Chapter 37
DARIO
“ T his is taking too long, it’s been hours,” I whisper to the doctor when he comes back into the room.
“ Dariooooo! ” Madalina screams her way through another contraction, her knuckles turning white as she squeezes the rail. It makes my heart feel like it’s being pulled from my fucking chest.
“I’m here, baby, and you're doing so good. Just breathe.” I press the wet flannel against her forehead and stroke her thigh. “Keep breathing for me.”
“I can assure you everything is progressing very normally, the babies’ heartbeats are regular, and Madalina’s blood pressure is stable. It’s just a waiting game.”
“Check her again. She says she can feel pressure.”
“With all due respect, Mr. DeMarco, she has two babies battling it out to squeeze down her birth canal, she’s going to feel some discomfort.” The fucker laughs at me, and I ignore the squeal Madalina makes when I grab the fucker by his tie and drag him out into the corridor.
“With all due respect, Grahame… ” I slam him against the wall. “That woman in there is the only thing in this world that matters to me, and right now she’s in a lot of pain. ”
“Dario, I can’t force her to have an epidural,” he reminds me, shaking his head in fear as I grip his throat enough to make his eyes water.
“No, you can’t, but you can heed my warning. If anything happens to her or those little girls, I swear I will destroy anything you hold dear.” I look him deep in his eyes so he knows I mean it. “Now, get back in that room and check my girl’s progress.” I release him and take a deep breath before heading back into the room myself.
I never thought I’d be so relieved to see another man glove up to put his fingers inside my wife.
“Dario, please don’t kill the man who's here to deliver our babies,” Madalina begs me while her face screws up in pain.
“Are you having another one, already?” I rush toward her and place my hand on her tight, rigid stomach.
“They are so close together, now. I think I’ll take that epidural.” She slams her head back against the bed looking exhausted.
“Okay, we’ll fix that won’t we, doctor?” I look to Dr. Walsh as he takes his position and examines her.
“I’m afraid it’s a little late for that now, but the good news is you're fully dilated. It’s time to push.” He smiles up at us both and when I see the panic on Madalina’s face I try to smile encouragingly.
“Dario, it hurts too much.” She blows out deep heavy breaths as another pain cripples her.
“I can’t fucking do this.” Her whole body shakes.
“Hey, hey.” I take her hand and swallow down any anxieties I’ve got of my own. Now is not the time for them. “Of course, you can do it. You’ve come this far. All you have to do now is finish the job.” I smile at her as she grabs my shirt and makes a low heavy growling noise.
“ Oh God, the pressure’s too much. ”
“It’s okay to push,” I remind her, and when I hear the door open I glance over my shoulder. The nurse is back and when she brings a tiny incubator with her, I start to panic.
“What’s that for?” I ask her.
“It’s just a precaution, in case the babies need a little help when they come out,” she reassures me as another nurse steps in wheeling along another one.
“But we’re in the safe zone.” I feel my heart rate start to pick up even more.
“Relax, Mr. DeMarco, like I said, it’s a precaution. Everything is going great.”
“Tell that to my uterus!” Madalina calls out as she digs her nails into my skin and bears down.
“Your baby is crowning. Do you want to see?” Dr. Walsh looks at me and when I go to move, Madalina drags me back.
“Oh no, you don’t!” she hisses through her teeth.
“Okay, I’ll stay up here.” I kiss her forehead and wrap my arm around her thigh while she pushes through her next contraction.
“Breathe, baby, you’ve got to breathe,” I remind her when she starts to turn purple.
“Head is out,” Dr. Walsh announces. “Let’s have a long, deep push for the next one.” He focuses on what he’s doing, and I turn my attention to Madalina,
“You heard him push really hard this time, okay?” I grip her hand tighter.
“What do you think I’m doing?” she grunts at me, sitting slightly forward and pressing her chin into her chest. Her whole body trembles as she pushes and when I hear the feeble, little cry that comes from between her legs, I look down and see the tiny, little thing stretching out their limbs in the doctor's hands .
“She’s here!” I look between my daughter and Madalina in both excitement and shock.
“Is she okay?” Madalina laughs and cries at the same time.
“She’s fucking perfect.” I almost choke on the lump that's formed in my throat.
“Who’s holding her first?” The nurse wraps her up in a towel and passes her up between Madalina’s legs and I watch on as my wife takes our little girl in her arms and sees her for the first time. Her eyes are wide and full of love and I swear there's never been a time when she’s looked more beautiful.
“She is perfect.” Madalina looks back up at me with eyes full of happy tears.
But her expression quickly screws back up again when she feels another contraction.
“I forgot there's another one.” She grits through her teeth as I take the baby out of her arms and hold her close to me.
“Baby number two isn’t going to be far behind,” Dr. Walsh announces.
“Would you like me to take her while your wife delivers the next one?” the nurse offers. But I shake my head. I don’t want anyone taking my little girl from me.
“I don’t think I can do it again, I need to rest.” Madalina shakes her head looking defeated.
“I don’t think you get to choose.” I smile at her. “But look at what you already did.” I look down at the precious, little thing in my arms, “You know it’s going to be worth it. Our little girl’s in there all alone, and she wants out.” I wrap the fingers of my free hand around hers.
“Push,” I tell her when she gets that panicked look on her face again. “Push real hard, pretty girl, you’ve got this.”
“We’ve already got the head out,” the nurse calls out over the deep moans Madalina makes.
“You hear that? You're doing so well. It’s nearly over. ”
“It hurrrrrrrtttttsss .”
“Keep pushing, she’s nearly here,” I encourage her, quickly handing our little girl over to the other nurse when I can see that Madalina needs all my attention,
“I can’t.” She flops her head back exhausted. “I can’t. I’m sorry. I’m too tired.”
“You can, you’ve been so perfect at this, you’ve taken such good care of them and grown them so strong. This is the last thing I’ll ever ask of you, I swear.” I make her a promise. I don’t care if I never get a son. This woman’s already given me the fucking world, and I would never willfully put her through this again.
She nods her head and draws in a breath before pushing with all her strength and wailing so loud it makes my heart stop.
“She’s here!” Dr. Walsh delivers our little girl straight onto Madalina’s chest taking her by surprise and making her burst out in tears.
“Hello.” She looks down at our daughter, who’s still got her eyes squinted tightly. “She’s not crying, why isn’t she crying?” Madalina looks at the nurse in panic.
“Not all babies cry when they’re born. You’ve got yourself a chilled one, there.” The nurse covers her with a blanket.” She’s breathing just fine, can you feel?”
She places Madalina’s hand against our little girl’s back and Madalina sighs when she feels it rising and falling.
“Would you like to have skin-to-skin with them both?”
The other nurse brings our eldest girl over and when Madalina nods she tucks both our babies against her chest and covers them all up.
“Are you planning to breastfeed?” she asks.
“I’d like to.” Madalina is far too busy staring at our babies to pay much attention .
“Okay, while you're bonding you might find that they just latch themselves on, or sometimes babies need some help. It’s what we’re here for.” She smiles. “Just ignore us poking around down here and enjoy your babies.” She moves on to assist the doctor and when I look down at him, the nod he gives me assures me that everything is okay.
“I can’t believe they’re here.” Madalina looks up at me with tears streaming from her eyes.
“They’re here and they’re beautiful.” I rest on the bed beside them all, and carefully place my arm over their tiny, little backs.
“Thank you.” She looks up at me.
“What are you thanking me for? You did all the hard work.” I laugh, this woman has just given me the whole world and yet she’s thanking me .
“For being a selfish, deceitful asshole. Look at what we’ve got.” She smiles, and I feel the same prickle in my chest that I felt the first time I saw her. The one that told me life would never be the same again.
“You’re welcome.” I kiss the tops of our babies' heads, and then my wife, knowing that not a single moment in time will ever trump this one, right here.