"Hunter, let's go!" Ric exclaimed, his bag and Hunter's over his shoulder. He beckoned urgently to the Game, sighing in frustration when his charged didn't budge.
"Just a sec, I want to finish going over the script," Hunter replied. "So it's when Rob nearly gets the pin that I run in and break it up, right?"
Ric stared at the tall blonde. "Hunter, your water just broke!" he exclaimed.
"Yeah yeah, I know. But I want to make sure I get everything right," Hunter replied, not taking his eyes off the script.
"You're in labor!" Ric cried. "Come on, Hunter, we have to get you to the hospital!"
Hunter glanced up, scowling at his manager. "In a second! Just because I'm in labor doesn't mean I can shirk out on my job!"
Ric gritted his teeth. "Hunter, you're having a baby! Believe me, Vince will understand!"
"Well I won't! I'm not missing the show because I have to have some stupid baby!" Hunter replied determinedly.
Ric groaned. "Hunter, please, let me take you to the hospital!"
"If it'll get you to shut up, fine," Hunter grumbled, standing and grabbing his coat, but not putting the script down. "Can you guarantee that I'll be back in time for the show? I can give you - " He glanced at his watch, " - three hours or so."
"Yeah, sure, you can just quick pop out the baby and be back in three hours," Ric muttered sarcastically, rolling his eyes.
"Good." Hunter apparently missed the sarcasm, following Ric out into the hall.
Meanwhile, Kurt Angle was sitting in a hotel room with Edge, preparing to head to the town they were present Smackdown in the following night. He casually picked up his cell phone as it ring, expecting it to be either Stephanie or a booker, informing him of some last minute change.
"Hello?" he said, his eyes immediately widening. He jumped to his feet, startling his roommate, who glanced at him curiously. "He what? Oh my god! Oh my god! And it's really it? Oh god!! I'll call Steph, I'll be there ASAP!" He hung up the phone, running to his bag to fish out his boss' number. "What's up?" Edge questioned, setting down the book he had been reading.
"Hunter's in labor!" Kurt exclaimed. "The baby's coming! Oh god oh god oh god!" He took a deep breath, trying to calm down a little.
"Wow. Congrats, man. I know you'll have a beautiful little baby." Edge chuckled. "I just hope it has your nose!"
"Yeah, me too." Kurt picked up his cell again, quickly dialing Stephanie's number. "Hey, Steph? It's Kurt. Yeah, can you write me out of the show tomorrow? It's coming! Now! I just heard." He paused, grinning happily. "Thank you so much Steph! You're still gonna be the godmother, right? You know how me you mean to Hunter and I. Yes, he just went into labor, Ric took him to the hospital. Awesome! I'll see you later then. Bye!" He hung up his cell and tucked it into his pocket. "I've gotta go, Ric already booked me on a flight, and it leave in like half an hour," Kurt told his roommate. "You ok driving by yourself?"
"I'm fine." Edge gave his friend a bright smile. "You just go be with your man. Give him and the baby a kiss for me! You call me as soon as you know if it's a boy or girl, ok? And for god's sake, don't let him wrestle for at least a few weeks!"
Kurt chuckled. "I'll try, but you know Hunter! There's almost nothing that could keep him out of the ring, especially after the quad tear. I'll see you in a few days." He quickly strode over to Edge and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, then hurried out the door.
"Ric, it's been two hours!" Hunter whined, scowling when Ric grabbed a cloth and covered up the room's clock. "Take that off!" he demanded. "I have to be back at the arena in an hour!"
The doctor, who had just walked in, chuckled. "Mr. Helmsley, I'm afraid you're not going anywhere in the next few hours; that baby is coming, and it's coming very soon."
"Well why can't it just come NOW?" Hunter demanded. "I've got a damn show to do, and I can't afford to sit around here forever while some stupid baby takes his or her sweet time! And for your information, it's Mr. Helmsley-Angle, thank you very much!"
The doctor looked sympathetically at Ric. "Is he always like this?"
"Unfortunately, yes," Ric replied with a sigh. "He's impossible."
"Excuse me, I am in the room!" Hunter snapped. He glared at the doctor, looking as imposing as a pregnant man in labor could. "Look, get this baby out and get it out now! Either that or tell it to wait a few fucking hours!"
"Mr. Hemsley - er, Helmsley-Angle, giving birth just doesn't work that way," the doctor told the indignant wrestler. "You're just going to have to miss the show tonight and concentrate on bringing a new life into this world."
Hunter groaned, his blonde head falling back against the pillows. "Great! Just wonderful! I'll blame you when everyone forgets who I am because I can't make it to the shows!" he spat.
"Hunter, they remembered you for seven months when you tore your quad, I think you'll be fine taking a few weeks leave!" Ric exclaimed.
"Well I don't want to take any leave!" Hunter growled. "I want to go to work! I want to wrestle! I'm sick of having such a scaled-back wrestling schedule because of this damn baby! I - "
"Honey, I'm here!" Kurt burst through the door, Ric heaving a relieved sigh. "Baby, how are you?" Kurt asked, rushing up to Hunter's bedside and grasping his hand tightly.
"I'm fine," Hunter snapped. "And I'd be a lot better if these jackasses could do something about getting this baby out so I could go back to work! I'm going to miss the show if this takes much longer."
"Hunter, baby, we can watch RAW here, I'm sure they have tvs," Kurt assured him. "But right now, you just need to keep calm and remember what we learned together in those classes, ok? You've got to stay calm and use those breathing exercises as the baby comes."
"WATCH RAW?" Hunter stared at Kurt disbelievingly. "Kurt, I'm on the show! I have to be back at the arena in a few hours to do my run in."
"Um." Kurt glanced at Ric, who sighed and shrugged. "Yeah. We'll see about that Hunter." He turned to the doctor. "How's he coming?"
"Shouldn't be too long now," the doctor replied. "It'll still be a while before he needs to start pushing, but it's definitely coming."
"Wonderful." Kurt patted Hunter's hand, grinning at him brightly. "It won't be long now, baby!"
"Owww ow ow!" Hunter took a deep breath, his chest moving rapidly. "Ok, this is not cool! Isn't the damn thing out yet???"
"Keep pushing baby." Kurt glanced at the doctor, who was standing between Hunter's legs, prepared to deliver the coming baby.
"Hunter, you went through months of agonizing rehap for your quad injury, you shouldn't be complaining so much about this!" Ric chastised, earning himself a searing glare from the Game.
"That was for the business!" Hunter exclaimed, moaning as the doctor urging him to push again. "This is different! Ohhhhhhhh." He wailed, clutching Kurt's hand tightly. "I hate you Kurt! I told you to wear a fucking condom, but nooooo, you were so sure the birth control pills would be 99.9% effective! And now look at me!"
"Sorry Hunter." Kurt winced, trying to pull his hand away from his lover's grip. "Honey, my hands starting to go numb."
"How terrible for you!" Hunter cried. "Oh god. I can't do this! Isn't it fucking out yet???"
"I can see the head," the doctor told the straining man, leaning down, preparing to support the head when it came out. "Push, Mr. Helmsley-Angle! Just a bit more!" Hunter took a deep breath, gritting his teeth, then pushing with all his might. "The head's out!" the doctor exclaimed. "That's it Mr. Helmsley-Angle, keep pushing! It won't be so sad once you get the shoulders out."
"Push baby, push," Kurt urged him, trying not to wince as Hunter squeezed his hand hard and pushed.
Later, Hunter lay peacefully in bed, all thoughts of RAW and wrestling forgotten for the moment. A beautiful new baby girl lay on his chest, her small warm cheek pressed against his skin as she dozed. The hospital staff had tried to take her to the nursery after checking to make sure she was alright and allowing her daddies to hold her, but Hunter had held onto her tightly, growling threateningly at the nurse who had tried to take her. He was still gazing at her in wonder, an expression of pride and happiness remaining constant on his face.
Kurt was sitting in a chair beside the bed, his head resting on his arm, his eyes closed and his breathing even in sleep. Hunter, though, couldn't close his eyes, for that would mean ceasing to gaze at the beautiful new life he had carried with him for nine months. He sniffed as he looked at her, a tear snaking down his cheek. As much as he had hated being pregnant and missing out on work, none of that seemed to matter as he gazed down at his daughter. To create something as beautiful as her, especially with Kurt, his one true love, was worth it all, and far more.
Hunter sighed happily, raising his finger to gently stroke the baby's soft cheek. "I love you, beautiful," he whispered tearfully. "I'm so glad you're here." He managed to tear his eyes away from the child at last, closing his eyes to sleep, a happy smile still on his face.
THE END