22. Leah
CHAPTER 22
LEAH
T he expression on Dan’s face might have made Leah laugh if she weren’t so busy focusing on her next contraction. He looked completely bowled over, even though he must have already known that she was in labor. Just as quickly as the shock had come, Dan managed to pull himself together.
“Of course. I’m so sorry; I couldn’t have picked a worse time to confess my feelings for you. So, what can I do to help?”
“Maybe get me some ice chips?”
“Ice chips. Consider it done.” Dan hurried out of the room, and Leah leaned back against the head of the bed. She could already feel her next contraction building. Yet the fear she’d felt before had been replaced by a kind of calm and peace. Now that Dan was here, Leah felt that all was as it should be. All would be well. She couldn’t wait to meet her triplets — and then talk with Dan.
Over the next few hours, Dan was the best labor partner Leah could ask for. He brought her ice chips and rubbed her back, helped her move to the birthing ball and back to the bed, and held her hand as she weathered contraction after contraction. Moira was in the room more and more towards the end of the labor.
“I can’t do this,” Leah said at one point, tears filling her eyes. “This is too hard. I want the C-section after all!”
“We’re a little far along for that…” Moira said diplomatically.
“Leah. Look at me.” Dan lifted Leah’s gaze to his. Both his hands were on hers. “You can do this. You are the strongest person I know, and you can bring our babies into this world. You can do this.”
“ You do it!” Leah snapped back. Luckily, Dan didn’t seem to take her words seriously. Even Leah knew she hadn’t meant them, because Dan’s words had lifted her spirits tremendously. She breathed into the next contraction, squeezing his hands tightly. Her world had narrowed to the pain and Dan.
“Okay, Leah. I think we’re ready to try a push.”
“Really?” Leah almost burst into relieved tears.
“Really.” Moira and Dan helped her into position, and she began to push. To her surprise, she found pushing a relief after the hours of relentless contractions. There was finally an end in sight.
As Dan and Moira cheered her on, Leah pushed with all her might. And then she heard the most wonderful sound in the world — the sound of a baby crying.
“You have a little boy,” Moira said. “Dan, are you ready to take him?”
Even through the fog of pain, Leah saw a flash of panic in Dan’s eyes. Was he going to walk away again, when she needed him most? But Dan didn’t hesitate. He held out his arms to receive the squalling, red-faced newborn boy.
“Leah. Leah! We have a son.”
“A son.” Leah’s mouth curved into a smile. “Miles.”
“That’s the name I liked,” Dan breathed.
“I like it too. And he is your son.”
There was a flurry of activity as a neonatal nurse took the baby from Dan to get cleaned up and weighed in the far corner of the room. A few minutes later, Miles was back in Dan’s arms, wrapped securely in a blanket and with a small white hat on his tiny head. The sight of the man she loved holding their baby touched Leah deeply.
“Leah, it’s time to push again.”
“Already?” Leah steeled herself. “Okay.”
The second baby came faster than the first.
“It’s a little girl,” Moira announced. Since Dan’s arms were already full, the nurses whisked the little girl away, then brought her back wrapped in a blanket. Dan sank into a chair beside the bed and held out his other arm.
“I can hold her, too.”
Leah’s heart swelled with pride. They were doing this. “That’s Kaitlyn,” she told Dan.
“Hello, Kaitlyn.”
The third baby came fastest of all, another little girl. She was the smallest of the triplets, but the nurses declared her as healthy as the others. All three were going to be all right without urgent care. They cleaned up the baby, then brought her to Leah, who held out her hands for the tiny bundle.
“Hello, Lydia.”
Leah was faintly aware of the nurses still bustling around the room, cleaning her up and doing some further checks on the babies. But her attention was focused on the three tiny babies and on Dan. After a little help and some adjustments, Dan got settled on the bed beside Leah while the nurses placed all three babies in a line on her chest. Then, the five of them were alone for the first time.
“You did it,” Dan said, his voice hushed with respect and awe.
“I would do anything for them.” Leah patted Kaitlyn’s tiny back. “Anything.”
“And look, about what I said earlier — I know it wasn’t the right time or place. You don’t have to answer, not until you’re ready.”
“I’m ready now.” Leah looked up at Dan. His blue-gray eyes were so familiar, so beloved. “I love you, too. I agree that you messed up, and we might have to talk more about how to handle situations like that in the future, but I’m so glad you’re back. I love you, Dan.”
“I love you, too.” Dan ran a hand over the side of her face.
“I must look terrible.”
“No.” Dan shook his head. “You just brought our babies into the world. You’ve never looked more beautiful.”
And so they sat there, for a long time, staring at their babies and at each other. In that moment, Leah felt that she could see the future. She could see how loved these babies would be as they grew up and became their own people. And she could see how the love she and Dan shared would only grow.
It was the best feeling in the world.