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"Well we can't wait to see you, okay, bye dear" Louise said hanging up the phone "Good news your sister is coming for Thanksgiving dinner" she said to Christina.

"Wow, they're not eating at mommy dearest's for a change, is that allowed to happen?" she asked, taking a bite out of a licorice whip.

Louise laughed "Apparently, Will's parents are spending Thanksgiving in the Caribbean" Louise said rolling her eyes.

"Fancy" Christina said flipping through a magazine.

"And Leigha is bringing this boy she met at school" Louise said to her.

"Ooh" Christina said in a high pitched voice.

"What about you, is your boyfriend joining us?" Louise asked writing out a list.

"He'll be by for dessert" she said to her.

"Well I am off to the store, want to come?" Louise asked putting her coat on.

"Are you kidding me? The weekend before Thanksgiving, no thank you" Christina said to her.

"Smart move, okay, I'll be back...hopefully" Louise said "You sure you'll be okay here by yourself?"

"Trust me, he's not going anywhere" Christina said patting her stomach.

"Okay" Louise said laughing "Wish me luck" she said grabbing her purse.

"Remember to duck and cover!" Christina yelled after her.

~*~


The dryer buzzed, Christina lifted the lid and pulled out the clothes inside, tossing them into a basket.
She waddled herself up the stairs and into the nursery, she set the basket on a rocking chair and began to fold all the tiny clothes. The phone began to ring, she waddled into the next room and picked up the phone from its cradle.

"Hello?" she asked answering.

"Hey" Howie said happily upon hearing her voice.

"Oh hey, what are you up to?" she asked going back into the nursery.

"My mom wanted to know if you wanted to spend Thanksgiving with us" he said to her.

"That's so sweet but both of my sisters are coming home" she said folding the little clothes.

"Yeah I told her that, she insisted I ask anyways" he said to her.

"You're still coming for dessert right?" she asked.

"Your mom's pumpkin pie? No way I'm passing that up" he said to her.

She then gasped in pain.

"You okay?" he asked concerned.

"Yeah...yeah I'm okay, just a cramp" she said rubbing her stomach.

"Cramp?" he asked "Want me to come over?" he asked.

She laughed "Thanks but I'll be okay" she said "I'm just folding all of little Harry's clothes" she said when she groaned.

"Chris, you okay?" he asked nervously.

"That one hurt" she said.

"I'm coming over, I'll be right there" he said hanging up.

She moved the laundry basket, setting it on the floor and took a seat in the rocking chair. She took a few deep breaths, starting to slowly rock the chair back and forth.

"Okay" she said feeling a moment of relief when she felt a sudden rush of water "Oh no that's not good" she said to herself.

"Chris?!" Howie yelled opening the front door.

"Up here!" she yelled, he ran up the steps, following the sound of her voice to the nursery.

He saw the pained, frightened look on her face and rushed to her side "You okay?" he asked.

"Not really" she said.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I think my water just broke" she said nervously.

"What?!" he asked in disbelief "Okay we got to get you to the hospital, can you stand up?" he asked.

"I'm afraid to" she said nervously "What if the baby just falls out?" she asked.

"Come on, everything's going to be okay" he said helping her from the rocking chair.

"Oh get my bag it's in my closet" she said to him.

He rushed into her room, she screamed in pain, he ran right back to her side.

"Wow that hurts" she said, he slung her bag over her shoulder.

"Come on, easy now" he said helping her down the stairs.

"Louise" Drake said coming into the house, seeing him helping her down the stairs "Chrissy" he said "What's wrong?" he asked.

"She's in labor" Howie said to Drake.

"Where's your mother?" Drake asked.

"She went to the store" Christina said before groaning.

"Come on let's get you to the hospital" Drake said as he and Howie helped her outside.

~*~


Drake ran hurriedly into the grocery store, looking around at the mass of people.

"Cleanup on aisle three" he heard a voice boom over the intercom system.

He ran up to the courtesy desk "Excuse me, can I borrow this? thanks" he said taking the microphone from the clerk. "Louise Johnson to the courtesy desk, Louise Johnson to the courtesy desk". "Thanks" he said he said handing the microphone back to the clerk who looked at him confusedly.

"Drake? What's wrong?" Louise asked pushing her cart up to him.

"We need to get to the hospital" he said to her.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Chrissy went into labor" he said.

~*~


Christina breathed in and out, Howie mimicked her, once she stopped he continued.

"You mind?" she asked irritated.

"Sorry, remember, focus on something besides the pain, okay uh...sunny meadow with deer...or something" he said to her.

"I knew I shouldn't have made you take those Lamaze classes with me" she said.

"Chrissy, honey" Louise said rushing into the room "Are you okay?" she asked concerned.

"I think so" Christina said to her.

"Oh sweetie don't you worry everything is going to be just fine, your dad and I are right here and we're not leaving your side" Louise said to her.

"Me too" Howie said holding her hand.

"Has the doctor been in yet?" Louise asked.

"Not yet" Christina said to her.

"I'll go find her" she said leaving the room.

Howie began to do her breathing exercises, trying to prompt her to follow him.

"Please don't do that" she said to him.

"Sorry" he said.

"Well hello everyone" the doctor said coming into the room "How are we doing?" she asked.

"I think I'm having a baby" Christina said to her "And it really hurts" Christina whined.

"Let's just take a look and see where we are here" she said snapping on a pair of rubber gloves. She pulled the covers up, throwing them over Christina's knees and taking a seat at the foot of the bed. "You're well on your way" the doctor said.

"What does that mean?" Christina asked.

"Won't be much longer, couple more hours’ tops" the doctor said.

Christina whined, throwing her head back.

"Is there something you can do for the pain?" Howie asked.

"Course, we can start you on an epidural as soon as possible" she said.

"Please do, I can't take it anymore" Christina said.

"Howard how about you go get her some ice chips?" Louise asked him.

"Sure, I'll be right back okay?" he asked leaving the room.

"Mom, did I cause you this much pain?" Christina asked.

"Well after I had your sisters I was pretty much used to it" Louise said to her.

"Well I'm sorry anyways" Christina said whimpering.

"Oh honey" Louise said laughing "It's okay, once you have that baby in your arms you forget all about the pain, I promise" she said.

"I just hope Harry loves me as much as I love you" Christina said to her.

"I love you too" Louise said hugging her.

"Here, got you ice chips" Howie said coming back into the room with a Styrofoam cup.

"I don't want ice, I want drugs!" Christina said irritated.

"You can have drugs after the ice chips" he said handing her the cup.

She took the cup from him and chomped down on the ice.

"Better?" he asked hopefully.

"No" she said putting more ice chips in her mouth.

A while later, Christina lied in her bed, a dopey smile on her face.

"Feel better now?" he asked, she looked over to see three of him.

"So much better" she said. "oh look at that, I'm having a contraction...huh" she said looking a stream of paper spewing out from a machine.

"How much of this stuff did you give her?" he asked a nurse.

"Hello again" the doctor said returning to the room "Just came to check where we are" she said examining Christina once more. "Good news, ten centimeters, you're ready to deliver" she said.

"Really?" Christina asked "Right now?" she asked.

"Right now, you're about to be a mom" she said.

"Oh god this is really happening" she said nervously.

"You okay?" he asked her.

"I don't know...this is really happening the baby is coming out now" she said.

"I know, you ready?" he asked.

"I think so...I want my mom" she whined.

He sat parked by her side, holding her hand tightly in his.

"You okay?" Louise asked.

"This is it; I'm scared" Christina said.

"Oh don't you worry, everything is going to be just fine, you'll see" Louise said to her in a reassuring voice.

"Will you stay with me?" Christina asked her.

"Of course I will" Louise said to her.

The doctor and a nurse returned to the room, shutting the door behind them.

"Christina, on your next contraction I want you to start pushing" the doctor said pulling a mask over her face, Christina nodded absently.

"Everything's going to be alright, I'm right here okay?" Howie asked kissing her head.

"I love you" she said to him, he smiled.

"I love you too" he said smoothing her hair away from her face.

"Okay, ready? 1, 2, 3...push" the doctor said, Christina grabbed his and her mom's hand, squeezing tightly. "Come on, just a few more, you're doing good Christina" the doctor said coaching her "ready, 1, 2, 3...push" Christina gritted her teeth, a loud screeching sound escaping her throat. "He's crowning" the doctor said "come on, Christina, you can do this" Christina pushed harder, her mom holding her leg back towards her chest.

"Come on sweetie, you're almost there, you can do this" Louise said to her, Christina continued pushing.

"Oh my god" Howie said in awe, watching the baby emerge. Christina fell back in exhaustion.

"Here he is" the doctor said holding him up, his arms and legs flailing about, wailing loudly.

"That was the most amazing thing I've ever seen" he said, still in shock "Want to cut the cord?" The doctor asked him, she handed him a pair of surgical scissors.

He cut the cord and she handed him off to a waiting nurse. They wrapped him tightly in a blanket and handed him off to Christina.

"My goodness...hi" she said happily.

"Hello little prince" Louise said kissing the baby's forehead and then Christina's.

"Our little boy" she said as a tear began to fall down her cheek.

"He's our boy alright" he said kissing Christina's head,
they looked down at him.

"Hi angel" Christina said softly, she leaned in to kiss his little forehead.

"Here he is, our first grandson, the first boy in our family" Drake said focusing in on his video camera. "Little Harrison Drake Dorough" he said taping Harry lying in his little bassinet, a small blue cap snugly on his little head. "November 23, 1991...Happy Birthday little guy” Drake said as the camera shut off.

~*~


Christina lied in her hospital bed when the door opened.

"Hey, feel up for some visitors?" Kellie asked peeking inside.

"Sure come on in" Christina said to her.

"For you" Kellie said handing her a bouquet of flowers.

"Thank you" Christina said to her.

"Well look at this" Kevin said setting the carrier down on the floor and looking into the bassinette.

"That's my boy right there" Howie said to him.

"Congratulations" Kevin said hugging him "Feels great huh?" he asked.

"Unreal" Howie said to him.

"How are you?" Kellie asked Christina.

"I'm exhausted" Christina said to her.

"How long did you go?" Kellie asked.

"Only a couple hours but it felt like forever" Christina said to her.

"Hi, Harry" Kevin said shaking his little hand "You want to meet someone?" he asked setting the carrier on the chair, he carefully pulled Kyle out. "Harry, this is Kyle " he said, both babies stayed silent, sleeping soundly "Oh they're best friends already" he said, they all laughed.

"He is so cute" Kellie said "May I?" she asked.

"Of course" Howie said handing Harry over to her.

"Well hello Harrison" she said cradling him in her arms.

"Harrison Drake Dorough...hey those are your initials too" Kevin said to Howie.

"Oh yeah...I forgot about that" Christina said.

"AJ is going to love hearing that" Kevin said.

"Total accident" Howie said.

"He looks just like you" Kellie said to Howie.

"You think?" Howie asked her.

"Yeah, obviously the genes with you guys are incredibly strong" she said "you want your mommy?" Kellie asked.

"Come here sweetheart" Christina said taking him from Kellie.

"He is so precious" Kellie said.

"I just can't believe how much I love him; the feeling is overpowering" Christina said.

"I know" Kellie said to her "Hey at least now Harry will be able to spend Thanksgiving with you."

"I know" Christina said "My sisters are coming home; they'll get to meet their nephew" she said "What are you guys doing?" she asked.

"My mom and I are going to Kel's for dinner, that way Kyle can spend his first Thanksgiving with his whole family" Kevin said to her.

"If you need anything just ask okay?" Kellie said to her.

"Thanks so much, thanks for coming" Christina said to them.

"Of course" Kellie said to her.

"We'll get out of your hair" Kevin said picking up the carrier.

"Bye guys" Howie said to them.

"Bye" Kevin said moving towards the door.

"Bye Harry" Kellie said kissing his forehead.

"This is going to be the best Thanksgiving ever" Christina said as Howie sat next to her on the bed.

"It really is, we have a lot to be thankful for this year" he said as they both looked at Harry sleeping peacefully in her arms.