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THE TOWNHOUSE
"So," Gabi groaned as she lowered herself onto the couch. "Ricardo has everything settled in San Jose?" Maria helped Gabi position the pillow behind her back. Gabi was a week past her due date and growing more miserable each day. "Yeah, he’s got a very nice apartment near the beach and he’s been burying himself in work at the police station," Maria said as she raised Gabi’s puffy ankles to the coffee table. Ricardo had been in touch with Carmen and Maria to let them know he was living in San Jose. He transferred to their police force a few days after his fight with Antonio. No one but he and Antonio knew what had happened that night. Ricardo had wanted to kill his brother…and for a single moment, he contemplated loading the gun. His life had become an obsession with Gabi and it had driven him almost over the edge. He left the loft and walked on the beach all night. The truth hurt, but the truth was that Gabi and Antonio were meant to be together. Antonio loved her with his whole heart – enough to give up his life as a priest to be with her. Ricardo realized that he would never come between them and acknowledged his defeat. The only way he would ever get on with his life was to leave Sunset Beach and Gabi forever. It was best for them all. "I’m happy for him, Maria," Gabi said sincerely. "He’s a good man and he deserves a good life." Maria smiled at Gabi. "So, how are you?" She put her hand against Gabi’s swollen belly. "How’s the little guy?" "If baby doesn’t make his way out soon, I’m gonna burst!" Gabi puffed out her cheeks. Maria couldn’t help but laugh. "And poor Antonio is ready to have a heart attack every time his phone rings at work or I take a deep breath!" "Have you guys picked out a name yet?" Maria asked hopefully. Gabi smiled. "Yes, but you’ll have to wait - just like Carmen. She’s been trying to find it in her crystal ball and cards for weeks." Gabi and Maria laughed as the phone rang. "Oh, I bet that’s Antonio again…it’s been another half an hour!" Gabi picked up the phone. "Hello, I’m fine. No, I haven’t had any contractions yet and my water still hasn’t broken." She heard Antonio sigh on the other end of the phone. "But how are you?" "Okay...I know. You’ll call me if anything happens," he admitted guiltily. "Anything!" "I love you." She teased him playfully. "I’ll talk to you in half an hour." Gabi hung up the phone and she and Maria giggled hysterically. "You call me, even if it’s 2 am, you hear me?" Maria instructed as she left Antonio and Gabi’s. She kissed them both on the cheek. Antonio closed the door behind her and turned back to Gabi who was busily stacking magazines and dusting off the table. "What are you doing?" Antonio admonished her quickly. "You need to sit down." He took her gently by the arm and directed her to the couch. Gabi sighed heavily. "I don’t want to sit down, Antonio. I’m tired of sitting down." She rolled herself from his grasp and started to the kitchen. "Maybe if I actually DO something, this little guy will get the hint." She poked her belly softly with a pout. Antonio felt bad for her. He knew she was extremely uncomfortable and was anxious to have the baby, but he really wanted her to save her strength for the delivery. Dr. Green had agreed to induce her if the baby wasn’t born in the next four days. He helped Gabi straighten up the living room before they headed up to bed. He hadn’t seen her quite so energetic in a long time as she put every last article in its place before she would agree to go to bed. Antonio came out of the bathroom to find Gabi already lying in bed. She was on her back and it looked like she was hiding a beach ball under her shirt. He chuckled out loud accidentally. "What’s so funny?" she questioned him from her pillow. "I was just thinking that by the looks of it, this baby is going to weigh 15 pounds." He ducked as Gabi pitched his pillow at him. "Ha, ha! Why don’t you just go sleep on the couch Mr. Funnyman?" She put on her biggest pout as he walked over and sat next to her on the bed. "I’m sorry," he said softly as he kissed her pouty lips. "I just couldn’t resist." He kissed her again only more deeply this time. His hand rubbed her belly softly as his tongue slipped into her mouth. She pushed him back. "Oh no!" she said strongly. "Don’t even think about it tonight." Antonio dropped his head to the pillow beside her and pretended to cry. "Just wait, Antonio. After the baby’s born," she whispered. "No sex for six weeks!" Antonio raised his head with a startled expression. Gabi shook her head with a wicked smile as he frowned deeply at her. She leaned over and kissed him tenderly. "But I still love you!" "I love you, too," he smiled as he climbed into bed beside her. Gabi sat up reading with Antonio lying close to her side. He fell asleep within a few minutes. Gabi pushed his hair softly off his forehead as she smiled at him. He had been so attentive to her the last few weeks, even more so than usual. They were both so excited about the new baby they could hardly wait. His nursery was ready and waiting and they were anxious to have him with them. Gabi read quietly until she started to doze off. She was dreaming that she and Antonio were swimming in the ocean. They were splashing and playing in the water, holding each other and kissing. Suddenly, Gabi felt a strange pain that woke her with a start. "Ohhh," she said as she felt her abdomen tighten. She puffed away the pain as she checked the clock. "Antonio," she prodded him gently. He mumbled something incoherent and rolled over. Gabi rolled her eyes at him and the pain began to subside. She settled back against her pillow but kept her eyes open. Just as the clock was five minutes past the first pain, she felt another tightening sensation followed by the same pain. "Ohh, Antonio!" she said louder this time as she gripped her stomach. Antonio stirred but didn’t lift his head. "Great," she said out loud. "Mr. I’ll-call-you-in-a-half-hour can’t even wake up when I’m sitting right next to him." She tried to stand up and walk around to relieve the pain. As she climbed out of the bed, she felt a warm rush of water running down her leg. "Oh my God," she yelled as Antonio sat bolt upright in bed. "What?" he said in what Gabi usually found to be ultra-sexy sleepiness. "What happened?" He was trying hard to focus on her. "Antonio," she said nervously. "My water just broke." Antonio jumped from the bed in a flash. He ran to her side and saw the slightly red stained water soaking her shirt and the carpet. "Oh my God," he said as he ran into the bathroom and got a towel. He spread it on the bed and helped her sit down. He knelt down in front of her and took her face in his hands. "Gabi, oh Gabi. I love you." He kissed her tenderly and looked at her with love. "I love you too, Antonio, but I think we should get to the...ahhhhh!" She was hit with another contraction. Antonio stood quickly and grabbed his jeans off the chair. He nearly fell over pulling them on and ran into the closet for a shirt. Gabi was doing her lamaze breathing through the contraction when Antonio returned with her bag and some sweatpants and a fresh t-shirt. He helped her get them on and put his arm around her. "Are you ready?" he asked her with a smile. She shook her head yes as she blew out her breath. "Let’s go." Antonio started to head down the stairs with her when Gabi pulled herself away from him and went into the nursery. "Wait," she said from inside the room. Antonio stood at the top of the stairs as Gabi emerged carrying Michael’s teddy bear. Antonio smiled at her with tears in his eyes as she put her arm around his waist and clutched the bear tightly. Antonio called Maria while they were getting Gabi settled in her room. Maria was going to call Carmen and bring her to the hospital. Antonio sprinted back down the hallway to Gabi’s room. Gabi was propped up in the hospital bed with a fetal monitor strapped around her belly. She smiled nervously at Antonio as he crossed the room and took her hand. "How are you doing?" he asked her gently as she squeezed his hand. She looked into his eyes and a tear rolled down her cheek. Antonio leaned close to her. "I know you’re scared. But I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere." He kissed her head and she closed her eyes tightly. "Will you put Michael’s bear on the bureau, please?" She handed Antonio the bear and he set it on the bureau directly across from her bed. Michael’s bear was her focal point for Lamaze. Antonio returned quickly to her side just as a contraction hit. He held her hand tightly as she focused on the bear. Antonio counted through the contraction for her. The pain subsided in half a minute and Gabi lay back with a sigh. Antonio took a deep breath. He was worried about Gabi handling the delivery. He knew she was strong, but he also knew her mind was very much on her delivery of Michael. This time, she wouldn’t be alone. Dr. Green came in to check on Gabi’s progression. Antonio held Gabi’s hand as the doctor put her legs in the stirrups and checked her dilation. Gabi closed her eyes. "It won’t be long, Gabi. You’re at 7 centimeters already." Dr. Green patted her leg. "Just try to relax. It’s too late for an epidural, but we can give you something to ease the pain of you’d like." Gabi shook her head no. Antonio leaned over her. "It’s okay, Gabi. You can take something. It won’t hurt the baby." He wanted the delivery to be as easy for her as possible. "No," she protested as another contraction began. "No!" Antonio held her hand in his as she endured the pain like a trooper. He was so proud of her…she had taken such good care of herself and the baby. When her contraction ended, she closed her eyes. "I’m going to go see if Maria and mama are here yet. Will you be okay?" She nodded without opening her eyes. "I won’t be long." He kissed her forehead and headed to the waiting room. Maria and his mother were waiting anxiously in the waiting room. They jumped up when they saw Antonio coming down the hall. "How is she mi hijo?" Carmen asked impatiently. "She’s doing fine, mama." He hugged his mother. "The doctor says it shouldn’t be much longer." Maria smiled and touched his arm. "I’ll come back out when I can." Maria hugged him. "Tell Gabi we love her." Antonio nodded and headed back to Gabi. Gabi had been in labor for almost six hours. It was almost 4 am and she was getting very tired. She hadn’t accepted any pain medication and her contractions were getting longer and stronger. Her dilation was stalled at 9 centimeters. She hadn’t progressed in the last two hours. Antonio was feeding her ice chips between contractions and wiping her forehead with a wet cloth. "Antonio," she said quietly. "Why don’t you sit down?" He hadn’t left her side since they got to the hospital other than to give quick updates to Carmen and Maria. Gabi thought he looked very tired. Antonio smiled at her concern. "I’m fine, baby. Don’t you worry about me." He leaned over and kissed her. "Are you sure you don’t want…" "Uuuggghhhh!" Gabi let out a ferocious yell that scared Antonio. "Ahhh!" "What is it, Gabi?" he asked her his voice in a panic. "What’s wrong?" "Antonio...I...I..." she fought to catch her breath. "I have...have...to push." Dr. Green rushed into the room and checked Gabi’s progress. "Okay, Gabi," she reported. "You’re right, it’s time to push." Antonio felt a rush of adrenaline as the nurses began moving quickly around him. They helped Gabi adjust herself in the bed as they put her legs into the stirrups. Antonio felt completely helpless as Gabi was ripped with another contraction. She was crying now, the sensation to push was extremely unpleasant and dug deeply into her back. Antonio took her hand quickly as he felt his heart quicken. He wanted so badly to take away the pain for her. Gabi puffed quickly as the contraction eased. She managed a small smile for Antonio’s benefit. "Okay, Gabi. Now, when I tell you, Antonio is going to support your back as you sit up and push." Dr. Green instructed. "You’re going to push for a count of ten and then ten again." Gabi nodded and looked to Antonio. "Do you know what you have to do?" she teased him. He smiled softly and squeezed her hand. "Me too," she said with a laugh. Antonio watched carefully as the numbers on the fetal monitor began to rise signaling another contraction. "Okay, Gabi." Dr. Green said. "Ready?" Antonio placed his strong arm around Gabi’s back as he supported her. Gabi began feeling the contraction as Dr. Green began counting. Gabi grunted deeply as Dr. Green counted slowly to ten. Antonio watched her face as she grimaced from the pain. The doctor began her second count of ten and Gabi began to moan out loud. "You’re doing great," Antonio reassured her as he laid her back after the contraction was over. "Our little boy will be here soon." Gabi smiled softly until she began to feel the next contraction. Antonio put his arm behind her once again. Gabi had been pushing for almost three hours. Her hospital gown and hair were soaked with sweat. Antonio was getting worried that she was becoming exhausted. Each contraction seemed to take more of a toll on her than the last. Dr. Green assured them things were moving along and Gabi was doing just fine. She was resting during the short break between contractions. "It hurts, Antonio," she cried softly. Antonio’s heart was breaking to see her in pain. "I know, baby. I know." He wished she had accepted a shot earlier. It was too close to delivery for her to have one know. "It won’t be long…I’m so proud of you." He held her hand to his heart. "Here comes another one," she said as she pushed herself up and grabbed her knees. "Ahhhhh," she grunted loudly as Antonio held her around her waist. "Good, Gabi," Dr. Green instructed. "I can see the baby’s head. Keep pushing." "The baby’s head, Gabi," Antonio repeated ecstatically. "It’s coming." Antonio looked into the large mirror that was positioned behind the doctor where he could see the dark hair on top of the baby’s head peeking from inside Gabi. Antonio would have been embarrassed to have theses strangers see Gabi in such a vulnerable position if he wasn’t so excited to become a father. He leaned over and whispered close to her ear. "I can see the baby’s head, Gabi. He’s got lots of black hair." Gabi pushed harder until the contraction subsided. She fell back against her pillow. "I can’t do it anymore, Antonio," she sobbed. "I’m so tired." Antonio wiped her head with the cloth. "I know, Gabi, but this baby is almost here and I don’t think he’s going to go back inside now." Gabi smiled pathetically as Antonio kissed her lightly. Dr. Green prepared her for an episiotomy. "Okay, Gabi. I’m going to give you a few shots of anesthesia and them make an incision to help the baby’s head come out." Antonio felt a little sick to his stomach as he saw the doctor stick the needle into Gabi. Gabi didn’t even flinch from the shots. "Okay, now I’m making the incision." Antonio turned his head quickly as the doctor cut Gabi a few inches and her blood began to spill. "Okay, Gabi. One more good push. One more." Dr. Green grabbed a towel to catch the baby. "Ready?" Gabi felt the next contraction coming and got herself into position. Antonio leaned over to her ear. "You can do it, Gabi. I love you." Antonio held her hand tightly as Gabi began to push as the contraction seized her. "This is the one." She let out a scream as the baby’s head emerged slowly from her. Antonio watched as his son’s head slid out of Gabi. Tears spilled from Antonio’s eyes as the doctor carefully twisted the baby to ease his shoulders out. Gabi was crying as Dr. Green made the announcement. "It’s a boy!" As if to confirm his presence, the baby let out a loud cry – the most beautiful thing Antonio had ever heard. Antonio held Gabi as they cried together. "It’s a boy, Gabi. He’s here." He kissed her on the lips. "Our son is here!" Gabi struggled to see her son as the doctor held him up. He was big and beautiful with a head full of black hair. He was still curled up tight as the doctor cleaned out his nose and mouth with the ball syringe. He wailed his unhappiness with being fussed with as the doctor clamped the umbilical cord and turned to Antonio. "Antonio, would you like to cut your son free?" Antonio let go of Gabi’s hand slowly and walked to the end of the bed. Dr. Green handed him the hemostats and directed Antonio as to where to cut. Antonio pushed hard and snapped his son free of Gabi as tears fell from his eyes. He handed the stats back to the doctor and returned to Gabi’s head. "He’s beautiful, Gabi. He looks so healthy," Antonio gushed as Gabi smiled proudly. "You did a great job." He pushed her hair off her forehead. "So did you," she said weakly as tears slipped down her cheeks. "I love you." Antonio had never felt more in love with her than at this very moment. She had given him the most wonderful gift, this little boy, his son. Antonio turned as the nurse brought the baby over and laid him in Gabi’s arms. "Ohhh, hi little guy," Gabi took his tiny hand in hers. "Hello. Hello." Antonio watched with love as Gabi cradled their son in her arms. Antonio reached over and touched the baby’s tiny hand with his. "He’s perfect, Antonio. Nicholas Michael Torres is perfect." Antonio’s heart swelled as he stood beside his wife and son, his whole world in this very room. He reflected quietly on how his life had changed over the last year more than he ever thought possible. He would always remember and love his first son Michael Antonio Torres and now God had given he and Gabi Nicholas Michael Torres. Antonio put his arm around Gabi’s shoulder as they gazed lovingly at their son, their little miracle, their second chance. THE END
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