Horizon
Note: Yes, your midwife is your aunt. Yes, she's going to be seeing your koochie-coo and even checking it for dialation. I would be okay with that personally, so you're gonna be okay with that, right? Because honestly, we're looking at welcoming a tiny life into the world... Chris's baby boy... this is nothing sexual, but something beautiful and precious... it's gonna be wonderful. I hope you can think of it the same way. XOXO
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Chris called Shar and she said she'd be right over. Her assistant, Steph would be coming with her. All the equipment Shar would need including the pool had been brought over and stored as soon as you both agreed on how you wanted things to go. At that time, the reading area had also already had all the furniture pushed to the walls to allow room to set up the pool.
You layed on your side, a dull aching everpresent now. You were just waiting for the next contraction, almost dreading it. Those first two were no picnic. They were pretty far apart still, thank God. You breathed deeply to try to calm your nerves. You were a little scared, but kept telling yourself that women have been doing this for thousands of years and that you would get the best reward for it all once it was over.
Once Chris got off the phone with Shar, he scooted up behind you, as close as he could. He spoke softly, "C'mere, love." He slid his lower arm under your head, his other arm snaking entirely around your ribs, holding you close. He could hear and feel your deep breaths easily. You were trembling slightly.
As soon as he had woken up enough and understood that you were in labor, he had gone to a new height of being loving and protective than he had ever been. The side of him where his own insecurities and needs didn't even exist had emerged and it was all about taking care of you and his baby now. He was calm and confident, strong and steady... for you and your son. He just kept surprising you with how much more he had to give.
He could sense your apprehension and fear. He kissed the back of your head and spoke low, his voice deep and reassuring, "You're gonna do great, baby. I'm gonna be right here with you, okay? You're amazing. I love you."
You nodded in short, quick jerks, your voice just above a whisper, "Okay. I love you."
"Anything I can do for you, sweetheart?", he asked lovingly.
You rolled over to face him, burying your face in his bare chest as he wrapped his arms around you completely, "Just hold me. I'm so nervous."
He rubbed you upper back gently, "Of course, my sweet little love. I'm gonna hold you as much as you'll let me." You were still trembling a bit, so he asked, pulling up the covers more, "Are you cold?"
"A little.", you offered.
"I can go turn up the heat."
"Don't go anywhere. All I need is you right now, Chris. You'll warm me up... you always do."
His heart swelled knowing how much you needed him as he stroked your hair gently. "Okay, baby girl. Try to rest. Sleep if you can. I'm not going anywhere." He kissed your head.
His warmth relaxed you quickly, just as you knew it would. You had turned your face upward, your ear against his chest. His heartbeat was steady; strong. That combined with his scent and warmth lulled you to sleep quickly.
You woke again some time later to another contraction gripping your insides like a vice. You whimpered out as you woke and Chris held onto you tighter as his voice was low, "Contraction?"
"Mm-hm.", you whined, trying to breath deeply.
He stroked your hair softly, "Okay, just focus on your breath, my voice and think about our little boy and how he's coming to see us soon."
His words were so comforting and did well to get you through the pain. The gnawing sensation subsided and you relaxed in his embrace once again.
More time passed and the doorbell rang to signal Shar and Steph's arrival. It was now almost 7:30 AM.
"I'm gonna get the door, love.", Chris shifted, taking his arms from around you. "I'll be right back." He stroked your hair once more and kissed your head as you nodded.
He returned with Shar in tow, Steph following. He laid on the bed with you again and she came to your other side to sit as you rolled to your back, "Heyyy, sweetie." She took your hand and rubbed the back of it with her other hand. "We ready to have a baby?"
You chortled nervously, "Well, I guess so, I don't really have a choice."
She huffed out a laugh, "It's gonna be great, (Y/N). You'll see. You've got your amazing husband here,", she hitched her head at Chris, "and I've been doing this for 20 years. Everything's gonna be fine, okay?" She smiled softly at you. She turned, "This is Steph, she's gonna be helping us today." Steph greeted you and shook your hand gingerly. Shar continued, "Now, Steph and I are also here for other support as well. We can make you stuff to eat, get you drinks, help you go to the bathroom. Whatever you need. That way, Chris can stay with you more, okay?"
"I can eat?", you asked surprised. You had always heard about how hospitals never let women eat during labor.
She chortled, "Of course. In fact you should, delivering a baby is a lot of work for your body. You're gonna need that energy. Have you eaten this morning?"
"No."
"Okay. Let's check your dialation and then we'll get you some breakfast." She stood. "So are we feeling shy or confident right now?", she asked, gauging whether you wanted to be covered as much as possible while she checked you.
You huffed out a laugh, "I don't care. My stuff's gonna be exposed a lot today, I'm sure."
"Okay.", she grinned. "You may want to change into something like a short, comfortable dress so that we can check you easily as the labor progresses. You can wear underwear or not; whatever makes you comfortable. Most women go with a dress, a sports bra or bikini top underneath for the pool... or some deliver completely nude. Has your water broke?"
"No." You pulled off your pants and underwear as she went to wash her hands and returned. Chris held you with his forehead against your temple as she checked you, squinting. When she was done, Steph handed her a antiseptic wipe for her hands as she spoke, "Looks like you're at about a 2. We've got a good amount of time ahead at this point. We'll get the pool set up when you're halfway dialated." The pool could be filled with hoses attached to an indoor faucet. It had it's own heating elements to keep the water warm.
Steph spoke, "What clothes can I get you and where are they?" She was smiling so sweetly and her voice was so cute.
"Um, I have a coral t-shirt nightgown and a black sports bra in the top left drawer of the dresser.", you pointed to the dresser past the foot of the bed and Steph went to get them.
Shar asked, "What would you like to eat?"
"Uhhh...", you thought about what you had in the kitchen. "We have fruit and cottage cheese. I think I'd like that."
"Mmm, sounds good. Coming right up.", she said, turning for the kitchen.
"Oh.", you called after her once she disappeared. "Feel free to help yourselves at any time to anything."
Steph handed you your clothes, "Thank you.", she said.
You thanked her and she left, closing the door to go prepare things for the journey ahead.
You scooted to the edge of the bed to change, opting to leave off your underwear off. Chris knelt and walked on his knees to be behind you, rubbing your arms softly with his palms whenever you weren't pulling clothing off of or onto them. "I can't believe how close I want to be with you right now, sweetheart. If at any time I'm fussing over you too much, please let me know. Okay? Just tell me to give you some space. Because I can't help but want to be attached to you right now." He let out a huff of a laugh.
You finished pulling on your nightgown and stood, turning. You put your arms around his neck, his hands going to your waist. You smiled down at him and blinked slowly, "I will, honey. But, I hope that doesn't happen, because I want to be close to you right now too."
He blinked, his face soft as your bent forward and kissed his lips. Your tender kiss was interrupted by a wave of twisting discomfort; another contraction. Your head went to his shoulder as you let out a low groan. He wrapped his arms around you, under your arms quickly to support you fully. "You wanna sit, baby?", he asked, concerned.
You let out a small hum through the tightening, "Mm-mm. Just-", you breathed out. "Hold me."
"Okay.", he whispered, kissing your shoulder.
Once it passed, you took a few relieved breaths. "I need to pee.", you chortled.
He guided you out of the room and towards the bathroom as he spoke to Shar who was cutting fruit, "Just had another contraction."
"Oh, wonderful.", she looked up from her work for a beat.
"That's what you think.", you grumbled.
She chuckled as you and Chris disappeared into the bathroom, leaving the door open. No one here that wasn't going to see everything anyway. "I know, sweetie. It's super unpleasant, but it's such a small window of time compared to the joy that baby will bring you." She knew, having had two children of her own in just the same way that you would be; at home, without drugs, naturally. "Breakfast is almost ready.", she called to you.
Once you were finished you washed your hands and headed to the kitchen, Chris supporting you as you walked. He knew his back was gonna be killing him later with all this hunching he was doing to support you. You sat at the table and Chris sat with you, his hand stroking your thigh under the table, his mouth curled into a soft smile. Shar brought two bowls to the table for you and Chris.
"Thank you, Shar.", you smiled weakly. You picked up your fork and stabbed a piece of cantaloupe. You were starting to feel drained already. You had no idea how you would endure however long this might take.
Chris interrupted your thoughts when he spoke with a mouthful of food, "When do you wanna call our friends, baby?"
You had just put the fruit in your mouth when he started. You covered your mouth with a hand, trying to chew quickly, then swallowed, your voice meek, "Now is fine, babe."
You and Chris had decided that you would invite the circle of friends over during the labor if they wanted to come. You would designate the family room downstairs as where they would mostly hang out. They weren't forbidden from coming upstairs to visit or come and go from the house, but the living room would be off limits since that would be where you were delivering and you didn't want everyone in there. They would use the back door to arrive, go out for food or anything else they might need to leave for.
It was getting to be afternoon and all those who were coming had shown up; all but the Bartons. Them having kids made it difficult for them to always be able to show up with the group. When Nat came to say hi, you had invited her to stay with you if she wanted, right through the birth. She was tickled and more than happy to stay with you. She helped Chris keep you comfortable and stayed with you any time he needed to do something; even daddies have to piss sometimes.
You had found that bent over or kneeling was the most comfortable. Walking also helped, so you did a bit of shuffling around the house from time to time. You also had told Chris you wanted macaroni and cheese for lunch. He informed you that no restaurant that made it was open, since it was Sunday and that you didn't have the stuff to make it from scratch. You then told him you were craving the crappy boxed stuff... and some chocolate milk. Everyone had a little chuckle at that. Nat went downstairs and sent Bruce to the grocery store to get some. Everyone was doing an outstanding job of contributing to such a peaceful, secure and comfortable atmosphere for you. You had the best people in the world in your life. You felt so blessed to be having such a transcendently wonderful birth.
A while after lunch, Nat had put on some soft, relaxing music in the bedroom. She was also making sure you stayed hydrated, giving you drinks of water periodically. You were bent over the bed, standing, your head on your folded arms on the matress and your belly hanging down unobstructed, during another contraction. You were squeezing Chris's hand as he was on his side next to you, legs hanging off the bed, propped up on his elbow. Your deep breaths where coming out in a mantra of long, low hums as you swayed your hips side to side slightly. You let yourself experience the pain, the tightness the pressure. By now, you had accepted the process and let yourself be present in it. You wanted to fully experience every facet of the birth of your baby. That's how it was meant to be.
Chris was partly hunched over you, his head resting against yours as you worked through it. He was rubbing your lower back with the heel his free hand, cooing quietly through your hair, into your ear, "You're doing great, sweetheart. You're so amazing and strong." He kissed your head and then rested his lips against it.
You barely registered what he was saying, but his touch, his soft voice, encouraging words and his calm energy really urged you on through the torturous and relentless contraction pains that only rose in intensity each time. 'I can do this. It's gonna be beautiful. My baby boy is coming.'
You started to tear up at the thought as the contraction subsided. You were starting to feel emotionally desperate for the end game of all this discomfort. You whimpered out quietly, your voice slightly muffled by your position, "I wanna hold my baby boy."
Chris's brows pulled up in the center in sympathy as he kissed your head again, "I know, baby. I know. He'll be here before you know it."