Post by Deleted on Nov 11, 2008 20:29:20 GMT -5
A/N: This is the last chapter.
EPILOGUE: Mary Anne
It was now mid-February. We were sorry to miss Jessi and Manette's wedding, but the doctor told us that at this certain stage of my pregnancy, I was in no condition to travel. In fact, about two and a half months earlier, we had to turn down the invitation to Bebe and Byron's wedding.
On the upside, though, we were able to see each other for New Year's. You see, Kristy came home from the hospital with baby Daniel two days after Christmas. Some of us BSC members, namely the ones who lived in Connecticut and New York, had a New Year's Eve get-together at Kristy and Jason's house. The only ones who weren't there were Claud, Mal, Dawn, Logan, and I. So, just like the BSC reunion over the summer, we were able to use our WebCams to see how each other's babies had grown.
The twins, who were the spitting image of Mal, were now crawling. Daniel looked like both Kristy and Jason, right down to the green eyes, and little Sven (who was actually the oldest of the babies), while looking like neither Sam nor Stacey (he was adopted), could make even the most cold-hearted person melt. And even little Tina, Dawn and Sunny's foster child, looked pretty good. She even showed me a picture that she'd done in kindergarten, and she's become a girl after Claud's own heart. It was great to see everybody, and we even watched the ball come down in Times Square. (I still think it's a shame Mr. Clark's no longer hosting New Year's Eve, but so far, Ryan Seacrest has been doing the best he can.) It reminded me of Stacey's story of being there with her mom when we were freshmen in high school.
All in all, a great holiday.
It was dawn on the day before Valentine's Day. I was waking up to make sure I had Logan's gift ready to set out, when suddenly, I felt something wet on the sheet under me. 'Did my water just break, or did I wet the bed?' I thought. "Logan?" I whispered.
"Mmm," Logan answered, rolling over.
"Logan, it's time."
"It is? Let's get to the hospital right away," he said, jumping out of bed.
We got dressed, and about twenty minutes later, we were out the door. During the ride to the hospital, Logan called the school superintendent to ask for a substitute, as well as our parents and the doctor, on his cell phone. I was lost in my own thoughts during the ride, thinking about the BSC babies, which is what I call the children of the BSC members.
Anyway, Mallory's twins were now about eight months old. According to her and Ben (coincidentally, the last time I saw them was at Shannon and Bart's wedding, and the last time I talked to them was on New Year's Eve), Mallory had to have a C-section, passed out from blood loss, and didn't regain consciousness for almost 24 hours.
Like I said, Kristy actually had her baby on Christmas Eve. When I talked to her on New Year's Eve, she said that after she gave the first push, the baby turned breech. She had the option of either a C-section or manipulating the baby back into a proper position. When Jason teased her about not wanting a C-section after what happened to Mal, Kristy really let him have it!
As we rounded the corner, I was glad that Logan wasn't driving like a maniac, and I'm even happier that he didn't do 104 from the garage to the front door. (At least we own a Jeep, not a Ferrari.) If he had, I would've either made him pull over and let me drive, or even hitched a ride!
A nurse met us with a wheelchair at the hospital entrance. The nurse settled me into the wheelchair as Logan signed me in and Dr. Simmons came down the hall. "Hi, Mary Anne," she said.
"Hi," I answered.
"Your labor and delivery room is all ready for you."
"Good. I'll be glad when this is over."
When we got to the room, and Logan and the nurse helped me to my feet, I felt the first contraction. Logan rubbed my back until it had passed, then after I changed into a hospital gown, Logan and the nurse helped me into bed.
Around noon, when the contractions were starting to become seven minutes apart, I was in so much pain that I actually shouted at the nurse, "I WANT F-- DRUGS NOW, b*tch!"
Logan and the nurse jumped back in alarm. I was pretty shocked as well, and I was also thanking my lucky stars that Dad wasn't there. I also think my voice was about an octave or two deeper than it usually is. Now that I think about it, I may have actually sounded like Linda Blair in her Exorcist days, even though someone else obviously did the voice of the demon. (Sharon once told me that when she was in labor with Dawn, she actually said the "F-- MY BREATHING!" line from "Look Who's Talking".)
"Okay, okay," the nurse said, very slowly backing away. I guess I'd really scared the daylights out of her. "Let me get the doctor."
A few minutes later, the doctor returned. "How about an epidural, Mary Anne?" she suggested.
"Sure. Anything," I said. "Just give me something."
Dr. Simmons called the anesthesiologist, Dr. Perry, into the room. While Dr. Perry was giving me the epidural, I felt another contraction, so I headbutted Logan in the stomach.
"Ow!" he exclaimed. "Hey, I know this isn't fun, honey, but don't take it out on me!"
After hearing Logan say that, I felt myself turn red as a beet. "Sorry," I whispered sheepishly. "I didn't mean to. It was just the epidural, and that contraction."
"I know, sweetie," Logan said, petting my hair, as Dr. Perry finished. "Just don't fall apart on me, okay?"
"I won't," I said.
Around six that evening, the doctor said, "Well, Mary Anne, time to start pushing."
"I think I'm ready," I stammered. Then, turning to Logan, I whispered, "Well, I guess it's now or never."
After almost an hour of pushing and getting nowhere, the doctor said, "Well, the cord seems to have wrapped itself around the baby's neck, so I'm afraid a C-section is in order."
"Oh, God," I moaned, falling back against the pillow.
"I'll try not to pass out when the baby's delivered," Logan promised.
"Okay," I said, laughing.
Twenty minutes later, I was lying on my back on the operating table. Logan was sitting by my head, and stroking my hair and face. At least the doctor had the presence of mind to put some drapes around me, so Logan couldn't see the baby being born.
About twenty minutes after that, we heard a baby's cry. "It's a girl," the doctor announced as she cut the cord from around the baby's neck.
Upon hearing this, I burst into tears. This was the best news I'd ever heard in my life. "Can I see her for a minute?" I asked.
"Sure," the nurse said. She wrapped the baby in a blanket, and held her so that we were face-to-face with each other. She was beautiful. She had dark hair, like me, and Logan's eyes. I had a feeling that she'd be a younger version of me as she grew up. And I absolutely have no intention of going overboard in raising her, just like Dad did, so she has nothing to worry about.
"Hi, baby," I said. "We'll call you Mimi Josephine Bruno, after my friend Claudia's grandma."
"Mimi Josephine Bruno, after my friend Claudia's grandma," the nurse repeated, writing it down on the birth certificate. Logan and I looked at her with expressions that said, "Huh?" Then the nurse smiled and said, "Don't worry, I just wrote her name down." Logan and I breathed sighs of relief. Then the nurse took little Mimi to the nursery as I was taken to the recovery room.
I just knew little Mimi's namesake was up in heaven looking out for her. And so began a whole new generation of the Baby-sitters Club.
THE END
EPILOGUE: Mary Anne
It was now mid-February. We were sorry to miss Jessi and Manette's wedding, but the doctor told us that at this certain stage of my pregnancy, I was in no condition to travel. In fact, about two and a half months earlier, we had to turn down the invitation to Bebe and Byron's wedding.
On the upside, though, we were able to see each other for New Year's. You see, Kristy came home from the hospital with baby Daniel two days after Christmas. Some of us BSC members, namely the ones who lived in Connecticut and New York, had a New Year's Eve get-together at Kristy and Jason's house. The only ones who weren't there were Claud, Mal, Dawn, Logan, and I. So, just like the BSC reunion over the summer, we were able to use our WebCams to see how each other's babies had grown.
The twins, who were the spitting image of Mal, were now crawling. Daniel looked like both Kristy and Jason, right down to the green eyes, and little Sven (who was actually the oldest of the babies), while looking like neither Sam nor Stacey (he was adopted), could make even the most cold-hearted person melt. And even little Tina, Dawn and Sunny's foster child, looked pretty good. She even showed me a picture that she'd done in kindergarten, and she's become a girl after Claud's own heart. It was great to see everybody, and we even watched the ball come down in Times Square. (I still think it's a shame Mr. Clark's no longer hosting New Year's Eve, but so far, Ryan Seacrest has been doing the best he can.) It reminded me of Stacey's story of being there with her mom when we were freshmen in high school.
All in all, a great holiday.
It was dawn on the day before Valentine's Day. I was waking up to make sure I had Logan's gift ready to set out, when suddenly, I felt something wet on the sheet under me. 'Did my water just break, or did I wet the bed?' I thought. "Logan?" I whispered.
"Mmm," Logan answered, rolling over.
"Logan, it's time."
"It is? Let's get to the hospital right away," he said, jumping out of bed.
We got dressed, and about twenty minutes later, we were out the door. During the ride to the hospital, Logan called the school superintendent to ask for a substitute, as well as our parents and the doctor, on his cell phone. I was lost in my own thoughts during the ride, thinking about the BSC babies, which is what I call the children of the BSC members.
Anyway, Mallory's twins were now about eight months old. According to her and Ben (coincidentally, the last time I saw them was at Shannon and Bart's wedding, and the last time I talked to them was on New Year's Eve), Mallory had to have a C-section, passed out from blood loss, and didn't regain consciousness for almost 24 hours.
Like I said, Kristy actually had her baby on Christmas Eve. When I talked to her on New Year's Eve, she said that after she gave the first push, the baby turned breech. She had the option of either a C-section or manipulating the baby back into a proper position. When Jason teased her about not wanting a C-section after what happened to Mal, Kristy really let him have it!
As we rounded the corner, I was glad that Logan wasn't driving like a maniac, and I'm even happier that he didn't do 104 from the garage to the front door. (At least we own a Jeep, not a Ferrari.) If he had, I would've either made him pull over and let me drive, or even hitched a ride!
A nurse met us with a wheelchair at the hospital entrance. The nurse settled me into the wheelchair as Logan signed me in and Dr. Simmons came down the hall. "Hi, Mary Anne," she said.
"Hi," I answered.
"Your labor and delivery room is all ready for you."
"Good. I'll be glad when this is over."
When we got to the room, and Logan and the nurse helped me to my feet, I felt the first contraction. Logan rubbed my back until it had passed, then after I changed into a hospital gown, Logan and the nurse helped me into bed.
Around noon, when the contractions were starting to become seven minutes apart, I was in so much pain that I actually shouted at the nurse, "I WANT F-- DRUGS NOW, b*tch!"
Logan and the nurse jumped back in alarm. I was pretty shocked as well, and I was also thanking my lucky stars that Dad wasn't there. I also think my voice was about an octave or two deeper than it usually is. Now that I think about it, I may have actually sounded like Linda Blair in her Exorcist days, even though someone else obviously did the voice of the demon. (Sharon once told me that when she was in labor with Dawn, she actually said the "F-- MY BREATHING!" line from "Look Who's Talking".)
"Okay, okay," the nurse said, very slowly backing away. I guess I'd really scared the daylights out of her. "Let me get the doctor."
A few minutes later, the doctor returned. "How about an epidural, Mary Anne?" she suggested.
"Sure. Anything," I said. "Just give me something."
Dr. Simmons called the anesthesiologist, Dr. Perry, into the room. While Dr. Perry was giving me the epidural, I felt another contraction, so I headbutted Logan in the stomach.
"Ow!" he exclaimed. "Hey, I know this isn't fun, honey, but don't take it out on me!"
After hearing Logan say that, I felt myself turn red as a beet. "Sorry," I whispered sheepishly. "I didn't mean to. It was just the epidural, and that contraction."
"I know, sweetie," Logan said, petting my hair, as Dr. Perry finished. "Just don't fall apart on me, okay?"
"I won't," I said.
Around six that evening, the doctor said, "Well, Mary Anne, time to start pushing."
"I think I'm ready," I stammered. Then, turning to Logan, I whispered, "Well, I guess it's now or never."
After almost an hour of pushing and getting nowhere, the doctor said, "Well, the cord seems to have wrapped itself around the baby's neck, so I'm afraid a C-section is in order."
"Oh, God," I moaned, falling back against the pillow.
"I'll try not to pass out when the baby's delivered," Logan promised.
"Okay," I said, laughing.
Twenty minutes later, I was lying on my back on the operating table. Logan was sitting by my head, and stroking my hair and face. At least the doctor had the presence of mind to put some drapes around me, so Logan couldn't see the baby being born.
About twenty minutes after that, we heard a baby's cry. "It's a girl," the doctor announced as she cut the cord from around the baby's neck.
Upon hearing this, I burst into tears. This was the best news I'd ever heard in my life. "Can I see her for a minute?" I asked.
"Sure," the nurse said. She wrapped the baby in a blanket, and held her so that we were face-to-face with each other. She was beautiful. She had dark hair, like me, and Logan's eyes. I had a feeling that she'd be a younger version of me as she grew up. And I absolutely have no intention of going overboard in raising her, just like Dad did, so she has nothing to worry about.
"Hi, baby," I said. "We'll call you Mimi Josephine Bruno, after my friend Claudia's grandma."
"Mimi Josephine Bruno, after my friend Claudia's grandma," the nurse repeated, writing it down on the birth certificate. Logan and I looked at her with expressions that said, "Huh?" Then the nurse smiled and said, "Don't worry, I just wrote her name down." Logan and I breathed sighs of relief. Then the nurse took little Mimi to the nursery as I was taken to the recovery room.
I just knew little Mimi's namesake was up in heaven looking out for her. And so began a whole new generation of the Baby-sitters Club.
THE END