CHAPTER 63
Asher
I dot Olivia’s forehead with kisses as I continue to rub her back. “Okay, baby, I need you to come to our room and lie down in the bed—”
“My back …”
“I know. I’ll get some pillows to ease the pain, okay? I think we should get you changed into something with easier access.”
Olivia’s eyes are wide with horror.
I cup her face, “I’m trained for this, okay?”
“But I have a whole birth plan. I booked the aromatherapy room at the hospital. It was going to be so soothing for little bear … Oh fuck !” She clenches her teeth together as another contraction hits.
This time, a low moan escapes her lips and even I start to worry a little.
I’ve only assisted on two deliveries as a firefighter, but they’re burned into my head.
And the sort of animalistic sound Liv is making suggests she’s pretty damn close to pushing. This is too fast.
I wait until that contraction ends, then quickly braid her hair and secure it with an elastic from her nightstand.
‘Y-you know how to braid?”
“Fuck yeah. YouTube. I’m gonna need to braid my daughter’s hair one day.”
She wears the hint of a smile as I help her get as comfortable as possible. I’ve put so many pillows behind her, she’s almost sitting up.
Olivia starts to shake and tips her head back as another contraction takes over, and I don’t hesitate another second.
“Okay, baby, that’s it, you’re doing so good. Just breathe …”
She blows out a moan with her breath, long and drawn out. “It hurts too much …”
Her pained groans as the contraction fades eats away at my calm and collected demeanor. Her forehead is covered in a thin veil of sweat already, and the pair of sweats she has on are still wet from her water breaking.
“I’m gonna get these off of you,” I tell her before touching her.
She nods quickly, her breath returning to normal as the contraction fades. “You better do it fast.”
I work quickly, pulling her sweats off, and then her sweater, before sliding off her panties and attempting to dry her off a little to make her more comfortable. Then I get in the bed behind her.
“Oh God … I think another one is coming already.” Her voice cracks and she leans back against me.
With her back leaning heavily into my chest, in a spoon position, I place my hand on her belly. I can feel it tighten beneath my palm. Olivia grits her molars again and, this time, a long, agonized cry escapes her.
I murmur soothingly into her ear. “That’s it, baby, you’re fucking incredible.”
“It helps with you back there,” she huffs out. “Just a little.”
I kiss her head before digging into my back pocket for my cellphone. I dial emergency and turn it to speaker so Olivia can hear too, then set it down on the bedside table.
A moment passes, then a familiar voice answers. “Please state your emergency?”
“Hey, Katrina, this is Asher Reed. My wife, Olivia, is in active labor at home.” I give her my address, eyeing Olivia as I call her my wife. She’s close enough, even without a piece of paper saying so.
“Contractions have come fast and furious. Her water broke a few minutes ago. Can you send an ambulance our way, please?”
“I can, Chief Reed. But I have to tell you, it’s going to take some time.”
I wince at the reality I already knew, but another contraction starts, and I move back to make sure I’m supporting Liv again. Her shaking has grown more intense and remains even after the contraction ends. Katrina assures me she’ll send an ambulance as soon as she can.
“I know you’re trained for this, Chief Reed. But do you want me to stay on the line?”
“Yes,” I tell her right away, because I’ve never done this alone and never with the woman I love. I could use all the help I can get.
“Let me know when the next contraction ends,” Katrina notes.
“Done,” I tell her as Olivia stops crying.
“Okay. Hi, Olivia,” Katrina says calmly.
“Y-yeah,” she manages.
“Okay, tell me what you’re feeling when the contractions start?”
“Pressure …” Olivia grunts out. “It feels like the baby … is pressed against my back. And it feels like I need to push.”
I hold her as tight as I can, whispering how amazing she is, how proud I am of her.
“Okay, don’t push yet. We don’t want to cause you to tear, or to push before the baby is ready.”
“Well, it feels like I fucking need to push!” Olivia growls at her as she starts to move, turning to her side and gripping her belly. “I can’t sit here, I have to … Asher, I have to move.”
At least ten minutes pass like this as we stay on the line and Olivia has three more contractions.
She opens her eyes as the next one ends, and it looks as though she might start climbing the walls.
I’ve seen this before, just before a woman starts to push.
Letting their body take over for their mind. It’s fucking miraculous.
“I just have to get used to this pain … I have to get used to it …”
My gut clenches. Fucking hell. I hold on to her tighter, letting her lean her weight into me.
“I’m right here, baby,” I whisper, my throat closing with emotion. My words aren’t making her pain any less but, right now, holding and encouraging her is all I have.
A painfully desperate, clawing sound escapes through Olivia’s tightly clenched teeth. Her legs tremble and then she lets out a sob. “I can’t, can’t wait—I need—”
I prop her up a little more, pillows under her to support her, and then I rush to the sink to wash my hands, swiping two towels from the shelf.
“Kat, do you have an ETA?” I ask toward the phone’s speaker when I get back.
“They’re still at least ten minutes out.”
“Fuck.” My voice is low. “Okay, baby, I need to have a look. I don’t know if they’ll make it in time. But we’ve got this, okay?”
She shakes her head. “I can’t … have the baby … here. What if something goes wrong?”
“Look at me, Olivia—” Her icy blue pools lift to mine as I position myself between her raised knees. “It’s you and me, yeah?”
She nods as I place a folded towel beneath her and another one next to us. Then I smile at her, my breath catching in my throat, thick with emotion, as I look down between her thighs.
“I can see the baby’s head, Liv.” The bridge of my nose stings and I swallow down the adrenaline brimming inside me.
“We can’t do this—” she cries on a whisper. Her eyes squeeze tightly shut, and tears continue to track down her cheeks before disappearing into her matted copper hair.
“Listen to me, Liv; you can do this. You’re doing so good. We’re going to deliver our baby right here, you and me. On the next contraction, I want you to push. Can you do that?”
She shakes her head no, but seconds later the next contraction is on her, and while I’m kneeling before her, she bears down on instinct.
“There you go, baby.” I watch as she pushes. A little sliver of red hair grows, and I feel like I’ve been sucker punched. Our baby has red hair.
Another contraction begins and Olivia bears down again. Her legs shake and I move to brace them for her. “That’s it. Good girl, Liv. You’re doing so good.”
“No, I’m not … I can’t … I can’t, Asher, just get him out, please …” she cries. “Please get him out.”
“You’re both doing great, deep breath,” Katrina adds from the phone.
“One more! Come on, baby, you can do it.”
A hoarse howl rips from Olivia’s lips, and then I can see a head, eyes open, a tiny little crinkled-up heart-shaped face, and I’m fucking sobbing.
Olivia pushes once more before I’m catching our squirming, tiny baby in the towel.
I swipe my finger into the baby’s mouth to clear the airways, then look down to see I was right all along.
“She’s a girl!”
I give the baby’s back a little pat and the longest heartbeat of my life passes before a gusty wail erupts from her mouth.
Olivia sobs out a laugh as I wrap her tightly in the towel, cleaning her up a little before passing her to the most amazing woman I’ll ever know.
I set her on her mother’s chest, skin to skin.
“Fuck, baby. You did it. You did so fucking good. I love you so much, Livi girl,” I praise quietly, tears choking in the back of my throat. “Don’t pull her too much.”
I realize she hasn’t birthed the placenta yet as I lean over to brush the hair away from her face.
“Oh God, that feels so much better.”
Olivia is flushed and sweaty, and tears continue to fall down her cheeks, though her eyes are luminous as she stares up at me. I’m lost in those eyes. Lost … and completely helpless to pull my way out of them.
“You’re such a fuckin’ champ, baby.” I kiss her. Then I peer down at the most precious little thing I’ve ever seen.
“I fucking knew you were a girl, little bear.” I graze my thumb across the top of my sweet baby daughter’s head. She’s cradled in the towel, ten perfect little fingers and ten little toes, so small she seems unreal.
“Daddy wins,” Olivia says, the sobs breaking on a laugh.
“Yeah, he fuckin’ does,” I murmur as I kiss her again.
In every fucking way.
As I watch Olivia whisper to our daughter, I know that every part of my soul now lives within the girls I’m holding close. I will be thoroughly wrapped around the finger of both of them, just like Wade said, until the day I die.
Actually, fuck that. Even death couldn’t stop me from loving them. I’ll be wrapped around their fingers for eternity.