Bonus Story Bean There, Birthed That #2
Three minutes apart. Sixty-second duration.The medical manual’s cold statistics burned behind my eyes: Prolonged labor: 12-18 hours for primiparous. Seri had been at this for minutes.
Her whimper crescendoed into a guttural moan that stripped my military composure down to raw nerve endings.
“Secure the perimeter,” I muttered automatically.
“You just did!” Ko shot me an exasperated look over Seri’s head. “Now maybe lose the gun so you can deliver our baby?”
With a sharp nod, I tucked my nine millimeter in my waistband. It made me feel marginally more in control as my mind raced through worst-case scenarios. Shoulder dystocia. Umbilical cord prolapse. Postpartum hemorrhage. Placental abruption. Each possibility more terrifying than the last.
Thankfully, Zane came back from our closet with the emergency baby kit, a black bag containing a thoroughly organized collection of medical supplies from sterilized umbilical cord clamps to infant resuscitation equipment.
Further tactical assessment: Potential hostile forces unknown, slippery floors (high risk), inadequate lighting (medium), Zane’s escalating hyperventilation (critical)…
Seri’s groan refocused me. Pupils dilated, pulse 122 bpm, contractions now two minutes, thirty-one seconds apart.
“All right, my love, I have everything we need. We’re going to do this together.”
“I trust you,” she whispered.
Three simple words nearly broke me.
After all she’d been through, her capacity for trust remained her most remarkable quality. She trusted me to deliver our child safely, despite me having no formal medical training beyond books and battlefield first aid.
And so I would.
I arranged clean towels beneath her and between her legs, steady despite the adrenaline surging through my system. Meanwhile, Ko laid beside our beloved and whispered encouragement as Zane fidgeted, dancing around all of us.
“Is she okay?” he whispered. “I saw— There’s blood—”
“Blood is normal.” I didn’t look up from my preparations. “But if you can’t handle the sight, wait in the bedroom.”
“No. No, I’m staying. I just need a minute.”
I respected his determination even as I noted the tremor in his voice. The sight of our beloved in pain always reduced him to a quivering mess.
Another contraction seized her, and she gripped Koa’s hand so tightly that I heard his knuckles crack, although he made no complaint.
“I need to check your progress,” I warned her.
“Not like you haven’t seen it all before, Simmy,” she panted, which made Ko chuckle.
With Zane peering over my shoulder, I raised her nightgown, finding to my shock that she was already fully dilated.
“Zane, improvise stirrups with your hands!” I barked.
A wet gag answered me. The tang of stomach acid joined the metallic blood-smell as he heaved into the bathtub, his freckles standing out like bullet scars against his pallor.
While not nauseous, I was just as overwhelmed. Thankfully, Ko’s deep voice broke through my momentary paralysis.
“Casimir, either help me with Seri or prevent Zane from choking on his own vomit.”
The certainty in his eyes was my salvation.
This was why we were a team, the three of us.
When one faltered, another stepped up. And right now, Koa’s steadiness was exactly what I needed.
My hands stopped shaking. My mind cleared.
Calm descended over me. I nodded once, decision made. Zane would manage. Seri needed me more.
“Ko, position behind her. Back against the wall. She’ll brace hers against your chest.” I waited only until he was in place. “Seri, you’re doing beautifully. With the next contraction, I want you to push.”
“What do you need?” Zane finally managed to drag himself away from the bathtub and crawled toward me on all fours.
“Hold her legs.”
“Legs? Like, which parts— How do I—”
“Just… Here.” I guided his shaking hands to Seri’s knees. His skin felt corpse-cold.
“Head!” he squealed. “Bat’s bones, it’s a head!”
“Seri, push when you feel the urge to,” I commanded, ignoring him. “Out, not up.”
I could do this. I would do this.
#
Koa
As Zane ran to get the emergency baby kit and Casimir lost his mind over security measures, I stayed by Seri’s side and choked back my own fear to calm hers.
“Breathe with me,” I murmured, demonstrating the pattern we’d practiced for months. “In through your nose, out through your mouth.”
She nodded, her gray eyes locking onto mine with such trust it made my chest ache. Another contraction seized her, and her fingers clamped around mine with surprising strength.
“You’re doing great,” I assured her, brushing damp curls from her forehead. “Fierce, brave, sweet girl.”
That earned me a weak laugh, cut short by another contraction.
This one seemed to roll directly into the next with barely a pause between them.
I’d read enough of Cas’ books to know this wasn’t following the standard timeline.
First babies usually took their time, but ours seemed determined to make a spectacular entrance with minimal warning.
“You can do this,” I told Seri, maintaining eye contact. “You’re the strongest person I know.”
“Hurts, Koko,” she whispered between pants. “Hurts so much.”
That devastated me. I was a warrior, trained from childhood to battle any threat, yet I was powerless against her pain. I couldn’t fight this for her. Couldn’t take it from her. Could only witness her courage and offer what small comfort my presence provided.
“I know, beloved, but you’re doing it. You’re bringing our baby into the world. Let’s breathe together. Like waves. In… out. Steady.”
Another contraction rippled through her, stronger than the last. Her back arched, her face contorted, and a low, animalistic sound escaped her.
Thank the night, Cas was back. The gun in his waistband snagged my eye.
Ridiculous and so very Casimir. Then Zane ran in with the emergency baby kit, and Cas rolled up Seri’s nightgown to see how far along she was.
Zane took one glance and lunged for the bathtub while Cas crouched like a statue, panicked lightning in his eyes.
“Casimir,” I rumbled, “either help me with Seri or prevent Zane from choking on his own vomit.”
That was all it took. With one curt nod, he was the commander again, all confidence as he directed me on how to position behind her.
I scuttled into place as fast as I could, then I guided Seri until her back rested against my chest, my knees up on either side of her in case she wanted to push her hands against them.
I rested my back against the bathroom wall, creating a solid support for her.
As Zane dragged himself away from the tub, Cas showed him how to hold her legs, and I wrapped my arms around her from behind, one hand splayed across her swollen belly where I could feel the hardness of another contraction building.
Her head fell back against my shoulder, her breath coming in short, sharp pants.
“I’ve got you,” I whispered against her ear. “I won’t let go.”
Then, “Head!” Zane shouted. “Bat’s bones, it’s a head!”
I rolled my eyes, but the contraction hit, and this time Seri bore down with it.
“You’re amazing, beloved. So strong, so brave.”
“Scared, Koko.”
“You don’t need to be.” I kissed her temple, tasting the salt of her sweat. “We’ve got you. All of us. Always.”
Her whole body tensed against mine, and the atmosphere in the room shifted to a strange, suspended moment of anticipation. Her heartbeat thundered against my chest, her body working with ancient knowledge.
“Almost there.” Cas positioned his hands to receive our child as Zane held her knees. “One more big push, Seri.”
My heart rate picked up. This was really happening. Right here, right now, on our bathroom floor in the middle of the night. Our child was coming into the world in typical Seri fashion: Unexpected, unstoppable, and perfect.
Everything became a blur of sensation and emotion.
Her strength as she pushed. The trembling in Zane’s hands as he fought to stay conscious.
Cas’ steady voice giving instructions. She drew a deep breath, then pushed with everything she had, rigid against me as her spine flexed like a drawn bow.
For one suspended heartbeat, the world narrowed to the slick sound of life emerging…
Then our baby slipped into Cas’ waiting hands as smoothly as moonlight gliding across water.
I couldn’t speak. The lump in my throat was too large, the emotions too big. My heart expanded in my chest, making room for this new love that already threatened to overwhelm me.
#
Zane
I peeled my face off the rim of the bathtub, fighting the spinning sensation that threatened to send me into unconsciousness.
No way was I missing this. I’d survived years of blood and violence, for night’s sake!
I could handle watching my kid being born.
Probably. Maybe. If I didn’t look directly at any of the really gross parts.
My stomach lurched again as I pushed myself upright, but I forced the nausea down with sheer willpower. While I’d been busy introducing my dinner to the bathtub, Cas had been managing everything, and now I steeled myself to take a peek.
Bat’s bones! There was a head! An actual tiny head coming out of Seri!
I’d seen some shit in my time, literal shit included, but nothing had prepared me for the reality of watching a person exit another person.
Tasting bile, I forced myself to swallow it. I was going to witness the birth of our baby if it killed me, which it very well might, judging by how rapidly the blood was draining from my head.
Seri—my brave, beautiful, ridiculous Seri—wasn’t screaming or cursing us for putting her through this. She was just breathing, pushing, and bringing our child into the world with the same quiet determination she brought to everything.
What happened next was a miracle. With one powerful push, a purplish, squished thing zipped right out of her and into the towel Cas held ready.