Chapter 55
I’m not sure what the fuck happened, but it only took the drive from Jaxon’s house to the hospital for Edith to progress to the point where she was gripping the handle on the ceiling of the truck and crying from the pain, her contractions seemingly coming one on top of another.
“We need a room, like right the fuck now,” I bark at the first nurse I see. Edith is being walked in between Jaxon and Griffin, who’s forever got his hand holding her stomach. He tried to explain why he does it, but it didn’t make sense to me. But if she likes it, I’m on board for him to keep doing it.
A low moan escapes her as she stops to lean forward, pulling her arms from theirs and bracing her hands on her thighs. The nurse behind the counter widens her eyes and looks at me.
“Now!”
Thankfully, she gets up and runs into the back and within minutes we’re being shepherded to the back. The room they’ve stuck us in is large enough for everyone to be able to stand at her side while also allowing the doctor and nurses to move around with plenty of space.
I shove Griffin out of the way and help assist Edith with taking her dress off, tossing it to Jaxon who shoves it into her bag, then get her dressed in the pink hospital gown.
Meeting her eye, I quirk up a brow. “Think they gave you pink because they know we’re havin’ a girl?”
Humming, she gives me a brittle smile. “Maybe. Or it could be because of the size? But I like pink.”
“I think you look beautiful in pink,” I tell her, holding it open for her to step in, then watch as she snaps the edges together. As soon as she’s finished, she stands straight and looks at all of us.
“What now?”
We’re all pretty clueless, but thankfully, Dr. Willet comes flouncing into the room. “Well, helloooo there, momma!” Her voice is happy in a sing-song type way, and I want to yell at her for being so damn giddy while my girl is in pain. “Looks like we’re going to have a baby!”
She quickly washes her hands, then shoos me out of the way so she can stand in front of her.
Edith bends over from another strong contraction and I look at Jaxon who mouths, “Four minutes,” to me. Dr. Willet places her hands on Edith’s shoulders and murmurs encouraging words, coaching her through breathing and widening her stance to ease the discomfort in her back.
After what feels like an hour, but was more realistically only a minute or so, everyone blows out a slow breath as this one passes.
“Wow, that was a good one. Why don’t you lie down on the bed and let me see where we’re at? I’d suspect you’re probably a few centimeters dilated. You told the front desk you water already broke, correct?”
Nodding quickly, Edith does her best to clamber up on the bed, then does her best to get comfortable on the bed. I move to her head and offer my hand while Dr. Willet moves to the foot.
Checking with Edith before proceeding, she asks, “We good with everyone being in here right now?” I like that she doesn’t ask any of us, leaving the choice to my girl. If Edith wants us gone, we’ll leave, but I’m relieved when she smiles.
“Yes. They can stay here. At this point, I don’t care about anything other than stopping this pain.”
“I’m sure we’ll be able to help you out. Okay, I want you to relax your knees. You can keep your feet there. You’ll feel me touch the inside of your thigh, then I’m going to check your cervix.”
I want to smack Griffin when he moves behind the doctor to watch, and when she turns to him with a look of confusion, he shrugs at her. “I’m curious. If Edith doesn’t mind, I want to see what you’re doin’.”
Waving him off, Edith tries to shift, gritting out, “He’s fine.”
Moving right along, Dr. Willet pushes up the gown slightly, then does something to feel around down there. I purse my lips and lean forward, interested, but stop when her eyes widen and she pulls her gloved hand out, quickly snapping them off. Leaving the end of the bed, she tosses them away and turns, smiling at Edith.
“Well, I will say your little girl seems to have a full head of hair!”
“What the fuck does that mean?” I grit out, ignoring the glare from Jaxon. “That sounds like—”
“Like baby girl is right there? Yup!” She’s grinning from ear to ear, then moves over to Edith’s side. “I’m so sorry. I know you wanted to have some pain management, which we can do to a degree. I’ll send in a nurse to set you up with an IV and we’ll get some painkillers going, but honey, she’s ready to come out.”
“Is that normal?” Edith is panicked, her hand gripping mine hard, so I rub my thumb over the back of hers in a calming gesture.
Giving her a pat on her leg, she reassures my girl. “It’s normal. We never know how it’ll go. Some women take days to have a baby, others hours. There’s no birth that goes exactly the same. But I’d say within thirty minutes or so, we’ll be ready to have you start pushing. So, let me sneak out of here and get everything going, then we’ll have a baby!”
Edith doesn’t get the opportunity to ask more questions because another contraction takes her breath away. She grips my hand hard and pulls it toward her, gritting her teeth as she moans through it. She’s doing her absolute best to imitate the breathing thing Dr. Willet just did with her during the last one.
I lean down and let her use me as she grunts through the pain, Jaxon helping her shift to her side, then rubs her back. He seems calm, but there’s a tightness around his mouth which tells me he’s hating this part every bit as much as I am.
Griffin is standing at the end of the bed, bouncing in place, ready to step in and help however she needs. Murmuring from the side of my mouth and not taking my eyes from Edith’s scrunched up face, I ask, “Why don’t you go see if you can get her a glass of water or ice or somethin’?”
“Got it. I’ll be right back.”
He hurries from the door, and I can’t stop myself from brushing a stray strand of her soft hair from her forehead. “You doin’ okay there, girl?”
“N-n-nooo,” she moans out, then opens her mouth on a gasp as the contraction intensifies. She reaches back and shifts Jaxon’s hand to a different spot, then sighs in relief as the contraction lets up while he works his fingers against the much needed area. Cracking her eyes open, she peers up at me. “It hurts really bad in my back.”
Her voice is broken and already sounds exhausted, but she’s doing well.
“You tell me where you want me, sweetheart,” Jaxon tells her, pressing a kiss to her shoulder. “Whatever you need.”
Turning her head to face him, she gives him a watery smile. “Thank you. I think that’s really good right now, if you don’t mind. When the contraction hits, it’s like this really low pressure but it’s wrapping around to my back.”
“Then I’ll stay right here.” Lifting his hands away from her briefly, he wiggles his fingers. “These things can go all night and into tomorrow if you need them to.”
Huffing out a laugh, she turns away and lets her head fall to the flat, pathetic pillow the hospital provided. “Let’s hope it’s not that long. I might die if I have to do this for hours.”
My heart stops beating for a moment, then plummets to my stomach. “There’s no talkin’ like that. Not tonight, you hear me, girl?”
Humming, she smiles sleepily. “I didn’t mean it literally.” She pats my hand as if to soothe me, and I bite my tongue to prevent more of my lecture from slipping out.
“Got a huge cup of ice. The nurses said no actual water just in case, so this is what we’ve got. You want a bit, darlin’?”
She tries to move as if she’s going to sit up, but he stops her with a hand on her thigh. “Stay there, just pop open that mouth and I’ll set a few pieces on your tongue.”
Rolling my eyes at his smirk, I let him move in next to me to deliver the much-appreciated ice. She sighs as she chews on it, even asking for a few more. We work our way through another four contractions before a nurse finally shows to set her up with an IV in the back of her left hand.
I wanted to tackle her when Edith whimpered from how uncomfortable it felt, and I would have if she didn’t have a death grip on me, keeping me right next to her.
If I could take this all away from her, I would. Frankly, I’m a bit pissed at all of us for even getting her in this predicament in the first place. Who the hell decided she should be the only one to suffer through childbirth when all of us were equal participants in the creation of the tiny little girl snuggled inside of her for only a bit longer?
Leaning down, I kiss her head and whisper, “Sorry we did this to you.”
Her fingers tap me, forgiving me immediately, and it only makes me feel worse. Another contraction rolls in, but this one is different from all the previous ones.
Gasping, she tries to roll over further and climb to her knees, rocking back and forth. “It… It feels l-like sh-she’s going to c-come out!” It takes effort for her to get the words out, and Griffin is back at my side, staring down at her as his face pales.
“Darlin’, would you like me to slip in behind you? Maybe sitting up a bit will help take some pressure off.”
She nods quickly, her teeth bared as both Jaxon and I help her lean forward as Griffin kicks his boots off and scrambles onto the bed. With a sigh, Edith leans back against him, the contraction passing once more.
“There’s still so much pressure. It’s not going away like before.” All of us reach to her stomach in an attempt to rub away the ache, then start laughing when she giggles at us. “I think we should push the button. It feels like she’s—”
Another wave hits her, and she jerks her head back, slamming it against Griffin’s chest.
“She barely had a minute to breathe!” I complain to Jaxon who’s already pressing the button over and over again, then leaves her side to run to the door.
Edith stretches out for him but pulls her hand back right away. He missed the way she reached for him, and I know, even if she doesn’t realize it yet, she’s forgiven him.
“You ready for this, darlin’?” Griffin asks her, running his hands over her arms and squeezing her shoulders lightly.
She looks at me, pleading to make the pain stop, and I can only give her a supportive smile. I feel helpless, unable to unburden her from what’s going to happen. “I’m so fuckin’ proud of you, girl.” Kissing her tear-stained cheek, then her swollen lips where she’d been chewing on them. “You will be amazin’, and I’ve never met someone stronger than you.”
Her eyes are watering as she sobs, hurting so badly from the baby working her way down.
I haven’t said it before, but I know right now is when I need to tell her. Cupping her cheek, I make her focus on me and whisper against her mouth. “I love you, Edith. And I’ll love that little one in there as well. Now, let me meet her so I can tell her the same.”
“Smooth,” Griffin teases, but it’s without any heat. He winks at me as Dr. Willet and a few nurses follow into the room. They all wash their hands as soon as they’re in, and the doctor sits on a stool, wheeling herself to the foot of the bed.
“Alright, honey. I’m going to check you real fast, but I’m certain we’re ready to give our girl a few good pushes.” I appreciate that she’s more serious this time, and I’m starting to actually enjoy her bedside manner. Edith seems to calm the moment she starts talking things through with her, monitoring another few contractions that come and go.
“Boys, if Edith is comfortable with the position, I’d like for you each to help support a leg. She’s going to need to push hard, so having you both help her brace as someone to push against will be a massive help. Don’t pull her legs back, just support them and allow her body to do what it needs to.”
Both Jaxon and I shift slightly down the bed and pick up her legs as Edith cries out, grasping for our hands to stop us. “I-I’m not ready! Can w-w-we just wait a b-bit longer?”
God, I want to fucking fall apart, listening to her fearfully plead with us to stop, but I know it’s not possible. Dr. Willet stands up and draws her attention.
“I’ve delivered hundreds of babies and it’s scary for every single woman, no matter how many they’ve had. I swear to you, Edith. You. Will. Be. Fine. We’ve got you. Listen to your body and I want you to push when you feel the next contraction build. It’ll feel like you need to poop, which I know sounds gross, but don’t worry about that. Those are the muscles I need you to use. She’s right there. I can practically see her head. You’re incredible. Let’s meet your little girl.”
Mouthing, “Thank you,” to the doctor, she winks at me as she sits back down. We wait for only a minute or two, then Edith is panting as another contraction comes.
“Here we go. I’m going to place my hand right by baby girl’s head. Bear down and use those muscles to push her toward me. That’s it… that’s the exact push I need!” Cheering her on, Edith goes silent as she concentrates and only the air moving in and out of her nose fills the room. Both Jaxon and I have a firm hold on her legs as she tightens her muscles, and Griffin is laying his head against hers in complete peace.
As soon as the contraction lets up, she relaxes and a soft whimper escapes as she lays her head back against his chest. Running a hand over her hair, he murmurs, “That was so beautiful, darlin’. You did so good.”
“It was perfect. Those are the pushes we need,” Dr. Willet adds. “We’ll wait until the next one, then try again.” To her nurse, she asks for a few items, and the woman hurries to grab them. As the doctor works on Edith, she asks, “Have you decided on a name for this little girl?”
“Y-Yes,” Edith gasps out.
That surprises me. I jerk my head up to Jaxon who seems just as surprised.
“Want to share with the class? Or are we keeping it secret?”
“I w-want to meet her f-first to make sure it’s the right name.” Dr. Willet nods her head in understanding. Flicking her eyes over to the monitor, she smiles gently at Edith. “Alright, we’ve got another one coming up. I don’t think it’ll take many more. You’re a pro at this. Let’s go with some more pushes.”
She was wrong.
Edith pushed for another forty-five minutes. My shirt is sticking to my back, the room getting warm with all the bodies, but Edith is incredible through the whole thing and I’m awed by her strength. By the time she hits another big contraction, she’s almost spent, but we’re all at the point where we’re cheering and encouraging her to push hard, then praising her for how well she did.
“This is it. I’ve got her head. One more push, honey, and we’ve got her!” Dr. Willet calls out.
Screaming loudly, Edith gives it everything she’s got and finally, our little girl slips almost too easily from her body. The hospital staff is quick to hand the doctor a suction to clean out her mouth, then the first cry of her voice fills the room.
Edith tries to sit up, reaching for her baby with a sob. I was able to catch the moment she slipped free, and my mouth dropped open in complete shock. The fact she was able to do something this incredible has me stunned speechless.
“Oh, Edith. She’s just beautiful.” Dr. Willet places our squalling baby on Edith’s chest, who is sobbing as she hugs her gently, touching her head and back with shaking fingers.
“She’s al-alright?” she asks, looking at all of us for reassurance, then back to her baby.
Nodding with a smile, Dr. Willet giggles. “She’s perfect. We’ll get her settled in a moment, but take your time while we finish things up.” I know they’ve got more things to take care of down there, but I don’t pay attention. My eyes are only for Edith as she stares at our daughter.
A swell of emotion clogs my throat as I see the way Griffin and Jaxon are staring down at them, and I can’t help feeling overwhelmed that we’ve all just created this family, locked into place the moment we heard that first wail.
Not wanting to let her go, Edith fights handing her over to the nurse, and I follow them to a station they’ve set up to take all her vitals.
The baby’s arms flail as she’s moved from side to side, getting checked over. I watch the nurses clean her up and place goop in her eyes, then do all the weighing and measuring as she screams her displeasure in the room. Then I catch sight of something that settles deep into my chest.
She’s mine.