to the world at sight”.
“Morning, sweetie,” Nick said to her as he softly kissed her forehead when he noticed her stir before opening her eyes and looking at him.
“Morning,” she said to him before sighing lightly as the baby kicked her as she tired to sit up. “Ohh, that was a good one.”
“The baby's been quite active lately,” he said to her as he rubbed her belly as he felt for kicks.
“Yeah, I think she knows about the storm that's coming. So how far off is it?” she asked him.
“They say that it is about 20 miles out and should be hitting us this afternoon. But baby girl, that doesn’t mean that you need to be getting worried,” he said to her as he watched her expression change from knowing how far the storm was out. “The house is boarded up and the basement is ready when we need it. Come on, sweetie, we have been through these before.”
“Yeah, but I wasn’t nine months pregnant, Nick. I should have listened to my mother and grandmother. They said that this would happen to me,” she said more to herself.
“Look, Mina, I am here for you. If anything should happen, and it won’t, I will get you through the whole thing,” he said to her hoping to himself that he would be true to his words.
“I know, you will, Nicky, but I’m still scared,” she said to him as she leaned against him.
“I know, sweetie. I know,” he said to her as he softly rocked her back and forth.
***********
Sometime near noon, the weather forecaster broke into the movie that Nick and Mina were watching, warning the people in the cities of Orlando and Tampa to be prepared, saying: “Hurricane Sam over the past few hours has grown in strength and is now to be a category three hurricane. Citizens in the cities of Orlando and Tampa, please move to the local shelter nearest you, at this point, or please move to the lowest level of your homes.”
“You see, Nick. I told you I had a bad feeling about the storm,” Mina said to him as Nick stood up as he heard the forecast. Nick, as best as he could, tried to hide his fear. Storms were never a liking of his, but he had to be brave to get Mina and the baby through this one.
“Mina, you need to calm down a bit. Getting scared and excited will make the baby know that something is wrong,” Nick said to her as he was locking the front door and securing the locks on all of the windows.
“I know, babe. But it is hard not to get scared. I mean...I don’t know what I mean,” Mina said before letting out a scream as the light rain that was falling began to get harder and lightning bold streaked the sky before producing a loud rumble of thunder. “Ahhh.”
“Shh, Mina, it’s only lightning,” Nick said as he was quickly by her side and hugging her as close as he could to his body with her large belly between them.
“I know, Nicky, but...,” Mina said to him as she started to cry before Nick stopped her by laying a finger against her lips.
“Shh, baby girl, I know that you are scared. And yes, I am a little scared, too, but we can get through this together. Remember I promised you that I will be by your side...,” Nick said but was interrupted by Mina, who looked up into his beautiful blue eyes with tears in hers before saying the last part of their wedding vow.
“Now and forever,” she replied to him.
“Exactly. Which means that I will be with you through every stormy day, every bad and hard day, every sad day, and every happy day. Now, come on, I will help you get down those stupid steps,” he said to her making her laugh as they remembered the day that Nick slipped and fell down the steps, bumping his hard head. He helped her off the couch before wrapping his arm around her back for support.
After getting her settled into the basement, Nick went back up the steps to gather a few essentials that they may need as the phone rang. Nick picked up the phone and answered with his usual greeting.
“Hello, this is the Carter’s,” he said into the phone.
“Yo, bro, what’s going on your way?” AJ’s raspy voice said to him. AJ was currently in LA with his wife, Dawn, and their two twins, Alexis and Alex, working on some stuff for his Johnny No-Name Tour.
“Hey, Bone. Nothing much, just a storm is brewing off the coast,” he said to him as he continued to gather a few things.
“Really, I didn’t hear a thing out here. Are you and Mina safe?” AJ said in a concerned voice. “Man, Mina is probably scared. How are the little ones? Are Rok and Kev there or home? What about D?”
“Whoa, whoa, J. One question at a time. Yes, Mina and I are fine, but she is scared. The baby is fine and comfy. Rok, Si, Cassie, and Kev have been up in Kentucky for the last two weeks letting the grandparents spoil Devon, Lexi, and Tyler; and D is in New York with Aph, getting some work down for his company,” he said to him.
“So, you two are alright,” AJ said to him.
“Yeah, we are fine. Oh, shoot,” Nick said as he dropped the phone on the floor. “Bone, you still there?”
“Yeah, I am. What was that?” he asked.
“I dropped the phone on the floor. I can’t find Mickey and Willy,” he said to him, mentioning his dogs.
“They are probably hiding in a closet somewhere. That’s what Panda and Bear do during a storm. Well, it looks like you are having an adventure, so I will leave you alone, bro, and I will see you on Friday,” he said to him.
“Yeah, see you then, Bone. And say hi to Dawn for Mina and me. And kiss the twins night-night for us,” Nick said to him, mentioning AJ’s one year old twin daughters.
“I will. Bye, Nick,” AJ said to him.
“Bye, Age,” Nick said before hanging up the phone. As he did, he could hear a pair of whimpers coming from the bedroom closet. He walked over to the door to find both of his pugs laying in a basket of clothes whimpering. “There you guys are. I guess AJ was right. Come on, buddies. Mommy is downstairs waiting for us.”
Nick carried a box of blankets, the phone, and supplies, such as extra batteries and the first-aid kit, down into the basement with the dogs following him close behind. He kicked the door closed. And as he got to the bottom of the steps, he could see Mina sitting on the futon bed, half-laying, half-sitting and watching the portable TV as she was softly rubbing her belly.
“Hey, babe, who was on the phone?” Mina asked him as she watched as he set the box on the counter of the small kitchen that was in the basement. The basement was like a little apartment since it had a kitchen, that the two of them always stocked full of stuff for their frequent parties; a living room/bedroom that had a futon that folds out into a bed; a bathroom complete with sink and toilet; and small area that is a game room since it has a pool table and FOOSBALL table.
“Oh, that was just Bone. He was checking up on us as usual,” he told her. “And you know that he didn’t know anything about the storm at all.”
“Really, I thought that it would be all over the news,” Mina said to him.
“Well, this is AJ that we are talking about,” he said to her.
“Yeah, but he has changed a little. Especially, now, that he has Dawn and the twins,” she told him.
“Yeah, but just a little. Come on, he is still Bone,” Nick told her as he finished putting the stuff away before going to sit next to her on the bed. “You okay,” he asked her.
“Yeah, I just have a little pain in my back,” she told him.
“Here, sit up a little and I will rub your back for you,” he said to her. Mina scooted up a little, so that Nick could sit behind her. Mina sighed to herself as she enjoyed the feeling of Nick’s strong smooth hands massaging her back, but soon her sigh turned into a slight moan as she felt a strange pain deep in her stomach.
“Oww,” Mina said as she laid her hand on the spot, where the pain was.
“Babe, you okay?” Nick asked her.
“Yeah, the baby just kicked me in the bladder that’s all,” Mina said to him, hoping that she was right. “Babe, could you help me up? I need to go to the bathroom.”
“Sure, babe,” he said to her as he got up to help her. Nick helped Mina up from the bed before supporting her back as she walked (or waddled) to the bathroom. Right as she got into the bathroom and closed the door, the phone rang again. “Hello, this is the Carter’s.”
“Whoa, such a formal greeting,” the softly accented voice of Brian said in his ear.
“Hey, Rok, what’s going on?” he asked him as he flipped the TV to the Weather Channel, before putting the mute on.
“Well, it seems to me that you guys are getting pounded down there,” Brian said to him.
“Yeah, we are,” Nick said to him. “That storm is about 20 minutes away from here.”
“Yeah, it sounds that it keeps getting stronger, too,” he said to him.
“Yeah, but I’ve been through worse. I’m just scared for Mina, she is on the edge about the storm and she is scared that she might go into -,” Nick was about to finish his sentence as he heard Mina’s familiar scream. Nick dropped the phone and quickly ran to the bathroom door, where he quickly opened the door to see Mina leaning against the sink with her hand pressed to her stomach. “Mina, what’s wrong, babe?”
“The baby. Nicky, my water broke,” she said as she began to cry.
Shh, Mina. It’s okay. I’m here for you,” he said to her before getting an idea. “BRIAN?? Mina, Brian’s on the phone. I’m gonna help you back to the bed and see if he can help.”
“Okay,” she said to him as he wrapped his arm around her waist and supported her as she walked to the bed with Nick’s help.
“Brian, you still there?” Nick asked as he picked up the phone after helping Mina to lay back down on the bed.
“NICK, WHERE THE HELL DID YOU GO?? AND WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT SCREAMING??” Brian yelled at him.
“Calm down, Bri. Listen, Mina’s water broke. She’s in labor,” Nick told him.
“Oh, crap, Nick. When?” he asked him.
"I don’t know, but it was probably when she screamed. Rok, what am I gonna do?” Nick asked him.
“Well, Frack, it looks to me that you are gonna have to -,” Brian said to him before the phone went dead.
*********
Brian was sitting in the living room talking to Nick as he began to scream Nick’s name causing Kevin to come into the room. “Brian, what’s going on?” Kev asked him.
“I don’t know. I heard a scream and then he dropped the phone. Nick, where the hell did you go?? And what the heck was that screaming??” Brian yelled at him as he got back on the phone.
“Calm down, Bri. Listen, Mina’s water broke. She’s in labor,” Nick told him.
“Oh, crap, Nick. When?” he asked him.
“I don’t know, but it was probably when she screamed. Rok, what am I gonna do?” Nick asked him.
“Well, Frack, it looks to me that you are gonna have to help Mina do the whole thing,” Brian said to him before the phone went dead. “NICK!! Nick!! Oh, crap, the phone is dead.”
“What happened??” Kevin asked him only hearing Brian’s side of the conversation.
“Mina’s in labor and they are stuck in the house. And now the phone is dead because of the hurricane,” Brian said quickly telling him what was going on.
“Damn,” Kevin said. “What are we gonna do?”
“We are gonna have to get Jive’s private jet to take us back to Nick. Kevin, he can’t do that by himself. What if something goes wrong? What if Mina can’t do it? What if....uh, I don’t know,” Brian said before laying his head in his hands and starting to cry as he got more worried about his friend.
“Come on, Bri. Crying is not gonna help Nick. We got to figure out a way to get down there. Damn, and no one is down there cause D is in New York and AJ is in LA,” Kevin said as he sat next to his crying cousin rubbing his back and trying to think at the same time.
“Guys, what’s wrong?? What’s going on??” Cassie asked as she came into the room from her shopping trip with Sierra.
“Brian called Nick and he is in deep trouble. Mina’s in labor and they can’t get out because of the hurricane. And, now, the phone lines are also dead,” Kevin explained to them.
“Oh my gosh. When did this happen?” Sierra asked as she sat down next to Brian, who laid his head in her lap as she sat down.
“About ten minutes ago,” he said to them.
“We need to get down there,” Brian keeps repeating in between sobs.
“I know, Bri, but all the planes going to Florida are cancelled or delayed because of the hurricane. We won’t be able to get down until the morning,” Sierra said to him as she softly stroked his head.
*********
“Well, Frack, it looks to me that you are gonna have to -,” Brian said to him before the phone went dead.
“Brian?? Hello, hello. Oh crap, the phone is dead,” Nick said more to himself before hearing Mina’s moan of pain.
“Owwww,” Mina said as the second contraction hit her. Nick quickly got up and was by her side as he recognized the signs of a contraction as he heard her silent scream and noticed the expression on her face.
“Come on, Mina. You just got to breathe through it. That’s right. In and out, in and out, in and out,” Nick said as he held her hand and rubbed her back trying to get her to relax as her body worked through the contraction.
“Shuh,” Mina sighed as the contraction subsided. “Nicky, thank you for being here. In the next couple of hours, I might get a little strange and angry with you but that is just the pain talking. I love you and I know that the baby loves you.”
“I know, Mina. I love you, too,” Nick said as he softly kissed her on the lips before wiping a piece of sweat-soaked hair out of her face. “Baby, I want you to relax for a second. I am gonna get some things that we need.”
“Okay, sweetie,” Mina said to him as he stuck a few pillows behind her back to help make her a little more comfortable. Mina laid back against the pillows and watched as Nick rushed around the room getting certain things together, such as: the baby’ blankets, a pan of water, a laundry basket in which he put a couple of soft blankets, the first-aid kit, a small sewing kit so he could use the scissors and thread, a couple of towels, and a short night-shirt for Mina to put on.
“Mina, I’m gonna help you put this shirt on,” Nick said to her. Mina could only nod as she was feeling a little tired but before Nick could help her up, another contraction started.
“Oh gosh,” Mina said as she started to breathe as she reached her hand out to Nick, who took it.
“That’s right, Mina. Just breathe slowly. In and out. In and out,” Nick coached her as he held her hand and rubbed her back. Nick was glad that he had attended all of Mina’s Lamaze classes and listened to the teacher, who explained the whole procedure to them. “About six minutes apart.”
“Woo,” Mina sighed as she leaned back against the pillow as the contraction finally passed.
************
Almost five and a half hours later, Mina’s contraction were four minutes apart, lasting a minute each as Nick checked her for the first time. Nick could see the top of the baby’s head as Mina stated that she needed to push. “Go on, babe. I can see the baby’s head. Just hold onto my hands and push, sweetie,” Nick coached her as he gave Mina his hand so that she could use his strength to push.
“Ahhh,” Mina screamed as she held onto his hands and pushed.
“That’s right, babe. Just a little more. The head is almost here. Come on, sweetie, just a little more,” Nick coached her before saying, “Mina, I’m gonna let your hands go, so I can get the baby.”
Nick let Mina’s hands go and grabbed a towel so that he could catch the baby. Nick told her to push a little more as the head fully crowned and the shoulders began to show. After another push, the shoulder came free and the baby slipped out.
“Oh my gosh, Mina, look it’s a girl. We have a little girl,” Nick said to her. He used the thread to tie two knots into the umbilical cord before cutting it in the middle. Nick took his baby girl over to the small tub of water and washed off the debris that was on her after taking the afterbirth and sticking it in another plastic bag. The warm water caused the baby to begin to cry as the change in temperature shocked him. “That’s right, sweetie. Go ahead and cry,” Nick said to her as he dried her off before laying her into the baby blankets before laying her into Mina’s waiting arms.
“Oh my gosh, Nick. She is so beautiful,” Mina said to him as she was watching the baby, who was now sleeping after her half-way traumatic birth. Nick finished cleaning up his hand before crawling on the bed and sitting next to Mina as she told him, “Thank you, Nicky. For everything.”
“Don’t thank me, babe. I just helped, you did all the hard work,” Nick said to her.
“So what should we name our daughter?” Mina asked him as she laid her into his arms.
“How about you name our little girl?” he suggested.
“Okay. How about Anastasia Alina after my grandmother?" Mina asked him as he held her in his arms.
“Perfect,” Nick said to her before the phone actually rang. Mina watched as Nick placed their daughter back into her arms before answering the phone on the third ring.
“Hello,” Nick said as he answered.
“Nick, good you are still there. We are on the plane back to Tampa, right now. Bone and D are also on their ways back. Is everything okay?” Kevin’s voice asked him.
“Yeah, bro. Everything’s fine. And you guys can come to the hospital to see your new niece,” Nick said to him.
“Oh man, congratulations, bro,” he said to him. “I will see you, when we get there?”
“Yeah, Kev, see you then,” Nick said to him before turning back to Mina, who was sleeping with their beautiful baby girl in her arms. Now, that is a beautiful sight, Nick said to himself as he grabbed one of his cameras from a nearby bookshelf and snapped a picture of his new family.
*************
About four hours later, Nick and Mina were lying on the bed in Mina’s suite at the hospital with the baby as someone knocked on the door. “Come in,” Nick called out to whoever it was as the door opened to reveal all of the guys with their wives and children.
“Hey, is this where the hero party is?” Kev said as they came into the room.
“Yeah, I guess it is,” Nick said to them, motioning to the few flowers that were already in the room.
“So, do we get some introductions, here?” AJ said to them as he shifted a sleeping Alexis to his other arm.
“Well, guys, we would like to introduce you to our daughter, Anastasia Alina,” he said to them.
“Oh my gosh, she's beautiful and perfect,” Sierra said as she went over to Mina’s side of the bed to see the baby. “Congratulation, girl. You, too, Nicky.”
“Thanks, Si,” Mina said to them.
“Yeah, Nick, congrats, but did you have to do the whole thing yourself?” AJ teased him. “When Kev called and said that you were doing this, I was so shocked that I had to come and see for myself.”
“Yeah, I guess I did have to do the whole thing, but Mina, the next time, I just want to watch,” Nick said to her.
"I don’t know. I kind of like the hero treatment,” Mina said to him before the two of them lightly kissed each other as the others shared a comforting laugh.
**********
Well, Nick did get his request of only watching. When their second child, a little girl by the name of Misty Raine, was born, Nick was at Mina’s side as he still got the chance to watch his daughter being born. And all four of them are still living in Tampa with their two dogs, but what was amazing to both Nick and Mina, was that Anya were never afraid of storms or hurricanes, even though she knew about her special delivery.
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