Times change...people shouldn't, chapter 24
Brooke hung up the phone with Joey and sealed her eyes shut tightly as another sharp, tearing pain ripped through her stomach. "OW!....Joey please hurry.." she moaned as she arched her back along the couch that she was laying on in pain.
10 minutes and a speeding ticket later....Joey burst through the door. "Baby what's wrong?" He said out of breath, running up and crouching in front of the couch she was on. "I don't know...but I can't move...it hurts so much...." Brooke cried as the pain began to get overwhelming. "Ok...were going to the hospital right now." Joey insisted as he tried to get her to hold onto him to help her out of the house. "No...Joey im scared..what if I loose the baby.." Brooke said covering her eyeliner stained eyes and crying more. "Well then we have to leave now!" Joey said pulling her up and walking her to the car and to the hospital.
**
Joey sat in the emergency room's waiting area while he waited to hear from a doctor. "God, what's taking them so long.." he sighed as he bounced his leg nervously. Just then he felt his cell vibrating again in his pocket and he pulled it out without thinking. "Hello." he said slowly.
"Hey Joe..it's Ramona." he heard her say. "Fuck.." he muttered as a nurse walked by and stared at him. "Your going to have to take that call outside...now." she demanded. "What?...O sorry." Joey said standing up and walking outside to a smoking shelter. "So uh..what do you want Ray..now isn't a good time.." he admitted. "I just ya know...wanted to talk about what happened. I"m uh sorry and all....and I think you have to tell Brooke." Ramona said bluntly. "What? ..Ramona...I can't do that now..im at the-." Ramona obviously didn't want to hear it and thought he was just being a jerk about it and trying to keep a secret from his girlfriend, and cut him off. "Joey either you tell her within the next two days....or I will. I don't mean to be a bitch about it.....but it' not fair to her. I'll call you later...bye." And with that she hung up and left Joey with a little more than he wanted to deal with right now. He turned the phone off so no one else could call to annoy him and make his life worse and shuffled back to the waiting room. A few minutes later he saw a doctor walking his way and propped himself up to talk. "Mr. Armstrong?" the doctor asked. "Yes...what's going on?..Is she ok?...Is the baby ok?" he asked a mile a minute. "Calm down Mr. Armstrong, she will be fine and your daughter is doing ok." the doctor reassured. "But things will be rough for these last 2 months of her pregnancy. She had what we call "false labour" but the pain was magnified by about 10 times. It's brought on by severe stress and the baby seeing it's self as in distress and the mother feeling as if she was in labour. Miss. Calliway MUST be on bed rest till she goes into actual labour, and she must be relaxed. Anything that would normally just upset one person can now put your baby in danger. Do I make myself clear?" he asked flipping through her file. Joey nodded and stood up. "What room is she in?...Can I see her?" he asked. "Sure she's room 201, she might be asleep though, she is on very heavy pain medication." The doctor said to him as he pointed the way and walked off. Joey nodded and raced over to the room, he slowly opened the door and crept over to Brooke's bedside. He took her limp hand in his and kissed it gently as she fluttered her eyes open to meet his gaze. "Hey baby..." she said groggily. "Hey Hun...how do you feel?" Joey asked concerned as he continued to cradle her hands. "I've been better.." Brooke sighed before worry shot across her face. "The baby ....is she ok?!" she asked panicked while she looked to make sure her baby was still inside of her. "She's fine hun don't worry...but you have to be on bed-rest till you have her ok? Oh and the doctor said this was brought on by stress...did something happen?" Joey tried to ask casually. "Umm..sort of." she sighed "My mom called, she said she was coming home around the time I should have the baby and...I don't know....it started off good. But then she started to give me shit about a lot of stuff and then after I finally got her off the phone, my friend Kim called me....she was at the party last night." Brooke paused and looked deep at Joey before she continued. "She um said some things...." Joey's face suddenly went white. "W-what things baby?" he asked looking down. "She um said that..she saw you....and Ramona...together." Brooke said pulling her hand out of Joey's. "Baby don't believe her! Everyone there was so high and fucked up..no one knew what they were doing..or err saw." he exclaimed. "Joey...calm down..I trust you. Just tell me that you didn't do anything with her." Brooke said looking up at him. "I...umm..." Joey struggled with words as he looked down at the floor "no...I didn't." he muttered weakly while still looking down. "Joey....look me in the eye, and tell me you didn't do anything with Ramona." Brooke begged as she extended her weak arm to cradle his cheek and set his gaze to her's. "Please Joey...." she repeated. Joey took a deep breath and looked into her lush green eyes. "Of course I didn't baby...but I uh...got pretty high." he said to make himself not seem stereotypical perfect boyfriend like. Brooke smiled, relieved. "That's ok hun...I'm just happy to hear that it must be a rumor. Just try not to smoke like that ok?.." Brooke said, completely oblivious to the fact that her boyfriend was lying straight through his teeth to her about sleeping with someone else. "I won't babe don't worry I juts got a little carried away." Joey said reassuringly. "Ok...I'm pretty tired...I'm gonna take a nap ok?" Brooke told him as she kissed him on the cheek and closed her eyes. "Ok babe." Joey said softly as he watched her drift off and felt immediate guilt consume him.
**
Within a few days Brooke was sent home with strict bed-rest rules, which she found close to impossible to follow, so Joey had basically been living with her till the baby was going to come. He still hadn't told Brooke about what really happened at the party and he figured he should wait until after their baby was born, that way she wouldn't freak out and go into premature labor.
It was a rather warm day for mid- January as the afternoon sun beat down into the brand new nursery that Adi and Brooke had just finished. It was perfect for a new little girl. The walls were light pink with white molding going around the center of it. Her furniture was white washed and matched perfectly. There was a huge, soft, padded glider chair in the corner, by the window so that Brooke could sit with her, and stuffed animals, toys, and pictures littered her room. There was one special photo that hung over the crib, against the wall. It was her first sonogram picture with the date it was taken and her due date.
Joey was sitting Indian style on the white fluffy carpet with Brooke's head and parts of her shoulders in his lap while her shirt was lifted just above her belly as they watched their baby move and laughed. "I can't wait to hold her.." Brooke said looking down at her now huge stomach. "Me too.....but it's weird to hear you say that..." Joey said trailing his hands over her bump. Brooke tipped her head back and gave him a questioning look. "You kinda wanted an abortion and had a few melt downs over her hun..." Joey reminded. "Yeah...well....I'm not saying it's going to be easy Joe. I mean were 17 going on 18 soon and we have a baby, things are gonna be hard...but I have you to help me...right?" Brooke said lowering her voice. Joey smiled down at her and nodded. "Of course you do." he said hoisting the rest of her body up, so that she sat in between his legs with her back in his chest. "Don't ever leave me..." Brooke said leaning into him and gazing out the nursery window. "I won't babe...I wont." he said kissing her neck and resting his head on her shoulder. "Hey.." Brooke said suddenly. "What do you think about Kali?" "You mean like the state?" Joey asked. Brooke giggled and shook her head. "No..like the name. With a K.....for the baby." she said fixing her shirt. Joey thought for a minute "I like it....it's different...but not too different like something Paris Hilton would name her baby." he joked. Brooke laughed and agreed. "Yeah she would probably name it something like.....Watermelon Crumb." Joey laughed as he looked at her like she was crazy "Watermelon Crumb?" he asked, still smiling. Brooke nodded and shrugged. "Famous people do a lot of stupid shit." "With that...I'll have to agree." he sighed. "So Kali it is?" he asked. Brooke smiled and rubbed her stomach. "Kali it is." she repeated back.
10 minutes and a speeding ticket later....Joey burst through the door. "Baby what's wrong?" He said out of breath, running up and crouching in front of the couch she was on. "I don't know...but I can't move...it hurts so much...." Brooke cried as the pain began to get overwhelming. "Ok...were going to the hospital right now." Joey insisted as he tried to get her to hold onto him to help her out of the house. "No...Joey im scared..what if I loose the baby.." Brooke said covering her eyeliner stained eyes and crying more. "Well then we have to leave now!" Joey said pulling her up and walking her to the car and to the hospital.
**
Joey sat in the emergency room's waiting area while he waited to hear from a doctor. "God, what's taking them so long.." he sighed as he bounced his leg nervously. Just then he felt his cell vibrating again in his pocket and he pulled it out without thinking. "Hello." he said slowly.
"Hey Joe..it's Ramona." he heard her say. "Fuck.." he muttered as a nurse walked by and stared at him. "Your going to have to take that call outside...now." she demanded. "What?...O sorry." Joey said standing up and walking outside to a smoking shelter. "So uh..what do you want Ray..now isn't a good time.." he admitted. "I just ya know...wanted to talk about what happened. I"m uh sorry and all....and I think you have to tell Brooke." Ramona said bluntly. "What? ..Ramona...I can't do that now..im at the-." Ramona obviously didn't want to hear it and thought he was just being a jerk about it and trying to keep a secret from his girlfriend, and cut him off. "Joey either you tell her within the next two days....or I will. I don't mean to be a bitch about it.....but it' not fair to her. I'll call you later...bye." And with that she hung up and left Joey with a little more than he wanted to deal with right now. He turned the phone off so no one else could call to annoy him and make his life worse and shuffled back to the waiting room. A few minutes later he saw a doctor walking his way and propped himself up to talk. "Mr. Armstrong?" the doctor asked. "Yes...what's going on?..Is she ok?...Is the baby ok?" he asked a mile a minute. "Calm down Mr. Armstrong, she will be fine and your daughter is doing ok." the doctor reassured. "But things will be rough for these last 2 months of her pregnancy. She had what we call "false labour" but the pain was magnified by about 10 times. It's brought on by severe stress and the baby seeing it's self as in distress and the mother feeling as if she was in labour. Miss. Calliway MUST be on bed rest till she goes into actual labour, and she must be relaxed. Anything that would normally just upset one person can now put your baby in danger. Do I make myself clear?" he asked flipping through her file. Joey nodded and stood up. "What room is she in?...Can I see her?" he asked. "Sure she's room 201, she might be asleep though, she is on very heavy pain medication." The doctor said to him as he pointed the way and walked off. Joey nodded and raced over to the room, he slowly opened the door and crept over to Brooke's bedside. He took her limp hand in his and kissed it gently as she fluttered her eyes open to meet his gaze. "Hey baby..." she said groggily. "Hey Hun...how do you feel?" Joey asked concerned as he continued to cradle her hands. "I've been better.." Brooke sighed before worry shot across her face. "The baby ....is she ok?!" she asked panicked while she looked to make sure her baby was still inside of her. "She's fine hun don't worry...but you have to be on bed-rest till you have her ok? Oh and the doctor said this was brought on by stress...did something happen?" Joey tried to ask casually. "Umm..sort of." she sighed "My mom called, she said she was coming home around the time I should have the baby and...I don't know....it started off good. But then she started to give me shit about a lot of stuff and then after I finally got her off the phone, my friend Kim called me....she was at the party last night." Brooke paused and looked deep at Joey before she continued. "She um said some things...." Joey's face suddenly went white. "W-what things baby?" he asked looking down. "She um said that..she saw you....and Ramona...together." Brooke said pulling her hand out of Joey's. "Baby don't believe her! Everyone there was so high and fucked up..no one knew what they were doing..or err saw." he exclaimed. "Joey...calm down..I trust you. Just tell me that you didn't do anything with her." Brooke said looking up at him. "I...umm..." Joey struggled with words as he looked down at the floor "no...I didn't." he muttered weakly while still looking down. "Joey....look me in the eye, and tell me you didn't do anything with Ramona." Brooke begged as she extended her weak arm to cradle his cheek and set his gaze to her's. "Please Joey...." she repeated. Joey took a deep breath and looked into her lush green eyes. "Of course I didn't baby...but I uh...got pretty high." he said to make himself not seem stereotypical perfect boyfriend like. Brooke smiled, relieved. "That's ok hun...I'm just happy to hear that it must be a rumor. Just try not to smoke like that ok?.." Brooke said, completely oblivious to the fact that her boyfriend was lying straight through his teeth to her about sleeping with someone else. "I won't babe don't worry I juts got a little carried away." Joey said reassuringly. "Ok...I'm pretty tired...I'm gonna take a nap ok?" Brooke told him as she kissed him on the cheek and closed her eyes. "Ok babe." Joey said softly as he watched her drift off and felt immediate guilt consume him.
**
Within a few days Brooke was sent home with strict bed-rest rules, which she found close to impossible to follow, so Joey had basically been living with her till the baby was going to come. He still hadn't told Brooke about what really happened at the party and he figured he should wait until after their baby was born, that way she wouldn't freak out and go into premature labor.
It was a rather warm day for mid- January as the afternoon sun beat down into the brand new nursery that Adi and Brooke had just finished. It was perfect for a new little girl. The walls were light pink with white molding going around the center of it. Her furniture was white washed and matched perfectly. There was a huge, soft, padded glider chair in the corner, by the window so that Brooke could sit with her, and stuffed animals, toys, and pictures littered her room. There was one special photo that hung over the crib, against the wall. It was her first sonogram picture with the date it was taken and her due date.
Joey was sitting Indian style on the white fluffy carpet with Brooke's head and parts of her shoulders in his lap while her shirt was lifted just above her belly as they watched their baby move and laughed. "I can't wait to hold her.." Brooke said looking down at her now huge stomach. "Me too.....but it's weird to hear you say that..." Joey said trailing his hands over her bump. Brooke tipped her head back and gave him a questioning look. "You kinda wanted an abortion and had a few melt downs over her hun..." Joey reminded. "Yeah...well....I'm not saying it's going to be easy Joe. I mean were 17 going on 18 soon and we have a baby, things are gonna be hard...but I have you to help me...right?" Brooke said lowering her voice. Joey smiled down at her and nodded. "Of course you do." he said hoisting the rest of her body up, so that she sat in between his legs with her back in his chest. "Don't ever leave me..." Brooke said leaning into him and gazing out the nursery window. "I won't babe...I wont." he said kissing her neck and resting his head on her shoulder. "Hey.." Brooke said suddenly. "What do you think about Kali?" "You mean like the state?" Joey asked. Brooke giggled and shook her head. "No..like the name. With a K.....for the baby." she said fixing her shirt. Joey thought for a minute "I like it....it's different...but not too different like something Paris Hilton would name her baby." he joked. Brooke laughed and agreed. "Yeah she would probably name it something like.....Watermelon Crumb." Joey laughed as he looked at her like she was crazy "Watermelon Crumb?" he asked, still smiling. Brooke nodded and shrugged. "Famous people do a lot of stupid shit." "With that...I'll have to agree." he sighed. "So Kali it is?" he asked. Brooke smiled and rubbed her stomach. "Kali it is." she repeated back.
