"Men are such babies when it comes to pain..."

Part 5 of 8

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Admin Note: Originally published on BigCloset Classic on Wednesday, 08-13-2003 - 11:59:09 pm and migrated to BigCloset TopShelf, this retro classic was pulled out of the closet, and re-presented for our newer readers. ~Sephrena
 
Image Credit: Divider licensed for use in publishing from Photoshopgraphics.com ~Sephrena.
 
Author's Message:I apologize for this taking so long. Work has kept me from finishing it after Doug completed his edit on it. I have had a total of 4 days off since I went back to work on June 23rd as well as working as many hours as 15 in a day. Not much time to do anything on it but I tried as much as I could. I am not sure how many people are Star Trek:TNG fans but in this part there is a reference to one incident in an episode that had me laughing so hard that I had to put it in this part. See if you can find it. ~Jerrie
 

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Part 5 – For the Pain of It

I was absolutely dumbfounded. I hadn't experienced anything like this in any of my previous transitions. I usually had a chance to take a breather before I started a new challenge, so why was I lying here on this table in a hospital gown, feeling my huge stomach? My chest was itchy. When I reached up to scratch it, I encountered what felt like paper there. I grabbed it.

It was a folded piece of paper. I reached up with the other hand and discovered the new charm from the last letter already in my hand. I would look at it later, so I set it down on my belly where I could be sure I wouldn't lose it. I opened the paper and read it.

"Jennifer, I am sorry this came as a shock to you. I know how you are with pain. You would have procrastinated until action would have been necessary to get you moving. I could not take the chance that you would take too long. This is the only time you will be forced into a challenge. This will be the most difficult challenge to date. There are some rewards to this as well as some of the worst pain you will ever go through. There is only one item of advice I would give you: take this all like a woman, never as a man. Always remember that. Good luck."

Take it like a woman? What did that mean? I know what taking it like a man means but 'as a woman' meant little to me. The door opened suddenly. I tried to hide the paper, but it had vanished while I was distracted. 'When I found out who was playing with my life,' I promised myself 'I would be demanding some answers.'

A woman doctor entered, reading a chart in her hands. She looked down at me and smiled. "Good morning Jennifer. How are things going today? Have there been any changes since you were in here two weeks ago?"

'God, now what do I say?' I asked myself. 'What was I in for?' Obviously, from the size of my belly, I was pregnant. How far along I was, I had no idea. I had to think of something to satisfy her. "Everything has been going well. I just had a sharp pain in my belly a few minutes ago that went away almost as quickly as it came."

"Well, that's to be expected. Your little one is making its impatience known. It wants to come out and see its mommy's face for the first time. Let's see here. Your due date is only a week away and we should start seeing a lot more activity from your baby while your body prepares to evict its passenger. Now, let's see here." She felt around my stomach, all around the huge bulge of the baby. I didn't know what she was doing. She finally wound up down around my pelvis, pushing around and feeling for something. "Ah, here we are. Right where I'm pushing is your baby's head. It's in the perfect position for its appearance." She stopped feeling around and wrote something down on a page.

"Now, would you please put your feet up in the stirrups?"

'Stirrups? What stirrups?' I didn't see anything that looked like the stirrups I knew. Then I noticed some cup shaped objects attached to bars at the end of the table. They sort of looked like the stirrups I was used to seeing, so I proceeded to put my feet there.

"Just relax, I'm just checking for any dilation you might have." As a counterpoint, she reached up under the hospital gown and inserted her fingers between my legs. Not really expecting it, I flinched a bit. I settled down after a few seconds when she did nothing more than feel inside me. After a few seconds, she withdrew and commented, "Well, Jennifer, it does not look like it will be too much longer before your little one enters the world to join us." She took her gloves off and threw them away before turning back to me.

"I certainly hope that you have been doing your exercises as you were told. Has your husband been helping with his exercises, too?" She had the twinkle in her eyes saying that she knew how much a man helps with the woman giving birth. He is there for moral support and nothing else. The woman does all the work. I would be doing all the work very soon.

"Yes, he has been doing his exercises. He's getting very good at the breathing part. If he ever had a panic attack or even gave birth himself, he would know EXACTLY what to do. I just wish that I could get him in this position and show him what it's like."

"I certainly know what you mean by that, Jennifer. Men are such babies when it comes to pain like this. It really is a good thing that they aren't the ones to give birth, or the human race would have become extinct years ago." I had to laugh at that, trying not to sound too hysterical because I was thinking along those lines completely. If I had my choice, I would not have been there in Jennifer's body, getting ready to give birth to her baby.

"So, Doc, do you have any last words of encouragement for me before my big day?" I tried to sound cheerful and expectant for the 'big day' but I was scared halfway out of Jennifer's mind. As I was thinking those thoughts, a huge, very sharp pain tore through my abdomen. I nearly doubled up with it trying to get it to settle down. Knowing it was the baby did nothing to ease the pain at all.

"Not really. But you know how impatient kids are these days and this one seems to be just as impatient as the rest of them. That was a pretty good contraction you just had there. Your baby seems to be in very good health and will come out squalling its head off."

That last contraction really shook me up. "But that won't be before I'm squalling my head off with the pain of it. This whole thing terrifies me to death and I don't want to do it. Can't we just postpone this until I am ready? Please?"

"Jennifer," she frowned, "you should have thought about that before you got pregnant. It's too late and you will just have to suffer through it like all women before you. I'm surprised at you. A woman of your learning and degrees in Psychology suddenly reduced to a puddle of whimpers. And for what? A BABY! That's what. All over a little baby that has had the luck to be growing inside you. You reject it now and you will never be able to have another one. Take it like a woman for God's sake! For the life of me, I would think you were a man by the way you were acting."

That stopped me short. I had never thought about that aspect of things. That is what the letter meant. I didn't understand it at first but now, I realized that I had to look on this as a woman and not as a man. I had to take the pain and push it aside. It was natural for women to do this all the time and rarely do you hear one talking about the pain or anything. I resolved to hold myself to the standards Jennifer would have and take the pain like a woman.

"Sorry about that, doctor. These last few days have been pretty stressful to me, preparing myself for the birth. In a way, I'm not ready to have a baby, but I know that the new life growing inside me is a precious one, regardless. I started it; now I have to finish it."

The doctor nodded her head, soothed somewhat. "Good girl. That is what I like to hear. Now, I will admit, this is one of the hardest things you will have to deal with in your life, but it is also one of the most rewarding things, too. If you have any problems, or if you go into labor, get hold of my service and I'll meet you at the hospital. You go home and enjoy the last free and unfettered days you will have for a long time to come. Do you have any final questions for me?"

"Only one that I can think of. Where is the restroom? I have to pee really bad right now." I'd been feeling the urge for several minutes, but it had been increasing with every second that went by. It felt like I had not gone in hours and I was starting to get desperate.

"As long as you have been seeing me and you still forget where the restroom is?" she chuckled. "We need to do something about your short-term memory. Out the door, to your left on the way to the front desk. I hope you have all the restrooms located between here and your home because I'm sure you are going to need to go at least three times before you get home. See you for the delivery, Jennifer. Call me if you have any problems."

"I will, thank you." I sat up from the table and realized that no matter what I did, I would have to get out of the open back hospital gown before I went anywhere. The doctor left the room. I put on Jennifer's clothes as fast as my ungainly body would let me. In what seemed to be too long, I was dressed and heading for the restroom. Considering the amount of pressure I had, the small amount of urine I managed was a surprise. What was up with this?

I gathered myself together, cleaned up and left to go to the desk. On reaching it, I stopped in front of the receptionist who looked up at me smiling.

"Hi Jennifer. Hope things are going well for your delivery. Would you like us to use the same billing as normal?"

"Yes, please." I had no idea what Jennifer used, but I could only assume that she paid cash for her visits. The receptionist gave me a receipt.

"Good luck, Jennifer. Come back and let us see your baby once you have it." She was a sweet young lady around 19 years old.

"I will. Thank you for all your help." I turned and waddled as fast as I could out the door. Once outside, I was stuck. I had no idea what I was supposed to do. 'Did I have a car or was someone picking me up?' I wondered. Then I heard a honk and looked towards the sound. To my relief, it was Heather, waving to catch my attention. Once she knew I had spotted her, she drove up to the curb to let me in the car. Once inside, I sighed loudly as the pressure on my hips and back released.

I turned towards Heather and said, "God, how do you women stand being pregnant? This is killing me!"

"Michael? Is that you?" she asked incredulously.

"Yeah, it's me. I became Jennifer right before the doctor examined her. God, that was so uncomfortable."

"Wow! I thought that your next trip here would be different. You came at the wrong time, I think. Jennifer has been getting tired of being pregnant, but at the same time, she was getting very excited over being a mommy. What are you here for now?"

"My trip is for personal pain. I hate any sort of pain and this is scaring me half to death. I think I had told you that in one of my last trips here."

"You will have to excuse me if I don't remember, but it has been five years since you were here last. I can barely remember you and would not have known if you hadn't said what you did. Would you like to go home now? Since I know Jennifer so well, I can tell that you are having a hard time with this."

"I think that would be a good idea. I'm tired of this already, but I need to get this bulky body to a place that would be a lot more comfortable. Then, once I'm settled in, perhaps you could answer some questions for me."

"That sounds fine to me. Home it is and questions later." She took off like a bat out of hell.

"Hey! Did you get clearance for that take off? Geez, we are going to have to go back and get the baby because I think it popped out when you took off."

"Geez Jen, it's not like you've never gone for a ride with me before. Oops. Sorry, Michael, I forgot that YOU have never ridden with me before. Jennifer knows that I'm sort of a speed demon, but you don't. She would have been prepared for the 'take off' as you put it." She was laughing as though she thought it was very funny.

"Well, could you just take it easy on me? If you cause me to go into labor early, I will certainly not be happy about it. I am not really ready for that yet. Please slow down for me, will you?" I was trying not to sound freaked out over her sudden burst of speed since I have never had anyone drive like that while I was in their vehicle.

That got to her. She slowed down to a more respectable speed. "How did you know Jennifer was married to Dan? When you left he had barely proposed to her. Anything could have happened since then."

"It would just be going on assumption. Jennifer wrote in her dairy that she wanted to see Dan and that it had been a mistake for her to leave him. Now I'm pregnant and there's a wedding ring on my finger."

"I see. You are beginning to learn a bit more about Jennifer and how she thinks because that's exactly what she did. She's grown up a lot since then and you would not recognize her if you met her. But then, you've never met her and I doubt that you will."

Our drive back to where Jennifer lived now was a long one. We had to make several stops so that I could go to the bathroom again. I complained outrageously about the size of the bladder. Heather got a great laugh out of it. She explained that a woman's pregnant body has little room for anything but the baby. Urine quickly fills the compressed bladder, making frequent bathroom stops necessary. I lamented the fact, but knew I had to accept it; it would be this way until the baby was born.

Heather made several turns that got me lost. Finally, she turned down a driveway to a very large house.

"Whoa! Whose house is this?" I asked her.

"Yours, silly. Jennifer and Dan bought it three years ago after Jennifer received her complete inheritance."

"Oh my god! This thing is huge! Why would Jennifer buy something like this? It must require a staff of 20 to maintain!"

"Actually, you have a staff of five for the house. You also have three groundskeepers for the five acres of land around the house and a pool cleaning service to clean your pool once a week. Dan made sure that you wouldn't have to worry about a pool boy making any passes at you; he hired an all female service. On a lighter note, I think Dan hired the pool girls so that he could see their tight little bodies but he is not willing to admit it."

Hearing all this made me wonder how much money Jennifer had inherited. I had to ask. "Heather, if you can answer this, how much money did Jennifer inherit from her Grandmother?"

"If she was telling me the truth, and I would expect her not to lie to me, she inherited about $250,000,000.00. That includes, give or take, about six businesses she owns now, incorporated into the inheritance."

"My God! W-w-why would her mother live in such a tiny house when Jennifer's father could afford to buy a bigger one?" I was shocked by this disclosure. I never thought Jennifer would get that much money, even with her little allowances she had been getting in one of my previous visits.

"Jennifer's father hated to have the money he was born into. He wanted a simple life and bought that house because it was simple. Nobody wanted for anything, ever, and Jennifer grew up very spoiled. She would always have anything she wanted, but she always shared with the rest of the girls. We were our own little group and nobody got into it without problems. Jennifer was the leader all the way. Nobody even contested her authority because if they did, they would be out in a heartbeat. When you came into her life, things started changing. Now, she is one of the pillars of the community, even though nobody would question her because of her money. You know the golden rule don't you?"

"Yes. He who has the gold, makes the rules." Everyone knew that one.

"With Jennifer, everyone knows she is the richest person in town but the only way she shows it is with her house. She drives a mini van, does her own shopping, and even still works with the mental health services locally. She contributes millions each year to charity and the city loves her for it. But she has learned to be humble."

"Speaking of humble, whatever happened to Dirk after I left the last time?"

At the mention of his name, Heather burst out, laughing hard. "Oh, you would not believe what you started with that man. He's now doing life in prison. After Jennifer charged him with felony theft, three women saw his picture in the paper and filed charges of their own, claiming he had raped them. He was convicted on all counts and because had a prior record they threw the book at him. Jennifer has lived without any fear for a long time now. She's quite happy where she is in her life."

"She deserves it. From what I can guess, she is a wonderful person and I would get along with her wonderfully."

"She is a wonderful person. I'm living here at the house at least until Jennifer has the baby. I'm hoping that she lets me stay here longer. It's a dream come true to live in this huge house and Dan has been quite supportive of me as a near-sister to Jennifer."

That puzzled me a bit. "One thing I am curious about; have you gotten married or anything yet? It would make this sort of arrangement a bit difficult on a relationship."

"No, I'm not married nor am I attached." She seemed hesitant to admit it.

"Why not? A beautiful young woman like you should have boyfriends coming out of every closet. Besides, you would be the closest thing to an aunt for Jennifer's child. She has no one to play that role in her family, although it is nice to have grandparents and all but it is good for every child to have an aunt and it would also be wonderful if you had a child to share the joys of parenthood with her. You need to think about that, among other things."

"Michael, may I be honest with you? Can I be certain that it will not get back to Jennifer? You mentioned that you had read her diary and put things in it."

"You would have to let me be the judge of that, Heather. It's the only way I do things."

"Fair enough. What I have to say is for your ears only. The reason I am not married is that I am a lesbian. I have been in love with Jennifer for as long as I can remember, but I have always known that she was not destined to be with me. She enjoyed men way too much for my liking. But I knew when to keep my feelings dampened. I love her like a sister and there would be no way that I would ever betray her trust and intrude on her relationship with Dan. He is like a brother to me and I respect him too much to do that to him."

"I see, but I am curious, Heather. How is it that someone as beautiful and intelligent as you are is a lesbian? I always thought that lesbians were all mannish looking women who could drink a normal man under a table, not to mention their tough character."

"Being such is indiscriminate. You have no choice in being what you are right now and I have no choice in being what I am. It is what God intended and every person should deal with what they are in one way or another. Just because I'm beautiful and intelligent doesn't mean that I'm any less a lesbian. I wish to God that I weren't and I wish this was all a dream, but it is my own personal burden that I have to bear. You have your burden to bear right now and I am sure that you have your own issues to deal with in your normal body." She seemed to be on the verge of tears; I felt that it wasn't the time or the place to press her any more.

"Ok, Heather. You win. I won't mention this to anyone. Your secret is safe with me, but I would make a suggestion that you tell Jennifer. I think she loves you as you are and it would not make any difference to her what you did with your life." I told her.

I was exhausted from carrying around all this extra weight in my stomach and I needed desperately to get into the house and relax. I waddled into an area that looked like a living room without the feel of anything living in it. I heard an "Eh, hem!" behind me and saw Heather standing in a doorway several feet away.

"I thought you wanted to rest? The relaxation room is this way," she told me, some laughter mixed in with her words.

I waddled over to her as fast as I could go and entered the room she had indicated. The furniture inside looked like it was designed by someone from outer space. None of the shapes looked like anything I had ever seen before. Heather guided me over to a vertical piece of cloth attached to a frame. Following her instructions, I leaned into it and it moved by itself. First, what looked like armrests came into place under my arms. Then it started folding itself into the rear of my legs while pushing my legs out. I let out a screech of fright, thinking that it was trying to push me down on the floor.

Heather burst out laughing at my fright. She said, "Jennifer had the same reaction the first time she sat in that chair. Relax, it's designed to assist a pregnant woman into a sitting or standing position."

Following her instructions, I allowed it to do what it was made to do and within seconds, I was sitting in a reclined position that was very easy on my back, legs, and belly.

"Jennifer loves this chair. She has practically lived in it the last month, since it's the only thing she can get in and out of. Dan has been really good to her since she nearly broke her leg when she was seven months along. He was the one that suggested the chair after seeing an article in a magazine for expectant fathers. There haven't been any more problems since then."

"I can see why. This is so comfortable to sit in. There is no pressure on my legs like there was standing up and the lumbar support is incredible. I'll have to remember this idea, take it back with me and see if I can invent it in the past."

"Only in your dreams. This chair was in the beginning design stages in May 2003 in Sweden. You are a bit too late for that, if I remember your timeline correctly. It also uses advanced servos and computer chips, designed in 2010 so it would do you no good to even try. You can, however, at least take advantage of the years of efforts that went into the design."

"Oh well. I can't say I didn't think about it." I was a bit bummed out that I could not take this wonderful invention back and recreate it in my time. It would certainly make my life easier if I had an invention of this magnitude to my credit.

"In the meantime, I'm going to go do some resting myself. I know Jennifer always gets tired after a visit to the doctor's office. From the look on your face, you are too. You sit tight and sleep. I'll check back with you later and see how you are doing."

"That's fine with me." I was nearly asleep as it was. This whole day had been stressful enough. The intermittent stomach pains I had been suffering since the doctor's office had subsided, but who knew when they would pick up again. Heather put a light blanket over me and I was asleep instantly.

I don't know how long I'd slept, but I was refreshed when I awoke. Only this time, the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was Dan and Heather sitting a few feet away. Both of them were sitting, looking at me with love in their eyes. I smiled brightly at them both. Dan's smiled outshone the sunlight at that moment. The love I felt for him nearly burst my chest.

He was the first to speak. "Hi love. I'm sorry that I was late getting back here. I wish that I was able to have been at the doctor's appointment with you, but you know how the auditions go. One tiny thing wrong and it gets delayed for hours."

"You're here now and that's all that matters. So, now that you are back, where is my kiss?" I was needing one right then.

"You must not have felt it when I first came in here and gave you one while you were sleeping. That is the ration for the hour." He had a twinkle of merriment in his eye.

"Hey, that doesn't count!" I exclaimed. "You have to give it to me while I'm awake or it doesn't count."

He looked over at Heather. "She's changing the rules again. You would think that there were two minds in there doing the thinking for her. I know," he brightened, "it must be the baby's turn for a kiss and she is demanding it too." He got up and knelt beside me, took me in his arms and kissed me deeply. It was enough to tingle me to my toes. I loved every bit of it.

As he broke the kiss finally, I was overtaken with a rather large contraction. As I gasped with pain, Dan took on a look of concern. "Are you ok, honey?" he asked.

"I will be as soon as the contraction stops. The doctor said I would be experiencing them more often as it draws closer to the time of birth."

"We both knew this wasn't going to be a piece of cake, but we both wanted it to make us whole. We have created a new life between the two of us and I can hardly wait to see her." He moved down to my swollen belly and lovingly ran his hands over it. I could feel something that felt like two hands pushing out from the walls of my stomach. They met with Dan's hands and moved with them. It was almost like the baby knew he was there and was trying to hold hands with him. Dan did not seem surprised at it and smiled widely. "See? She knows when her daddy is there. She's holding her hands out to be held." He bent down and gave my belly a kiss. "Daddy loves you and can hardly wait for you to come out." He obviously loved the baby. He gave me a raspberry on the bulge of my belly that sent me into fits of laughter.

After he was done playing with the baby, he returned his attention to me. I knew he was still totally smitten with Jennifer. He was still a great catch for her. Even though I had a big hand in them getting back together, she played a large part in the joining. One thing I wish my quest had done was to have put me at the wedding somehow, but it was not meant to be.

Jennifer would have been a beautiful bride. I was going to have to dig up the pictures of their wedding and see what it had been like. I would expect nothing but the best for her since she could have afforded it.

Dan knew that Jennifer was in a delicate condition, but she had obviously trained him right. His attention to my swollen belly was proof of it. He was gentle with his hands as well as his manner. My heart swelled with the love I felt for him as well as what Jennifer had felt for him. He was a good man and, as such, is a rarity. They always say, a good man is hard to find and he was the catch of the century. Still, there was something I needed to do and it was starting to be a pressing matter.

"Excuse me for a minute sweetie, but I need to get up and go to the bathroom. Little miss room hog in there is giving me fits at the moment. I am about to burst from water pressure and I'm afraid that it won't be only water that breaks if I don't pay attention to it." I was starting to get pressure creases on my forehead from the concentration I was giving the matter. Dan looked at me knowingly. He moved away from me so that I could get up. As I started to move in the chair, it also moved to lift me up from the sitting position. I was beginning to like this chair.

None too soon, I was sitting in the bathroom easing the internal pressure. Again, there was not enough to fill a thimble.

Once I was finished, I made sure that I was clean again before leaving the bathroom. If things were to continue along the same lines, I would have to ask Dan to put the chair in the bathroom so that I wouldn't have to go very far to relieve myself.

I found the bedroom and went in search for the perennial diary. I still felt guilty about reading her personal, private thoughts, but since I was she, I also felt that I had the right. I found it in her dresser drawer, the same old dresser where I had found it before. It seemed that she liked to keep things the same no matter where she was.

I sat down on the bed and started reading it. It was a new diary. I would love to find and read the old one, but I was afraid to even try a search; I would look like I was lost inside my own house. At least I had six months of reading I could catch up on, considering the date of the first entry.

It told of the first few months of the pregnancy and the problems that she had been having. There was one place that spoke of the possibility of losing the baby. She had been put on a watch for at least two months in case she started to spontaneously abort the baby. She described the daily ultrasounds to check the baby and the needles into her abdomen to check the fluids. It finally came down to Mother Nature and whether she wanted the baby to survive. Finally, things had evened out and she was out of danger.

Jennifer's mother had been one of the greatest supporters during her pregnancy. Dan's mother was also a big help and had been able to be there for anything Jennifer might have needed. She was excited to be seeing her first grandchild. Since Jennifer's father was deceased, Dan's was making up for him. If there was anyone who could take the place of two people, it would have been him. He was a superman.

Jennifer's assessment of Dan was of a very doting parent. He wanted to be around all the time, but he would have driven her crazy if he were. She insisted that he keep himself busy and let her do the actual work of carrying the baby. He had agreed but with extreme reluctance. His argument was that since she was wealthy, he really did not have to work and could be there to help her out with the changes. She reminded him that he would be very unhappy if he was not out doing what he loved to do.

She admitted that secretly, she had arranged to have a talent agent scout him out and take him under his wing. The agent had liked what he had seen with Dan and it had worked out. Dan had a high degree of natural acting talent and had been perfect for movies. He was rapidly becoming a hot item in Hollywood and his agent was fielding the best offers for him. Dan had the luxury of picking and choosing what he wanted to work on. He was a millionaire in his own right, now, but he was still an outsider to the glitzy Hollywood glamour scene. He preferred to live in a smaller city and away from the hustle and bustle.

There were clippings of newspaper articles in her diary expounding on his acting ability. One of them had referred to him as being the 'New' Kevin Costner, while another flatly refused to compare his brilliance to a washed up old has-been as Costner. In the words of the writer: "Dan Sparks has more talent on his little finger than Costner ever had in his whole body. Mr. Sparks will be a blessed addition to the staid and boring Hollywood group. Long live the new King of Hollywood!"

It made me feel good that Dan had an ability he could use. I think that I could take credit for encouraging him to follow his desires in being an actor back when he was in school. He had put his talent to use. I would love to see the looks on the faces of his greatest tormentors. He had gone from a shy, awkward young man and emerged as a strong, confident, and highly sought-after actor.

As I read further through Jennifer's diary, she talked about the upcoming birth and how happy she would be when it was finally over. She mentioned that she was afraid that she would hurt the little girl growing inside her and that she would refuse any medication. She must be braver than I am, since I wanted to have pain medication to reduce what I was going to feel.

When I was about halfway through the diary, I had to get up again and go to the bathroom. My life had rapidly dwindled to remaining near a bathroom from fear of wetting myself. Once done, I went back to reading.

There weren't many pages that said anything about fearing birth. Most concerned fears that the baby would somehow be deformed, despite assurances from doctors that everything was perfect.

A sudden growl in my stomach told me that I was hungry. I had been ignoring a lot of what I had been feeling. The sensations were fairly alien to me and I really didn't know what to make of them. This was one that I did not want to ignore. The baby needed food, too.

I went back into the family room where Dan and Heather were. We all went into the kitchen to get a bite to eat. The cook had made a huge meal and it was put away by both Dan and Heather. I barely ate anything. Again, the baby was not leaving much room for anything inside me. I knew I was going to be hungry soon enough, but how long it would take, I had no idea.

Afterward, I started getting a bit tired of being inside the house. It was stuffy to me and I needed some fresh air. Since I had heard about a pool earlier, I made my way to where I assumed it to be. Behind me, I heard a voice say, "Where is she going?" and another one saying, "I have no idea but we need to follow her."

The two cohorts came running after me to head me off. Heather was the first to reach me followed not far behind by Dan. Both followed me out the rear door to the pool area. I noticed one of the fancy pregnancy chairs sitting out there, so obviously Jennifer liked to spend time out here. I sat in it like an old pro. Once reclined, I decided that I didn't want to sit any longer. I had no idea why I was so restless all of a sudden.

"Dan, honey, is it permitted for me to go swimming or at least sit in the water to cool down a bit? I am so hot right now, I feel like I'm burning up."

"I don't see why not. Heather could you help her in the dressing room please?"

As Heather led me into the dressing room, her first comment was, "What's wrong, Jen? You haven't been acting your normal self tonight."

"I don't know Heather. I get uncomfortable no matter what I do and things are out of sync with me. I feel like I'm too hot to be outside, but it's too stuffy to be inside. I can't sit for long but I can't stand for too long. My hips hurt and my legs are throbbing. My tummy is nauseous yet hardly anything is in it. I can't describe things as any differently."

Heather's face was a study in intensity. I wasn't sure what she was thinking but I could tell that it was deep. When she finally opened her mouth, it was not what I wanted to hear. "If things are as you say, I don't think that it will be very much longer before you have the baby. You should start preparing yourself to go to the hospital."

I hated the way that she put everything out to me so logically. "Geez Heather, you really know how to make a guy feel comfortable. Maybe you should be the one having this baby instead of me. You do not know how hard it is for me not to run screaming away from here, or at least commit mayhem on myself to keep from going through this."

"If you keep thinking that, you'll be in deep trouble. What you need to do is start thinking about this from the woman's point of view. We've been doing this sort of thing forever and only a few women have ever complained like you are doing now. Do you remember the time you went through Jennifer's period? Do you remember how bad it was for you? Try going through it every month from the time you are eleven or twelve to the time you are in your forties or fifties. After a while, you become immune to the pain and suffering the goes along with it. For me, after nearly fifteen years of having a period, I barely notice any pain. It's not that I don't have any, I am just able to think it away. I still suffer through the problems that a period causes, but I don't feel the pain I used to feel."

"You just wish away the pain?" I asked incredulously.

"Something like that. Mostly what I do is ignore it. There are times that I will have a migraine and I am on my period at the same time and it is harder for me to put the pain aside because of the fact that I am already in enough pain."

"So, you are saying this is the way to think about pain?" I had begun wondering again what that cryptic little note had meant. Maybe this was the insight that I needed to help me out.

"That is exactly what I am meaning. You have been looking at this whole thing not as an adventure but as something to be dreaded. A baby is a gift to the world from a couple to thank it for allowing them to exist in it. More than anything, a baby is a blessing from God." She was plain and simple with it.

It was getting late into the day and I was gradually getting more tired. I needed to go to the bathroom again and my stomach was hungry again. Since I was eating for two, it was harder to keep myself going on that tiny bit of food I had earlier. I did a quick relief then went into the kitchen and got a bit more food and ate it like I was starving. Once my appetite was sated, I started getting tired. I made my way into the bedroom to get ready for bed. I sat down on the edge of the bed and made a few minor entries into the diary detailing the days events. Afterwards, I tried to lie down on the bed and sleep but it was too uncomfortable. I made my way back into the family room where the wonderfully comfortable chair was.

Dan was in there waiting for me. As I entered the room, he looked up and said, "There you are. I was wondering where you had disappeared to."

"I was just doing some last minute things before going to bed." I told him.

"Oh, I see. Writing in your journal again? Anything important?" he asked.

"Not really. Just some thoughts about the baby and us." I didn't really know what to tell him.

"Well, one day our grand children and great grand children will be able to read how we were able to start our family and live our lives together."

"I don't know if they would be of value for something like that. There are some deep and very personal thoughts in them that I'm not sure I would like being read by anyone beside myself. I will have to see what happens when I get older and how I feel about it."

We did not talk about things again that night. I leaned back in the comfy chair and Dan covered me with a blanket. I didn't need a pillow since the chair formed its own pillow around my head. I was tired enough that I was asleep in seconds.

The next morning, a light hand on my shoulder woke me up. As I opened my eyes, the sight of Dan's mother and Jennifer's mother greeted me. Both were smiling at me as if they had a secret and didn't want to tell me about it.

I smiled up at mom. Her smile grew wider. "Good morning, sweetheart. Time to rise and shine. You have an awfully big day ahead of you. Time to get moving."

Mom Sparks said, "Yes, you have burned away half the day and if we are to get through this day, you need to get yourself ready right now. We have a lot of things to do."

What was it with these two? Did they have nothing better to do than to harass a poor pregnant girl and get her up out of a deep sleep for nothing better than to take me out on their errands? I sleepily gave them a piece of my mind, a VERY small piece. "Go away! I don't want to go anywhere except to the hospital to get this baby out of me. Can you arrange that for me please?"

They both laughed at my supposed plea. Mom just reiterated the previous statement. "We need to get going Jennifer. Your public is waiting." Somehow, she triggered the chair I was in, causing it to start to rise and eject me slowly from it.

"Ok, ok, I am getting up. Now tell me, what is this all about?" I demanded.

"We are not telling you anything yet. You'll have to see later. First, we have to get you up and ready. Come on!" She seemed to be very excited about something. I hadn't seen her like this before. Maybe the pending birth of her first grandchild was doing this to her. I arose from the chair.

The next hour or so I spent the time taking a shower, getting a bite to eat and getting dressed for a day out with my mothers. I was, at one point, able to get Mira off by herself and tell her that I was Michael. She didn't act a bit surprised at that and she just grinned evilly. I was halfway scared at what they had planned for me. For the life of me, I could not figure out what was going on.

The day was one on the go. They took me to stores and did a lot of shopping. Nothing was purchased, but a whole bunch of stuff was heavily inspected. I made so many trips to a bathroom, I was sick of seeing one. We took a brief break sometime during the day to replenish the body, but then we were off again. After a while, mom got tired of my whining that my feet hurt and rented an electric cart for me to drive around while we shopped.

This was the first time I had seen this side of mom in all the times I had been here. She had always so busy that I never had the chance to shop with her. I was tired and grumpy by the time they were all shopped out. Mom announced that we had done enough damage for one day and that it was time to go.

We finally left the mall and worked our way through town. As we drove through town, my body was getting logy on me. I fell asleep before we made it home.

I was jerked awake as the car stopped. My hands were resting on the basketball of my stomach. I could feel the baby inside moving around, a lot! How quickly I had adjusted to this situation. Nothing seemed normal to me anymore and the state I was in had become 'normal'. Mom was still in the driver's seat of the car and Mom Sparks was still in the shotgun seat. They were talking in whispers like they were trying to decide something.

I tried as cheerfully as I could, "Hey, what's up? Are we finally home?"

They had not realized I had awakened and both went silent and spun around to face me. "Oh good," mom said, "you're awake finally. Sorry it took so long to get home, but we needed to pick up something while we were on the way. Come on. We're at your house. It's time to go inside."

I moved as quickly as my ungainly body would let me, exited the car and waddled to the door. Mom and Mom Sparks were right behind me, but neither had anything in their hands. I was too tired to notice anything out of the ordinary. All I wanted to do was get into the house and sit down in the chair.

As we entered the house, it was dark. Mom turned on a small light by the door and we found our way through the house by that light. I was guided into the room where the chair was, but it was pitch black. I tried to feel for a light switch but nothing was near me. Since I was not that familiar with the house, I could not tell that the switch was on the other side of the room by another door. Mom and Mom Sparks moved away from me as if to go find the switch.

Next thing I knew, the light was on and I was greeted with a lot of voices screaming "Surprise!" at me. I was nearly scared out of my wits. The sights before me showed some sort of surprise party but with a baby theme.

I spotted Heather standing off to the side with a silly grin on her face. I cocked an eyebrow questioningly to her asking what this was about. She came over and hugged me.

"You didn't think that we would let Jennifer have a baby without a baby shower did you?" She whispered in my ear. "She refused to let us hold one for her and at the moment, she is not her to object to it. And since you are here at the moment, you are the guest of honor instead of her. Besides, when I told Mira earlier today about you being here, it was her idea to throw the shower but she also suggested the way to keep you away from the house."

'Oh, great!' I thought to myself. 'All I care to do right now is sit down and relax. These people are not going to let me do that for quite a while.' I just smiled at Heather instead of telling her what I really wanted to do.

For the next three hours, we spent it playing some sort of games, eating cake and ice cream and opening presents to the baby. I had never seen so many diapers in my life. There must have been at least twenty packages of them. Not to mention all the baby clothes that were piled up in front of me. Toy, bed articles, feeding accessories, and more.

As normal procedure, I had to get up so many times to go to the bathroom that I felt it was a wonder that anything got done at all. Finally the party was over and everyone started filing their way out the door. All congratulated me and wished me well.

After everyone was gone, I was able to sit back and relax for a few minutes. Heather and the housekeeper were trying to sort everything and get them all into the baby's room. Considering the quantity of gifts, it would be a struggle to get them into the room.

My two moms were talking in the kitchen, but it was hard to tell what they were talking about. I had been feeling rather strange all night long, but I couldn't put my finger on it. I felt an oncoming need for the bathroom again when suddenly I was sitting in a pool of warm water.

With a curse at my bladder control, I started to stand up when a horrible cramp wrenched my abdomen. I screamed in sudden pain and held my stomach. Both moms came running over to me as well as Heather. The first thing I noticed was the water pooled under me and running onto the floor. My clothes were now sodden with it, but I suddenly realized that it did not smell like urine. There was a rank scent to it as well as a small odor of blood.

This panicked mom into action. "Heather, call Dan on his cell phone. Tell him Jennifer's water just broke. Then call the doctor and tell her that we are on our way to the hospital. Stacy, see if you can find Jennifer's bag that was prepared. We need to get going now."

This whole time, I was gripped with panic because I was feeling more cramps coming. They seemed to be coming in waves but not very quickly. Things were happening around me at what seemed to be light speed. Everyone was moving quickly while I was moving very slowly. I had a sensation of being under water while they were the only ones out of the water. My ears were ringing loudly.

The next few minutes were slowly moving by me. Before I knew it, I was in the car with the three of them and we were moving swiftly away from the house. I was beset again with the huge cramps. I heard someone say to time things. I had no idea what they were meaning. I got a brief respite for about fifteen minutes before I was hit with the next wave of cramps. This one was stronger than the others and I screamed out in pain.

I felt Heather holding my hand and she was telling me softly in my ear, "Take it like a woman, Jennifer. Take it like a woman. Remember what I told you earlier."

Next thing I knew, we were at the hospital and Dan was there with the same doctor from the day before. They were waiting outside with a wheelchair. Dan nervously bounced from one foot to the other. Before we pulled to a stop, he had the door open and had hold of my arm. At that point I had another contraction. It didn't seem that long before that the previous one had hit me. Heather piped up that it was twelve minutes.

That seemed to motivate everyone into action. I was whisked into the hospital and flew down the hallway to an elevator. We were taken to another floor, but before we arrived there, another contraction hit me. "Nine minutes," stated the far away voice of Heather. I was put into a room and assisted into a hospital gown.

The doctor was quick once I in the gown. She spread my legs and reached her gloved fingers inside me. Once she had pulled out, she said, "Dilation is at five centimeters already. We won't have long to wait. Your baby wants to come out as fast as it can."

I was hit with another contraction as they were hooking me up with a belt with wires leading to a meter of some sort. They turned it on and I watched the needle bounce around briefly.

What seemed like thirty minutes to me, but I found out later was in actuality four hours, were hectic for me. I was treated to numerous finger probings to measure diameter. After the first measurement, things went slow. The only things going fast were the contractions. They grew in strength as well as frequency. I had stopped screaming by then and could only moan with the pain I was feeling. My mouth and throat were dry from my vocalizations and I asked for a glass of water.

I was presented with a glass and as I tried to take a drink, I was hit with ice, very tiny chinks of ice and no water in the glass at all. Surprised about that, I complained. The nurse explained to me that I would not process water while I was giving birth and that my body could only handle the amounts of water that I could get from ice chips. I had to deal with it and I sucked on the chips to get as much moisture as I could.

The next time I was measured, the OB nurse said that I was at eight centimeters. How much larger did I have to get before the baby would come out? I had no idea and I was afraid to ask. Dan was standing next to me telling me that I was doing great and that our baby would be here soon. I could hardly wait. NOT!

Time seemed to be moving very slowly around me. The actions of the people around me were quick as if they were stuck in a time speed up. The pains were coming quicker every second and I was sweating like a stuck pig.

I had seen one of the OB nurses come over putting a huge glove on her hand that seemed to be ten times larger than it had been before. It felt like she was inserting a sausage inside of me. A deep, slow voice announced to the world at general, "You are now at nine centimeters. You may now give birth." I looked up, startled at the nurse and noticed that she looked somewhat like a tall black man with bumps all over his head. He had long whiskers hanging below his chin from his upper lip. As he grinned at me, I saw sharp pointy teeth. The absurdity of the whole thing started me giggling uncontrollably. I guess that is what I get for enjoying Star Trek: The Next Generation so much.

The people around the room wondered what was going on. Dan's face was filled with concern as he looked down at me. I looked around the room again and there was no black man with the bumpy head around, just the doctor and the nurses as well as my family. I giggled again. The whole thing was funny to me. All these serious faces around me and I was giggling because I was going to have a baby. I burst out, laughing hard. I was going to have a baby! How could I have a baby if I were a man?

Faces grew even more concerned. There were whispers and even louder voices. "What does she mean, 'how can she have a baby if she was a man?'" That got me laughing even harder, until I was wracked with another feeling from deep inside me. Only this time, the pressure was between my legs and I felt like I was being torn apart by a watermelon. I screamed in pain. The action started up again.

"I see the head. The baby is coming now."

Bright lights shone in my face as a video camera was turned on to film the event. Then the cameraman moved away to film the actual birth.

I heard, "Push Jennifer. Push harder. Ok, stop. Breathe. Dan, remember the breathing exercises you two worked on? Please help her out. She is going to need it from you now."

More pressure built from inside of me. Something told me to push. I screamed as I did so. The pain decreased momentarily. Then increased. Again, push. Breathe. Push again.

My world became centered around breathing and pushing. Shortly, I was greeted with an ear breaking squalling cry of a newborn baby. The pressure inside me was gone.

The proclamation, "It's a girl!" resounded through the room. I felt a weight on my chest as the baby was placed there for my inspection. She was covered in blood and some sort of whitish stuff and crying her heart out. Love surged through my being as I beheld the daughter I had just given birth to. I held her hand ever so briefly before she was taken away to be cleaned up.

The doctor continued to work on me below. She and the nurses massaged my stomach. There were some odd tugging sensations from inside me. Thinking there was another baby inside, I tried to push again. There was a tearing sort of feeling and an audibly slick 'pop' as something slid free of the birth canal.

The medical people continued to work on me for several minutes afterwards. I was starting to hurt immensely now and I was beginning to twitch from the pain. An IV had been started when I first arrived and now a painkiller was added to it. I watched as a needle was inserted into the line and compressed. A warmth crept up my arm and started to slowly spread through my body. Within minutes, I was in a state of peaceful bliss.

Minutes later, I was totally asleep.

What seemed like weeks later, but was really only a few hours, a nurse taking my blood pressure and pulse awakened me. She smiled at me as I opened my eyes. I was in mild pain again, but nothing as severe as before.

"Hi, there. There is a certain young lady that has been demanding some attention. Are you interested in a visitor?" She asked me.

"I am. Is my husband around still?" I asked her.

"He sure is. He has not left her side since we took her into the newborn room." I'll get them both for you. She finished up, typing some information into the computer set up in the corner of the room and left.

I noticed a glass and pitcher on the table next to the bed. I was thirsty, so I sat up and poured myself a glass of water. It was cold and sweet tasting to me. It seemed like it had been weeks since I had any. I had no idea what time it was, but I could tell it was still dark outside. It had to be very early in the morning still or almost dawn.

The door opened again with Dan being the first through the door. Next followed the nurse pushing a hospital cradle. Inside was a crying newborn. This one was different form the one I held on my chest earlier. This one was swaddled in a pink thermal blanket and had a pink cap over her head. My heart nearly burst with emotion as I laid eyes on her. She was tiny and precious to me. The nurse picked her up and waited for me to hold my arms out. I was a bit nervous so I was hesitant to do so.

"She won't break." The nurse said. "All you have to do is hold out your arms and I will place her in them. Have you thought about how you will be feeding her? Bottle or breast?"

I had no idea what Jennifer had planned but I felt I should at least go with the natural method. "Breast, if that is ok."

"No problem. Let's get you set up. She is ready to eat now and there is no better time than the present." She set the baby in my arms and did something to the gown I was wearing. The top fell open and the left breast was exposed. I blushed heavily at that. "There is no need to be embarrassed, Jennifer. I've been doing this for twenty years now. I've seen a lot in that time. You're not showing me anything more than I have seen on myself."

She explained about how I needed to adjust the baby to the nipple and assisted it into the baby's mouth. A feeling of vacuum hit me and I felt a surge of pain in my chest. Before too long, the pain eased up and I began to be suffused with a feeling of satisfaction as the baby nursed. After several minutes, the nurse suggested that I switch sides to allow the baby to nurse from the other breast. For a while, all I could hear was the contented sucking sound of a baby nursing. I stroked her tiny head and whispered sweet nothings to her. Her tiny hands were covered in the gown the hospital had dressed her in, but I could feel them balled up as fists inside.

I looked up at Dan with a tear in my eye. He had love shining all through his face. I held out a hand for him to hold. He bent down, kissed me and whispered "I love you both." I reached around his neck and hugged him tightly.

Finally, the baby was sated and she let go of my nipple. The nurse explained that with a breast fed baby, they did not need to be burped but it was a good habit to get into. She helped hitch the baby up to my shoulder and demonstrated how to pat the baby's back until she burped. I was rewarded with a loud "URRPPP!" from her. I had to giggle at it because it sounded so funny. Dan laughed also.

The baby was now sound asleep. The nurse took her back and lay her in the cradle. I caught Dan yawning, also. I repeated his contagious yawn and my eyes grew heavy.

Dan leaned over, kissed me and said, "It looks like momma is getting tired after all the work last night and she needs to get some sleep. I need to get some myself so I will go home, come back later after I'm rested and can get cleaned up. I will see you later." He gave me another kiss and departed.

After he had left, the nurse came back into the room gloved up. She explained that she needed to change the pad now. I was a bit confused until she explained that after the placenta was removed, I had been bleeding a lot. I grew worried about that until she told me that it was ok. The bleeding was normal and was already slowing down. They just needed to make sure that I didn't bleed all over the place. A few minutes later she was done and left the room. The ache in my belly was down to a dull roar now and it was something I could manage.

I reached over to the bed table to get the glass of water. My hand encountered an envelope. Thinking that it was from a well wisher, I opened it. There was no card inside. Puzzled, I upended it and a charm plopped out. The spinning started as I screamed at the top of my voice. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
 
To Be Continued...
 
Note: TG magic age-regression pregnant borrowed-body rated-X
Posted by: Admin on Wednesday, August 13, 2003 - 11:59 PM