Tuesday 11 June 2013

21. The Beginning of the End - Part One of the Final Chapter


*Okay, so this is supposed to be the last chapter but unfortunately I'm gonna have to split it into two cuz I'm so busy at the moment. Also someone asked me if I could make this chapter entirely focused on the birth :/ which I'm kinda scared about cuz I know absolutely nothing about childbrith and all that stuff so please excuse any mistakes lol anyway I hope this is okay!*

Watching her breathe steadily, he let go of her hand and pushed her hair back from her forehead. The end of the contraction nearing whilst she attempted to block out any distractions. They were both silent for a few minutes until he noticed she was fully recovered from the pain.

"It's nothin', Nic." He rubbed her arm. "They just doin' their job, ignore them."

"I can't. I'ont want them all in here." She looked up at him worriedly. "Could you pull the curtain 'round?"

"Y'know, they just gonna come open it again when they have to check on you?" He spoke whilst tugging the blue fabric on its rails, concealing them from the busy surroundings.

"I don't care."

He decided against answering her back and resumed his position in the chair by her side. He could tell she was feeling restless as she continuously twirled the hospital band around her wrist.

"Wayne said he was gon' try and be here later. He wanted to see you beforehand but he's held up at the studio."

"Just Wayne? Or everybody?" She shifted to get comfy as she let his conversation distract her racing mind.

"I'ont know, I guess we'll soon see." He smiled and sat back. "You want a drink or anythin'?"

"No." Whining quietly she kicked her foot out as her temper flared a little. "I just want things to get moving. Why aren't they doin' anythin'?"

"They're doin' the best they can, babe. I d-"

"No, not them." She waved him off irritably. "I meant the babies."

"Oh, well it's like I said. They prolly take after you."

He lay his hand on her bump before she scoffed and moved her attention back to the wristband. "We're gonna be parents in a few hours."

Her short and quiet sentence was laced with a much larger impact as he blinked slowly. She was right. A few more hours and they'd be proud new parents.

"You hear what I said, Safaree?"

"Yeah I heard you." He sat forward and grasped her hand. "We're gon' be the best parents."

"How do you know?"

"Whattya mean, how do I know?" He laughed. "Look at us."

"I'm bein' serious, SB. You really think we'll be okay?" Her voice got smaller as she spoke, the evident self-doubt making itself present.

"Course we will. Just look at the way you are with Cai. He worships you."

"That's different though. He's my brother, these will be my-" She paused to correct herself. "Our kids, we're fully responsible for them and their wellbeing."

"We're gon' take everythin' step by step, plus we got your family here for a while. We're fine." He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and watched her smile uneasily before a nurse pulled the curtain back and entered. 

"Sorry, I don't mean to disturb you. My name is Kylie." She yanked the curtain shut behind her. "I'm just checking up on you guys." Sanitising her hands she moved over to Nicki as they both watched her. She was checking their hearbeats first.

"Is everythin' okay?" He inched closer in order to be involved.

"That's what I'm here to find out." She smiled but Nicki didn't feel any calmer as she moved the doppler around on her bump. "Baby A sounds like she's doin' just fine." Moving it a little she tried to place it higher up.

"He."

"Excuse me?" She looked back up at Nicki's flushed face.

"Baby A. He's a boy."

"Oh, my apologies." She bowed her head. "I always refer to unborn babies as girls." Picking up the second baby's heartbeat she stayed quiet for a while as she listened. Nicki's hand was still wrapped in Safaree's and he could feel how clammy it was. "Baby B's a little slower."

"Still?"

"I'm afraid so." She attached the doppler in a fixed position before scribbling down some notes on Nicki's clipboard.

"What do we do now then? We already had her layin' on both sides and it ain't do anythin'."

"Well, I think it's in Nicki's and the babies best interest for her to try the birthing pool. Did your midwife or doctor talk you through that option?" She leant on the bed railing and looked between them both.

"Yeah but he said he wanted to wait until my water broke." She rubbed her bump soothingly.

"Okay, did you bring anything to change into?"

"It's in my bag, Safaree." She pointed to the floor area by his chair and he immediately went to look for it.

"So, I'll let your partner help you change behind this curtain and I'll come back in a couple minutes when you're done." She smiled again and left with the notes after she'd removed the doppler equipment from Nicki's body.

With the two-piece bathing suit still in his grasp, Safaree made sure the curtain was properly shut before assisting Nicki getting out of the bed. He pulled her gown open at the back and let her step into the bottoms before pulling them up and proceeding to help her with the top half.

"You want your gown back on for the time bein'?"

"Yeah, I think we gotta walk to a different room." She turned her head as she spoke, he was still behind her fastening the gown when the young nurse came back in.

"Perfect. "She smiled and replaced the notes. "I'll go grab a wheelchair, unless you feel more comfortable walking?"

"I don't really mi-" She stopped suddenly when she felt a strange sensation followed by the feeling of  fluid on her legs slowly trickling down to the floor and her feet. Safaree hadn't noticed at first but soon caught on when he saw her look down and shift her feet as she moved away from the small puddle.

"What the?" Wrinkling his brow harshly he kept hold of her upper arms from behind.

"Oh my God, I-I think my water just broke."

Upon hearing the tremor in her voice, the nurse made her way around the bed quickly.

"Oh, just in time then." She laughed a little, trying to put Nicki's nerves at rest but it didn't really help. "Hey it's okay, don't worry about that. We'll get someone up here to clean it up."

Safaree could feel her shaking and started to worry. "How far do we have to walk?"

"To the birthing pool?" He nodded. "It's just down the corridor. You want me to grab a wheelchair?"

"No, I think I wanna walk." Nicki's voice interrupted them as she began swaying, feeling another contraction beginning.

"You sure?"

"Yeah." Not even bothering to find out where the room was she started moving towards the curtain as the nurse quickly stepped ahead to lead the way.

"Safaree." She threw her arm behind herself to try and grab at him as the pain intensified some more. He held her hand firmly and stayed behind her to shield her open back from the people in the corridor.

"I'm right here."

Walking into the room already eased her mind, there was only three people in there. One of them being her midwife.

"So it's finally time?" She smiled and made her way over to where they were stood, only just noticing that Nicki was mid-contraction as she held on to Safaree tightly whilst she groaned. "The pool is ready, we'll just need to remove your gown and underwear if you're wearing any."

"I can do that." Safaree nodded and set the bag down as Nicki breathed through the last moments of the excruciating pain.

"Okay, once you're done I'll leave you to help her in and I'll call back 'round in about fifteen minutes." She ran the instructions by him and left them to it.


Across town, Drake was basking in the tranquility of his hotel room. No disturbances, no noise and no trouble. He knew he'd done wrong in the past but having her ignore his calls and texts the way she was had him wondering if there was something she wasn't telling him. Perhaps the babies were his and she was too afraid to admit to it? For the first time in months his mind was completely clear. Honestly, he wasn't really sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing at this point but being sober had allowed his mind to think adequately and make judgements more rationally than before. He had the right to know whether she was carrying his children and he was going to find out. Rubbing his hands together he sat forward in his chair once his phone started ringing. Every time it sang out he'd hoped that maybe it was her returning his calls but it never was. It was that exact same story again when he answered waiting to hear her soft words. Instead he was greeted with another female voice. The room still silent as he listened intently to what she was saying.

"What, like, right now?" He sat his water down quickly and focused all of his attention on the phone conversation he was now deeply engaged in. He couldn't believe his ears. Nicki was in labor right now and he wasn't even informed. It was like she'd completely cut him out of the picture, he understood they could be SB's babies as well but there was an equal chance they were his and he had rights too. "A'ight, I'm headin' over there now. Thanks, Kylie." He hung up after hearing the room and floor number before grabbing his keys and heading out.

***

As soon as her gown and bottoms were removed, Safaree had cautiously helped her into the pool and now he was crouched down to lean on the side closest to her. There was still no improvement with the baby girl's heart rate but the calmer and quieter surroundings had allowed her nerves and anxiety to simmer. Which, had turned out to be more than beneficial when the labor process picked up speed.

"Okay, he sounds pretty good to me." She smiled. "You ready to meet your baby boy?" Nicki nodded exhaustedly as her midwife removed the aqua doppler from under the water on her stomach. She'd been having fifteen minute check ups for the past two hours and finally everything was starting to move along. "Well, you're almost fully dilated so I'll get everything ready for the arrival and we can start pushing on your next contraction." She gave her arm a supportive rub and moved back over to the side of the room.

"You're doin' so great, Nic."

"I don't feel like I am." She breathed out steadily and brought her arms up to rest on the side of the pool. "Did you tell everyone they can go home? I'ont want them sat 'round waitin' for hours. Cai's prolly bored as hell out there."

"Your brother took'm him home and came back. Left him with the neighbour."

"Oh." She nodded before lifting herself lightly, her face twisting with pain. "Ugh, fuck. It hurts so bad." Her eyes were shut tight whilst she leant forward, getting closer to Safaree.

The midwife had heard her start groaning from across the room and made her way over swiftly. At this point Safaree had no idea what to do. He had hold of one of her hands as her other one had disappeared back under the water but she was moaning louder than ever this time. He felt so helpless and the vice-like grip she had on his hand was telling just how much pain she was in.

"Talk to her, Safaree." The midwife spoke over her pain-filled moans as he looked back at her worriedly. Her head was tucked down and her face still screwed up but she'd changed her groans to fast and heavy breathing.

"I can't do it." Shaking her head defeatedly she connected eyes with him. "Please, Safaree. I can't do it." She blinked hard, causing the tears to fall.

"Yes you can, you're almost there." He got closer to the side of the pool and pressed his forehead gently against hers. She was breathing so fast. "I know you can do this."

"He's right, Nicki. You're almost there, he's already crowining. Just a few more pushes and you're done."

"But then I have to do it all over again!" She found enough energy within herself to yell out as she grew even more frustrated. After placing the aqua doppler back on her bump, the midwife took note of their heartbeats again before speaking up. At that moment Safaree knew something was wrong.

"Just keep her as calm as you can, I need to go make a call."

He watched her leave and turned his attention back to his struggling loved one. "Nicki, you need to calm down."

"Calm down? How the fuck am I supposed to calm down?!" She grimaced before moving her attention to the other side of the room. "What's Stacey doing?"

"She's just makin' a call and then she's comin' straight back."

"A call?" She asked breathlessly. "Who's she callin'?"

"I don't know, now could you please look at me?" He held her arms firmly, pulling her back to the moment. "You're freakin' yourself out. Just breathe."

It took her a minute but she did as he said and focused only on her breathing. She had no idea how exactly she was supposed to do this twice on the run. She felt exhausted already and she hadn't even had the first baby yet. After only a couple of minutes Stacey returned again, just in time for the next contraction.

Safaree hadn't thought things could get any scarier but seeing Stacey reach her hand into the water as Nicki screamed made his heart beat twice as fast. Even more so when he saw what looked like a head.

"There you go, the hard part's done." She talked loudly to overpower Nicki's mewls. "You wanna feel his head, Nicki?"

"No no no." Quickly dismissing her question she didn't look up and continued to pant through the pain, readying herself for the next and hopefully the last contraction for this twin.

"That's okay, you don't have to. You just keep breathing and let him turn around."

"I am." She snapped back irritably, trying to time her breathing with the soft strokes of Safaree's fingers on her hand.

"How 'bout you, Safaree? Do you want to feel?" She smiled at how happy he looked. "Here just reach your hand under her body." Pulling at his free hand she guided it under Nicki's body in the water and to the baby's head.

He grinned widely as the shock wore off. "Yo, Nic, I'm touchin' our son's head right now." 

"Yeah me too." Growling back at him she shifted on her knees as she felt the next contraction coming. He couldn't have pulled his hand out any faster in fear of her hitting him. They were face to face and she looked knackered. The only thing she was glad of at this point was that she as on her hands and knees. She couldn't even imagine how it would be to be laying on her back and working against gravity. 

The last contraction felt like the fastest. As soon as she looked up to take a breath that was it. It was already over. Stacey controlled the rest and moved their baby through her legs and under her body as she reached down to pull him out of the water.

"Oh my God, Safaree, look." Not even bothering to hold the tears back anymore she sat back on her legs lightly and held him up close to herself. "I can't believe he's finally here."

"He's so small." Reaching his hand out unsurely he rubbed the baby's cheek and jumped when he started spluttering.

"It's okay, he's just comin' 'round." Stacey smiled at him. "I'll let you have a few moments and then we'll clamp the cord and get ready for your baby girl." Keeping a close eye on Nicki and the baby she stood up and started sorting through the tools she needed.

"You did so amazing, Nic." He kissed her head and stroked their baby's hair softly.

"I'm sorry I kept yellin' at you." She cried. "I didn't mean anythin' I said."

"I know you didn't." He laughed. "That's what I'm here for. You yell whatever you want at me if it makes you feel better."

"You better get ready for the next one then." She smiled, her emotions all over the place as she continued sobbing.

"You wanna cut the cord, Safaree?"

He looked at Nicki for permission. "Can I?" She nodded tiredly and watched him. He looked so excited.

He felt so proud as he followed Stacey's instructions, cutting the cord of his first-born. Smiling at Nicki again he leant forward and grazed her lips with his. "I'm so proud of you." Before she got chance to say anything back, Kyle politely interrupted them.

"We're just gon' take the lil' man now and check him over properly, okay?" Nodding unsurely, Nicki handed over the baby and remained in the water as Stacey stepped in to check the second baby's heartbeat.

"One down, one more to go." She pressed into her stomach some more and waited a few seconds. She looked worried. "Actually, can you just step out of the pool for a minute?"

"You want me to get out?" She asked nervously.

"Only for a minute, I just want to check you over more thoroughly." Her words seemed to be uttered calmly but the way she looked over at Kylie and nodded made her fearful. Even more so when Kylie immediately stopped what she was doing to grab the phone.



...



*So it's suuuuuuuuper corny I know lol but I don't know much about babies and hospitals and all that so..yeah! Part two is the actual ending though. Forreal. Anywho, I hope this was alright :/ And I apologise for any typos.*

11 comments:

  1. lol it wasnt corny i liked it....i hope everything is good with the baby girl and i hope drake donr try something slick

    ReplyDelete
  2. Slap whoever told you to stretch this scene cuz they had me freaking out during the entire chapter. Lmfao. no, but it wasn't corny at all. I was just scared the whole time that something would go wrong. & For the life of me, I can't understand why Kylie told Drake about the babies. Who told her she could do that? Isn't that like... confidential information? I'm gonna be so annoyed when he shows up. Why can't he stay away? tbh, idc if they are his biological children. He doesn't deserve them. Like... knowing what you did to their mother you honestly think you can happily be a part of their lives again? NO. I pray they aren't his kids. & I hope Safaree signs the birth certificate as their father. (cuz once he does that, legally, he is the father, right?) Anyway. Yeah. I'm annoyed at Kylie atm. I hope the baby girl is okay. I just... :(

    ReplyDelete
  3. Carlee let that baby girl be okay... Please! The fact that you can have somebody so scared and it's just a story :-( . I want that little girl to be okay. I can't imagine hearing them say she didn't make it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm about to slap that bitch Kylie wth is wrong with her? Update soon. Let the baby girl be ok!!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Um it's not Drake's kids so he needs to just calm tf down and leave.... Kylie is a dumbasss!! and this is so cute!! I can't wait for the last chapter but I'm gonna be so sad that it's ending

    ReplyDelete
  6. This was not corny and u did good on writing the birthing and hospital part. The fact that I wanna cry cuz it's almost the end :(

    ReplyDelete
  7. Awe she finally started having the babies. & I really hope that the baby girl is ok.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I hope baby girl is ok :/ im over here worrying as if it were real life lol.. I hope drake keeps it cute and wtf did kylie tell him that?? I hope she dosnt do anything stupid either since shes so close to nicki and the babies!! Great post cant wait till the next one!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Carlee are we going to get the last chapter?
    Pls say yes :(

    ReplyDelete
  10. Where's the next chapter Carlee? :(

    ReplyDelete
  11. I still want the next few chapters :(

    ReplyDelete