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“Remember to breathe, Pen,”Zayn encourages, gripping my hand as the most bone-shattering, body-splitting contraction takes over me again.
“Don’t tell me to breathe, Zayn Bernard!” I screech, the pain forcing this ungodly sound to rise up and out of my throat as another contraction takes hold. Through pain-glazed eyes, I glare at him. “This is allyourfault!”
Zayn grimaces. “Well, I’m pretty sure it’s one of ours,” he mutters, then cries out as I grip his hand so tightly I’mpretty sureI’ve broken several of his fingers.
Not that I have any sympathy whatsoever, because this pain trumps all pain,ever. Either Grim and Cynthia have the pain thresholds of ancient goddesses, or they’re fucking liars.
It doesn’t hurtmy arse.
“It’s time to push, Kid,” Dax says, his voice a gruff caress, as he holds my other hand and takes my bone-shattering squeeze like a champ.
My midwife, Janice, a middle-aged no nonsense type, gives him a soft smile, before looking up from between my legs and fixing me with her stare. “Dax is right. It’s time to push, Penelope.”
“Don’t give him flirty smiles! This is as much his fucking fault as the others!” I shout.
“I wasn’t–” she begins, and I feel a tiny bit of remorse for being so rude, until the contraction worsens and then I forget the fact I’m being a royal bitch, and let out a stream of nonsensical swear words that Beast would be proud of.
“Don’t mind, Kid. She’s not herself,” Dax interjects, hiding a smile as he winks at Janice.
She flushes a deep shade of pink that tells me this is the first time she’s met a woman with four partners. It’s certainly the first time that many birthing partners have been allowed in the labour room, that’s for sure. But I wasn’t prepared to do this without all of them by my side, so here we are.
“Now then, Penelope, no swearing,” she admonishes.
If I wasn’t too busy pushing our baby out of my clearly too small vagina, I’d tell her where to shove it. As it is, I’m suddenly overtaken by this primal need to bare down and push with all my might.
Chin to chest, my feet pressed into the mattress, I push with everything I have. I can practically feel blood vessels popping in my eyeballs from the strain.
Damn, this ishard.
“That’s it, keep pushing down into your bottom, just like that. Chin to chest. Baby’s head is crowning. You’re doing so well, Penelope,” Janice croons, ducking back between my legs to get a good eyeful.
“Pen. She prefers, Pen,” York interjects, looking over Janice’s shoulder, eyes widening like saucers as he promptly averts his gaze from between my legs. “Damn, that’s…Fuck…”
His words trail off as he turns puce and stumbles back a few paces, smacking into Xeno who’s done nothing but pace up and down the room the entire time. For a fleeting moment I think York is either going to pass out or puke. Neither of which are ideal.
“York, are you alright?” Xeno asks as the contraction subsides, and I draw in a deep, steadying breath. “You don’t look too good.”
“York is fine!” I snap, pinning my gaze on Xeno who’s finally stopped pacing, and is currently guiding York backwards to the chair in the corner of the room. If I had the energy to look at the floor I’m certain there’d be a three foot gulley carved out of the concrete. “I’m the one who isn’t fine!”
“Tiny, you’re doing so well,” Xeno encourages, eyeing me warily, before glancing at Dax for reassurance, fear blazing across his face.
“This is alltotallynormal,” Dax soothes.
“Totally normal,” Janice agrees. “A perfect textbook birth. Mum and baby are doing so well.”
“If you callthisdoing well…” I mutter, dropping my head back onto the pillow, sweat pouring down my brow.
“Don’t worry, mate. Kid has got this,” Dax says, then turns his attention back to me. “Youhavegot this, Kid.”
“I bloody haven’t!” I reply, tears welling in my eyes and spilling over my lashes. “I need drugs. Just give me an epidural. Sod what I said about a natural, drug-free birth. I need an epidural right the fuck now.”
“Maybe we should give her what she needs,” York says weakly, drawing in deep breaths himself.
Janice pats my leg. “It’s too late for an epidural, I’m afraid. This baby will be here soon. I promise.”
Xeno rests his hand on York’s shoulder and gives me a watery smile. “See, you’re nearly there. You can do this, my love.”
Janice straightens up, glancing over her shoulder at Xeno before checking the monitor that’s recording both mine and our little girl’s heartbeat. “Just a few more contractions.”
