“There we go,” said Melroy.“Get ready to push, Mrs.Croft, if you’re able.”
“Adrian…” A faint whisper of sound that transformed into a series of pants.And then Samantha was bearing down, teeth gnashing together, her eyes squeezed shut as she strained to accomplish the challenge she faced.
A grunt from Melody’s direction made Adrian realize how much his wife was hurting her with her iron grip.Yet she bore it with determination, as did he.A shared look of acknowledgement told him that Melody too considered her own discomfort a trifle compared with Samantha’s torture.
“Come on, Mrs.Croft,” said Doctor Moore.“Just a little bit more and your daughter will be in your arms.”
“Daughter?”Adrian croaked.
“She’s coming feet first so there’s no longer any doubt,” Doctor Moore informed him.“You’re having a girl.”
“We still need the head,” Melroy muttered when Samantha sank against the birthing bed, a mixture of sweat and tears adding a sheen to her pale cheeks.He sent a look sideways toward Doctor Moore “Do you see what’s happening there?”
“I’ll handle it right away,” Doctor Moore informed him, his voice so hushed it sent shivers down Adrian’s spine.
“What is it?”he asked, fresh panic spiking.“What are you talking about?”
Doctor Moore gave him a pointed look.“Nothing to be alarmed about.”
Adrian wanted to strangle the man yet that would require releasing Samantha’s hand, which he had no desire to do.So he watched in quiet terror while Doctor Moore leaned forward and did whatever it was Melroy required of him.
What followed, was an indescribable moment preceded by quiet and then the sharp wail of an infant.A moment in which his heart shuddered, and the world was forever changed.
“Adrian?”
Samantha’s weak voice pulled him out of his startled state.He bowed over her and pressed his lips to her brow.“You did it, my love.We have a daughter.”
He heard her breath tremble with deep emotion, then the sound of her gulping with sheer relief.When he leaned back, tears were streaming down her cheeks.The sight made his own eyes well once more.
“Here she is,” said Doctor Moore, his voice soft, almost reverent as he handed the swaddled baby to Adrian.
“I’ll prepare the sutures,” Melroy said from across the room where he presently rinsed his hands.“You wife may want some morphine for this.”
Adrian nodded while gazing down at his daughter’s tiny face.Perfection.Though he felt he could easily stay like this forever, admiring every eyelash and each of the sounds she made, he quickly delivered her into Samantha’s arms.
“Goodness gracious, she’s gorgeous,” Melody whispered.
“She’ll need to start feeding,” Doctor Moore declared.He cleared his throat.“Do you have a wet nurse in mind or…?”
“I’ll feed her myself,” Samantha muttered, the smile on her lips slightly wobbly, as though she struggled with her emotions.“If you could help me, Adrian?”
He knew without further explanation what she was asking of him.Ordinarily, he’d have balked at the notion of having her placed on blatant display before others, but all things considered, it seemed like the natural thing to do.
So he retrieved the dagger he kept in his right boot, and started cutting through fabric.As soon as her bodice parted, the child was placed at her breast where it latched on as though it had done this a thousand times before.
“The morphine,” Melroy said, appearing at Adrian’s side with a glass.“It should permit her to sleep through the last of the pain.”
“And then she’ll be well?”Adrian asked.
“She’s lost a significant amount of blood, so she’ll need at least a week, I should think, in which to regain her strength.Rest will be important for her, but after that, I do believe she’ll make a full recovery.”
“Thank you.”Adrian took the glass and helped Samantha drink.
It didn’t take long before she slept, upon which Melroy completed his work, while the baby quietly kept on nursing.
“I’m in your debt,” Adrian told the surgeon and the doctor when they prepared to leave the room a few moments later.“We both are.”
“We’re merely doing our jobs,” Doctor Moore informed him while shaking his hand.
