Wilson never thought the sounds of the doctor's office could be so quiet, and yet so deafening at the same time. He sighed, his leg bouncing with anticipation. He'd made an effort to not check the clock too often, as that would likely only add to his anxiety. He wished he could be in there with Willow. The nurses were kind enough to let him stay in the delivery room with her until the doctor arrived, and although he tried to persuade them to let him stay, he eventually had to accept defeat and retire to the waiting room.
He glanced at the clock. How long had he been in here? Two hours? Who knew? He ran a hand through his hair. How long does a birth normally take anyway? How much longer was Willow going to have to endure the pain she was going through? His mind drifted back to when he was in the room with Willow, and how agonizing the contractions were for her. All he could do was hold her hand and tell her encouraging things, that the doctor was going to be there soon, and that everything was going to be okay. God, he hoped he was correct.
Just then, the door to the outside opened, and a young woman walked in. She spotted Wilson and quickly made her way over and took a seat beside him. Wilson managed a small smile when he recognized who it was. "Hey Charlie."
"Hey Wilson," Charlie smiled, "I started driving as soon as I got off the phone with you." Her expression became more concerned when she noticed Wilson's tension. "So how's it going? Is Willow already in the delivery ward?"
He nodded, glancing back at the door leading to the ward. "They took her in a little more than two hours ago."
"Mm. So it sounds like we've still got some waiting to do."
"Yeah…" He trailed off, still partially lost in his own thoughts and worries.
Charlie, upon recognizing this, leaned closer to him. "Hey, I know you're nervous, but I can guarantee you that everything's going fine. These kind of things can take a while."
Wilson looked at her. "I know, it's just…" He looked back down at his hands. "She was in so much pain, and I felt terrible because there was nothing I could do about it... And…" He put his head in his hands, trying to fight back tears. "At the same time… I feel as if I did this to her…"
Charlie quickly put her hand on Wilson's arm. "Wilson. I'm not going to sit around and have you beat yourself up like this. Willow wanted have this baby just as much as you did. You've got no reason whatsoever to blame yourself."
Wilson lifted up his head to look at her. "But, what if…"
"No if's about it." She smiled at him. "Besides, this is Willow we're talking about here. You two have faced countless monsters and survived one of the most dangerous places ever together. I have complete faith that she'll be perfectly fine." She held his arm a little tighter. "And you know, as soon as you see your baby for the first time, none of this worrying is gonna matter. I can assure you that it'll all be worth it."
He lifted his head a little higher. "Really?"
She smiled a bit wider. "Really. Promise."
Wilson managed to smile his first genuine smile for the duration he'd been there, and took a deep breath. "Thanks Charlie."
"Anything I can do to help out a friend." They shared a few moments of silence, then she remembered something. "Oh, I almost forgot. Do you mind if Maxwell brings Wendy over here a little later? He might've mentioned that we were headed to the hospital, and she wanted to tag along."
"Oh, not at all. The more the merrier." He paused for a moment, then asked, "How have things been going anyway? With you and Maxwell, I mean?"
This made Charlie perk up a bit. "Us? Oh, it's been going great!" She grinned happily. "We've been working on a new performance routine, and I think it's gonna be a knock out!"
He smiled at her excitement, glad to be able to focus on a different topic.
"If it's successful enough, we're hoping to take a trip to New York and do the act there too." She sighed contently. "Maxy's got high hopes for this one. I haven't seen him this happy since…" Her smile faltered for a moment. "Well, in a long time."
"Oh, I'm sorry." He faltered. "I didn't mean to bring back any unpleasant memories."
"Oh, it's fine." She reassured him. "You didn't. What happened was a complete accident, one that no one could have foreseen."
Wilson decided to change the subject. "Well, let's not dwell on things of the past. I'm glad to hear you two are doing well." He paused, wondering what to say next. "Forgive me if this sounds invasive, but… have you two considered having kids of your own?"
Charlie seemed unprepared for the question. She quickly looked at him. "W-what?"
Worried he'd gone too far, he tried to backpedal. "I-I mean, just because I know you like children and all. I thought that maybe you guys would've…Oh." He put his hand on his forehead, breaking eye contact. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have just-"
"Oh no! It's fine." She tried to reassure him again, her cheeks going slightly pink. "I just faltered for a moment there." She thought about Wilson's question. "Come to think of it, we haven't really talked about kids that much. Or at all, really. We've both been so caught up with our jobs as of lately." She paused to think a bit more. "But, I really do like kids. And I'd love for us to be able to start a family of our own. I'm just not too sure if or when we'd be able to get around to it."
Wilson nodded understandingly. "Well, you never really know with these kind of things. I mean, I hadn't even considered the idea of a family for a while myself. And now, well…" He gestured to the room around him. "Here I am."
She couldn't help but smile at his antics.
He smiled back at her. "All I'm saying is that you shouldn't get too hung up on it. You guys may not be considering kids now, but who knows. Maybe later on something will happen."
Charlie laughed softly. "Yeah… maybe something will."
She looked distant for a moment and Wilson wondered at it, but being the gentleman scientist that he was, he decided not to press any further. He turned his attention back to the waiting room door, and the two of them sat in silence for a while.