I undressed him and after he was in the shower, I went back to call the midwife and clean the mess. The midwife was two hours away, but assured me she would be there on time for the baby’s arrival.
“Are you ready?” I asked Christopher when I returned to the bathroom.
“No.” There was something off about his words.
“I’m coming in. Is that okay?” I asked.
“Yeah.” It was quiet. Almost too quiet.
When I went in, I saw why. He was leaned against the back wall, his hands on his belly and his eyes closed.
“What can I do?”
“Tell me how to get this baby out. They are too big, I can feel it. They are going to get stuck.”
I didn’t begin to understand the stress giving birth would induce. I was only a participant and I was on edge. Coming face to face with the reality that the huge baby you’ve been growing for months had to now come out… yeah, that had to be rough.
“They are not. And if something does go wrong, your midwife will take care of it. She will be here soon.” Relatively. He didn’t need to worry about her being a bit late. She said she would be there on time for our new arrival, and she would.
“The house… it’s not ready.”
I wrapped my arms around my sexy mate. “It is ready enough. The bed is made, the baby stuff is accessible, and we have the bassinet ready to go. Everything else I can work on over the next six weeks.” I was taking six weeks off work to help with the baby, and apparently those six weeks had already begun.
Both of our parents would be helping out as well. The moms were beyond excited to have a new grandbaby.
“Okay.”
While we waited for the midwife, I got Christopher settled in the bed. I had stripped the sheets and laid down the linens we’d specifically bought for this occasion.
I rubbed his back as he breathed through the contractions. At one hour and forty minutes, they really began in earnest. As much as I wanted my mate to get through this quickly, I wanted the midwife there.
Thankfully I heard her car come up the drive. It felt like an eternity for her to get up the stairs and to the bedroom.
“Hello, Christopher,” she said, mild and easy-going as could be. I needed that right now.
“Hi Vanessa. I think I’m having a baby.”
She chuckled. “I believe that you are.”
She examined him quickly, letting us know what she was doing before she did it so that my wolf stayed calm. I trusted her, and so did he.
“The baby is coming along nicely, and you have everything you need for us to get started. Christopher, I think you can start pushing.”
“Oh, thank the Goddess. I feel like I need to.”
“Then let’s begin.”
Christopher took my hand in a death grip and pushed. It wasn’t a long labor, but there were plenty of moans and curse words that came from my mate.
Then, twenty minutes after the first push, I heard the most precious noise in the world. Our child’s cry.
“She’s here,” Christopher exclaimed. Sweat beaded on his brow and his breath came in heavy pants. “Can I see her?”
“Of course,” Vanessa said.
She placed the very squirmy child in Christopher’s waiting arms as I looked on. I was in awe of what my mate had done.
“She’s beautiful,” I said.