Page 83 of The Beta: Part Three
Then too many things happen at once for me to focus on any one of them until I hear a high pitched, very angry cry.
“Boy!” Jasper shouts, then he's frantically calling Obi's name over and over. “The cord, Obi. What do I do? Oh my god, fuck. Why does his head look like that?”
Alex bursts out laughing, and Obi swallows his own laugh. “He's been under pressure for about an hour, Jasper. Just hold onto him and let me take care of the cord, then you can wrap him up. Reid, bring a blanket from the warmer.” Obi works quickly and soon Jasper has a little, screaming burrito in his arms.
“Let me see him,” Talia says. Jasper holds him up to her, close to her face, and she smiles, then she calls for me. “Will you get behind me? I'm so tired. Can I lean on you?”
Every time she asks me to help her, my chest swells with what can only be pride, although I try hard to not let it show. I can't explain it. Talia is incredibly independent, she rarely needs our help and it's an even more rare occasion that she actually asks for it. I've already been on the verge of crowing about the fact that she chose my room to have our babies; I might not be able to contain myself now that she wants my physical help with the delivery. I kneel behind her and reach around to put my hands on her thighs. “Lean back, I'll hold you while you rest until the girls come.”
When we were discussing and arguing over potential baby names, we picked names for both boys and girls; operating under the assumption that we with three, we would could have either sex. There were a few names that we all liked enough to call favorites. Dutch was at the top of the list with the most votes. Technically, he will be called Rowan Dutch Johnson. The girls will be called Iris Leigh-Anna and Zetty Rose. Obi doesn't know that one of the girls will have his mother's name. Talia has loved it from the time he jokingly suggested it.
Jasper’s eyes shoot to mine. “How did you know they were girls?”
I give him a wink and a smile. “I may have overheard the conversation when you found out. I knew she wanted it to be a surprise, so I didn’t say anything.”
Rest is fleeting and temporary. Sooner than I expected, Talia's body starts the work of birthing our daughters. Obi is kneeling in front of her as I help her to sway from side to side. After a few minutes she grunts and reaches out to clutch Obi's top. “Can we do it like before, with Jasper. I think I'd like it better if they caught them.”
“Yes, if that's what you want and they're not squeamish. I'll be right here. Like I said, you're doing the hard part. We're here to support you.” Obi doesn't look away from Talia, but his words are for us.
“Okay,” she nods, and I feel a bit of her usual, assertive, all-business self flow back into her. She starts giving out clear, efficient orders. “Alex, I need you to hold on to my hands and pull when I pull. I'm too tired, you're going to help me get them out. Don't let me fall.”
“I'll never let you fall. And Corso is right behind you.”
I can feel her stomach tightening, one of the girls is about to make an appearance. “Nathan,” she whispers, and he makes his way over; eyes huge and somber. He starts to get into place between her and Alex, but she stops him. “Just beside me, I need your scent.” He probably doesn't mean to look as relieved as he must feel, but it is plain to see that Nathan is much happier to be beside her than in front of her. “Kaleb. Hurry. You catch.”
“We're not playing baseball. This is serious. Obi's the doctor, he needs to get them when they come out.” Trent is standing on my dresser, carefully not crushing my things. He does that, climbs the actual furniture when he's anxious. The more upset he is, the higher he needs to climb.
Kaleb gets into position just as Talia grips Alex's wrists and begins to bear down. She pulls him so hard he has to adjust his stance. She's pushing against me and pulling against Alex, and the world closes in on the three of us pushing, pulling, and rocking until Kaleb says, “that's it, honey. I can see her head. Almost there.”
Talia lets out another string of curses, then Kaleb suddenly has a very small, very angry little girl in his hands. “She's so...tiny. And mad. You haven't known me long enough to be mad at me, little baby.” Kaleb cooing at an angry infant is one of the better things I've witnessed. He's going to be absolutely foolish over them. We all are.
Talia falls back against me and closes her eyes. “Would you like to see her?” Kaleb asks and waits for Talia's nod. She doesn't lift her head from my chest, but she opens her eyes to smile when Kaleb lifts the baby up.
“Perfect,” Talia sighs, and closes her eyes again. Her skin is more translucent than it was before, and her voice has taken on that far-away timbre that tends to alarm people in these situations. Which it does. Everyone in the room is at sudden and sharp attention. All eyes dart from Talia to Obi.
“You're almost finished, Talia. Only one more and you can rest. You're so amazing. You can do it. Just breathe for a few minutes, it won't be long. Then you're done.” Obi touches Talia's forehead, then her neck.
It takes a moment, but I realize that he's checking her pulse; and that scares me more than anything. “Is she alright? What's wrong?”
“She's exhausted, Corso. Completely exhausted.”
Everyone is quiet, even the babies who have been screaming their lungs out until just now. I'm watching Talia's chest rise and fall with her shallow breaths and trying to hold on to my composure. It won't help anything if I start screaming and begging whichever deity is close enough for help.
“She's coming.” Talia whispers and tries to lift her hand to reach for Alex again, but she can't quite make it. “I don't think I can do it.”
“You can,” I kiss her damp temple. “You can. I know you're tired. I'll help you. Let's sit up a little. Would you like to try to stand up?”
She shakes her head. “Can't.”
“That's alright, bella. You can do it. After this you can sleep as long as you need to.”
“Here,” Nathan says, taking her hand. “Hold on to my hand. I'll breathe with you. You're so strong, Talia. You can do this.”
Alex crouches down and takes her other hand, and Jasper hands Dutch to Reid so he can come kneel beside me and murmur encouragement.
“Okay,” she says, taking a deep breath and shaking out her shoulders. “Okay. Last one. Almost done. We can finish this.” Then she begins pushing out the last baby.
This little daughter is determined to come out hand-first and I swear every bit of color in Obi's face drains onto the floor. “It's too late to reposition her. Talia, I need to help. This is going to hurt like a bitch. Are you ready?”
