Delilah
Idid my best to time my contractions while Lenore drove, because Gallagher couldn’t hold the phone for more than a couple of minutes before the clock on the screen dissolved into a meaningless cluster of pixels. They started about fifteen minutes apart, but by the time we got back to the cabin, the contractions were coming every nine minutes. I felt like the baby was trying to rip her way out through my navel.
Gallagher helped me out of the car while Lenore ran into the cabin ahead of us, yelling, “The baby’s coming! This is not a drill, people!”
“Does she have to shout?” Gallagher grumbled.
“If that offends your ears, I’m afraid you’re in for a long night.” I stopped walking to breathe through another round of pain, while he stood there holding my arm, looking frustrated and helpless.
By the time I got to the bedroom, Zyanya had removed the shower curtain from the tub and laid it across the bed to protect the mattress, then topped that with a layer of our oldest clean towels.
In the bathroom, she helped me change into one of my two nightgowns, then led me back to the bed, where Lenore had set a package of absorbent pads with a waterproof bottom layer on the nightstand.
Zy picked up the package and studied it with a frown.
“They’re to protect the towels.” Lenore took the package from her and ripped it open, then spread one of the pads on my side of the bed.
Zy frowned. “They why use towels at all?”
“So that she’s not just lying on crinkly plastic. It’s for Delilah’s comfort.”
But by then, the only thing I wanted for my comfort was an epidural.
“If you ladies are done arguing, I think she needs to lie down,” Gallagher growled.
“I’m fine,” I insisted. Then I hissed my way through another contraction. “Gallagher, I need a favor.”
“Anything.” He looked desperate for some responsibility that would make him a participant rather than a helpless observer.
“In a couple of hours, I’m probably going to ask you to knock me out. I want you to promise to take me seriously. Just one good tap on the head. I want to wake up with my baby in my arms, with no memory of how she got there.”
His scowl was like a bolt of thunder. “You know I will not do that.”
I shrugged as I headed for the bed. “It was worth a shot.”
“I’ve read that it’s not that bad,” Lenore said as she helped me into place.
Zyanya snorted as she gently pushed me forward by my shoulder, to make room for pillows at my back. “It’s hell. But on the bright side, the memory of the pain fades much faster than the memory of the baby.”
She seemed to realize what she’d said just a moment too late.
“Of course, no one’s going to take your baby. Delilah, I’m sorry. That’s not what I meant.”
“Zy.” I grabbed her hand and held on when she tried to back away, pain written in every crease on her forehead. “We’re going to get your kids back. As soon as I’m able to travel. Please believe me. They’re the top priority.”
She nodded. “I believe you.” But her eyes held very little hope.
“Thank you for being here.” I closed my eyes as another contraction hit, harder than the last time. My stomach seemed to tighten beneath my hands, and pain wrapped around me like nothing I’d ever felt before. “I have no idea what I’m doing, Zy. None of us do. You’re the only one here with any experience.”
“How long will Delilah be in pain?” Gallagher demanded, as if to underline my point. The fact that he couldn’t save me from labor seemed to be killing him.
Lenore climbed onto the other side of the bed and opened the home-birth book we’d all been reading. “According to this, first-time labor averages between twelve and eighteen hours.”
I groaned, though I’d already known that.
“I don’t think yours will last that long,” Zyanya said. “Your contractions seem like they’re already getting closer together.”
“They’re eight minutes apart.” Lenore showed her my phone screen, where she’d been timing since we got back to the cabin. “The book says she’s not supposed to push until they’re two to three minutes apart and she’s fully dilated.”
