Chapter 14
CHAPTER
FOURTEEN
STEVIE
It’s been about two weeks since I started working at Springs Hospital, and I can say without doubt that this has been my favorite place to work so far.
Besides the fact that Audrey works so closely with me and still has no clue I was the Domme at Sin’s…
but we’re hopefully going to keep it that way.
We’re saving that problem for later—actually, that’s never going to be a problem.
Other than a couple of things that have caught me off guard that Audrey has said, she’s a great nurse and really knows her shit.
If I hadn’t had that experience with them, all the hugging and kind words wouldn’t even make me blink twice.
But I don’t think anything is helped by the fact that we knew one another before either.
Audrey is at the nurses’ station when she hangs up her phone and announces, “I’m taking this G2P1 on the way in for the midwives.
The doula just called, and I could hear the mom in the background.
We’ll be lucky if she makes it here before the baby comes.
” She looks to one of the aides and asks, “Can you run down and meet her in the ER?” The aid nods and grabs the stretcher to make her way down to the intake desk.
“I’m going to set up 304. I’ll be in there whenever she gets up here.
” The nurses seem to freak out a little bit when the birthing person waits to head into the hospital, but I haven’t gotten that feeling from Audrey yet.
She’s been in the game for a lot longer than any of us have, and she probably knows that if the mom’s fine laboring at home for this long, their bodies have it handled.
We’ll have a smooth delivery, or she’ll deliver that baby in the car, and it’ll probably be fine as well.
Shit can hit the fan anywhere, but being in the hospital and stressed out isn’t necessary if there are no other complications.
I always say, if they’re on their way, they’ll at least have immediate care afterwards in case anything goes wrong during delivery.
Not saying you should free birth, but we’ve seen it all.
The NICU nurse is in here with me setting up and ensuring she has everything she needs, while I do the same.
That is one thing that’s very different about a birthing center and a hospital.
We, of course, make sure babies are okay, but here in the hospital, there’s a dedicated team for babies who need extra attention.
At the birth center, mom and baby care is on me.
Surprisingly, the hospital setting is a lot slower pace for me since I can focus on who’s giving birth instead of both of them.
Fast footsteps sound in the hallway, likely someone running off the elevator, followed by the low grunting of a mom that has no control over her body. Possibly pushing her kid out.
Then, Audrey’s stern voice follows. “Room 304.”
They come rolling through the door with Audrey beside the patient, making sure she doesn’t fall, or maybe to catch the baby—you never know when they sound like this.
I smile down at Beth, the mom, currently gripping the cheap sheets of the stretcher, and I joke, “I told you you’d be having this baby in the next couple of days.
” Beth gives me a chuckle that quickly turns into a roar just as I’m opening my sterile gloves and carefully placing them on my hands.
I raise my voice slightly so Beth can hear me. “Where are we having this baby, Beth?”
She whips her head around with a frightened look on her face. “I want the epidural!”
“Can we raise your dress up?” I need to see what’s going on before I explain what’s going to happen, but I have a feeling she won’t be getting an epidural today.
Beth easily pulls her dress off, tossing it to the floor before I finish the sentence. As she places her hands back on the stretcher, I’m met with the crowning head of her baby.
I move around the bed and hinge at the hip so I’m eye level with her, making sure I don’t touch anything with my gloved hands.
“Your body is doing what it needs to, and I can see the baby’s head.
” I see the panic wash over her again. “Let’s breathe real quick.
In one, two, three, four… keep going. Now hold it.
” I follow my own instructions as everyone files in and quickly gets things set up for the little one who’s about to come earthside.
She doesn’t notice anything that’s happening around her.
“Release it slow—one, two, three, and four.”
There’s a determination in her eyes now when she says, “Can I stay like this, but on the bed?”
“You could deliver right on the stretcher for all I care, you’re the boss.” I lean in and whisper, “But it’ll be a lot easier to clean up on the bed, and once baby is out, you can roll over, and if everything’s good, baby will be placed on your chest if that’s what you wish.”
She gives me a soft smile and a nod just as Audrey appears to help her over to the bed, but I catch Audrey’s beaming smile at me before she turns around.
Focus, Stevie, fuck.
The back of the bed is completely up so she can lean on it, just like she was on the stretcher, just more comfortable. “Beth, with your next contraction, we’re going to push a little—not too hard, I don’t want you to tear.”
With a shaky voice, Beth says, “My wife is on her way up here, she’s parking the car…”
“We can—”
I don’t have to finish my sentence, because a tall woman comes running through the door. “Fuck I didn’t miss it, did I?!”
“Nope, you’re just in time!” Then I ask the question I always ask the partners. “Do you want to catch your baby? Well, if it’s okay with Beth, of course.”
Beth is still in the lull between contractions, and she smiles at her partner. “Please catch the baby.”
Her eyes light up from the go-ahead. “Hell yes! I didn’t even know that was allowed.”
Audrey heads over to get gloves and a gown to protect the partner’s clothes. “It’s always an option if the partner is up for it.”
Once she’s gowned and gloved, Audrey places the monitor around Beth’s belly and easily finds the heartbeat, strong and steady.