Labour Pains

[queenwillie]

Title: Labour Pains

Author: QueenWillie

Pairing: Claire&Willie (Friendship/Comfort)

Rating: R for language

Disclaimer: Don’t own ‘em, If I did, show wouldn’t be cancelled *sob*

Summary: One night, one time, they had to forget they hated each other.


xXx

1991

Claire was walking along the deserted halls of Mode, searching for her husband. She had been waiting in his office for two hours and she knew if he was going to be anywhere in the building he would be on this floor. Desperately pleading with herself that Bradford would not be there, she was at a loss as to whether be happy or sad when she saw Fey Sommers’ office was empty. At least he wasn’t down here making it obvious he had some ridiculous mid-life crisis crush on her, but where was he? And was he alone?

She didn’t want to go home in case he wasn’t there. The man had only two things in his life, the Meade family and the Meade empire, if he was to be found at neither then she didn’t want to know where he was. She wasn’t an idiot, she knew her husband had been less than faithful throughout their marriage, he had some of the worse excuses ever: I hit a dog on the way home and I’m at the vets. She had been touched by her husband’s soft side at first...until he hit another 12 dogs. He was hitting something alright, and so was she...the bottle...hard.

She was about to leave when she heard a noise from the other end of the office. Walking towards the source, she found herself outside Wilhelmina Slater’s office. She hadn’t been sure what to make of her when she started at Mode two years ago, but now she did: she was a first rate bitch. She had been a fresh faced 25 year old when she had landed the coveted position of Creative Director. To land a position that revered, that young, she had to have something pretty God damn special and Claire knew what it was...no soul.

Looking at her young, pretty face you could be forgiven for thinking she was the same as any other naive ex-model but if you looked into those eyes, you could tell she had a much older and wiser head on those shoulders, you could practically hear the cogs whirring as she planned her way to the top.

Realising she had been standing in the shadows, evaluating this somewhat recent, but yet bitter rival, she turned to leave. Before she could take a step, however, she heard Wilhelmina.

‘Sorry to ruin your plans Claire, but I keep my liquor in a locked cabinet.’

Claire smiled ruefully and turned back around, stepping into the light of Wilhelmina’s office. ‘You’re here awfully late this evening Wilhelmina, shouldn’t you be getting home to your coffin?’

‘It’s being re-lined.’ She smiled. ‘Shouldn’t you be going home to your empty bed?’

‘I don’t know what you’ve heard Wilhelmina, but my bed is not empty.’ Her voice took a dangerous edge.

‘Oh of course not, you share your bed with several men. Jack Daniels, Johnny Walker...’

Claire shook her head slowly at the woman. ‘You really think you’re something special, don’t you?’

‘Think?’

‘Do you care what anyone thinks of you?’

She tilted her head and pondered for a moment. ‘Wow, look at that, I really don’t.’ She replied facetiously.

‘Well Wilhelmina, you can talk to people the way you do and they will walk away and 5 minutes later they will forget about it, because you don’t matter to them... There is one person who that won’t work with though, one person who will hear your words echoed back at them until it eats away at them, one person who you will care what they think of you. That’s the person who’s growing inside of you, right now.’

Wilhelmina looked down at the large bump that was her stomach and ran a protective hand over it and bowed her head. Claire took this as an opportunity to press on. ‘You know, you walk around these offices as if you own the place. That’s my name on the building, not yours and it will always be that way.’

Wilhelmina lifted her head and let out a deep breath. ‘Are you done?’

‘Why? No comeback? Am I actually getting to you for a change?’ Claire smiled triumphantly.

‘Don’t flatter yourself.’ Wilhelmina stood and walked over to her cabinet to retrieve a bottle of water. She was dressed in a black V-necked dress that clung to her bump and ended at the knee. Even at almost nine months pregnant she was still wearing 5 inch spiked heels.

‘For God’s sake, why are you wearing those ridiculous things? Don’t you realise your balance is off when you’re pregnant? You could fall and hurt the baby.’

‘My balance is fine, you’re just seeing things move because your blood is 80% alcohol.’ Willie began to walk around the room.

‘You know Willie, your usual stalking like a predator to intimidate your prey is a lot less effective now that it’s descended to a waddle.’

‘Shut up Claire.’ Wilhelmina hissed through clenched teeth, taking another deep drink of water inhaling deeply.

Claire suddenly took in her stance and the fact that the woman who normally had a million zingers for her was completely silent. ‘Are you okay?’

‘I’m fine.’

‘Are you...’

‘I’m fine, just go.’

Claire dropped her purse and walked to Wilhelmina, she put it on Wilhelmina’s stomach. Willie tried to slap her away but Claire caught her hand, mid swipe. Just as she heard her breathing change again she felt the muscles clench under her fingers.

‘You’re in labour Wilhelmina.’

‘No I’m not.’ She answered, trying to keep the pain from her voice.

Just as Claire was about to speak again, she felt liquid on her feet. She looked up at Wilhelmina who was looking at the ground in horror.

‘Your waters broke.’

‘I see that.’

‘You are in labour.’

‘Uh-huh.’ She replied, childlike.

‘You’ve ruined these shoes, you know?’

‘Good.’

‘We have to get you to a hospital.’

‘We? We are not going anywhere.’

‘Fine, give me the father’s number, I’ll call him.’

‘Sure, but I don’t know what the time is in Dubai.’

‘He’s in Dubai? Why the hell isn’t he here!?’’

‘He doesn’t know yet,’ she answered as another pain swept through her and she involuntarily grasped Claire’s arm and squeezed.

‘You haven’t told him, why the hell not?!’

‘Could this wait until after the small person is out of my body?’

Claire sighed, ‘Fine, but I’m taking you to the hospital, you need pain relief...trust me.’

‘Just keep breathing on me, there’s enough alcohol on your breath to numb twenty sailors.’

‘I’m going to let that one slide because you’re in extreme pain, which I admit is a little fun for me.’

Wilhelmina doubled as a stronger pain hit her. ‘You said something about a hospital.’

xXx

Twenty minutes later the unlikeliest pair of people you would ever expect to see walking into a Maternity unit struggled through the doors of the Neugarten centre. Claire had one arm supporting Wilhelmina’s back while the other was being gripped tightly by the woman whose touch should make her break out in hives. Wilhelmina gripped Claire’s arm tightly, she bit back a gasp as her nails pressed deep into her flesh.

‘Okay, they’re coming thick and fast now.’

‘That wasn’t a contraction, you’re just annoying me with all your breathe, breathe bullshit...I know how to breathe!’

‘More’s the pity for the rest of us.’

A nurse came hurrying towards them, smiling broadly. ‘Okay, so I’m guessing we’re having a baby!’ She exclaimed happily.

‘No, I’m here to sit my fucking high school math exam.’ She turned to Claire, ‘Who the hell is this person, can we get a nurse who hasn’t walked straight out of the Sound of fucking Music?’

Claire smiled apologetically at the girl who waved her hand. ‘Oh don’t worry, I’m used to cranky women in labour.’

‘Oh no, she’s always like this.’

‘Oh.’

‘If you two are done with the bonding could we get me a doctor?’ Said Wilhelmina through clenched teeth.

‘Okay, come with me, I’ll get you settled. Ms, could you fill out a form at the desk?’

xXx

Ten minutes later, Claire walked into the room to find Wilhelmina pacing around her bed, stopping to lean against the bed frame, letting out an animalistic howl as her contraction peaked. Clare waited for it to pass.

‘Do you want me to call anyone?’

Willie shook her head.

‘Your mother? A sister?’

‘There’s no one!’ she barked.

The doctor entered the room and turned to Claire. ‘Are you staying or going?’

Clare looked at the woman she had grown to despise in the past 24 months, the woman who insulted her and her family at every turn. ‘I’m staying.’

‘She’s going!’

Claire started to remove her coat. ‘I’m staying, trust me, in about 2 hours you’re gonna want someone to curse at, and it’s the one time I won’t fight back.’

Wilhelmina was about to retort when her body was shaken by another surge of agony; Claire scuttled forward and extended her hand, Wilhelmina grabbed it without a comment and squeezed for dear life. When it passed, Wilhelmina was red faced and breathing erratically. Claire shook her hand to regain the feeling.

‘I don’t think you’ve got two hours, your contractions are only 4 minutes apart,’ advised the doctor, ‘I think we should get you into bed.’

Wilhelmina tried her best to heave her considerable bulk into the bed. Claire went to help her but was batted away.

‘I can do it myself!’ Claire threw her hands in the air and stepped back as Willie twisted and turned her way onto the bed. The doctor leaned in and whispered to Claire, ‘Don’t feel pushed away, pregnant women are always a bit difficult.’

‘Difficult? Trust me, for her, this is positively charming.’

The doctor arched a brow and returned his focus to Wilhelmina who was now in the bed.

‘Can we get you anything to make you more comfortable?’

‘Drugs,’ came the inhuman growl.

‘You know, many women opt for breathing techniques instead, and have a drug free birth.’

‘These women are morons!’

The doctor chuckled slightly. ‘Okay, well let me see where we are and then we can talk pain relief.’ Claire turned away while the doctor performed an exam.

‘Well Miss Slater, you’re fully dilated, too late for drugs I’m afraid, this is gonna be the old fashioned way.’

‘Are you fucking kidding me!’

Claire turned back round and walked to the side of the bed offering up her hand to Wilhelmina again; moments later it was grabbed once again and crushed. The doctor opened the door and let the smiling nurse who admitted them in. ‘Okay, well everything is going textbook here, I’m gonna leave you with your midwife, don’t worry, if I’m needed I’m two minutes away.’

The doctor left the three women alone in the room. The midwife started addressing Wilhelmina, telling her it was time to push. Claire looked at her, the normally pristine woman had her hair stuck to her face with sweat, her eyes were darting in panic. Claire stood next to her head and took her hand.

‘Okay, you can do this, squeeze as hard as you want...hell, break a bone.’ Wilhelmina took a deep breath and showed Claire a new level of pain as she grasped tighter than ever before. Exhaling loudly, Wilhelmina fell back on the pillows.

‘I can’t.’

‘Yes, you can...come on I did it thr...twice.’

‘Please, you had private C-sections with them both, you were numb from your boobs down...oh!’ She sat up in the bed pulling Claire’s arm with her...she howled as she tried to push her child into the world; once again she slumped back onto the bed.

‘That’s it, no more. I’ll come back tomorrow, I’ve done enough today.’

‘You have to keep pushing!’ Clare shouted.

‘I’m Wilhelmina ‘fucking Slater’ I don’t have to do anything!’ Her body overwhelmed her head, however, and she bent herself over and pushed as hard as she could. Claire was sure she heard something in her hand dislocate.

‘Here we go...keep going, that’s it. She’s here!’

Wilhelmina collapsed on the bed and immediately sat up again as she heard mewling cries fill the room. ‘She?’

‘Yep, a little girl. The midwife placed the wrapped up wriggling baby in Wilhelmina’s arms, whose eyes were wide with shock.

‘Hi,’ she whispered softly to the baby, trailing her finger over the tiny fingers on the child’s out stretched hand.

‘She’s beautiful, well done. You did great.’ Claire smiled down on her.

‘Yeah,’ sighed Willie, still awe stricken by the life she was now responsible for.

‘I’m going to go call Bradford, will you be okay?’

‘Yeah...I’m gonna call her dad, you can go home.’

Claire nodded and picked up her coat. ‘You have a name for her?’

‘Nico,’ she said, running her hand over the soft skin.

‘That’s beautiful.’ She made her way to the door.

‘Thank you.’ The words were barely audible she wasn’t sure she’d heard them at all but when she turned round Willie was looking at her.

Claire nodded in acknowledgement, just as she was about to leave the room, she turned. ‘I still hate you, you know.’

Wilhelmina nodded. ‘Oh yeah, absolutely...mutual.’

‘Just so we’re clear.’

‘Crystal.’