“Your deviousness rubbed off on me.” He winks.
I shake my head, pulling him down to kiss me again. “Make love to me.”
Chapter 12
Henry
Her hand is squeezing sohard that I’ve lost feeling in my fingers. A tortured moan slips from her lips, and I swallow harshly before glancing at the nurse again.
“We can't do anything for the pain?” I ask for the third time.
The midwife gives us both a pitying look and shakes her head. “She’s progressed too far. We can have a bar brought in here, and you can change positions to your hands and knees if you’d like.”
Natalie shakes her head. “I don’t want to move. I just want her out of me.”
My thumb rubs the back of her hand, and she yanks it away, scowling before gripping it again when another contraction hits.
Natalie blows out a breath. “Henry?”
“Hmmm?” I hum, hesitantly.
“Your dick is never getting near me again. Accept that you’ll be celibate for the rest of your life—oh god, again.” She grits down on her teeth as I watch her stomach tense up again.
The nurse glances at the machine that’s continuously spitting out graph paper with wavy lines. “The contractions are very close. Let me grab the doctor.”
I lean toward her, kissing her forehead. “I'm sorry you’re in pain. You’re so strong.”
She lets out a growl, and her eyes are wild when she looks up at me. “I know I’m strong, shut up.”
It’s hard to stifle the smile that threatens to spread because it may cause her to actually kill me. “Okay, sorry. Staying silent.”
Her jaw tics, but she relents, focusing on her breathing again. Her water broke barely an hour ago, and since so many people told us that most first-time moms labor for a good while, we didn’t rush to the birthing center. Only to arrive, have her cervix checked, and be told she’s progressed so far that she can’t get an epidural. They didn't have a suite available to pivot to a water birth either. If I’ve learned anything about Natalie these past few months, it’s that she hates things not going according to plan. I know her mind must be racing, hoping that everything is okay, even if it’s nothing like she envisioned. As long as both she and my daughter are fine and healthy, I’ll do whatever is necessary.
The doctor comes in, grinning at us. “We ready to have a baby?”
Natalie doesn't answer, head bent down and face twisted in pain. The doctor settles onto a stool between her legs, and two nurses move into position at his sides. His eyes widen.
“Oh yeah. She’s ready to come. Okay, Natalie. The next time you feel a contraction, I want you to push.”
My heart rate picks up, knowing this is going to be the hardest part, and there’s nothing I can do to help her.
A nurse nods at me. “Let us know if you feel lightheaded, Dad. We don’t want you to pass out on us.”
Natalie snaps her head to me. “You better not—oh god. Now.”
“Alright, push, push, push.”
One nurse moves to Natalie’s head, stroking her hair out of her face. “Breathe, honey. Don’t forget to breathe.”
Time seems to move sluggishly, every moment painstakingly obvious while almost standing still. Twenty minutes later, both of us nearly collapse when a tiny shriek pierces the air and the doctor holds up a tiny gunk-covered baby. A nurse takes her from the doctor, wiping her down a little before laying her on Natalie’s chest, then hands a pair of scissors to me.
“Your turn, Dad.”
A lump is my throat as they direct me where to cut the cord before my attention is back on Natalie, who has tears leaking from her eyes. Her head shakes as she tries to calm our daughter.
She looks up at me. “We did it,” she croaks out. I lean down, kissing her head before kissing our daughter. “You did it.”
“Shhh, shhh. You’re okay, angel. It’s only a few more minutes.” I comfort my small daughter, who is crying into my shoulder as I wait for the breastmilk to heat up. I pat her back, bouncing slightly before scooping up the bottle and heading back to her nursery, only a door over from our room.
