Chapter 40 #2
She’s flawless. Her forehead is misted with sweat, and her face is red from the pain, but her perfect lips stick out in the softest ‘o’ shape as she breathes, pulling me in like she always does.
A fetal monitor is wrapped around her gorgeous body, and even though an IV is taped to her hand, she sways her hips in gentle motions.
Beautiful black locks drape over her shoulders and cascade down her chest as she grips the side of the hospital bed.
When her eyes snap up to meet mine, and tears instantly hit her eyes, I feel like I can breathe again.
Through the pain and fear in her golden globes, relief bleeds into them, making her pupils expand.
“Damien…” Her angelic voice kicks my ass back into gear.
I storm past Serena, making it over to her in three long strides.
The moment I bring her close, I’m complete again, like our pieces clicked back into place.
My fingers glide through her hair as she buries her face in my chest, and I swallow her, wrapping my arms around her in a way that would shield her from anything. I’m never letting go again.
“How are you doing, little wolf?” I run my hand up and down her back, waiting for any command she could give me.
“I'm okay now that you’re here…” she whines softly. “It’s hot in here.”
I look around the room for our bags, knowing I put hair ties in hers, but I’m quickly met with Serena’s outstretched hand and a tie in her grip. Without hesitation, I rip it away from her and tilt Ashia’s chin up, then throw her hair in a knotted bun on the top of her head.
“I’ll get your fan out for you.”
She shakes her head and rests on my chest.
“I’m okay. Just keep holding me,” she begs, so I do.
I wrap my arms around her exactly like I had them before and hold her even tighter.
She grips the back of my shirt and leans into me, humming through the rest of her contraction.
Using my entire body, I hold her steady, letting her relax as much as possible while I support her weight.
I want to start raging and screaming for someone to find a fucking anesthesiologist, but I can’t stress her, knowing that she’s already on edge.
“Have they said anything about the baby?” I turn my head and ask Serena. She stops arguing with the other nurse the moment I speak, and she snaps her head over to me in attention.
“They said her lungs are most likely mature enough, and as long as she doesn’t have any respiratory distress when she’s born, they’ll put her directly on Ashia’s chest. They’re giving her steroids through the IV to help mature them while she’s in labor, just in case.
She’s most likely going to have some trouble regulating her own temperature, so she’s going to need skin on skin contact for at least the first few days, until she gains enough weight to regulate better. ”
“Or we’ll need to take her to the NICU,” the other nurse points out, and Serena and Ashia both snap their heads. Serena gives her a glare that could kill, but Ashia looks up at me with terrified eyes.
“We were just discussing how to avoid that,” Serena says hatefully, and turns back to us.
“We’re going to bring a warming bed in here, and as long as she’s covered with a blanket and laying on one of your chests, she should be just fine,” she tries to reassure us, then looks back at the nurse. “I want to speak to Dr. Campbell. Now.”
That’s one of the reasons we chose Dr. Campbell as Ashia’s doctor in the first place.
Apart from her recommendation from the OB we saw in North Carolina, Dr. Campbell is the head of Obstetrics here at the hospital.
Ashia told me that her and Serena didn’t really get along…
but I’m guessing that’s changed, at least, for now.
The nurse’s eyes harden on Serena, and while I keep my head turned to watch the interaction, I position my body so Ashia can’t.
“She’s unavailable.” She tries to remain stoic, but I can see the anger there.
“I’ll just call her myself.” Serena yanks her phone free and continues to stare at the nurse. “Oh, and we’ll either need a new nurse, or I’ll need a pair of scrubs, because you’re fired from Ashia’s case.”
“What?!” The nurse yells, making Ashia flinch. I hold her even tighter and breathe deeply, letting the fury bubble in my throat. “You can’t—”
“You heard her. You’re fired. Get the fuck out,” I seethe, knowing that while Serena may not be able to make that decision, I can. If Serena is this appalled by the department’s behavior, then I’ll follow whatever she says.
The nurse storms off, shoving Ashia’s chart into the slot on the wall and slamming the door shut. Serena walks up to us and rubs Ashia’s back, then looks to me as Ashia buries her face further into my chest.
“I’ll be right back with a new team, okay?” She nods in small little movements, already moving towards the door with her phone to her ear. “Alyssa? We’ve got a big fucking problem! Is this seriously how you run your service?”
“Ser?” Ashia turns her head to look at her best friend when her grip on me tightens again. “Do not yell at the other nurses.” I almost roll my eyes. Of course, my sweet wife is worried about everyone else in our path, even though she’s in excruciating pain.
“I won’t…” She turns back to walk out. “At least where you can hear me.” As soon as the door closes, Ashia goes back to nuzzling her face in my chest. She trembles lightly beneath my hold, and I hate it.
“Did you find Satori?” Her tone is curious, but not shocked, while my heart stops from her question.
“How do you know about that?”
“Does it matter?” she argues with a whiny voice, and I feel like shit. “We said we wouldn’t hide anything anymore.”
“I know, baby. I just didn’t want you to worry…”
“It’s better for me to be prepared, to be ready for anything to happen…
so I can protect her.” She looks up at me with beautiful, watery eyes, filled with fear.
“Damien?” Her voice cracks, breaking my fucking heart.
“I'm scared… I can’t protect her from this. What if she’s not okay?
” Tears roll down her cheeks, and I immediately reach up to wipe them away.
“Hey…” I put one hand on her face and continue to support her with my dominant arm.
My thumb grazes her cheek, then her trembling lip as sweetly as I can.
“I know this is scary. Shit, I’m scared too…
but I’ve got you, baby. I’ve got both of my girls, no matter what.
Nothing is happening to either one of you, I swear it.
You’ve done such a good job growing our little miracle.
She is going to be just fine. You heard Serena, she's just ready to meet us—that's all. You’ve done nothing wrong.” She nods against my hand as I plant a gentle kiss on her warm forehead, soaking in her scent and aura just because I can’t get enough.
“We’re going to let Serena handle all of the other bullshit, and we’re just going to focus on you and our baby girl,” I whisper against her skin and melt into the way she leans into me.
Ashia is so God damn strong. She's been laboring for twelve hours and already pushing for one.
I've kept her in my arms, just like she wanted. Between hip squeezes, rocking, and massages to help her through this, there might have been a total of two minutes when I wasn’t touching her.
Even now, she relies on me to support her as she pushes again.
Her head lays back on my shoulder as she rests between my legs.
I'm holding her right leg up in a bent position, allowing her to rest almost all of her weight against me while her left leg remains touching the floor.
She moved into this position three push cycles ago, and decided that this is the one that was most comfortable.
I cradle her belly with my left arm, taking all of the weight she lets me hold.
I stay standing upright on the edge of the hospital bed, only leaning back on it to encourage her to sink into me when she needs to.
She bears down again, groaning as she lets her body work.
“That's it, baby. You're doing so good. Keep going,” I praise her, just completely in awe of her strength. When she gasps and yelps, my heart stutters, knowing something has changed.
I'm sure she can feel my heart pounding into her back, because the anticipation is overflowing, making everything erratic. My heart rate, my own breathing, the love I feel for my wife—it’s all out of control. Her body tenses harshly beneath my hold as she pushes again, and she cries out in pain.
Dr. Campbell smiles up at us from her kneeling position on the floor.
“She's crowning now. Do you want to help guide her out?” she asks like I would actually say no. Ashia nods, unable to speak, so I hold her hand in mine and let the doctor guide our hands down to feel her head as she starts to come through.
“Oh, my God…” Ashia gasps, but I'm just awestruck, completely fucking mesmerized.
“You feel that, little wolf?” My face hurts from smiling so hard. “She’s almost here…” Tears already prick my eyes, and I don't dare try to stop them from falling. “Come on, baby! Another big push! She's right there, waiting to meet you.”
Ashia pushes again, so hard that she shakes against me.
The baby’s head emerges, just big enough to fill her mother’s hand, and that sends Ashia into her instincts.
She cries out and uses all of her might to bear down again, then sucks in a lung full of air as our daughter slips out into our waiting hands.
She collapses against me in intense relief, and I pull her onto the bed as gently as I can.
Sweet, loud cries fill the room, coming from both my wife and daughter. Ashia and I both instinctively reach for our baby and pull her into her mother's warm chest.