Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
Seth
S urprisingly, I did manage to doze between the contractions for another two hours. Finally, the back labor was making me groan out loud, and I told Alex it was time to fill the tub. I was hoping floating in the soothing water would ease the pain in my back some. My contractions were about seven minutes apart now but lasting the same amount of time as they had been. The pain was at about a six on the pain scale. But because of the back labor, I couldn’t even lie on my back, which was why I couldn’t wait to get into the birthing tub.
It took another forty-five minutes or so for the tub to be filled and heated to the correct temperature. Alex kept checking it like his life depended on the temperature not going over the recommended range of ninety-seven to one hundred degrees Fahrenheit.
“It’s ninety-eight,” he called over his shoulder, and I nodded, pacing the length of the bedroom, my hands pushed into my lower back.
“Let me text Bennett and then you can help me in.” Shooting off a quick text to my bestie to let him know all the things were happening today, I shuffled over to the tub Alex had set up in a corner of the room. He had cleared out a spot weeks ago in preparation, going so far as to even get his measuring tape out and plotting it all out. Which had been super cute. Alex made one hell of a sexy handyman. Well, handyman wannabe, because honestly, he wasn’t all that handy when it came to things like that. But he knew how to dial and call someone to get things done like a pro. Which was just as sexy in my book.
My phone dinged with an incoming text. It was barely six a.m., but I knew Bennett was likely up with baby Brodie. At just barely eight months old, Brodie wasn’t sleeping through the night yet.
Bennett
OMG FINALLY! I thought you were just going to be pregnant forever! Let me get things settled here and I’ll be over. I’m so excited! But hey, at least it’s Saturday. That kid may be late, but it’s convenient for me. LOL
Seth
No rush, B. I’m getting in the tub now. This back labor is a bitch! I’ll tell Alex to unlock the door for you.
Bennett
Love you, Sethy!
Seth
Love you, B! Can you believe I’m about to have a baby? A baby! Me! Who would have thought?
Bennett
You’re going to be a fantastic dad, Seth.
Seth
Alex was watching me as I sat my phone down, a frown on his face. “Everything okay?”
Nodding, I gave him a trembling smile, and I knew from the heat behind my eyes they were glistening with tears. I wasn’t sure I could put into words all I was feeling in that moment, or just how much Bennett’s faith in my ability to be a good parent meant to me.
Swallowing around the lump in my throat, I held onto his arms as I put a foot over the edge of the rubber pool. “Bennett’s going to get the kids and Shay taken care of and be over. Can you make sure the door is unlocked for him?”
Once I was settled into the blissful water, he kissed the top of my messy hair. “I’ll do it now, so I don’t forget. Okay here for a minute?”
“Yeah,” I whispered, “I’m good. This feels amazing. Just what my back needed.”
He frowned, “I hate that you’re hurting this much.”
The unspoken I could be in a hospital enjoying a nice epidural hung unsaid in the air.
“It’s all part of having a baby.”
Sighing in pleasure, I leaned my head back against the rim of the tub, closing my eyes and letting the warm water relax me. Running my hand over my belly as it tightened with another contraction, I focused on getting through the pain. Alex’s large hand covered mine in the water, soothing small circles into my skin until I opened my eyes and gave him a little nod to indicate it had passed.
“Your stomach is like a rock,” he observed, still running his hand over my skin.
“Go unlock the door and come get in with me,” I ordered him. “I want to lean on you. Besides, Bennett says I’ll forget the pain once the baby is here.”
Alex stood, shaking his head and his arm, displacing droplets of water onto the hardwood floor. “Not sure how that is even possible,” he muttered.
Shrugging, I told him, “Probably nature’s way of making sure the human race doesn’t die out. Just make sure you stay up by my head when I’m actually pushing this baby out. I don’t want you traumatized by anything you might see down there.” I swished a hand in the water in the general direction of my nether regions. “My hole is a thing of wonder and beauty, and I don't want what’s going to happen ruin your thinking on that.”
Bending down, he kissed me on the tip of my nose. “You are a thing of wonder and beauty.”
Swatting at him, because my emotions were all over the place right now and I couldn’t deal with him being all sweet and swoony, I made a shooing motion at him. “Door. Go.”
Less than ten minutes later, Alex eased himself into the tub behind me, wearing a pair of black swim trunks. He spread his legs around me, and I floated peacefully, the top of my head resting just under his chin, his heartbeat in my ears where I rested against his chest.
After what seemed an eternity but probably wasn’t all that long, my contractions were seven minutes apart and lasting a little over a minute each time, growing more painful. Alex placed another call to Naomi. She arrived shortly after, Bennett right behind her, chatting away.
Naomi smiled her bright smile at me, watching as I leaned forward in the pool on my knees, my head resting on my arms across the top. Alex rubbed my lower back for me, as the pain in my back had gotten more intense.
“We’re going to get the bed made up, and then I’d like to check how far along you are,” she told us. In the middle of a contraction, all I could do was make a humming type noise and nod my head against my arm, acknowledging I had heard her.
“His back is really hurting him,” Alex told her quietly, his fingers kneading the soft flesh of my lower back.
I could hear them moving around the room, the rustling of sheets and things being set out, but I concentrated on my breathing, of riding the waves of pain out, until finally they subsided. Taking a deep breath, I opened my eyes to survey the room.
Since I had insisted on Bennett being here, Naomi had asked if he would help her with some simple things like making sure the bed was covered and washing the baby after I had them. They were even covering the dressers and nightstands with drop cloths painters used, which I found a bit funny, but whatevs. She was the expert on these things.
“Can I get back in the water after you’ve checked me?” Alex held me tightly as I got out of the pool, until I was steady on my feet.
“Absolutely,” she assured me. “You can stay in the water until closer to delivery if that’s what you’re comfortable with. Or get out and walk and get back in. Whatever you need to do.”
Alex dried me tenderly, kissing my rounded belly, and looking up at me from under his dark lashes. “You’re so beautiful like this,” he whispered, his voice tight with emotion.
He had made me feel beautiful my entire pregnancy, always touching me, kissing me, and telling me how attractive he found me. But to hear him say the words now, when I had been laboring for hours, sweating and pruning from the water, nearly made me glow inside.
The next few hours passed in a blur of floating in the water, and using different positions to ease the pain of the contractions, which were growing more intense with each one. After one contraction had me crying out, clinging to Alex for dear life, I felt something shift inside me, low in my belly.
Naomi, sensing the change in my panting or just because she was an awesome ass midwife, knelt down on the floor next to the pool. “Do you want me to check you again?” she asked quietly.
She had just checked my progress only about twenty minutes before and I had been about seven centimeters dilated and not quite fully effaced yet. But something was definitely happening inside my body. There was a pressure between my legs, and it felt like the baby had dropped down even further in my pelvic region.
“Yeah,” I gasped, biting my lip, “something’s happening.”
She nodded her head, her eyes fixed on Alex, speaking words without saying them aloud. He seemed to understand as he quickly got out of the pool, not even bothering to dry off before he was helping me upright.
“Argh!” I cried, pain searing across my lower back and wrapping around my front. My legs felt like jelly and my knees started to buckle.
Alex deftly swung me into his arms in a bridal carry and gently laid me on the bed.
I had long ago stopped worrying about who saw what when Naomi examined me. I mean, it was just Alex and Bennett anyway, but any small piece of modesty I had–which truthfully wasn’t much–was gone.
Naomi waited for the next contraction before checking me, and I cried out with the pressure and pain. Both my hands were engulfed, one by Alex and one by Bennett, and I squeezed each of them with all my strength. Beyond thankful they were both here, giving me an anchor to hold on to.
“Alright, Seth,” Naomi spoke so softly and calmly I wondered how she managed it, “it’s showtime. You’re fully dilated and effaced. No more walking or water, it’s baby time.”
Panting as the contraction eased off, I barely had time to catch my breath before the next one hit.
“What do I need to do?” Alex asked, wiping my sweaty brow with a cool cloth.
“On his next contraction I’m going to have him push. I want you to get behind him and give him something to lean against. Bennett, you count him through the contraction. Seth?”
“Hmm,” panting, I let them all maneuver me just how they wanted, spreading my bent knees wide. Everything else was just sort of white noise at this point; the crinkle of the plastic sheet beneath the fitted one we had bought just for today, knowing we would need to toss it out. Bennett’s soft questions to Naomi and her answers. Alex whispering nonsense words of encouragement and love in my ear.
My focus was on the pain threatening to tear me in two, the burning pressure of my hole, the need to push my baby out. My body no longer felt like it belonged to me. But it was doing what it was made to do, and I was just along for the ride.
Naomi’s voice floated over me, still soft and serene, but one hundred percent confident in her abilities and in charge. “Next contraction you’re going to push for the count of ten. You don’t stop until you hear Bennett say ten, okay? Shout, scream, cuss out Alex, whatever you need to do, but most of all you push with everything you’ve got.”
That’s exactly what I did. Pushed, grunted, screamed, told Alex he was never, ever, ever, ever getting near me with his cock again as long as we both lived. Until finally the burning pressure was almost too much, and I was sure this time I would be split in two. Then suddenly it stopped, and Naomi was telling me to stop pushing.
Panting, I leaned back against Alex, drawing his quiet strength around me.
“You’re doing so good, sweetheart,” he breathed, “you’re fucking amazing. So strong.”
“You’re doing great, Seth,” Bennett gave my hand a squeeze.
“What’s happening?” I asked, my voice raw and hoarse. “Why are we stopping? Is the baby here? Why aren’t they crying?”
Naomi’s steady voice calmed me. “Everything is good, Seth. The baby’s head is out. Now we work on delivering their shoulders. Nice and easy push on the next contraction, okay? The baby is a bit bigger than we anticipated, and we need to go gently.”
“Stupid, big ass alpha,” I muttered, turning and nuzzling my head into Alex.
A soft kiss landed amidst my sweat soaked hair. “Sorry, sweetheart.”
On the next contraction, I felt the baby slip from my body, angry wails filling the room. Tears spilled over my eyes at the cries, relief and happiness and entire feelings I couldn’t even begin to name.
“Daddy, you want to come and cut your daughter’s cord?” Naomi held out a pair of surgical scissors to Alex, and my mind whirled.
Daughter. We had a daughter.
Alex looked gobsmacked, tears falling unashamed down his cheeks, and all he could do was nod silently.
“Go,” I whispered, “go see our daughter.”
He eased away from me gently, but not before he and Bennett placed some soft pillows behind my back.
I couldn’t see what he was doing, but I had a clear view of his face and all the many emotions that washed over him as he cut the tie holding our child to me. Naomi wrapped her in a blanket, after a very quick wipe off, then handed her to Alex.
He stared down into her face, his own radiating pure love and joy. Moving over to me, he eased down onto the bed, handing her to me.
“She’s beautiful,” he whispered, his voice heavy with emotion. “She’s beautiful like you.”
Staring down at the squalling, red-faced baby, I had to agree with him. Wet, dark hair was matted against her forehead, and she was pissed. Not at all happy about finally making her way out of the warm place she’d resided in the past several months.
Looking up at Alex, tears in my eyes, I whispered, “We made her. Alex, we made her.”
“We did,” he agreed, running one hand over her head, then touching her little fingers like she was made out of glass.
“She’s gorgeous,” Bennett told us, reaching to take her, which I balked at. “I’m going to get her cleaned up and then you can have her back. And Naomi will need to give her a look over when she’s finished with you.”
Dammit, I hated when he made sense. Reluctantly, I let him take the baby from me, my eyes tracking him as he took her into the bathroom, where we already had a baby bath stored. Alex was doing the exact same thing I was, and I could almost feel the indecision in him. His need to stay by my side and his need to be near our pup.
Leaning my head against his side, I whispered, “Go be with her. You’ll need to scent her, then bring her back to me.”
He looked so torn, his muscles wound tight. “Are you sure?”
“I’m fine,” I assured him, grimacing when Naomi began massaging my tender abdomen to help deliver the afterbirth. “You don’t need to see this anyway. Trust me, it’s gross. I’ve seen it and yeah, pass.”
Naomi tried to hide her smile, but I saw her, and an amused look passed between the two of us. I had been more than happy when my Labor and Delivery rotation had ended when I had worked at the hospital. I was quite happy dealing with babies after they had been delivered, thank you very much.
“I could use someone’s help when you’re done washing the baby,” Naomi called into the open door of the bathroom a few minutes later. “How’s your pain, Seth? Do you want me to administer some pain relief?”
I had been vocal about not wanting any drugs during delivery, but now that the baby had been born, and the adrenaline was wearing off, I was hurting. Nodding, I whispered, “Yes, please and thank you.”
She gave me another of her warm smiles as she filled a syringe, administering the drug into my thigh. “You did amazing, by the way. Seriously.”
The drug worked quickly to take the edge off, and my eyes flicked back to the open bathroom door. I could just see Alex’s back, and every now and then would see Bennett’s arm. I could hear the soft murmur of their voices, but didn’t use my shifter hearing to listen in to their conversation. The baby had quieted now, seemingly content to be bathed or just happy that her alpha daddy was near.
My eyes grew heavy with the exhaustion of the day, and the pain medication. I let myself doze off, only to be jostled awake by the bed moving. Or maybe because I was moving. Alex had me in his arms, holding me close.
“Wha’s hap’ening?” I slurred.
He placed a soft kiss on my lips, which were feeling a bit chapped. “Bennett and Naomi are putting clean sheets on the bed. Do you want pajamas, or you still want no clothes?”
That woke me up some. “Um, I’m going to need shorts or something. There’s going to be…I’m bleeding…or leaking…there’s just stuff for a few days.”
“Yeah, we already got that squared away, sweetheart,” he told me with a soft chuckle. “You slept through it.”
Glancing down over the still swollen mound of my belly I could just make out the waistband of a pair of soft cotton shorts. “Oh.”
“All set,” Bennett called, smoothing the sheet with his hand. Alex laid me gently on the freshly made bed, then pulled the flat sheet over my lower half. Naomi brought the baby over and handed her to me.
“Nearly nine pounds, Seth,” she informed us. “She’s a good size for you. Twenty-one inches, and a ten on the Apgar.”
I snuggled the baby close to my chest, relishing the hefty weight of her in my arms. She stared up at me, her blue eyes assessing sleepily, and smacked her perfect pink bow lips.
“She has your eyes,” Alex whispered, running one finger over her fluffy dark hair.
“Most babies have blue eyes when they’re born,” I told him, “I bet hers will turn dark like yours. She has your skin tone.” My arm looked extra pale next to her light brown skin.
Bennett sat down gingerly on the other side of me, and Naomi was speaking quietly on her phone. Likely relaying information of the birth to Finn. I knew he had been on standby should she have needed him, or if I would have had to go to the hospital.
“Does she have a name?” Bennett asked, grinning broadly but looking just as tired as I felt. Honestly, I didn’t even know what time it was, but looking out the bedroom window I saw night had fallen.
Glancing at Alex, I raised a brow at him, and he nodded. We hadn’t wanted to find out the sex of the baby at our ultrasound. Both of us agreed we wanted to be surprised. Agreeing on names had been much more difficult. We had vetoed more than we had put on the maybe list. We had finally narrowed it down to two names for each sex, deciding we would pick the name when we saw the baby.
It was something I had heard many parents say, and honestly, I had always thought it made no sense. You either liked a name for your kid or you didn’t. But when it had been time for us to choose, to pick a name for a human being to carry the rest of their lives, it had been overwhelming and daunting. What if we screwed it up? And suddenly, waiting until we saw the baby made absolute sense.
Looking down at the perfect little person in my arms, who, after all the fussing she had done, was now content to stare at us with unfocused eyes, I knew exactly what her name was.
“Isabella Rose Ortega,” I told my bestie.
“Bella,” Alex said, at the same time I said, “Izzy.”
Scowling at him, I repeated, “Izzy.”
“ Bonita mocosa ,” he muttered, before giving in. “Izzy.”
“Well, that’s just beautiful,” Bennett told me, snapping a picture of us with his phone and quickly sending it to someone. “Shay said Lucas is refusing to go to bed until he sees proof that his, and I’m quoting here, ‘Baby cousin has finally been born, please Goddess, can it be a girl.’”
Laughing, then wincing at the pain jiggling my stomach caused me, I grinned. “That kid is jonesing for a baby sister.”
Bennett stood, stretching his back. “Tell me about it. So, thanks for having a girl, now I don’t have to.”
“Anytime,” Grinning, I frowned when Izzy began to fuss.
“She’s probably hungry,” Naomi had ended her call and had come back over to the bed. “Do you still want to try nursing?”
Nodding, I told her, “I do. If it doesn’t work out, or it’s not for me, we can go all bottle. But I would like to pump, so that she can at least have my milk, either way.”
Alex watched with rapt attention as Naomi helped me get the baby to latch on.
“I’m going to head home,” Bennett told us quietly, after a few minutes of Izzy sucking.
“Oh, my Goddess, I don’t even know what time it is?”
“It’s nine-thirty. It’s not too late.” Bennett assured me. “Do you want me to call your parents?”
“I called them,” Alex told us both. “And my family. They’re going to stop by tomorrow morning and later in the afternoon. I figured I’d let you tell your little chatty omega group.”
“I got it covered,” Bennett grinned, then kissed my cheek. He followed it up with a big hug for Alex, then snuck in a kiss to the baby when I switched her to my other nipple.
Once he had left, Naomi went over some things with Alex and me, then promised to be back first thing in the morning to check on both of us.
Finally, we were alone, and I yawned widely, exhausted.
“How’s your pain?” Alex asked, straightening from placing a sleeping Izzy in the bassinet he had pulled next to the bed. “Naomi left some pain killers.”
“Mmm,” I gingerly scooted down in the bed, noting the time since she had administered the shot. “I’m okay for now.” Surprisingly, I really wasn’t feeling half bad at the moment. I knew I needed to stay on top of the pain though. “I’ll take a pill when she gets up for her next feeding.” I would need to check my bleeding and change the birthing pad, too.
Alex yawned then, pulling the shirt he had donned after helping bathe Izzy over his head and tossing it on the floor, which was so unlike him I let out a small laugh. He climbed into bed, careful not to jostle me too much. “I’ll get it in the morning. I’m exhausted. And we need to sleep while she does. I have a feeling she’s going to be up every couple of hours.”
“Probably.” He pulled the bedspread over us, turning out the bedside light. “I want a proper shower tomorrow. And a massive breakfast.”
He let me get snuggled into his side, then asked, “Anything else, sweetheart?”
“Coffee,” I mumbled, “so much freaking coffee. An entire pot of it.”
Goddess, how I had missed drinking coffee. Once my morning sickness had passed, I had discovered that even having the one cup of coffee I was allowed a day gave me the worst heartburn and acid reflux. It had been a very long time since I had enjoyed a good cup of coffee.
Alex brushed a kiss over the top of my head, and I craned my neck up to chase his lips. He bent down, his lips capturing mine in a sweet kiss that still managed to curl my toes, if nothing else at the moment. “I love you, my pretty brat. Thank you for stealing my drink that night. And thank you for our beautiful daughter.”
“Anytime,” I grinned at him in the darkness. “And I love you too, Alejandro. So very much.”