Heather Lila Wells

Ezra was becoming even more convinced that Heather was in labour, and had noted the fact her contractions were becoming closer together too. “Okay.. I think if I remember my research right, we need to call the hospital when your four minutes apart?” He wasn’t convinced he’d remembered correctly, though maybe that was his tired brain lacking in confidence. “I’m sure you’re in labour, bub. I’m so sure. Gosh.. I can’t believe I’m going to be a dad.. me.. the guy who thought he’d never find someone to love..” Ezra smiled as he tried to style his wet hair back into his usual quiff. If we’re being honest, the nurse felt very nervous, though Ezra was excited. They’re lives are about to change.

Heather nodded, "About four to five minutes apart, strong and lasting for at least 60 seconds..." she smiled at him, feeling a little tired from the last contraction, "You'll be amazing," she reached out for his hand, "We are incredibly lucky to have you." The past year had gone so incredibly fast, the couple had been forced together by fate as if something knew that this was what they both needed. Hours later, not much had changed, Heather contractions hadn't slowed or stopped but they were progressing slowly. It was getting late and Heather knew well enough that this could last the best part of a whole day if not longer. "I don't think this is happening tonight... we should probably get some sleep."

“You don’t want to know about my day at work..” Ezra exhaled as he finally sat himself down, crossing one leg over the other. He feared that if he opened up too much about his working life, then he’d eventually crack and spill over the emotions he’d been bottling up since this pandemic begun. It definitely hadn’t been easy, and if anything, the patient load was increasing. “But I know the hospital closed another ward so they can turn it into another positive covid-19 space. We really shouldn’t have patients coming through the emergency department if they have symptoms but, my youngest patient was four today and his temperature was just incredible.. forty two, if I can remember. It’s… tough.” Enough had been said, and Ezra could feel his body wanting to burst with emotion, so he quickly spun the conversation back around. “So..” He swallowed back the lump that was starting to form within his throat. “When was your last contraction?”

Heather did want to hear about his day at work. She wanted to make sure that she was there for him when he needed her, that he knew that regardless of her having her stresses, she would always be there to listen to his. Hearing that yet another ward had been closed was hard to hear, she just hoped that it would all be worth it soon and this pandemic would be long forgotten. At the mention of a child having symptons, Heather's hand cradled her belly protectively, it scared her that just by giving birth to their little girl she could be putting her at risk. All Heather wanted was to keep her safe inside her, there she could control everything.  "My thoughts and prayers go out to his family it must be awful..." she murmured to herself more than to Ezra. Out of the two of them, Ezra was the religious one, with everything that had happened in her family, she couldn't bring herself to really believe in god, but in a time like this... it couldn't hurt could it? Heather could tell that Ezra was done talking about work, that it was becoming to hard and that now he was home he needed time to switch off. "Ermm, whenever I was in the bath, so about five - maybe ten minutes ago?" They hadn't decided to count until a few minutes after the contraction had ended, "I figured we'd start from..." she stopped, pain evident on her face as another contraction hit her. Once it passed Heather breathed, "Now," and grabbed her phone to start a timer. "Roughly ten minutes apart but we can be more specific now, I guess..."

Ezra still insisted he help Heather with certain things, like hoovering her apartment or ironing their clothes, though Heather still insisted that she was able to do most things - As she stepped out of the bath, the nurse felt on edge, keeping a very watchful eye. What is she slipped? Hurt herself? Thankfully, all was okay and Ezra followed his girlfriend into the living area, settling himself down onto the couch opposite. “But you might be in labor, bub. I’ve never seen you so short of breath with braxton hicks..” He admitted, before shrugging his shoulders at Heather’s question. “I’m fine, more worried about you.” With this virus going around, Ezra didn’t want to risk taking Heather into the hospital if it was all a false alarm, and exposing them all to the risk of Covid-19. “I think we should count between these contractions, then maybe consider going to the hospital?” Honestly, this was a lot for young Ezra to process right now, he too, didn’t expect Heather to go into labor so early, and as selfish as it may sound, he was still processing his entire day in the ED. 

At this point, Heather was willing to humour Ezra, but she still had weeks to go, there is no reason to believe that she was in labour. After all, only 26% of women went into labour between 37 and 38 weeks. Heather looked down at her small neat bump, before lockdown when she was still working her customers were often shocked that she was so far along in her pregnancy, she thought she looked massive but in comparison to other women in her Lamaze class, she had stayed quite small. She rubbed her bump, smiling as her little girl kicked her hand, "Okay, if it makes you feel better we can count between them, but only if you sit down and tell me about your day as well, take my mind of this?" She didn't want Ezra to worry too much about her, not when it might be nothing. Pre global pandemic, Ezra was known to overwork himself and now it was even more apparent. Of course, she admired and loved him all the more for it.

Where had the last eight and a half months gone? Can you believe that Heather is now thirty eight weeks pregnant? The couple had achieved so much in their short time together, and now had to conquer the inevitable. The last month or so had been incredibly difficult for Ezra, and such a worrying time. The virus had hit America hard, which had the ED nurse working overtime, all hours, and even had to make different living arrangements - The couple may not officially live together, but Ezra hadn’t left Heather’s apartment in months, and was now having to live separately in a different room for the safety of their unborn child and Heather; he wasn’t prepared to go back into his own place, with his girlfriend so heavily pregnant. 

It was no surprise that work had been awful, but my god, was Ezra pleased to be stepping through the front door of Heather’s. The bruising and marks on his face seemed to look worse every day, his nose stuffy from wearing the protective masks all day. He placed his backpack down by the front door, kicking it shut behind him. “H?” Ezra answered, worry immediately hitting him. Something just seemed off, something didn’t feel right. “What’s happened?” He asked as he neared the bathroom door, pushing it open, but making sure he kept his distance. “Oh god.. It can’t be happening?” The look on his girlfriends face, said it all.

Heather waited for the 'false contraction' to ease before she answered him, shaking her head before she spoke, "No... I'm sure it's just Braxton Hicks still..." the contraction had taken it out of her already so breathing was a little out of sorts. She grabbed her towel from the rack and struggled out the bath, refusing any help, she was pregnant, not incapable.  She padded out the bathroom, her towel wrapped around her, she made it to the living area and sat down, instantly popping her feet up onto the padded ottoman.

"It's still too early," she insisted stubbornly, more so hoping that was the case and not that she was going into labour over two weeks early. Yes, they had set up her nursery, but she still didn't have a name. She couldn't have a baby with no name!  Since he came home, she took her first proper look at her boyfriend and pouted sadly at the marks on his face, "How are you doing?"

For the past 24 hours or so, Heather had been experiencing Braxton hicks and she was certain that’s all it was as they were light and irregular, but goodness it still hurt like hell. Her back hurt and she was running back and forth to the toilet like nobody’s business. 

Ezra was working in overdrive at the moment and they had been sleeping in separate rooms to attempt to keep her and their baby safe as he was at high risk of being in contact with the virus. It was horrible not having him there to comfort her in her time of need, but thankfully they had been assured that he would still be able to be there for the birth. 

It was late in the evening and she was treating herself to a bath to help ease what she was still convinced was braxton hicks, when she heard the front door open and close, “E, babe, is that you?” she asked, or rather moaned, as if he could possibly be anyone else. @ezraisnotthebest​

Ezra couldn’t help the sigh that left him. Sometimes, it felt like his best just hadn’t been enough for Heather recently, and he was finding it hard to really relax on his rare days away from the hospital. “Then why suggest it?” He asked as a frown creased into his forehead. Gosh, why would women be so complicated? Ezra remained watchful as Heather returned to her spot beside him, a small, forced smile, stretching across his features. “We have plenty of time, bub. I don’t see why you’re stressing yourself over this. We’ll find a name for her, you know we will.” Reaching over, Ezra placed a small kiss against Heather’s forehead before rising onto his feet, his hands fixing his tee. “I’ll get you a bath and search through google again. Okay?” His smile formed more into a genuine look as he stared lovingly into his girlfriends eyes for a moment, before exiting the room and entered into the bathroom. “Do you want this rose scent? Or uh.. relaxing lavender?” He called through.

Heather shrugged in a defeated motion, “I just want her to have a name and it fit the criteria,” she shifted as Ezra moved to go and run her a bath, rubbing her belly as their baby kicked her. “It’s biblical without being too common and it’s not a bad name, it’s actually really pretty. But it’s just not her name, does that make any sense?”  It didn’t feel as if they had plenty of time, but he was right, no matter what they would find a name for her, even if it wasn’t as prompt as she would have liked. “Lavender sounds amazing.... and maybe a cup of tea?” Heather had always been a coffee kind of girl, but she knew how important it was to cut back on caffeine so had taking to drinking more tea than her fancy over the top coffees. 

“I never said that I hated it bub..” Ezra tried to defend as a small frown creased into his forehead. “I just.. I can’t see us naming our daughter Athena, that’s all.” The whole naming baby process was hard, and it was becoming increasingly difficult now that Heather’s mood switched within seconds. Of course, she was never to blame and Ezra knew it must be difficult for her also, though her sudden movement caused him to jump slightly, his orbs widening as he watched his girlfriend start to pace. “Now you’re being irrational, Heather. We’ll think of a name for her, I promise. It’s just.. taking a little longer then we expected. You know, I’ve heard people say that sometimes, we won’t know a name until we’re holding her in our arms. Just be a little more patient.” Was that wise? Telling a hormonal woman to be patient? Sometimes, it really did feel as if Ezra was treading on egg shells. “Do you want me to make you a drink? Run you a bath? You know I worry about you getting stressed.. It’s not good.”

“Well I hate it,” Heather replied defeatedly. All she wanted was to be able to refer to her baby as more than just a baby. Why was this so difficult. There were billions of names out there, how could they not find one that they liked. There were people out there who had too many names to choose from and right now, she’d rather be in that group. Being called irrational and being told to be patient didn’t sit well with Heather but then Ezra offered to run her a bath and she melted. She sat back down next to him and rested her head on his shoulder, “You’re right. I am being irrational…”

Now that Heather was five months into her pregnancy, you’d think Ezra would be getting used to the fact he was soon due to be a father.. but in reality, he was still trying to wrap his head around the whole surprise. Yes, he was happy and blessed, but, he was absolutely petrified. The couple still lived apart, technically, and saw each other six out of seven days, though even then, it would only be for a couple of hours.. maybe enough time to sit and eat together. Did he want to live with the love of his life? Absolutely, however, Heather’s place was more like the family home then his one bedroom apartment, and he wouldn’t dare invite himself to move in.. That was Heather’s choice of invitation to make. 

When it came down to his own parents, his mother was less then impressed with the couples announcement. Ezra wasn’t married and Heather wasn’t religious.. two big no no’s in his mothers eyes. Though surprisingly, Ezra had started receiving text messages with name ideas, and even clothing and accessories that his mother had brought for them. Was she starting to accept the idea too?

Ezra couldn’t begin to describe the feeling of contentment he was overcome with, finally having an entire day off from work and in the company of Heather - it had been weeks, maybe even a few months, since they were last able to spend time together like this. They had been sat perfectly together on the couch for the past hour now, Heather was hunting through another baby book, while Ezra had been fixated on the television in front of him, his xbox controller in hand. “No!” He suddenly jolted, the words you died flashing up onto the television screen. “Eugh, Henry can go and suck an egg.” Ezra sulked as he set the xbox controller down onto the arm of the couch, before averting his full attention towards Heather. “Athena? It is pretty..” The nurse answered with a slight shrug. “I guess Athena Best has a ring to it?” The tone of his voice assured that he wasn’t too into the name.

Five  months pregnant. Those three words flashed through her mind. Nearly six. Exactly twenty-five weeks and four days along. They were over the halfway mark now and at the time it still didn’t feel real. But getting up multiple times in the night, no longer being able to sleep on her stomach, struggling to stand up, having to reduce her work hours, sleeping way more and the one that hurt the most… no longer being  able to wear heels because her feet hurt too much, all signs that made  Heather very well aware of the fact that she was pregnant.

Heather  looked up at him over the edge of the baby book that was propped up on her stomach, “You hate it,” now, of course, she hadn’t like it either, but with her hormones all out of sync, the fact that he didn’t like the name she suggested caused her lip to jut out and she pouted before looking back down to the book. Then her hormones switched around again and she shut the book and dropped it onto the coffee table before standing up – which wasn’t the swift motion she was hoping for – and began to pace, “Well that’s it then,  our baby just won’t have a name. Nearly six months into a pregnancy and we can’t even give our baby a name. How can we expect to be good parents if we can’t even name her? Baby no-name Best, that’s what we’ll put on her  certificate, maybe it’ll do before she’s old enough to choose her own name.”

After the twelve weeks had passed, Heather felt comfortable telling those around her about the baby. Her sister had laughed at her and told her she was stupid, in the brutally honest yet affectionate way that only her sister could manage. Her father, who still lived in London, offered her his congratulations and offered to buy the nursery furniture as a gift. Lana had already known, having been the one Heather turned to when she discovered that she was pregnant, but celebrated the fact that she was having a girl. Ezra’s family was another story.

Even though they were having a baby, Heather had insisted that they continue to live separately for the time being. She didn’t want to rush every aspect of their relationship, just because they were having a baby. Deep in her heart, she knew that just wouldn’t work and that it could have more negative effects than positive ones. Over time they spent more and more time together than apart. It started off slow, 2 nights a week together, then three, then four now they only spent one night apart. The time would come when Heather would invite Ezra to move in officially, not right now, but soon. They had yet to celebrate their five-month anniversary and when you pulled back and looked at the bare facts, it wasn’t the right time.

Choosing a name for their baby girl had been difficult, Ezra desperately wanted a religious name, but Heather had yet to connect with any names they discussed. They all just seemed… too common. Heather suggested unique names and while Ezra liked them, Heather could tell he had his heart set on a biblical name. Annoyingly they both agreed on Noah for a boy’s name but didn’t like it for a girl.

On a rare day off for Ezra, Heather was lay on the couch, her feet propped up on Ezra’s lap with yet another baby book open, “What about Athena?” The tone in Heather’s voice suggested that she wasn’t in love with the name, but it was biblical. “It’s a pretty name?” @ezraisnotthebest​ 

The last twelve weeks had been a roller coaster for young Ezra. His emotional state had been so up and down, he was exhausted from working insane hours in the emergency department and he was still trying to wrap his head around the fact he was soon to be a father. However, nothing would come between this power couple, and he’d tried his very best to keep supporting Heather. 

The next couple of minutes were going to be the longest couple of minutes in their lives. They were about to be informed the sex of their baby.. Would it be a boy? Or would it be a girl? Names had yet to be discussed, though Ezra had a few in mind. He held onto Heather’s hand tight, nerves filling his stomach as he looked up onto the screen above them. It was amazing to see how much their baby had grown.. and just how much Heather had grown too. “I can feel my hands clamming up..” The nurse laughed as he quickly glanced from the television, over towards his girlfriend. “I think I feel more nervous now then when you told me about all of this.” He just caught the sonographer’s glance, who offered him a smile before sucking in a breath. “Okay.. I’m almost sure on what you’re having..” She began, her features lite up so bright. “Are you both ready to find out?” She then asked. Biting onto his lower lip, Ezra squeezed Heather’s hand and glanced over, his stomach somersaulting as she smiled. “I think I’m ready bub.. Gosh..” He exhaled, running his free hand into his hair.

@heather-lila

It amazed Heather that they were currently at the twelve-week park in her pregnancy. She was twelve weeks pregnant. Twelve weeks. As best as they could, she and Ezra continued on as normal. They split time between each other’s apartment and around their hectic work life, although morning sickness and other pregnancy symptoms had forced her to cut back from a twelve to fourteen-hour workday to an eight to ten-hour workday. Coping with lack of coffee had been another thing she disliked about pregnancy. But it was going to be worth it. They were going to have a baby.

“I’m telling you,” Heather began, “It’s a boy. I can feel it. My sister is having the girls and I’m having a boy, I am certain.” She squeezed her boyfriend's hand and tugged him down to kiss him quickly on the lips. “This makes it so much more real, doesn’t it?” Since the early four week scan that showed practically nothing, they hadn’t had a scan, hadn’t seen peanut at all yet. “It’s going to be okay, you’re going to be great.” Just then, the sonographer announced that she knew the sex of their baby. “Yes,” Heather answered quickly, looking back to Ezra just to confirm for what might have the millionth time they had talked about it, “Yes… we want to find out.”

Ezra laughed as Heather pointed towards her belly. They were both responsible for Peanut, whether or not it was against what Ezra’s mother believed. “You know it takes two to tango, right bub?” The nurse couldn’t help but to smirk. “Our first night together was something that definitely wasn’t held against my will. I wanted it as much as you did and..” Ezra paused for a moment, moving his arm to wrap around Heather’s waist as they inched closer together in the bed. “..Okay, here’s where I think I need to be real with you for a second.” After a conversation he had with Leon, he’d advised Ezra that he tell Heather of his true feelings sooner rather then later and, for some reason, now seemed to be a good time? “Please don’t take this the wrong way but, I guess I was a little deflated when you told me that you were pregnant. Babies just.. hadn’t been in my life plan, you know? What I had planned for myself was, to climb the career ladder and earn a good fortune to live an amazing life and.. then I met you which, of course, is and will always be the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I just.. I know we’ve only known two weeks but, I’m having a hard time digesting everything and..” Ezra sighed. Was this all coming out correctly? “Just, please don’t think that I don’t want this because.. I do. I guess I just need to accept what’s happened? I need to accept that I’m going to become a father and.. that maybe all these plans that I had I.. I’ll have to put them all on hold.” Of course, abortion was one hundred percent not an option, ever. “Does this all make sense? I feel like I’m rambling a little..”

Heather rolled her eyes and laughed, “Yes two definitely tangoed, I’m not saying that it’s all my fault, just that…” she paused as she tried to gather her thoughts and explain her feelings the best way possible, “I just meant that I would never do anything on purpose to undermine your beliefs.” She nestled closer, enjoying the sound of his heartbeat against her ear. But she stilled when he said he needed to be ‘real’ with her. “Okay…” she replied, weirdly feeling a little nervous.

But once he started to speak she actually relaxed, granted she thought he had got his head around it a little bit more recently but it still wasn’t anything she didn’t know. She sat up, her chin resting on his chest, “Sweetie, I knew all of that,” because she did, she remembered his reaction, remembered how shocked and freaked out he’d been, how she’d gotten angry with him because of it. But after the initial reaction, he did start thinking about her and making sure she was okay which meant everything to her. “Life took us down a different path to what we both originally wanted,” Heather was already at the top of her career, she had plans to open more clinics but she could still do that, but her and the pregnancy had got in the way of Ezra achieving the same. It felt good when he insisted that meeting her had been the best thing to happen to him, but that didn’t mean it didn’t come with its downsides, “It’s only been two weeks, Ezra… I’m not even fully sure I’ve accepted that this is really happening, especially because most of the symptoms haven’t kicked in yet. What I’m trying to say is that I don’t expect you to be super-dad in two weeks or for you to even have fully accepted the idea in such a short amount of time,” she leaned in and kissed him lightly, “It makes sense, this is a scary situation to be in. Unplanned pregnancies are never the easiest of rides and ours may be a little more turbulent, I don’t hold anything against you for needing time to adjust. Just as long as you’re not still needing to adjust in nine months because it’ll be too late then.”

Ezra nodded in response. Thank god the conversation about banana’s was over, though his features fell into a frown once more at his girlfriends words. Hate really was a strong word, and he disliked it. “Heather, my mom doesn’t… hate you. She just needs to learn and accept that, dating a non-christian isn’t the end of the world. I don’t know how she will react, she actually might surprise us! But I’ll explain that we waited just in case anything was to have happened. I just can’t believe how quick it’s all gone already.” Yes, Ezra still felt incredibly nervous, and he couldn’t help but to pick at the skin around his thumb. Should he just be honest with Heather? Probably but, maybe not right now. Moving the tray of food to the side of him, Ezra shifted himself onto his side in the bed and looked up towards his girlfriend, lovingly. “Come here..” The nurse smiled, interlocking their fingers as he held her hand and gently pulled. “You look so beautiful this morning..”

She might not hate me now, but she could once she finds out. But she didn’t say it out loud. It wouldn’t be fair to Ezra. “She needs to know that I respect your beliefs no matter what, I would never do – okay I guess I can’t say I would never do something that goes against your beliefs because hello…” she gestured to her still flat belly but the point stood. They’d broken two sins already. “But nothing else and certainly not on purpose,” her tone was light, teasing, but also serious. “I know, it’s kind of scary, isn’t it?”

Heather couldn’t help but smile when he did and allowed him to pull her closer, “Mmm, thank you,” she lay her head on his chest and played with his fingers, “You look handsome every morning so there is nothing new there.”