All of the planning suddenly went out the window as soon as Joan made the announcement that her water had broken

All of the planning suddenly went out the window as soon as Joan made the announcement that her water had broken. Roland slowly lowered the newspaper he had been reading. He turned and looked at Joan who was standing in the doorway. Joan was looking back at him with a fear in her eyes that Roland had never seen before. Realizing that the moment he had been waiting for was finally here, Roland jumped into action. He immediately started timing the contractions and helping Joan with her breathing. He went to the hallway closet and got the suitcase while calling the doctor. Joan‘s contractions were exactly twenty -two minutes apart. The doctor recommended that they come to the hospital and get Joan checked in. Roland helped Joan to the car and began the trek to the post medical facility. He called Pamela on the way and told her to pass the message along to the other women. Upon arrival at the hospital, Joan was instantly checked in and given VIP status. The post XO was having a baby and almost every soldier was tripping over himself to help take care of her. Joan though nervous tried to remain calm. Roland was nervous enough for the both of them. She watched in amusement as he paced up and down her room. He jumped at every beep of a monitor and kept asking “Is it time?” anytime Joan made the slightest movements. Joan’s contractions were not bad and she was actually having an easy time of it. Her doctor had come in and checked her. He confirmed that she was in active labor. She was 100 percent effaced and six centimeters dilated. Everything from now on was a waiting game.

The wives had arrived at the hospital en mass shortly after Joan and Roland. They were all fluttering around trying to be helpful. About two hours into labor Olivia also arrived at the hospital. Roland had called her while she was in the air and informed her that they were at the hospital. By the time she arrived, Joan had been in active labor for over four hours and the pain and weariness was beginning to show. As a career soldier, Joan had endured many pains and hardships. She had climbed mountains, swam oceans, walked across desserts, been food and sleep deprived, but nothing that she had ever done in her life prepared her for the agony of child birth. For the past hour, she felt as if someone was ripping her body open through her back. She was agitated with Roland, Olivia, Claudia Joy, Pamela, Roxy, and Denise who all kept telling her how great she was doing. But she was mostly upset with her stupid doctor who kept entering her room and putting her in stirrups and telling her, “It’ll be just a little bit longer.” She had seen wars that had taken shorter than this. She felt as if she would be in labor for the rest of her life. Joan was miserable, and she was determined to make her dutiful attendants equally as miserable. She snapped at Denise when she offered her more ice chips. She slapped Olivia’s hand away when she tried to wipe her head with a cool cloth. Poor Roxy almost lost a finger when she tried to hold Joan’s hand through a contraction. Roland took the most impact of her abuse. The more Joan lie waiting and the more intense her pains got the more she blamed Roland for her current condition. It was Roland who wanted to start a family. It was Roland who thought they should stop using contraceptives. It was Roland who had gotten her into this mess. She wanted to make this delivery as miserable for him as it was for her. When Roland tried to help her with her breathing, Joan silenced him. When Roland tried to fluff her pillow or offer her ice chips or popsicles, she clenched her jaws shut. Poor Roland was now sitting in a chair in the corner of the room looking horrified. Joan in a fit of pain looked over at him and announced, “If you are just going to sit there and not help me you might as well get out!” By this time, Roland was so tired that he lowered his head and walked out of the room. Joan saw the dejection in his face as he left the room. She thought she felt a twinge of guilt as Roland turned to go, but no wait that was yet another contraction. “Roland, where are you going? Get back in here and time these contractions! Can you please do something to help me?!” Roland stopped in the doorway and gave all the women in the room a look of hopelessness and confusion. He threw his hands up in surrender and walked out of the room. Joan looked over at Olivia and Pamela who were standing nearest to the bed. “Where is he going? What is he doing?” Pamela gently rubbed Joan’s face with a damp towel. “Sweetie, I think he just needs a break. He’ll be back.” Pamela tried to sound reassuring, but she was not sure if Roland would be back. “But I need him here to time my contractions,” Joan said in desperation. Olivia looked knowingly toward the doorway that her brother had just gone through and then back at Joan in the bed. “Umm, Joan I’ll time the contractions until he comes back. I’m sure he just needs a little air. He’ll be right back.” All of the women exchange worried glances as each of them took a turn at reassuring Joan that Roland would be returning at any moment. When the other women had Joan fully distracted, Claudia Joy took the opportunity to slip into the hallway and search for Roland. She found him sitting in the hallway with his head in his hands. “Roland, what are you doing? Your wife is in there having your baby.” “I needed a break for a minute Claudia Joy.” Claudia Joy looked empathetically at him. “Roland, I understand that this is all very stressful for you. I know you have been through a lot lately. I know it is not easy to have Joan yelling at you the way she did. But Roland, I mean this in a most friendly way GET UP OFF OF THAT FLOOR AND GET IN THERE AND HELP YOUR WIFE DELIVER YOUR CHILD! No, this is not easy. If you are feeling this bad, imagine how Joan is feeling. She is in pain and her hormones are all out of sort and she thinks you walked out on her again.” “Claudia Joy I didn’t walk out; she put me out.” Claudia Joy let out a laugh. “Seriously Roland, she is in labor. She will say more in the next hours to hurt your feelings, my feelings, and anyone else’s who happen to be in her path. You can not take it to heart. That is the pain talking not Joan.” Roland rose from where he had been sitting on the hallway floor and starting pacing back and forth. He had so many different emotions going on that he couldn’t get his head around any one. He had a serious headache,and he just wanted to retreat. He didn’t want to argue with Claudia Joy or with Joan. He knew what he wanted most at this moment to go home and have this all over with. “Claudia Joy, I want this baby. I really do. I want a life with Joan and our baby, but I don’t know if I can handle this.” “Handle what Roland?” Roland kept up with his pacing. It was his nervous habit; he couldn’t help himself. Claudia Joy spoke up. “Roland, can you be still for a moment? That pacing is making me nervous. Tell me what it is that you can’t handle?” Roland tried to stand still long enough to talk to Claudia Joy. “That Joan, the one in there, is the one that I can not deal with anymore. I can’t stand that bossy and pushy attitude. I will not live my life like that.” “Roland, I have had two babies and I can tell you with great certainty that anything that Joan is saying at this moment can not be held against her.” “Claudia Joy, I know that she is in a lot of pain right now, but” “But what Roland?” Roland looked away and continued his pacing back and forth on the hallway. “Roland?” Claudia Joy looked at him in disbelief. “Roland, I have never seen you like this before. You need to get yourself together and get back in that room. Your wife needs you at this moment more than ever.” Without another word, Claudia Joy turned and walked down the hallway and disappeared into Joan’s room.

All of the women noticed her reentrance into the room especially Joan. Her contractions for the moment seemed to have subsided and she looked intently at the door as Claudia Joy entered. “Where’s Roland,” she asked? Claudia Joy was at a lost of what to tell her. She forced a smile on her face and looked at Joan. “Oh, he is just down the hallway.” “What is he doing? Why is he not in here?” Joan quizzed. Claudia Joy did not want to lie to Joan, but she knew that she could not tell her the truth. No woman in labor wanted or needed to hear that her husband was laying low in the hallway while she gave birth to their child. All of the women waited in uncomfortable silence for Claudia Joy to answer. Claudia Joy finally deciding on the greater good spoke, “The nurse cornered us in the hallway. Roland is filling out some papers. He’ll be in when he is done.” Olivia who had been standing beside the bed gave Claudia Joy a knowing nod. “Why don’t I go and see if I can help speed the paperwork process along.” Joan turned to her sister-in – law, “Olivia get Roland back in this room.” Olivia gave Joan a weak smile and left the room. She found Roland still pacing back and forth in front of the nurse’s station. “Roland, what are you doing? Joan is waiting on you.” “I can’t go back in there Livvy.” Olivia looked at Roland in disbelief. “I’m sorry. You can’t what?” Roland stopped his pacing long enough to face his sister. “I can’t do this. I can’t deal with this. You were right Olivia, I never should have…” His voice trailed off and he began pacing once again. “Oh no buddy, you are not putting this on me. You had your chance to get out of this marriage and you decided that you wanted in. You are in now and you are staying!” Roland stopped to look at his sister who was beginning to turn red. She was really mad. “Your wife is down this hall having your baby, my little niece or nephew and you do not get to walk out on them.” The angrier Olivia got the louder she got. Some of the nurses looked up startled. A few people even stopped moving to take in the scene. Roland grabbed his sister by the arm and pulled her into a nearby supply closet. “Will you keep your voice down? Joan might hear you. Lord knows everyone else on this floor has.” Olivia shot Roland and angry glare. “Look Roland, I get that you are scared and I am here for you. What I am not here for is to go down that road again where we both pretend that the only thing that is wrong in your life is Joan. You have your own demons and I am glad that you are finally working on that, but today. Today is not about you. It is about your wife and your child. You are about to become a father very soon. You cannot run to me for protection every time something happens that you can’t deal with. Your family needs you right now. Now, I love you and I love Joan and that baby, so if you say to me right now that you cannot do this then I will leave this room and go down that hallway and deal with it. I will do that for you. I will do that for our family. But don’t BS me about what you don’t want to do. Life is full of things we don’t want to do. Even things we don’t think we have the strength to do. But we do them.” “Olivia is not that I don’t want to I just don’t know if I can anymore. The last time Joan and I were in a crisis I feel apart. I almost broke my marriage vows. I’m scared.” Olivia looked at Roland and instantly her tone softened. “Babe, none of us ever know that we can until we try. Remember what daddy used to say. ‘The love is in the showing up’. You show up and you try for the people that you love. Right now, Joan just needs you to show up. Whether you are great or horrible when you get there, she needs you to show up. We show up for the people that we love Roland even if we fail them and even more so when they fail us – we show up. The love is in the showing up. Now, I am going back down the hallway. Come or stay here; you have to make that decision for yourself.” Olivia exited the closet leaving Roland behind. Roland took a deep breath and turned to follow Olivia out of the closet then changing his mind he began a short nervous pace up and down the supply closet. When Olivia returned to Joan’s room, she found the doctor. “Good news Olivia, “Roxy beamed “there are taking Joan into delivery. She is finally ready. Is Roland coming?” Roxy looked hopefully at Olivia. Olivia looked from Roxy to Joan and back to Roxy and lowered her head. “Olivia, where is my husband,” Joan asked? Before Olivia could answer the doctor intervened and told Joan she needed to be examined one last time before they moved her to delivery. All of the women huddled around Olivia in the corner of the room. “So what’s going on? Where’s Roland?” Pamela asked. “Believe it or not, he is hiding in a supply closet down the hall.” “Hiding in a supply closet, Denise said in amazement. “SHH, Denise keep your voice down,” Claudia Joy warned, “Joan might hear you.” “What are we going to do?” asked Roxy. “What can we do, but support Joan,” Denise offered. “Why exactly is he hiding in a supply closet,” asked Pamela. “Your guess is as good as mine,” answered Olivia. “He’s afraid,” offered Claudia Joy “with every thing they have been through in recent months; he’s just afraid. It is a natural reaction.” “Well, how are we going to get him out of that closet and in this room?” Roxy inquired. “You guys go to delivery with Joan and stall and I will try to talk him out,” offered Pamela. “What are you guys over there whispering about?” Joan’s voice broke the intenseness of the group’s conversation. Denise was the first to speak up. “We were just having a little disagreement about which one of us will get to go to the delivery room with you.” Joan looked at her and little out a laugh. “Look, I appreciate all that you have done for me, but I don’t want either of you in delivery with me. Roland is my birthing coach and he is going into the delivery room with me.” “Yeah Joan, about Roland he ummm, he is” Joan looked at Olivia waiting. “Spit it out Olivia. Where is Roland?” “He is in the gift shop getting a gift for the baby,” Roxy offered. “Rox, we have to tell her the truth,” Pamela said. Pamela looked at Claudia Joy for support. Claudia Joy realized that the rest of the group was waiting for her to tell Joan the truth. “What is going on?” Joan demanded. All of the women remained silent. “Never mind, if none of you are going to tell me where he is I will just go and look for him myself.” Joan sat up in the bed and turned to get out of it. “Lt. Colonel Burton, what are you doing?” her doctor asked. “I am going to find my husband. Move out of my way.” “I can’t let you do that. Nurse help her get back into that bed.” Joan was ready to put up a fight, but at that moment a contraction worse than any of the others before hit her. She folded over under the weight of the pain. “Oh my God, Oh my God Roland!,” she screamed out. “Joan!!” all of the women ran to her aide. “Joan, you have to listen to the doctor,” Olivia demanded. “No Olivia, what I have to do is go and find Roland. I know something is wrong even if none of you want to tell me. Do any of you want to tell me?” All of the women looked away in silence. “Exactly, if none of you will tell me what is going on, I will go and find out for myself. Now, you can either help me get out of this room or move out of my way!” Joan’s face was turning pale. It was obvious that she was in a great deal of pain. Her breath was also heavy. “Joan, you need to lie back down,” warned Denise “you don’t look well.” Though Joan wanted to walk out of the room with every fiber of her being, her body just wouldn’t allow it. Her body betrayed her. She hopelessly allowed Denise and the nurse to help her back into the bed. Tears had started to form in her eyes. Where was Roland? She needed him. She was afraid and she needed his comfort and support. Her sobs increased as the pains became more and more intense. The doctor spoke. “We can’t wait any longer. She needs to deliver this baby now! Where is her Dr. Burton? I know he doesn’t want to miss this.” Olivia let out a long sigh. “Doctor, Roland, my brother, well he is ….” “I’m right here and from the looks of things, not a minute too soon.” “Oh God, here you are,” Olivia let out a sigh relief. “We were worried about you for a second there,” Pamela chimed in. “Roland, are you alright,” Joan asked. “where have you been?” “I was just down the hall no big deal and I went to the hospital gift shop to get this for the baby.” Roland produced a sterling silver baby rattle from his pocket. “Roland, that is beautiful. But seriously, I’m having our baby here can you shop later.” “Dr and Mrs. Burton, we really need to get to delivery now.” “Sure doctor, we are ready,” said Roland. “We sure are,” said Joan as she reached for his hand and smiled. “In a little while, we are going to be mom and dad. Are you ready?” she asked. “Joan, I honestly don’t know if I am ready, but I am here. We’re here and together we do this.”

The women waited for what seemed to be an eternity. “Joan and Roland went back there hours ago. What is taking so long?” Roxy complained. “It hasn’t been an hour yet Roxy,” Pamela said. “We just have to wait. It will happen,” offered Denise. “We are all mothers. We have all been on the other side of this before. We just need to be patient,” Claudia Joy said looking up from the magazine she had been reading. “I like being on the other side better,” said Olivia. All of the other women looked at her and laughed. “Well, I for one would much rather wait than be delivering myself,” said Roxy. “My last delivery, Finn’s delivery took over twelve hours.” “Well, most of you were there for my last delivery,” offered Pamela “it was not pretty at all. I’ll wait over here thank- you.” Olivia shrugged her shoulders at the other women. “I just happen to be one of those women who love to be pregnant. The swollen ankles, the aching back, even the morning sickness. I loved it all.” “That’s because you have only done it once,” said Claudia Joy. “Yeah, and you’ve never done twins,” added Pamela. “I’m with you Olivia. I would have loved having another baby. I had the easiest pregnancy with Jeremy. It just never happened for Frank and me.” “I will never say that I loved being pregnant, but I could have done it again. I think Michael always secretly wanted us to try again for a boy.” “I wonder what Joan and Roland will have boy or girl,” Roxy asked out loud. “Well, I think we are about to find out,” said Pamela “here comes Roland.”

Roland had the largest grin pasted on his face as he approached the group. “That was the most amazing thing that I have ever done in my life,” he exclaimed. “I just witnessed my child being born. It was so, so amazing. Hey thanks, you guys for not letting me miss this.” “How is Joan? Claudia Joy asked. “Joan is fine, there are bringing her to recovery right now. She is really out of it and very tired, so I think we should wait awhile before we go to see her.” “The baby Roland, how is the baby,” inquired Olivia. “Oh my goodness Livvy, the baby, my son, he is perfect.” “A son, oh Roland, you have a son.” Olivia instantly began to cry. “Can we see him?” asked Roxy. “Yes, yes of we hurry we get to the nursery just in time.”

Roland, Olivia, and the wives all stood outside of the nursery watching as the nurse cleaned and swaddled the baby. She carefully placed him in a nursery buggy and brought him to the front of the window so the group could get a better look at him. “He is beautiful, just beautiful Roland,” offered Claudia Joy. “So have you guys decided on a name yet,” asked Pamela. “Well, we have a few, but we really thought we were having a girl, so we have a long list of girl’s name.” “Hey buudy, you listen to me. You will not name my nephew any girl’s name. I know there are boy’s named Ashley and Tracy, but not my nephew. He needs a good strong name.” “Joan and I agree Olivia, that is why we are waiting to name him.” “Well you can’t wait too long,” said Denise “he needs a name before he can go home for the hospital. You two have two days to get that name.” “No pressure,” Roxy kidded. “He’ll have a name- a great name,” Roland answered. “You guys can stay here and argue over baby names. I am going to see my wife and tell her how amazing she is.” “I think that is a good idea,” said Claudia Joy. “Hey wait Roland, we’ll come with you,” Roxy called after him. “Roland, you go ahead we’ll catch up with you in a minute. We want to look at the baby for a few minutes longer,” Denise said. “Roxy, I think Joan and Roland need some time alone. A little time to regroup,” Olivia said, “we’ll go in later for now we can talk about how beautiful and cute my nephew is.” “I’ve been looking at the other babies in the nursery and he is by far the cutest,” said Pamela. “Pamela, that is awful to say. All babies are beautiful.” Denise shook her head in disapproval. “Hate to tell you Denise, but all babies are not beautiful. Look at little baby boy Fitzgerald over there. His head is the size of a globe.” “Roxy,” Claudia Joy shot her a warning glance, “you and Pamela stop that this instant. I am the post commander’s wife. How would it look if some mother over heard us talking about her baby.” Olivia spoke up, “I agree with you Claudia Joy; we should not be discussing the babies. But, little Fitzgerald does have a big head. Look at that thing.” Denise let out a small chuckle that instantly became infectious and before they knew it all of the women were looking at poor baby Fitzgerald and laughing uncontrollably.