"That alone seems like a good enough reason to do it," he says, but he knows Spencer is right and as he takes the route he'd planned to the hospital -- the quickest route, the one with the fewest stop signs and lights -- he trusts that Spencer can call his parents to deliver the news. With the way Joel's nerves are right now, he doesn't think he'd be able to handle driving and speaking to his mother on the phone, not when she's sure to practically explode into a flurry of motion. Being unable to see her doesn't mean he won't feel her stress or her excitement and while he loves his mother and appreciates just how thrilled she is for the two of them, he also needs to concentrate on what's going on in front of him right now. He needs to concentrate on Spencer and Erin and their incoming child, which he won't be able to do with his mother giving him instructions and information over the phone.
"We can probably wait until we're a little closer to the birth," he suggests, glancing over at Spencer as he takes a turn. Just up ahead is a sign for the hospital and Joel can feel his heart beating a little faster, knowing just how close they are. It's only a building, but it's the building in which their child is going to be born and soon. When he catches sight of the hospital, when he turns into the lot and finds a parking space, his heart feels like it's suddenly going triple time and he has to take a second to just sit there, his fingers still wrapped around the steering wheel. He's not going to help anyone in this situation by having a panic attack and it's not that he's scared of this, he knows his heart is beating so quickly because he's excited, but it mimics the feeling of a panic attack in a way he doesn't like. That's not how he wants this to begin.
"Okay," he says a second later, then breathes out slowly and opens his eyes so he can look at Spencer. "We'll call my parents once we get inside and figure everything out. They can wait at least that long." It won't take them that long to get here, the drive is really only a few hours, and the baby probably won't even be here by the time they arrive.
Instead of climbing out of the car right away, he leans across the console in between them and reaches to cup the back of Spencer's neck. Smiling, he leans closer, pulls Spencer toward him and presses a slow, sweet kiss against his mouth. The date he'd set up in the back yard is nearly entirely forgotten, because as much as he was looking forward to taking Spencer upstairs after the movie was over and making it so that he couldn't remember how to speak, this is something they've been waiting for even longer. This is one step closer to being the completed family they've known all along they've wanted to be and he knows he never would have been here with anyone else. Spencer is the only person in the world who could bring him to this point.
"We're having a baby," he says again, his lips still brushing Spencer's as he speaks and then he sits back and turns off the car. Given how anxious he had felt only moments before, he feels remarkably calm now and he breathes in deeply and then unbuckles his belt so he can get out of the car. He opens the back door to get the bags, then makes sure the car is locked, the keys in his pocket before he reaches for Spencer's hand. There's a baby seat in the back of their car and he looks at it now, realizing the next time they go anywhere in this car there's going to be a baby in that seat. They'll have to come back to get the carrier later, when it's time for them all to go home and his lower lips nearly trembles.
Home. Soon enough he and Spencer will be taking their baby home.
It's easy enough to find their way to the maternity ward and Joel is pleased they're not heading for the emergency room this time. When they tell the nurse at the desk who they are, they're given a room number, told that there's still probably a fair bit of waiting, but that they can go ahead. Joel has to force himself not to run and instead keeps his hand locked tightly around Spencer's as they walk down the hall toward Erin's room.
"I thought I told you there was no rush." It's the first thing she says when Joel and Spencer appear in the doorway.
"But the baby-" Joel starts, looking faintly sheepish.
"Probably won't be here for another eight hours," Erin says, rolling her eyes fondly at them. Her gaze shifts to Spencer and she says, "I would have expected you to be the more reasonable of the two, but now I'm doubting it."
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"We can probably wait until we're a little closer to the birth," he suggests, glancing over at Spencer as he takes a turn. Just up ahead is a sign for the hospital and Joel can feel his heart beating a little faster, knowing just how close they are. It's only a building, but it's the building in which their child is going to be born and soon. When he catches sight of the hospital, when he turns into the lot and finds a parking space, his heart feels like it's suddenly going triple time and he has to take a second to just sit there, his fingers still wrapped around the steering wheel. He's not going to help anyone in this situation by having a panic attack and it's not that he's scared of this, he knows his heart is beating so quickly because he's excited, but it mimics the feeling of a panic attack in a way he doesn't like. That's not how he wants this to begin.
"Okay," he says a second later, then breathes out slowly and opens his eyes so he can look at Spencer. "We'll call my parents once we get inside and figure everything out. They can wait at least that long." It won't take them that long to get here, the drive is really only a few hours, and the baby probably won't even be here by the time they arrive.
Instead of climbing out of the car right away, he leans across the console in between them and reaches to cup the back of Spencer's neck. Smiling, he leans closer, pulls Spencer toward him and presses a slow, sweet kiss against his mouth. The date he'd set up in the back yard is nearly entirely forgotten, because as much as he was looking forward to taking Spencer upstairs after the movie was over and making it so that he couldn't remember how to speak, this is something they've been waiting for even longer. This is one step closer to being the completed family they've known all along they've wanted to be and he knows he never would have been here with anyone else. Spencer is the only person in the world who could bring him to this point.
"We're having a baby," he says again, his lips still brushing Spencer's as he speaks and then he sits back and turns off the car. Given how anxious he had felt only moments before, he feels remarkably calm now and he breathes in deeply and then unbuckles his belt so he can get out of the car. He opens the back door to get the bags, then makes sure the car is locked, the keys in his pocket before he reaches for Spencer's hand. There's a baby seat in the back of their car and he looks at it now, realizing the next time they go anywhere in this car there's going to be a baby in that seat. They'll have to come back to get the carrier later, when it's time for them all to go home and his lower lips nearly trembles.
Home. Soon enough he and Spencer will be taking their baby home.
It's easy enough to find their way to the maternity ward and Joel is pleased they're not heading for the emergency room this time. When they tell the nurse at the desk who they are, they're given a room number, told that there's still probably a fair bit of waiting, but that they can go ahead. Joel has to force himself not to run and instead keeps his hand locked tightly around Spencer's as they walk down the hall toward Erin's room.
"I thought I told you there was no rush." It's the first thing she says when Joel and Spencer appear in the doorway.
"But the baby-" Joel starts, looking faintly sheepish.
"Probably won't be here for another eight hours," Erin says, rolling her eyes fondly at them. Her gaze shifts to Spencer and she says, "I would have expected you to be the more reasonable of the two, but now I'm doubting it."