Chapter 49 #2
“Let’s get you to the mattress.” Maggie shoved it so the end was against the wall and I would have some back support if I wanted it, then helped me to sit down again. “I should have enough room to kneel and catch the baby.”
I nodded. This was about to be the best use of teamwork on the freaking planet.
I let my weight rest against the wall while she tried to count the time between contractions.
Every wave came over me, and I tried—so hard—to remember what I’d read and heard when I was planning for my beautiful, medicated, hospital delivery that I wasn’t going to get now.
Avery had been distracting me on the hospital tour, making far too many dirty jokes, so my memories were minimal. How could I have been so stupid?
Just breathe, Clover. Breathe and let it happen. Don’t fight it. You’ll meet your baby soon.
That thought made a tiny sob sneak through. I was still in shock. Now? Here? But fate was a fucking joke, and I couldn’t fight it any more than I could fight the contractions. I had to be strong. I had to do this for my child, our child, because both of us, and Maggie, were making it out of here.
Even if I had to stab the creep that had taken us through the eye with a pencil.
Time got blurry as I breathed—and swore—through contractions. If the baby could hear me, they would be born with a potty mouth to rival a sailor’s, but at the moment, I didn’t have it in me to care.
My body temperature was up, and adrenaline coursed through me, eclipsing the chill of the room. Another contraction, and something changed. That pressure was so much, my body instinctively pushed without me even thinking about it.
Maggie held the top of my knees. “Talk to me, Clover. I don’t know what I’m doing here. What’s happening?”
“I think it’s go time. I need to push. Can you…” I looked up at her, feeling sweat cool on my brow. “Can you look? I know it’s a weird request, asking you to poke around my lady business, given you’re my sister-in-law, but—”
“I think we’re beyond being polite here, and I’d have to look to catch the baby anyway,” Maggie said, leaning down for a better look. “Let’s check out your business and make sure this baby is safe.”
“Are we going to be super mega best friends after this?” I asked with a nervous laugh.
“You know it.” Maggie’s eyes widened, her face scrunching. “Oh my god.”
“What?! You can’t say ‘oh my god’ and not freak me out!”
“I…” She looked up at me, her eyes glassy as a smile lifted the corner of her mouth. “I can see hair, Clover. My nibling is coming right now.” Maggie stripped off her sweater and carefully set it on the least gross corner of the mattress. “Okay, baby wrap is ready to rock. Let’s get this baby out!”
Tears welled in my eyes, and I made some ridiculous sound, sort of crying through a moan as the squeeze of my contraction surged up.
Pushing felt good, though. It gave me something to do with all this tension.
I gave it all I had with each one, bearing down and doing my best not to scream as my child came closer and closer to being born.
“The head is right there, Clover. You can do it. Don’t give up.” Maggie felt like an angel kneeling in front of me, and she held my thighs open as I did my thing. “That’s it! Yes, yes, yes!”
I felt the extreme pressure suddenly stop.
“Head is out!” Maggie gasped. “Holy shit, you’re a superhero.”
It was so odd, and I breathed and breathed, waiting for the next surge. Maggie’s attention was entirely pinned on the baby, and I felt her hands there, ready to catch.
“Shoulders next. I don’t see the cord around their neck or anything, so I think you’re good. You can do this. Come on, Clover, you’re about to be a mommy.”
Another wave of sensation, not as intense as before but so purposeful. I wrapped my hands around the back of my thighs and curled into myself, pushing. Almost, almost. I sucked in air through my nose, going again, and then…
“You did it! A baby girl!”
All the pressure and pain was gone in an instant, and my sweet, shiny, new baby was out in the world. A cry left me, and I looked up at Maggie to see her crying too. She held the smallest little bundle wrapped in her sweater. Tears dribbled down my face, and I held out my arms.
“Holy shit, you’re a mom.” Maggie could hardly speak through the thickness in her voice. “I’m an auntie.”
I took off my shirt so we could do skin-to-skin before accepting my child from Maggie, pulling her against my chest. “Hello, sweet baby.”
Time had blurred around the edges. Maggie curled next to us, lending her body heat while I cuddled my daughter against my chest. The placenta would probably come soon, but for now, I was relieved to have a few moments to breathe.
“We need to keep her clean.”
Maggie nodded.
We needed to get out of here. This was no place for a newborn or a recovering mother, and I prayed that my mates got here soon.
“Maggie…what if no one comes? No one knows where we are,” I whispered, gently rocking my newborn baby in my arms.
Not even an hour old, she was so fragile, and I was terrified. This new type of fear gripping me was almost painful. I imagined many brutal ways to deal with the people upstairs. The sheer rage over the fact that they had put my baby in danger made me a kind of feral I wasn’t used to.
Maggie stared intently at the baby, her face shifting between several emotions. “We can’t wait around for someone to save us, can we?”
“I don’t have much choice.”
“I really don’t want to leave you, but you’re right that if we’re getting out of here, it’s probably up to me. The next time someone comes in here—if it’s one person on their own—I’m going to rush them.”
“What exactly do you mean by that?” I asked, my voice weak.
“Exactly what it sounds like. I’ll shove that motherfucker into a wall, and hopefully he’ll hit his head and it’ll give me enough time to get out and get help.”
“If I get the opportunity, I’ll get out of here with the baby, but mostly we’re depending on you.” I held my daughter close and kissed the top of her head.
“So…it’s a plan?”
“It’s a plan,” I confirmed. If we had anything to cut the cord with, I’d have forced Maggie to take the baby so she could get to a doctor faster, but she’d have to stay with me.
We moved quickly—and by we, I meant Maggie. She gathered up my clothing and helped me get dressed while keeping the baby close to me. We didn’t want to leave anything behind, not that we’d brought much with us.
Maggie wrapped her arm around me and pulled me tight to her.
“This wasn’t how it was meant to happen,” I said, a sob gathering in my throat.
“I know,” Maggie soothed, gently running her hand through my hair. “Soon, you’ll be back home in your cushy mansion with your pretty princess car and your daughter and beautiful nest, and everything will be okay.”
“It better be.” I sniffled. “Or I’m going to issue a formal complaint to fate.”