Part 23A ************** The Evans’ kitchen was bustling with people, as was the backyard, what with everyone getting ready for Noah’s birthday party. Liz was in the kitchen, trying to bake her special chocolate cake, when she realized that she needed a mixing bowl. Sighing, she walked to the cupboard, trying to reach for it. She growled when she couldn’t get close enough to get it due to her protruding belly. She looked around, spying that everyone seemed too busy to help her. And besides, she wanted to prove to herself that she was capable of doing things for herself. There was no point in proving Max right when it came to that. Otherwise, he’d be at her beck and call, not that he wasn’t already. Grabbing a stool, she sat herself on it, stretching her arms above her head to grab the bowl. Max came from the back, carrying a box of loot bags, when he caught sight of Liz. “LIZ!” He dropped the box, running towards Liz as he reached above her head for the mixing bowl. He set it down on top of the counter, frowning at her. “What are you doing?” Liz cringed at the slight anger in his voice. She knew he wasn’t really angry at her, more like frustrated that she wouldn’t listen to him. She tried to play it off, shrugging her shoulders casually. “I needed a mixing bowl, and so I went to get it.” Max placed his fingers underneath her chin, tilting her face upwards so that she had no choice but to look at him. “Why didn’t you ask anyone for help?” Liz felt her stubbornness kicking in. She didn’t want to argue with Max, especially today. It was Noah’s birthday, and it didn’t matter how many years had passed, he was still always a little on edge this time of year. Tess’ untimely demise scarred Max in a way that made it almost impossible for him to heal. Although he was better now, and he knew that it wasn’t his fault, he couldn’t help but feel awful for being so happy. Liz pulled away from him, standing up. “Max, I’m fine. I don’t need people waiting on me hand and foot just because I’m pregnant. I can do things for myself!” She snapped. Max flinched at the tone of her voice, his face ridden with guilt for making her feel like a caged animal. He almost never let her leave the house without anyone, nor did he let her do anything for herself anymore. He was always watching her every move, trying to gauge what she was going to do next so that he could prepare to counter-act what she was doing. He wouldn’t be surprised if she was sick of him being in her face all of the time. Geesh, he was practically smothering her. His head jerked awkwardly as he stepped away, mumbling. “Sorry.” He picked up the box he had dropped, pulling open the sliding door that led to the backyard. Liz felt like smacking herself upside the head, watching the dejected way Max carried himself. It wasn’t her intention to upset him, she just found herself so irritable these days, knowing that Leah’s birth was only a short week away. She was just so anxious to have the baby and finally be able to walk without waddling and do things for herself, that she was letting her frustration out on the one person that didn’t deserve it. The one person who had been tolerating her irateness for the past nine months, and had been, well actually was still being the perfect husband. Letting out a breath, Liz walked through the back door, her eyes scanning the yard for Max. Her heart clenched in her chest when she saw him hovered over the forget-me-nots in the flower patch. She could tell by the way his shoulders were slumped, and the way he held his head down, that he was crying. She waddled over to him, her hand gently tapping on his shoulder. “Max?” Max sat up, furiously wiping away at his tears. He hadn’t realized that anyone had followed him. His eyes took a second to focus, and when they did, he stood up, jamming his hands into his pockets. “Liz.” Liz bit the corner of her bottom lip, wringing her hands as she felt Max’s intense gaze wander over her. All she wanted to do was throw herself in his arms, and apologize for being an overbearing jerk, so that’s what she did. “I’m sorry. Please don’t hate me.” Max stumbled back when Liz had launched herself in his arms. He took a second before he responded, his arms coming around her body. He kissed the top of her dark head, whispering in her ear. “I could never hate you.” He pulled back, his fingers lightly trailing down her cheek. “Why would you say something like that?” It was Liz’s turn to shed some tears, her lower lip trembling. “I’ve been such a jerk to you, when you’ve been nothing but good to me and Leah. And then, just now, I snapped at you, when I knew you were just worried about me, and I know how hard today is for you, but I’m just making it harder on you- Max found himself smiling, as he placed a finger to Liz’s lips to stop her babbling. He leaned forward, placing a kiss on her forehead. He smiled wider when he felt her sigh, her eyes closing involuntarily. He tipped her chin up, placing a light kiss on each of her closed lids, moving down to the tip of her nose, finally laying a sweet kiss on her full lips. He tucked the long strands of her hair behind her ears, his voice a mere whisper in her ear. “I’m sorry for being so over-protective, and for smothering you.” Liz opened her eyes, shaking her head. “I don’t accept your apology, because you have no reason to apologize.” She reached for his hands, squeezing them tightly. “Do you forgive me?” He shook his head. “Nope, cause there’s nothing to forgive.” They kissed again sweetly, only to be broken apart by Jade’s voice. She was tugging on Liz’s dress, her eyes a little worried. “Lizzie, you’re leaking.” Max and Liz both looked down, then quickly looked back up at each other excitedly. “Omigod, Max. I think my water just broke.” Jade ran back to Kyle, trying to get his attention. “Kyle, Lizzie said that her water is broke!” Kyle looked at his sister curiously, before turning to the other guys. “Hey, do you guys think we could get a plumber today?” Alex scratched the side of his head. “On the weekend?” Michael shook his head. “I doubt it.” Max hurried over with Liz, his eyes dancing. “You guys- Alex held up his hand, nodding. “We know. We’re trying to figure out if we can get a plumber to come on the weekend.” Max looked perplexed as he tried to figure out why they would be calling a plumber. “Why do we need a plumber?” Kyle sat up, perching Dexter on his hip. “Jade said that the water broke, so we’re trying to help out.” Liz shook her head, giggling excitedly. “No. I think she got a little mixed up. I don’t need a plumber, I need a doctor. My water just broke.” She grinned. “I’m gonna have the baby.” Michael looked horrified, but he knew he had to do something. “Should I boil some water?” Part 23B ****************** After driving down to the hospital, everyone crowded into Liz’s room, puttering around as they put little trinkets around to make it feel more like home. Liz looked wildly at her friends at family, as she took a wheezing breath. “What are you guys doing?” Maria sat down on the edge of the bed, making a wild gesture with her hands. “Oh, we read somewhere that it helps to make things more comfortable for the mommy to be, especially since you know, that whole excruciating pain thing when you expel the baby from your body thing.” Liz paled, shaking her head from side to side. “Maria, you’re not helping.” Maria held a hand to her mouth, her eyes widening. “Oh, I’m sorry, I’m not even thinking. Geesh, of course you don’t wanna hear about how painful it’s going to be. I know I wouldn’t.” Liz nodded, grimacing when she felt a contraction pass. “Maaax....” she whined. Isabel looked horrified to see the pain on Liz’s face. She shook her head, practically running out of the room. “There is no way I’m doing that!” Alex ran after her, while Diane just chuckled with Phillip. “Maybe you should tell Izzie that it’s a little too late to back out now,” Phillip joked. Diane shook her head laughing. “You know Izzie, she was never much for physical pain. She always ran to you when she so much as scraped her knee, or got a scratch.” Phillip had a broad smile on his face, happy when he remembered the days when Isabel was still a little girl. He missed that. But now, he had a chance to spoil little Leah. Max wheedled his way through the crowd, sitting down on the crisp white sheet, as he grasped Liz’s hand in his. He kissed the crown of her head, whispering in her ear. “It’s going to be okay, honey. Just remember to do your breathing exercises.” Liz looked into his eyes, smiling slightly as he started doing it, asking her to follow his lead. “Hee hee, hoo.” He continued to walk her through it, until the pain passed. The nurse walked in to see the room turned into a zoo with so many people milling about. She clapped her hands together, getting everyone’s attention. “Alright, unless you are Max Evans, everyone out of the room.” A simultaneous groan was heard, as everyone shuffled out of the room, moving to occupy the waiting room. Noah tried to squeeze his way back to the room, but Jeff caught his hand, leading him back to everyone else. “Nooo!” He pulled against Jeff, trying to crawl back to where Max and Liz where. “I wanna be with momma, grampa Jeff.” Jeff looked down at Noah. “I know you do, but your momma can’t have any visitors right now.” “But I’m not a visitor. Is me.” He pointed to himself. “I wanna be there when Leah gets here.” Diane and Phillip overheard the conversation with Jeff was having with Noah, and decided to help out. “Noah, your grampa Jeff is right. Your momma needs all of her concentration focused on Leah, and she can’t do that if there are all of these people in there.” Diane ran her fingers through Noah’s hair, trying to make him understand. He shook his head. “But I won’t bother her. I’ll stay real quiet. She won’t even know I’m there.” He held his hands together, pleading. “Please?” “We don’t want to keep you from your momma, but we don’t make the rules.” Phillip crouched down so that he was at eye level with Noah. His lower lip trembled as he spoke, his eyes watering. “Then who does? Maybe I could convince them to let me see her? Just for a little while.” When Phillip shook his head sadly in the negative, Noah’s tears tumbled forth. He broke free from Jeff’s hold, running to Claudia. “Gamma!” He threw himself in her arms, burying his face in her sweater as he cried. Claudia felt her heart breaking for her little prince as she held his body in her arms. “It’s okay, my little prince. You’ll get to see your momma soon enough, and when you do, you’ll finally be able to see little Leah.” She rubbed his back consolingly, knowing that no matter what she said, he wouldn’t take comfort in it, because the only thing he wanted at that moment was Liz. ****************** As Max helped Liz breath through another contraction, he felt his heart drop to the pit of his stomach. They were all alone now, and it had become eerily silent, other than Liz’s heavy pants. With no one around to distract him, Max felt all of these idle thoughts tumble through his mind. Well, they were more like bad nightmares gnawing at his insides, making him quake with fear. Even though it was seven years to the day, that Tess had given birth to Noah, and lost her life in the process, Max wasn’t sure that he was completely over it. He had thought that he was, but sitting here, holding Liz’s hand as he watched contraction after contraction wrack her tiny body, he couldn’t help but have images of a very scared Tess flash through his mind. He could remember that day so well. It was still fresh in his memory, that he could still smell the acrid smell of cleanliness, almost as if they had drenched the room with a cleaning detergent that stung your throat as you tried to swallow. Tess had clung to his hand desperately, her blue eyes wide with fear as she begged him not to leave her side. Max swallowed past the lump in his throat, tasting bile rise up. He closed his eyes against the pain of remembering, throwing a prayer to any God that would listen, to keep Liz and Leah safe throughout this whole thing. If anything ever happened to them....... He couldn’t even finish the thought, scared out of his mind. He took a deep breath, opening his eyes again. The image that came to him, was oddly beautiful. Liz’s face was flushed, her long hair, plastered to her neck in wet tendrils. Her eyes were closed, her head fallen back as she took a few minutes to rest, knowing that another contraction was bound to come soon. In his eyes, she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Despite the mussed hair, the sweaty face, she looked like an angel. Seeing her go through made him straighten his back, getting his composure to return. He would be strong for her. He would be there for her, just as he had promised. He leaned forward, reaching out to tie her hair in a loose ponytail. He kissed her forehead, feeling her smile against him. “Thank you, baby.” She whispered. There was a knock on the door, before Dr. Walker’s head popped in. “I hear someone’s waiting to be born,” she grinned. Part 23C ******************* “Aaahh!” Liz pushed with all of her might, as she listened to the Dr. coach her. Never in a million years did she think that the pain would ever be this bad. She gained a whole new respect for mothers everywhere for being able to do this. Maybe now that she knew how painful this was, she would be plenty more considerate with her own mom. Hmm.....maybe buying her a bouquet of flowers if she got through this would be a good idea. “You’re doing good, Liz. Just a little more....” Liz gritted her teeth, as she took a deep breath, pushing as hard as she could. Max took a washcloth, wiping up her sweat as he whispered words of assurances in her ear. She looked to where she was holding his hand, and noticed that her nails had dug into his skin, but he was still smiling at her, being as supportive as he could be. She knew that if he had the ability to take away her pain, and suffer it for her, he would. He was the reason she hadn’t gone completely insane, or begun spouting off expletives. She wanted to make him proud of her, and finally give him the baby girl that he had been wanting since they had thought that they were pregnant when they were sophomores in college. Taking another deep breath, Liz gave it her all, wanting to smile as she heard the doctor’s next words. “I can see her head.” Max peered over Liz’s legs that rested on the stirrups, his eyes wide with awe. “Omigod, Liz, she’s almost here.” The excitement in his voice was the final straw, pushing Liz to work even harder. Dr. Walker handed Max a pair of scissors, smiling. “Would you like to cut the cord?” Max nodded eagerly, his hands shaky as he cut. Grunting as she delivered the afterbirth, Dr. Walker handed Liz a squirming bundle. “Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Evans. You’ve got a beautiful baby girl.” The pain that had been ripping through her body a moment ago, was soon forgotten as Liz held Leah delicately in her arms. She counted ten precious little fingers, and ten cute little toes, her eyes misting up as she turned to look at Max. “Max....” Max was rooted to the spot, not sure if what he was seeing was a dream. This had to be the most perfect vision.....well, almost perfect. He held up his hand, running backwards out of the room. “Be right back.” His sneaker clad feet screeched against the hospital tile as he rounded the waiting room. Everyone sat up, curious to hear the news. “LEAH’S HERE!” He yelled. Everyone whooped and hollered, celebrating the good news. Several passersby, had to do a double take when they heard Max yell, but it was a sight to behold, seeing a new father being so excited. Max’s eyes scanned the little room to see Noah curled up on one of the seats, his head lying on Claudia’s lap. He walked over, kneeling down as he brushed away Noah’s hair away from his face. “He cried himself to sleep. He was so upset that he couldn’t be there for Liz when Leah came.” Claudia, whispered. Max felt his heartbreaking at what Claudia said. He leaned forward, placing a kiss on her cheek. “Thanks gramma Claudia, for watching him.” He grinned as he picked up Noah in his arms. “I think it’s time for Noah to get his birthday present,” he winked as he walked away. Noah’s eyes flittered open, his hands rubbing away the last remnants of sleep. “Daddy?” Max smiled down at him, as he walked down the hall. “I have a surprise for you.” He quietly opened the door to Liz’s room, closing it behind him. Liz looked up to see Max with Noah, her hand coming to rest over her mouth as she watched the two of them come closer. She scooted a little to the side, making room for them to sit down beside her. She pulled down the pink blanket, whispering. “You’ve got a visitor, sweetie.” Noah’s head whipped around as he heard Liz’s voice. His mouth dropped open in an O shape as Max settled them down beside Liz, his eyes landing on the squirming pink bundle in Liz’s arms. “Momma?” Liz placed a kiss on his temple. “Happy birthday, precious.” Noah reached out a tentative finger, tracing the warmth of Leah’s cheek. “Hiya, Leah.” Leah threw up a fist, her little hand wrapping her hand around Noah’s finger. “Wow!” He looked up at Max, as Leah continued to keep his finger captive. “Daddy, she’s so little.” Max chuckled softly, his arm coming to rest over Liz and Noah’s shoulders. His other hand came to touch Leah’s little fist as she held onto Noah. “That’s right little man. You’re a big brother now, and that means you’ll have to look out for Leah.” Noah nodded, leaning forward to place a light kiss on Leah’s forehead, before snuggling into Liz’s side. “Welcome to the family, Leah. You‘re the coolest birthday present ever.” Part 23D *********************** After everyone had come in and greeted the new mother and baby, they had left them to rest and give the family a little privacy. With a little coercion, and some reassurances, Max had convinced Noah to go home with Alex and Isabel, promising that they would all be together soon. Liz had taken a much needed nap after her extremely long day, leaving Max hovering over Leah in her hospital crib. He had pulled up a chair, watching as she slept, her body wrapped tightly in a pink blanket to keep her warm. He traced his finger down her soft cheek, smiling as she wriggled. He let out a sigh, speaking softly so as not to wake her. “Hi, sweetheart. It’s daddy.” His voice was tinged with awe, mixed with a little wonder as he traced her delicate features. “Do you have any idea how beautiful you look?” He grinned. “You look just like your momma, so.....words can’t even describe it.” When Leah started to shuffle, her mouth opening in a cry, but Max gently lifted her out, rocking her softly in his arms as he cooed in her ear. “It’s okay sweetie, daddy’s here. He’s always gonna be here.” He kissed the top of her dark head, still amazed that he was holding her in his arms. He had been waiting nine long months for her to get here, and now that she was here, he could hardly believe that she had been inside Liz’s womb only a few hours ago. He chuckled softly to himself as he walked her around the small room. “You know, your big brother Noah thinks you’re a great birthday present. But the thing is, you’re not just a present for him, but for me too.” He sat by the window, as he continued to talk to her. “You know, this day used to be bittersweet for me. It always reminded me of how your brother lost his birth momma. But that’s all changed now.” He touched the tip of her tiny nose with his finger, smiling when her face scrunched up. “You....you’ve changed that. You and your momma have given me new memories. Wonderful memories to help ease the pain.” He kissed her again, his eyes misting up. “Thank you, sweetheart.” ************* Liz had tried to move into a more comfortable position, when she saw Max sitting by Leah, keeping a close eye on her. She was attempting to go back to sleep, but her attempts were futile when she heard the soft murmur of Max’s voice as he spoke to their daughter. She didn’t realize that it was possible for her to melt anymore, but Max always managed to disprove her. She was nothing but mush after she heard his heartfelt words piercing through her heart when he thought the only person listening to him was Leah. The deep rumble of his laughter made her smile, making her sit up to get a better view of the two of them together. Max was holding Leah, his finger tickling her under her chin, causing her to smile. Max felt his heart melt. “You like that don’t you?” He shook his head, the smile on his lips permanently plastered to his face. “Your momma’s ticklish there too.” Liz cleared her throat, raising an eyebrow at Max. “So what other secrets have you been sharing with Leah?” Max blushed at having caught being completely goofy. The way he was acting almost made it seem like he was a first time father. He stood up, walking towards Liz, offering Leah to her. “Not much. Just talking.” Liz brought her knees up, laying Leah across her thighs so that she and Max could get a good look at her. “God, Max.....can you believe that we made her?....She’s so....” “Perfect?” He finished for her. Liz laughed. “I think you’re biased.” He sat down beside her on the bed. “Maybe. But I think it’s justified. How can she not be perfect when she came from you?” “Laying it on there pretty thick there aren’t you, Mr. Evans?” She joked. She ribbed him with her elbow. “But don’t stop. I kinda like it.” Max leaned his head against Liz as the two of them laughed together. Leah began squirming against Liz, her little arms flailing in the air as she cried. Liz picked her up, trying to soothe her, when Leah just continued to cry. “Are you hungry sweetie?” Liz untied the string on the hospital gown she was wearing, bringing Leah’s mouth to her breast. Leah turned her head, opening her mouth, suckling. Max looked down at them with amazement, his throat choking up. “Does it hurt?” Liz looked up at Max, gently shaking her head. “Not so much. Only when she tugs.” She winked at Max. “Must be genetic.” Max felt his face flame, knowing that it was turning several different shades of scarlet as Liz teased him. He placed his fingers under her chin, tipping her face up as he placed a sweet kiss on her lips. “Love you.”