“I don’t care about staffing issues. How’s Ashia?” I cross my arms and hold them together tightly, fighting every instinct I have and force myself to stay put.
“She's six centimeters dilated, and her contractions are about five minutes apart. They have been since we left the house, but she’s only about fifty percent effaced, so she’s in for a long night. They keep wanting to check her, but I haven’t let them. I know you guys have a plan to let this go as naturally as it can, but I’m afraid they’ll start pushing other things on herbecauseshe’s early and they’re worried about infections.”
“What do you mean? Like pushing in a bad way?”
“I think they’re wanting to try and speed the process up, which would be okay if she was having trouble progressing, but she’s not. Her contractions have definitely gotten stronger since her water broke, and if she was a centimeter dilated last week, and she’s six now? Then there’s not really aneedto check her again. She’ll let us know when she’s close, trust me.” Her eyes widen for a moment, like she’s seen enough to know exactly what she’s talking about. “Her labor might be stalling, but I really think it’ll pick back up naturally. If they say something about using Pitocin, I wouldn’t recommend it. She’ll be in a lot more pain, and it could cause not only her blood pressure to drop, but the baby’s heart rate could decelerate. If that happens, then they might push for a C-section, and that’s a horrible idea because—”
“Because of the anesthesiologist situation,” I finish for her, and she nods.
“I get it, they might want to schedule one just in case shehasto have one, but that doesn’t mean we should point her in that direction. I know she really wants to do this naturally. So, if she can, they should let her.”
“Okay…” I take a deep breath. “No meds… She doesn’t want any meds…” All of the information she just spilled from her usually loud mouth is running around in my brain, trying to stick. My sight locks onto the door handle and I lean on my toes, willing to wager with God to just be let in.
“She asked me to stay, if you’re okay with it.” I focus on her again, my chest finally feeling some type of heat again. I never thought I would be happy to hear those words from Serena, of all people, but I am. “She just wants me to advocate for her, so you just tell me what you guys need, and I’ll make sure it’s done.”
“Please…” I whisper before I can even think it through. Ashia will need her, and that’s myonlyconcern. “Please stay.”
She nods confidently back at me.
“Are you ready?”
I take another deep breath, willing to literally go to war with half the hospital in order to keep my wife and daughter safe, but also burying those feelings so deep down that I might choke on them later. She needs my protection without the hostility, my devotion without the violence, and most importantly, she needs my love to shine through the chaos. So, I swallow it all as far down as I can manage.
“Ready.”
Serena turns around, lifting her shoulders with a deep breath of her own before she mumbles.
“Bad bitch energy.” She steps forward and opens the door, leading me into an entirely different plane of existence. There’s a static in the air, like a storm of emotions and pain are in a raging war in the background. I hear Ashia before I see her. She’s quietly humming to herself, but then it turns into a groan before going back to a melody. I lash out and reach over Serena to rip the curtain back, immediately locking my eyes on her.
She’s flawless. Her forehead is misted with sweat, and her face is red from the pain, but her perfect lips stick out in the softest ‘o’ shape as she breathes, pulling me in like she always does. A fetal monitor is wrapped around her gorgeous body, and even though an IV is taped to her hand, she sways her hips in gentle motions. Beautiful black locks drape over her shoulders and cascade down her chest as she grips the side of the hospital bed. When her eyes snap up to meet mine, and tears instantly hit her eyes, I feel like I can breathe again. Through the pain and fear in her golden globes, relief bleeds into them, making her pupils expand.
“Damien…” Her angelic voice kicks my ass back into gear. I storm past Serena, making it over to her in three long strides. The moment I bring her close, I’m complete again, like our pieces clicked back into place. My fingers glide through her hair as she buries her face in my chest, and I swallow her, wrappingmy arms around her in a way that would shield her from anything. I’m never letting go again.
“How are you doing, little wolf?” I run my hand up and down her back, waiting for any command she could give me.
“I'm okay now that you’re here…” she whines softly. “It’s hot in here.”
I look around the room for our bags, knowing I put hair ties in hers, but I’m quickly met with Serena’s outstretched hand and a tie in her grip. Without hesitation, I rip it away from her and tilt Ashia’s chin up, then throw her hair in a knotted bun on the top of her head.
“I’ll get your fan out for you.”
She shakes her head and rests on my chest.
“I’m okay. Just keep holding me,” she begs, so I do. I wrap my arms around her exactly like I had them before and hold her even tighter. She grips the back of my shirt and leans into me, humming through the rest of her contraction. Using my entire body, I hold her steady, letting her relax as much as possible while I support her weight. I want to start raging and screaming for someone to find a fucking anesthesiologist, but I can’t stress her, knowing that she’s already on edge.
“Have they said anything about the baby?” I turn my head and ask Serena. She stops arguing with the other nurse the moment I speak, and she snaps her head over to me in attention.
“They said her lungs are most likely mature enough, and as long as she doesn’t have any respiratory distress when she’s born, they’ll put her directly on Ashia’s chest. They’re giving her steroids through the IV to help mature them while she’s in labor, just in case. She’s most likely going to have some trouble regulating her own temperature, so she’s going to need skin on skin contact for at least the first few days, until she gains enough weight to regulate better.”
“Or we’ll need to take her to the NICU,” the other nurse points out, and Serena and Ashia both snap their heads. Serena gives her a glare that could kill, but Ashia looks up at me with terrified eyes.
“We were just discussing how to avoid that,” Serena says hatefully, and turns back to us. “We’re going to bring a warming bed in here, and as long as she’s covered with a blanket and laying on one of your chests, she should be just fine,” she tries to reassure us, then looks back at the nurse. “I want to speak to Dr. Campbell.Now.”
That’s one of the reasons we chose Dr. Campbell as Ashia’s doctor in the first place. Apart from her recommendation from the OB we saw in North Carolina, Dr. Campbell is the head of Obstetrics here at the hospital. Ashia told me that her and Serena didn’t really get along…but I’m guessing that’s changed, at least, for now. The nurse’s eyes harden on Serena, and while I keep my head turned to watch the interaction, I position my body so Ashia can’t.
“She’s unavailable.” She tries to remain stoic, but I can see the anger there.
“I’ll just call her myself.” Serena yanks her phone free and continues to stare at the nurse. “Oh, and we’ll either need a new nurse, or I’ll need a pair of scrubs, because you’re fired from Ashia’s case.”
