Part 8
Remember how I said time passes, well actually, it flies. I mean, one day you’re putting up baby stencils and the next you’re in a birthing class, learning how to breathe and not freak out, although, I pretty much was freaking out and breathing like a horse on speed.
It was kind of a surprise, the birthing class, well, I was surprised that Faith asked me to go into delivery with her and even more surprised when she asked me to go to those natural child birth classes.
I was like, “are you kidding? Have you bumped your head? You’re not gonna be knocked out?” I looked at her as if she’d grown two heads.
She got an, ‘are you crazy’ look and replied. “Are you serious?” She scoffed, her face showing a look of repugnant disbelief. “Of course I’m gonna be drugged up. What’d you think, that I’d just pop this puppy out my ass and it’d be pain free… wake up and smell the coffee.” She rallied and flopped herself down onto the couch, still annoyed and growing more upset with each passing second. “I don’t care if you are a slayer, it doesn’t prepare you for that kind of ache.”
She started rocking, relaxing and I’d pretty much learned just to let her rant and keep my mouth shut. It was like the closer we got to D-day, the more anxious and fidgety she got.
I did make a huge mistake, I watched the 3-dimensional birthing tape and it was okay, well up until the doctor made that incision there, you know, the one to allow the baby to come out without tearing the mother. Let me just say, that I felt it through the screen. I looked over and Faith was standing in the doorway watching me, arching her brows, as if saying, ‘see, birthing is a bitch’. I’ll tell you this; it gave me a new respect for what she was about to endure. It also got me thinking, what if the doctor wasn’t paying attention, he could sew her parts upside down or backwards, or… never mind, I don’t really think I should go there, nothing good would come of it.
Faith had been getting Amanda ready to be a big sister and it was just the most darling thing. She’d sit in the rocker and talk to her baby doll; the only problem that I could see was that she was dead set on the baby being a girl. Houston, we might have a problem.
Well to be honest: We always had problems; take last week for instance. Faith had been having all kinds of contractions, I’d taken her in to be checked like 4 times, and each time it was a false alarm. I was tired, annoyed as hell and if she kept this up, I was gonna be tempted to just take the bathroom plunger and suck that kid out myself.
Come on, she’s a slayer; she can deal with a little discomfort. No need to keep on pushing the envelope, I mean, haven’t you ever heard about the boy who cried wolf? Well, I was good and fed up with Faith and her crying labor. I know, I know, I’m being an ass, but that’s what lack of sleep does to you. It makes you doubt even the most simple of things and got me into a bit of trouble. I guess when it comes to women and babies, you should listen, and I learned that lesson the hard way.
See; after a week of nonstop false contractions, I was wary and just really couldn’t be bothered, so when Faith knocked on my door and told me that she was cramping pretty badly, I just rolled over, covered my head with the pillow and called out, “get some hot milk and go back to bed… you’re not due for another few weeks, let me sleep.”
I cringed waiting for the outburst but none came, in fact, she left me alone for a few hours but then she came back, knocking again and opening the door, stating calmly. “B, I need to go.”
I rolled over and glared at her, anger fueling my words and voice. “Listen, unless you’re ready to drop the load, leave me alone, okay. I’m tired to death of running you back and forth. Just lie down, relax and massage your stomach like that nurse showed you.”
She eyed me, nodded and backed out the door. I heard her moving back upstairs and a short time later, I could hear her bumbling down the stairs, Amanda following closely behind her.
I blew out an aggravated breath and pushed myself up out of the bed, I walked into the living room and stopped dead in my tracks.
Faith was leaning back against the wall, her eyes closed, her breaths coming short and even, her face etched in concentration.
My mouth literally fell open as I took in the full scene; suitcase by the door, water covering the floor, her face serious, flushed and just a bit ashen, sweat beading over her forehead and upper lip.
You know I was born blonde right? It’s true, cause the first thing I did was ask, “Who spilled their drink?”
Faith blew out a haggard breath and rasped out. “My water broke.”
That did it. All my training went completely out the window. I stood there frozen, until Faith’s next words reached my ears. “We need to go, they’re coming every 4 minutes.”
“Oh shit.” I whispered, running for the suitcase, only I treaded through the water and slipped, falling backwards, right on my ass, my back and head slamming against the floor.
Faith grabbed her stomach and laughed, cringing, grimacing through the pain and humor of the situation. “Don’t make me laugh.” She gasped out.
I glared up at her, pushed myself up off the floor, balancing unsteadily, my feet sliding back and forth in the slippery fluid, ran for the keys, grabbed up the bag, grabbed her up and ran for the car.
I threw the bag into the back, buckled her into the front seat and peeled the car out of the drive and flew down the road, my hands constantly tapping against the steering wheel, my nerves and adrenaline on overdrive.
“You’re gonna be all right.” I kept stating over and over again.
She didn’t answer, so I cast a cautious glance over at her and Amanda looked up at me as if I were crazy.
My mouth fell open and I craned my head around to view into the back seat and saw nothing but the overnight bag. “Fuck.” I stated loudly, smashing my foot on the brake and turning the car around on the dime. I mashed the pedal and burned rubber, catching a tire before the car caught up to the speed of the wheels and lurched forward.
I closed in on home, jumped the ditch and slid up next to the house, jumped out of the car and ran into the house where Faith was sitting at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for me. I ran to get her and slipped in the amniotic fluid again, crashing back against the floor, my breath forced out of my body, yet another time.
Faith grabbed herself, trying not to laugh, warning me. “If you keep that up, I’m gonna have him here.”
I jumped up, skated over to her, helped her up and out and into the car and started off for the hospital again and this time, my nerves were on fire.
“They’re coming every minute.” Faith rasped out from the backseat.
My heart literally dropped down into my stomach, and my panic started to rise. “Well suck it back up. I can’t be delivering a baby out here in the sticks, I’m not made for stuff like that.” I half yelled, delirious.
She got angry, her own anxiousness starting to show. “You think I can control this? What? Did you just fall off the truck this morning?”
She groaned from the backseat and I started to hyperventilate. “Hold your legs together.” I called out, squealing the car around the turn into town.
Faith deadpanned from the backseat. “Gee, if only I’d thought of that nine months ago.”
I looked back at her and we both started laughing. It eased the tension and allowed us to relax a bit.
I finally made the last turn and pulled us up into the E.R. I jumped out of the car and ran inside, screaming at the top of my lungs. “Baby! Now!”
I guess they were used to people freaking out, they looked at me and calmly took a wheelchair outside to bring the patient in.
So they got Faith and I got Amanda and the suitcase and quietly followed behind them all the way into a room where Faith was hooked up to monitors.
Everything was happening so quickly, we’d just gotten to the room, set the bags down and started to relax when the doctor came in, measured Faith and said, “You’re lucky you didn’t have him on the way here.”
My eyes widened, and I was silently thanking God that she’d waited until we’d gotten here.
The nurse came in, threw me some scrubs and I pulled them on quickly as they started breaking down the bed to move it into the delivery room. I looked over at Amanda. “What about Amanda?” I motioned over to the child, wondering what we would do with her, because with my chaotic running around, I’d forgotten to call Faith’s friends to come and get her.
The nurse smiled and said, “don’t worry, I’ll sit right here with her, you’ll just be across the hall in delivery.”
I nodded and followed them into the delivery room, listening as if in a fog, as the doctors and nurses talked. “This is gonna be the shortest delivery in history.”
The nurses propped Faith up, and waited for the Doctor to tell them to push and they helped her lean forward to push.
I watched in awe and fascination, moving down to watch the little person enter the world.
The doctor gave the order to push again and I watched Faith as she concentrated and pushed through the pain. She closed her eyes and bit her bottom lip, her hair hung in wet ringlets over her face and her breaths rasped out shakily as she got to relax and wait for the next big push.
She was beautiful and I felt myself drawn to her as a feeling of peacefulness and intense pride drifted over me.
The pushing commenced again, until finally the doctor said, “one last time, a big one, come on now, you can do this.”
I watched as Faith gave her all, aided by the nurses and I watched as the doctor eased the baby out and turned him over in her hands, clearing his nostrils and mouth.
She clamped his umbilical cord and handed me some scissors and I lost it right there, tears flowed over my face as I slowly looked at Faith, who gave me a nod to go ahead and cut his cord.
“Cut between the clamps.” The doctor said.
I slowly reached out with the scissors and snipped the cord in two and looked back at Faith.
The baby started crying, taking his first breaths. The doctor wrapped him in a towel and laid him on Faith’s chest. I moved closer to the bed, silently and watched as she looked at him for the first time.
She cried and touched him gently, smiling as tears streamed down her face.
I reached over and laid a hand on each of them, smiling like an idiot, half laughing and half crying.
