Althea lifted the sheet off Rivka’s legs, checking to see where she was in her labor, and saw the blood pooling beneath her niece. She had assumed she would only be assisting with abirth; her training only went so far, and she didn’t have the tools or facility needed to deal with complications of this magnitude.
"Something is wrong - there’s not supposed to be this much blood", Althea murmured, more to herself than anyone else. “How long has she been laboring, El?”
He took a beat to think.
“Any day now, El!” she demanded.
“I think since last night, but I could be off”, he stammered. “She will be ok, right?”
Althea hesitated. She didn’t want to lie to him but right now she didn’t have a definitive answer to give him. Still, she needed to stay positive. She turned her attention back to Rivka. “Riv, darling, I need you to tell me exactly what you are feeling.”
“Everything was fine, until it wasn’t.” Rivka let out a whimper, turning her head to look at her. “Is there supposed to be this much blood?”
Althea glanced at her niece. “Were you not schooled in what to expect during delivery?”
Rivka shook her head weakly. “No. My mother doesn’t even know. I was never able to tell her.”
Althea let those words sink in. She had assumed that something was amiss when Ellis had shown up the way he had, dodging her questions. Add to that everything Alexandria had disclosed in the Med center, and Rivka keeping something like this from her mother…it could only mean trouble. Something untoward had happened and once Rivka was stable, she would be demanding those answers.
A noise sounded from the tunnel behind them. Whipping around, Althea watched as Ellis came face-to-face with Alexandria.
"What the hell?” Ellis exclaimed, clearly not expecting thisnew turn of events. Althea couldn’t say she was surprised though. That girl was tenacious on the best of days.
Alex
Alex didn’t speak. All she could see was Rivka. Rivka, and the blood soaking Althea’s arms and spattering the floor under the table. The agonizing wail that had spurred her forward still rang in her ears. Davin had gone pale, leaning heavily against the wall, a stunned look on his face. His wide eyes darting between them. Alex froze in her shock, her face a mask of terror.
“RIA!”, Ellis shouted, snapping his fingers in front of her face. She jerked her gaze to his.
“What?” she rasped, still unable to focus.
“It doesn’t matter anyway”, he glanced back over his shoulder at Rivka, “come help me comfort her. She needs you-us.”
Alex blinked, looking back at Rivka. She lay there, red-faced and panting, sweat soaking her, tears rolling down her face, her hands gripping her swollen stomach.
Alex's thoughts raced.So much blood.She looks so exhausted. A baby. Riv’s going to be a mother.
Blinking her eyes rapidly to clear the tears that threatened to fall, she moved to Rivka’s side, sinking to her knees, and took her hand gently in hers. Rivka turned her head, her lavender eyes unfocused. A sob broke from her lips when their eyes met, and she realized it was Alex kneeling beside her.
“You came, Ria. I knew you would figure it out.” Her lastword died on a moan as another contraction took hold. Her hand gripped Alex’s and squeezed–hard. Alex winced but held firm, her focus never leaving Rivka’s face. Ellis was on the other side, encouraging Rivka to breathe, all whilst wiping her forehead with a bit of cloth.
“The babe is turned the wrong way,” Althea called. “I’m going to have to try and turn it so that it can pass through the birth canal. This is going to hurt Riv. I’m so sorry, baby. When your next contraction starts, you cannot push. Do you hear me? Do not push. Once the contraction releases, I will try and turn the babe.”
Rivka tensed, muffling her cries of pain as she rode out the next contraction.
“I can do this.” Rivka panted.
Althea looked up into her niece's eyes, “Ready?” Rivka nodded weakly, but determinedly. The next moment, she let out a blood-curdling scream as Althea attempted to turn the baby inside her.
Tristan stumbled forward out of the tunnel, drawing Alex’s attention, horror written all over his face.
Rushing forward, he brought his hands up to cover his mouth. “What is happening?” he whispered, seemingly unaware that everyone was now staring at him.
Alex leapt to her feet, clutching her now blood-soaked tunic in one hand, her dagger in the other. She couldn’t tell how much of the blood was Rivka’s and how much was hers. Her stitches had definitely ripped open. Again. She lifted her blade towards Tristan, the tip pointed directly at his heart.
“You don’t belong here. You need to leave.” Her threatening tone caused him to pause. “Were you following us?” she ground out. She was torn between the need to step towards him with every word and not being able to leave Rivka’s side. “Youaren’t touching that baby. It’s not yours to take!” The snarl that ripped from her lips was murderous.
Fingers weakly wrapped around her wrist, drawing her attention down.
