Closer Ch. 06

"This is your second child. You did it once, you can do it again," the doctor exclaimed with that same damn smirk. Helen just wanted to smack it right off the woman's face.

"Yeah, but I had the first one almost twenty years ago," she ground out.

The doctor smiled again. Ugh, why did she keep smiling? Helen relaxed a little when she saw Kim walk into the room.

"I'll be back shortly to check on you."

"Oh, wait, I want an epidural," Helen called out.

"Alrighty, I'll call the anesthesiologist," the doctor replied, leaving the room.

"Here, I brought you some ice chips," Kim exclaimed, walking over to Helen with the small cup full of frozen water.

"Thank you," Helen replied, grabbing the cup. She quickly downed some of the ice, not even bothering to chew some of it. "Where's Justin?"

"Oh, he should be back any minute. He went to the house to get your hospital bag."

Helen smiled on the inside. The bag had completely slipped from her thoughts. Thank god her son paid attention and remembered to get. She was so lucky to have him. Then, she thought of the other man in her life that she felt lucky enough to have. Steve was so wonderful and loving and….wait, where was Steve?

"Where's Steve," she repeated out loud, looking out the door.

"Steve's outside about to have a panic attack. He's so nervous," Kim laughed.

"He's nervous?" Helen asked incredulously. "I'm the one who has to push this baby out of my hoo-ha. Why is he nervous?"

Kim laughed again and sat at the edge of the bed. She watched as Helen munched on the ice while idly rubbing her belly. "Does it hurt?"

"It's not terrible pain, but it's enough for me to want this baby out of me in next to no time."

"Well, at least you'll get to hold her in a little while. Gosh, I'm so excited."

"Me too, I just don't want to deal with the no sleep and dirty diapers," Helen laughed, bringing the cup to her lips and engulfing the rest of the ice.

"Want more?"

"Sure." Kim took the empty cup and walked into the hallway. She walked over to where she could get the ice and filled the cup to the brim. When she turned around to exit the room she jumped slightly because she saw Justin in the same room.

"You scared me," she said, placing her hand on her chest.

"Sorry."

"It's okay. Did you get the bag?"

"Yeah, it's in her room."

"Great," she replied, about to leave.

"Can we talk?" Justin asked, but it sounded more like a statement instead of a question.

"Umm, I have to get this ice to your mom," Kim replied, waving the cup for emphasis. She tried to leave, but he blocked her exit.

"Justin," she sighed.

Justin snatched the cup from her hands and set it firmly on a counter behind him. "Forget the damn ice. Kim, talk to me please."

"What the hell do you want me say, Justin? Huh?" she countered, shrugging.

"Just say anything. The past few days you've said nothing to me and you just give me dirty looks, or completely avoid me."

"Can you really blame me? How would you feel if I told you I fucked some guy while you were in Chicago? Bet you wouldn't be too happy either, would you?"

"I didn't sleep with her," Justin bit out.

"How do I know I can believe that?" Kim crossed her arms and waited for an explanation.

Justin grabbed her hands and held them in his large ones. He looked deep into her eyes and said slowly, "I. Did. Not. Sleep. With. Her."

Kim looked back into his amazing blue eyes and listened to him as he continued.

"Kim, I wouldn't have told you this if I didn't love you. I can't keep something like that from you because it would break my heart knowing that everyday I was lying to you. You don't deserve that and I'm so ashamed that I even kissed her. In any relationship the most important thing is trust and honesty. I'm trying to be honest and it really hurts when you say you don't trust me."

"I do trust you, Justin. I just…."

"Then, believe me when I'm telling you something that's true," he argued, pulling her closer to him. "I'm sorry about what happened, Kimmy. You have no idea how sorry I am. I know you might not trust me the same way you used too, but I will do anything I can to prove to you that you're the only one I want."

Kim looked deeply into his eyes and saw the passion behind his words. She believed that he was telling the truth.

"I'm sorry," he repeated over and over as he leaned down to claim her lips. She didn't pull away; she pulled him closer to her. She was afraid to let him go. Whatever was happening between them at this moment felt strange and for some reason it was enthralling.

Just kiss me, she thought. Just kiss me and it'll all be better, she whispered to herself. I love you and I need you, she told herself. Please.

When his lips touched hers, she felt like her knees were going to give way beneath her. In that moment, he was perfect again, and his flaws seemed unreal.

"I forgive you," she rushed out before his kiss stole her breath again. His tongue danced with hers as he pulled her closer to him and pushed her body against a counter. He closed the door to the small room and locked it. He kissed her deeply and pressed his body against hers.

"I love you," Justin whispered, reaching underneath her skirt. He stroked her cloth-covered pussy and felt her panties moisten at his touch. She groaned against his lips when he penetrated her with one finger and then two. He kissed her neck while fingering her tight cunt, stroking in and out of her in a steady rhythm that was driving her insane.

When she heard the instantly recognizable sound of a zipper being undone, she realized where she was and what the situation was. As hard as it was for Kim, she had to pull away from him. She stopped his hand that was doing wonders for her soaked pussy, and he looked at her in confusion.

"We have to stop. We have to go back to your mom. She needs us," she reminded him. He sighed and grudgingly pulled away. She laughed slightly.

"What?" Justin asked.

"You might wanna compose yourself. Justin jr. is clearly excited," she replied, pointing to his crotch. Justin laughed too and turned around.

"See what you do to me. He won't go down," Justin laughed.

"Think of dead puppies. Or, your grandmother naked," she said trying to help.

He groaned loudly and laughed, "Yeah, the grandma thing totally worked. That's the fastest a hard-on has probably ever vanished."

Kim laughed again and hopped off the counter. She grabbed the cup of ice that had started to melt and refilled it with fresh ice. When she finished, Justin opened the door and they walked out together.

They came back just in time to see the anesthesiologist giving his mom the epidural.

"Well, you're going to be a little numb from the waist down, but you'll feel some pressure when the baby is coming and you'll still be able to push during delivery," the doctor exclaimed, removing their gloves. The male doctor helped Helen come to a position on the bed that would be comfortable for her before heading out the door, possibly to see his next patient.

"Thank you," Helen replied as the doctor left the room.

"Here's that ice you wanted," Kim exclaimed, handing her the cup.

"Finally." Helen took the cup and chewed on the ice.

"Soooo," she said in a casual tone. "Steve decided that he can't be in the delivery room because it's freaking him out. So, which one of you wants to volunteer and coach me?"

Kim didn't hesitate, "I'll do it. I'll coach you." She was practically jumping up and down.

"Good, I didn't want to watch my mom push something out of there anyways," Justin said while cringing.

"You came out of it too, you know," Helen replied with a smug look on her face.

"Yeah, but I wish I didn't."

"I hope you're not like this when you and Kim give me grandkids," Helen exclaimed, breathing steadily to decrease the pain.

Justin and Kim exchanged small glances with each other and smiled. They wouldn't be having kids for a while. A long, long, long while.

"He won't have a choice. I'll drag him into the delivery room if I have to," Kim joked, winking at Justin.

"You won't need to. I'll be there every step of the way."

Kim snorted before saying, "Yeah, passed out on the floor." Helen laughed and Justin rolled his eyes as the two made fun of him.

"Whatever, I'm gonna go check on Steve. He might actually be passing out soon." Kim and Helen continued to laugh as Justin walked out of the room to counsel his stepfather.

"How do you feel?"

"I'll feel better when the drugs kick in," Helen admitted. She continued making small talk with Kim and eating ice. They barely noticed when the doctor had come back in.

"Hey ladies," the female said cheerily. Again, Helen wanted to get rid of her smile. Though, she had to admit it made her feel more at ease.

"Hey," Helen and Kim replied in unison.

"How are you feeling, Helen?" Doctor McCloud asked.

"I'm fine. I feel a lot of pressure though. Like, I have to push."

"Really?" the physician asked, slipping on some gloves. "I'm just going to check you're cervix." Kim and Helen watched as the doctor examined Helen. She looked concentrated as she felt around before looking back at Helen with a smile.

"You're ten centimeters dilated. You're about to have your baby," the woman beamed. Kim looked down at Helen and they smiled briefly at each other before listening to everything else the woman had to say.

*********

Justin, Steve and Steve's parents were in the waiting room for what seemed like eternity. Poor Steve, Justin thought with a slight smile. The man was sweating bullets and fidgeting in his seat like a child at the doctor's office. Justin read some old sports magazine while waiting for some news about his mother.

He couldn't help but think about his sister. What kind of person would she grow up to be? Will she annoy him easily, or will they be like two peas in a pod? Then he thought of the ways he would intimidate boys when his sister became old enough to date. Sure, it would piss her off, but as an older brother his first priority would be to protect his baby sister.

He was so engrossed with all the potential things he would experience that he barely heard the tiny voice call his name. "Justin," the person repeated again. He turned and looked at the doorway and saw Kim standing there in blue scrubs. She had unshed tears in her eyes and it was accompanied by a smile. He immediately stood, along with his nervous wreck of a stepfather.

"Do you want to see your baby sister?" she asked in a rush. Justin and Steve walked over to her and they each took turns hugging. "Oh my god, Steve she's so perfect," Kim whispered.

Kim led them down to the maternity ward, where all the newborns were. They were separated from the babies, who were in the other room, but could view them from the glass window. Kim pointed to the small crib that said 'Baby Pratt.'

Justin couldn't help but smile as he watched his baby sister wiggle and yawn in her small crib. Her eyes were closed, only opening every other minute to observe her surroundings. Her eyes were a powdery blue like Steve's but she looked a lot like his mother. Her tiny nose was so adorable, her little lips puffed out to create an adorable pout, and she had a small amount of dirty blond hair. Kim was right, she was perfect.

"The nurse said you can go inside and hold her if you want to," Kim told Steve. Steve smiled and pushed open the door. He walked over to the nurse and put on the material she handed to him. He walked carefully over to his daughter and picked her up. He was radiating with pride as he cradled her in his big arms. He looked over and Justin and Kim and grinned like a mad man.

"Who knew Steve could make such a good looking kid," Justin joked. Kim smirked and nudged him playfully.

"They did a pretty good job. Oh, I've never heard your mom curse so much before. Shocked the hell out of me," Kim said with a light giggle.

"What did she say?"

Kim shook her head for a moment. "You don't want to know."

"That bad?" he asked chuckling.

"Yeah."

"This makes me wonder what kind of parents we'll be," Justin exclaimed, looking down at her.

"You'll be a good dad," Kim stated.

"Think so?"

"Definitely," she replied, stepping on the tips of her toes to kiss him briefly.

"You're gonna be a great mom," Justin replied, leaning down to kiss her again.

"But we're going to have kids after we graduate school and get good jobs," Kim stated. She reached down and grabbed his hand.

"I know. I'm just saying that in the future we'll be good parents."

Kim looked at Steve and the baby one more time before looking at Justin again. "Happy Thanksgiving," she whispered.

"Happy Turkey Day to you too," he exclaimed, pulling her closer to him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and brought his mouth down to her ear. "You ready to go home?"

She looked up at him and, her brows came together in confusion. "Why are you tired?"

He gave her a devilish smile and whispered slyly, "No, but we never got to eat dessert." He kissed her neck for a second and she lightly moaned for the briefest moment.

Justin knocked on the window, just hard enough to get Steve's attention and waved 'goodbye' to the man. Steve waved back at them before looking back down at the angel tucked safely in his arms. Kim and Justin quickly walked out of the hospital and towards the car. They planned to make the most of this evening and the rest of Justin's limited time in California.

*********

Hey guys,

I know a lot of you have been anxiously awaiting this chapter and I just want to say thank you for all the support and feedback. You guys inspire me to take the time out and write 'Closer' and even a new story I'm working on [ooh la la]. You guys know I love criticism as long as it's constructive. Don't be shy. Tell me what you think. This helps me grow as a writer. Thanks!

~Taryn