Chapter XXI: The Baby

January.

"It's time. You need to come get me."

“What?"

Jiyong sat on the other end of the line, in his office staring blankly at Top and the clients seated across from him. His secretary had just interrupted his meeting to say he had an emergency, but Dara wasn't due for another six weeks. What could she mean by ‘it's time?’

"The baby's coming. Hurry, Jiyong."

Dara had a healthy, uneventful pregnancy, but the panic in her voice now made it difficult for him to breathe.

"But it's too soon."

"I don't think our son cares. He's on his way."

"Oh boy." Jiyong stood up, sat down, stood up again.

‘Was something wrong with the baby? Why would it come early?’

"I'll be right there, Dara. Where are you? Don't try to walk anywhere. I'll get you."

She chuckled.

"What are you going to do? Drive up on the lawn? I'm at the pay phone on campus, near the library, but I can make it to the front where you usually pick me up. I'm just a little nervous. I had so many backaches with the pregnancy that I didn't know I was in labor until the pains started coming hard and fast." Her voice became strangled for a second and he heard her pant.

"I'm afraid we don't have much time."

They'd been to lamaze. Jiyong knew that pant meant she was having a contraction.

"Honey, don't be frightened. I'll drive up on the lawn if I have to."

"I'll be waiting by the main entrance."

He slammed the phone down and started from the room almost forgetting to explain himself. At the last minute he said.

"I have to go, my wife is having our baby."

Then he ran to the elevators, cursed the damn things for taking so long, considered scaling the twenty stories to the ground floor via the stairs, and decided it would actually be quicker to wait.

As soon as the elevator doors sprang open, he hit the lobby button, descended and dashed to his car.

Dara was waiting at the main entrance, as she'd said, but he could tell by her face that something wasn't right.

He pulled up, his heart in his throat as he ran would to help her in the car.

"You okay?"

"I think so." She reached out to squeeze his hand.

"Just get me to the hospital."

"Maybe we should go to the University hospital. It's right here."

"No, Dr. Park can't deliver here, I already called her. She's on her way, she'll meet us at the hospital."

"What if we don't make it?"

She grinned.

"Then you get to deliver the baby yourself."

"We'll make it." He said.  

Other than one construction delay, traffic wasn't a problem this afternoon. Jiyong wove through the streets, speeding when could safely do so, and turned into the emergency entrance of the hospital only fifteen minutes later.

Dara was in the middle of another labor pain. Her eyes were closed and her hands balled into fists.

"We're here." He said gently.

"I'll be right back."

He jumped out and jogged into the hospital to get a wheelchair, but Dara was already wadding in when he returned.

"Here you go." He said, helping her sit down.

They'd toured the hospital shortly after their lamaze classes had ended. Jiyong knew exactly where to go. He wheeled Dara down a long corridor, turned left, passed through a set of double doors, and waved to get a nurse's attention as soon as they entered the maternity ward.

"What have we here?" Asked the nurse as she approached them.

"My contractions are every two minutes or so apart." Dara said.

"When's your due date?"

"Next month."

She frowned. "Okay. Wait right here. I'll get you a room."

Minutes later, the nurse returned and showed Jiyong and Dara into one of the hone-style birthing rooms they'd visited on their tour.

"Has Dr. Park arrived yet?" Jiyong asked.

"Not yet. You've called her then?"

"Yes. She's on her way." Dara said.

"Good." The nurse handed her a gown.

“Change into this. Then I'll check and see how far you've dilated. Has your water broke yet?"

"No. is that good?"

"If we wait to try and stop the labor, it is. Once your water breaks, stopping it isn't an option. But I'm not sure what Dr. Park is going to do. She might want to let you go ahead and have it. You're what, Thirty-four weeks?"

"Give or take a few days."

The nurse nodded and left.

Jiyong helped Dara change and get settled in bed.

"The doctor will be able to stop the labor it it's too early." He said, hoping to convince himself, as well as Dara, that they had nothing to worry about.

"Even if we have