Chapter 9 Tyler
TYLER
The contractions swept through me like waves, each one stronger than the last. I'd been through nine months of pregnancy but still felt completely unprepared for this moment. I clutched Spike's hand as another sharp pain ripped through my body, and I tried to breathe through it like we'd practiced.
His soothing scent surrounded me as a reminder that I wasn't alone. This was it.
Our baby was coming.
"You're doing so well, my sweet omega," Spike whispered against my temple, his lips brushing my sweat-dampened hair. His hand engulfed mine completely to support me through the worst pain I'd ever felt.
Focusing on his face instead of the pain helped center me. It always did. Even after all these months, his rugged features and loving eyes still made my heart skip when he aimed them at me.
Doctors and nurses bustled around us, but all I saw was my alpha. My mate. The father of the child I was about to bring into the world.
He was the strong one. The one who could do anything. Unlike me.
"I don't think I can do this." Another contraction built, and I whimpered in anticipation of how awful it was gonna be. This one felt different. Worse than the others. "It hurts too much, Spike."
Spike moved closer and pressed his forehead to mine. "You can, Tyler. You're the strongest omega I've ever known. You’ve got this. In just a few more minutes, our little one will be in your arms. Just hold on a little longer."
His words gave me strength, but the pain stole it away two seconds later. Of course, I knew it was gonna hurt to push a baby out of my body, but I had no idea it would be so…intense. My body felt like it was being torn apart from the inside.
"He's fully dilated." The doctor was speaking to Spike before turning back to me. "Tyler, on the next contraction, I need you to push."
Spike scooted into position behind me and wrapped his arms around mine, holding me in place while lending me his strength.
When the next contraction hit, I pushed with everything I had. A scream tore from my throat, and I squeezed Spike's hand hard enough to break it, but he didn't flinch. He just kept whispering encouragement into my ear.
"I see the head," the doctor called out. "A few more pushes like that, Tyler."
"I can't.” I collapsed back against my alpha to catch my breath. “I can't do it anymore."
Spike's voice vibrated against my ear. "Yes, you can. Think of everything we've been through to get here. This is just one more adventure, Tyler. The best adventure."
Another contraction built, and I braced myself.
Spike was right. After everything, this was just one more hard thing we'd overcome together.
I pushed again and let out a violent cry that echoed through the delivery room.
"That's it!" The doctor sounded excited as he disappeared behind the sheet. "The head’s out. One more big push when you feel the next contraction."
Spike used the moment to wipe my forehead with a cool cloth. "I love you, Ty. More than I ever thought possible."
I didn't have time to answer before the next wave of pain crashed over me. I bore down and felt something shift within me. And then there was a release. The most extraordinary sensation of pressure followed by emptiness. And I could take a full breath for the first time in months.
A tiny, indignant cry filled the room and that emptiness was suddenly filled again with love.
"It's a girl!" The doctor dropped our daughter onto my chest while finishing off whatever he was doing between my legs.
Time stopped, and everything else was immediately forgotten. Everything except my family. My strong alpha and that tiny red-faced angel looking up at us.
Spike made a sound I'd never heard from him before. It was half laugh, half sob as his eyes got glassy. "She's beautiful." His voice was thick with emotion as his eyes stayed glued to her.
The weight of her little body was nothing compared to the tidal wave that crashed over me. An overwhelming, all-consuming love filled me in a way that made every contraction and moment of pain worth it a thousand times over.
"Hi, little one." Her little hand wrapped around my finger with an unusually strong grip.
When she blinked up at me, I caught a glimpse of amber eyes that looked just like Spike’s.
My mate leaned down and touched her cheek with one finger. "She's perfect, Tyler. You did this. You gave us this miracle."
I couldn't speak through the tears flowing down my cheeks as I stared at our daughter. Nine months of carrying her and feeling her grow inside me created the miracle in my arms. “We did this.”
Several minutes passed as we just stared at the sweet baby in complete awe of her.
"Do you remember our first morning together?" I sniffled and wiped my nose on my arm. "That Christmas morning after my heat finally stopped?"
Spike's smile widened. "How could I forget? It was the best day of my life."
"Well, you know how you hung mistletoe in the kitchen where we’d be under it all day?"
"I was pretty smart, wasn’t I?" Spike chuckled. "Our first Christmas tradition..."
I felt a blush creep up my cheeks, remembering how we'd spent the rest of that Christmas Day learning each other's bodies and starting the journey that had led us to this hospital room and to our daughter.
I was thinking of naming her after that. I glanced up at Spike, hoping he didn’t laugh at me. “What do you think about Missy?”
Spike tilted his head. "Missy?"
"Short for Mistletoe." I bit my lip, suddenly feeling shy. "A forever reminder of the amazing night she was conceived."
Spike's eyes glistened with another round of tears as he leaned down and pressed his lips to our daughter's forehead. "Missy is perfect. She's perfect."
"Our little Christmas miracle." I tried to swallow the rock in my throat, but my hormones were too out of whack to settle down.
"She'll be the most beautiful reindeer shifter ever born," Spike said proudly as he curled his arms around both of us. "And the most loved."
A nurse came back into the room, smiling at the scene before her. "How are we doing over here? Have we decided on a name for this little one?"
"Missy." It already suited her. "Her name is Missy Boreal."
I leaned against Spike's side, exhausted but happier than I'd ever been. The three of us formed a perfect circle. “I can’t believe we’re parents.”
"Me neither." Spike sighed before turning to kiss me. “Thank you, Tyler.”
"For what?"
"For giving me a family. For carrying our daughter. For sliding off the road in that blizzard and into my life."
I smiled and practically floated off the bed. "I'd do it all over again. Every moment of it."