“I think you should get to the delivery room before the baby is born on the floor,” Ruby suggested.
“Yes, I agree,” Dr. Lynden added. “Can we go in now?”
“Yes,” Raja said quickly.
I watched over my shoulder for as long as I could before Lorenzo wheeled me past the doors and into the delivery room. Inside, nurses and other staff were already hustling in preparation. Supplies and tools lined the sterile trays, and waiting for me was a white birthing bed. Anxiety flared inside me again, but it was quickly replaced by another sharp contraction. I cried out.
“Raja!” Lorenzo said. “Quick, he’s having another contraction!”
Lorenzo and the nurses helped lift me onto the bed. I whimpered uselessly. The contractions were getting closer together on top of being more painful. I clutched the rails of the bed desperately.
Lorenzo remained by my side, patiently stroking my hair to comfort me. “You’re going to be okay. Dr. Lynden is very experienced. She delivered Noah. Hell, she even delivered Dante and I when we were born.”
“I didn’t know that,” I grunted. That did fill me with confidence, but right now I was more concerned with how fast she was going to help get this baby out of me.
“Start pushing,” Dr. Lynden called. “You’re already crowning. This baby is coming out!”
I pushed, and screamed. I grabbed Lorenzo’s arm and nearly tore it off. Sharp agony shot through my body. It was unlike anything I’d experienced before.
“You’re doing great, Raja,” Lorenzo said.
I didn’t feel like I was doing great - I felt like I was doing horribly - but I trusted my mate. Shutting my eyes, I pushed harder.
“Keep going!” Dr. Lynden cried.
I screamed again as I pushed the hardest I had yet. Stars exploded behind my eyes. My head pounded from the yelling and straining, and sweat streaked down my skin. All I wanted was for this experience to finally be over, so I could finally hold my baby.
And soon, itwasover.
I gasped as I felt the warm weight fall out of me. Dr. Lynden caught the baby and instantly she and the nurses took it away to inspect it. I whined and clasped Lorenzo’s arm.
“Are they going to bring it back?” I asked.
“Yes, of course! Don’t you worry about that,” he reassured me. “They’re making sure the baby’s healthy and breathing.”
“Why wouldn’t it be breathing!?” I asked, panicked.
“Oh, Lorenzo, shut up! Stop scaring your mate,” Dr. Lynden growled. Her scowl turned into a smile as she handed the baby to me in a soft pink blanket. “Here you go, dear.”
My eyes widened as I saw the color of the blanket, and then my baby’s face - mydaughter’sface.
“Oh,” I breathed. Then I grew speechless. I took my daughter, bundled up in her blanket, and pressed her gently to my chest. I glanced up with teary eyes at Lorenzo, whose face had lit up with joy. In silence together, we leaned in closer, appreciating the beauty of our child.
“She’s not crying,” Lorenzo murmured. “Is that normal?”
“Yes, she’s fine. She was crying a bit earlier, so her lungs are clear. She’s just a quiet one, is all,” Dr. Lynden said, smiling. “Maybe because she’s half cat.”
My hands trembling with delight, I pressed my nose to my baby’s forehead and inhaled her scent deeply. My chest filled with love and warmth.
“Can my family come in?” I asked Dr. Lynden. She nodded and sent a nurse to fetch them. When they arrived, my mother immediately began crying silently. Tears streamed down her face as she approached our daughter.
“She is perfect,” she said, her voice wavering. “Eka, look.”
“I see,” my father said. His eyes were wet and his voice, too, was cracked. I’d never seen my father so emotional before. “Perfect.”
Koto, who stood by the door, asked in a harsh whisper, “Can I come in? Can I see?”
I nodded at him. He flitted over, eyes sparkling. When he laid eyes on our daughter he gasped softly and covered his mouth with his hands. “Wow… She’s really… Real.”
