Page 18 of Paradox
“Yes you can, babe.” I move her wet hair from where it’s plastered on her face. “You got this. We’re gonna meet our babies soon. All you have to do is push. Just a little bit longer.”
“Oh God. I need to push, I need to push.” She sits up again.
“That’s it, Raven,” the doctor coaches. “Your body knows what to do, just listen to it.”
My fingers go numb from her death grip, heart constricting when she screams. I hate that she’s in so much pain and there’s nothing I can do about it. It’s fun making them and all, but getting those kids here is no joke.
She falls back again, breathing out of control. Then I hear it.
The sharp cry.
My baby is here. A child I created has entered the world and taken his first breath.
My knees go weak.
“It’s a boy!” the doctor announces.
“You hear that, baby doll? It’s a boy. I told you!”
I have a son! With joy surging through my body, I peek down the bed to get a glimpse of him, but a nurse whisks him away.
“Okay, Raven. We’re almost there. I need you to push for me again.”
The exhaustion is evident as she props herself up on her elbows. I help her up, kissing her forehead and gently squeezing her fingers in encouragement.
“Almost there, babe.” Her eyes lock onto mine, red and puffy from all the crying. “I love you,” I whisper.
She nods, the words renewing her strength. As I watch her fight to give our children life, I fall deeper in love with the woman I vowed to spend the rest of my life with. I didn’t even know it was possible. She already occupies every crevice and corner of my heart, but this is different. I look at her and now know what it means to have my heart beating outside my chest.
Another sharp cry pierces through the noises in the room and I stop breathing.
“It’s a girl!”
A girl.Mybaby girl. A daughter.
“Wanna cut the cord, Daddy?”
I look to Raven, who’s nestled in the pillows, lids drooping. She gives me a weak nod, her lips barely curling up into a smile. My body vibrates as I make my way to the foot of the bed. I try not to look under the sheets, but the blood I can see is enough to make me sick—not for me, but for her. My poor baby doll.
“You okay, there?” the doctor asks as he hands me an instrument.
I nod, swallowing the lump in my throat. Gazing at my baby girl, I cut the umbilical cord where the doc indicates. She’s covered in blood and fluids, but other than her mother, she’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. My little Hailey. I can’t remember the last time I cried, but my eyes begin to burn. I turn to watch them fuss over her while another nurse brings my baby boy forward. When she lays him in Raven’s arms, I take mechanical steps toward her.
“Gage, look….”
Tiny fingers curl around Raven’s thumb. She grins up at me briefly before her gaze returns to our son.
Chaos.
Fuck if he didn’t come into this world living up to his name.
My babies were conceived in rage and born in chaos.
“Mr. Hunter?”
I turn to the nurse, carefully taking the little bundle she hands me. I thought I wanted sons, but this little girl already has me wrapped around her tiny finger.
“You did it, babe.” I show Raven our daughter. “They’re here.”
