"None of this is funny!" I scream.
"Whoa," Sera replies.
"I can't help it. It's the baby," Summer mocks.
Xander laughs and Sera kicks him.
"Where'd Lucy go with Dr. Mac on the phone? He's my savior," I whine. Fuck this hurts. Am I giving birth to Wolverine?
Linc and Ethan come in the room. "The bed's set up. Mrs. M is getting the bedding ready so let's go, Mama Summer."
They each wrap an arm around me and help me up. I grit my teeth, but the scream comes out anyway.
"I need drugs!"
"You don't. Remember your breathing," Jace says.
"Fuck you and fuck your breathing. You're never touching me again. I should cut it off just to make sure," I seethe through a contraction, nearly doubling over. If it weren't for Linc and Ethan, I'd be crawling on the floor.
"Here you are," Mrs. M soothes. "We've got it all set up for you."
They've got Lucy's dressing partition for privacy and I start to cry.
"What? What's wrong?" Xan asks, alarmed.
I point to the partition.
Lucy rubs my back as she begins to remove my dress. "I didn't think you wanted the whole group to see, even if they want to be close."
"You thought right," I moan. "How did you survive this?"
Lucy looks down. "I almost didn't."
"What?!" Oh no, oh no. No doctor. And she had the best.
"Don't worry, Summer," Dr. Mac says from Lucy's phone. "That won't happen here. Remember, she had four of them in there."
"Dear God in heaven. That tiny body and four babies," I cry out. "One is enough." I feel the gush of water now.
"Gross," Kadi mutters.
"Yeah, that is gross. It felt good coming out though," I admit.
Lucy pulls a tank top over my head and they ease me onto the bed. If I had time to appreciate it, I'd wiggle into it. It's comfy for an air bed. But there's no time.
Jace looks down. "Is that blood?"
"It's normal," Dr. Mac says.
Jesse mutters agreement from the other side of the room. "It is. I know."
"Jace, you sit behind her and prop her back up with either your body or the pillows," Lucy instructs.
They put the bed against the wall so Jace has something to lean into as well and that makes me cry too. I'm a big bawl baby until the next contraction hits. Then I'm a screaming banshee.
"Holy fuck," Jace says, rubbing my belly. "It's so tight. Breathe, baby. Breathe."
"I'm trying, but I can't."
