I am quite amazed that I've managed to post a oneshot a day for a full week! And I'm currently working on about three others. I am offficially obsessed with Riain.
This is another fic from an OTP Prompt that I originally wrote for another pairing but never posted so I've finished & edited it into a fluffy Riain oneshot (Totti10 I hope it's fluffy enough to make up for yesterday's oneshot!)
Prompt: Person A is about to give birth. They're really anxious about it, but Person B squeezes their hand comfortingly and assures them that everything will be okay. Soon enough, they're both gushing and crying happily over their newborn baby.
"Iain" Rita whispered quietly into the darkness, not sure if he was awake or not.
"Yeah?" Iain mumbled sleepily as he rolled onto his side to face Rita, frowning as, even in the darkness of their room he saw the tears shining in her eyes, "Rita, what's wrong?"
"I erm, I don't want to do it" Rita whispered as her tears slowly began to fall down her cheeks.
"Do what?" Iain asked quietly as she reached out to wipe at Rita's cheeks with his thumbs.
"This" Rita gestured to her large stomach, "I don't want to have a baby" she whispered, "I can't, I'm not ready."
"Oh Reet" Iain whispered, wrapping his arms around Rita and shuffling as close as Rita's bump allowed, letting her try to curl into him. "It's normal to have doubts, it's normal to be scared, this is a huge change for us, you're allowed to be terrified but whatever you're worrying about, whatever actually happens once she's here, you won't be on your own Rita, we're going to do it together, every contraction I'll be there to hold your hand, midnight feeds, dirty nappies, we'll do it all together."
"What if I mess up?" Rita whispered, "what if I do something wrong?"
"Then we learn from it and move on" Iain said softly, "nobody's expecting you to be perfect. Do you love her?"
Rita nodded, her left hand moving to rest on her bump, her right clutching at the tshirt Iain was wearing, "of course I do."
"Then that's all that matters Reet, all we'll have to do is love her, we'll figure everything else out as we go along."
"I don't want to be induced" Rita whispered, it had been 10 days since Rita's due date and although, for the past few weeks she'd been complaining about how tired she was of being pregnant and how she wished their daughter would hurry up and 'cook faster' the thought of actually having the baby completely terrified her.
"Alright, that's your choice."
"I mean, if she was ready she'd come right?"
"I guess so" Iain nodded, "why don't we wait a few days, I mean at least until she's officially two weeks late and then see how you feel. We can talk to your midwife at your appointment in the morning, As long as she's healthy in there and you're okay then I'm happy to support you with whatever choices you make."
"You're not going to leave me are you?" Rita whispered.
Iain shook his head, "of course not, I'm here for you and our daughter, I always will be."
"We haven't even thought of a name for her."
"That's okay, we might think of the perfect name as soon as we see her."
"Her nursery's ready though?"
"Yeah, and everything's ready for you to have a home birth just like you wanted and we've got a bag packed too, just in case you change your mind and want to go into hospital."
"I'm so tired" Rita whispered, "I feel like I haven't slept in weeks."
"Why don't you close your eyes?" Iain suggested.
"I won't sleep" Rita said softly, "I'm having Braxton Hicks contractions and I think she's laying funny against the bottom of my back, I feel a bit sick too."
"Okay, do you want me to run a bath for you?" Iain asked softly as he flicked on the bedside light. He knew a long soak in the bath really helped Rita to relax even if she could only do it when he was there to practically lift her in and out of the tub.
Rita nodded, "I'll come with you, I, I don't want you to leave me" she whispered, "and I need to pee again anyway."
"Okay" Iain said softly as he stood from the bed, stretching to crack his back before walking around the bed so he could help Rita to her feet, "are you okay?"
Rita nodded, "just uncomfortable."
Iain nodded, and let Rita curl into his chest like she had done so many times over the past few months, finding comfort in having his strong arms wrapped around her as she listened to the reassuring beat of his heart "tell me if there's anything I can do for you."
"Can you, when I'm in the bath will you get me some hot chocolate?" she asked softly, "and then get in the bath with me?"
Iain pecked Rita's lips as they walked into the bathroom, "of course I can."
He got Rita settled in the warm water before sleepily padding down the stairs, making a hot chocolate, just the way Rita liked before taking it back upstairs with a bowl and a bottle of water, "I know you said you were feeling sick so I brought...are you okay?" Iain asked as she found Rita on her hands and knees in the bath tub, rocking backwards and forwards slowly.
"My back hurts" Rita whimpered as she looked up at Iain before frowning, "I don't want that any more, sorry" she said as she saw the mug in his hands.
"That's okay" Iain put the mug on the side of the sink and placed the bowl and water on the floor, "would you like me to rub your back?"
"Could you, could you run the shower on it please? Right at the bottom."
Iain nodded as he reached for the shower, testing the temperature on his own hand before holding it over the bottom of Rita's back. He'd spent enough time massaging her aching muscles that he knew exactly where she wanted the water, "is that okay?"
"Mhmm" Rita groaned out as she felt her stomach harden slightly.
"Rita" Iain said softly as he reached out to massage Rita's back with his free hand, "be honest with me, do you think you're in labour?"
Rita shook her head, "they're just Braxton Hicks, I'm not...I can't be in labour, I...I'm not ready" she whispered as tears filled her eyes, "I'm not ready for her, I can't, I can't do it Iain."
"Oh Reets" Iain turned off the shower and moved to sit at the end of the bath, gently placing his damp hand on Rita's cheek, "you can do this, just think about how long you've been waiting for her, how long you've been wishing she was in her arms."
"I can't" Rita whispered, "I'm going to be a terrible mother, she's going to hate me and…"
"You're going to be perfect Rita and so is she, and she won't hate you, she'll love you, you'll have a bond with her that no one else will, she'll recognise your smell, your voice, the sound of your heart beating, you'll be the person she finds most comfort from."
"I'm scared."
"I know you are and that's absolutely fine, but try and stay calm, we can deal with anything we need to as it comes up, and we'll deal with it together."
"I feel sick" Rita whispered.
"That's why I brought the bowl up with me, do you want some water?"
Rita nodded and carefully sipped at the bottle Iain held to her lips before groaning again as she felt her stomach harden for a second time, "it's happening isn't it? I'm in labour."
"Yeah" Iain nodded as he grabbed a bobble from the cabinet over the sink and pulled Rita's hair back from her face, "I think our daughter's ready to say hello" he smiled, gently kissing Rita's forehead.
"I'm going to get to kiss her little nose?"
Iain smiled and nodded, surprised to find tears filling his own eyes, "yeah, yeah you are." Their baby's tiny little nose had been the first thing Rita had noticed at their daughter's scan and throughout her pregnancy she kept telling him how she couldn't wait to kiss their daughter's little nose.
"I want to get out, I want you to hold me."
"Okay" Iain helped Rita out of the bath and wrapped her in several warm towels before leading her into the spare bedroom that they'd prepared once Rita had decided she wanted their daughter to be born at home, "do you want any clothes on?"
Rita nodded, "I want one of your tshirts on."
"Underwear?" Rita nodded and Iain kissed her forehead before making his way back to the master bedroom to get the necessary items, "how are you feeling?" He asked when he returned to find Rita curled up on the bed.
"It hurts" she whispered.
"Is there anything I can do? Do you want me to call the midwife?"
Rita shook her head, "I, I just want you, will lay with me, will you hold me?"
"Of course" Iain laid on the bed and held his arms open, letting Rita shuffle into his arms.
"I can't do it" Rita mumbled
"Take a deep breath, don't hold your breath" Iain said softly, blowing gently on Rita's face as he felt the blonde tense in his arms, "remember what they taught us at the classes, in and out, nice and slow."
They laid in silence for a while, Iain's breathing deliberately slow so Rita could match it, his fingers firmly massaging the aching base of her spine, "Iain" Rita whispered a while later.
"Yeah?"
"I think my waters have broken."
"Okay" Iain said softly, "let's get you out of those wet towels and once you're comfortable I'll ring your midwife."
"No" Rita frowned, "I, I…" she couldn't finish as tears began rolling down her cheeks.
"Hey" Iain wiped at her tears, "what's wrong."
"I don't want the midwife, I just want you." Rita choked out between sobs.
Iain frowned, "you want me to deliver the baby? Reet, it's been a while since I…"
"Please Iain" Rita whimpered as her stomach tightened from another contraction.
Iain kissed her hair, slowing his breathing for her to match until the contraction had passed, "how about I ring her, I'll tell her you're in labour but ask her to stay downstairs, that way if we need her she's here but she'll be out of the way and it'll just be me and you up here unless we ask her to come up?"
Rita nodded, another contraction already building, "okay" she mumbled.
Iain helped Rita change into one of his oversized t shirts and stood by the bed, letting Rita lean against him when she'd told him she wanted to stand up. She had her arms on his shoulders, his hands on her waist, supporting her as she rocked her hips, something he'd noticed her doing frequently in the past few weeks, "you're doing brilliantly" he told her, dropping tiny kisses to her forehead, "you're doing so well, I'm so proud of you Reet."
"It hurts" she whimpered, it was all happening too fast, this was her first baby, it was meant to take hours, but she wasn't sure how much more of this she could take, her contractions were coming so fast she barely had time to breathe between them, she wasn't ready, she couldn't do it.
"I know Love, but you're doing so well. Just think about that beautiful little girl you'll get to meet soon, you're the strongest woman I know, if anyone can do this then you can."
"I need…"
"What do you need?" Iain asked, reaching out for the bottle of water on the side and helping Rita take several small sips.
"I don't know, I'm so tired" she whispered.
"Why don't we lay down for a little bit then?" Iain suggested but Rita shook her head.
"I like standing" she whispered, "my back doesn't hurt as much when I'm leaning forwards."
"What about kneeling on the bed? I can prop some pillows up and you can lean against the headboard."
Rita nodded and Iain helped her get comfortable before he sat on the bed beside her, his left hand rubbing at her back, his right brushing stray hairs back from her face before he kissed her softly, "I love you" he whispered, "and I know you're tired and uncomfortable but you're doing so well Rita, I know it's all happening so quickly and it's scary but once it's over, once you've had a cuddle with our beautiful daughter you can sleep, I'll give her all the cuddles she can handle and you can sleep for as long as you need to okay? I can't promise you much Reet but I can promise you that I'm not going anywhere."
Rita nodded, "I, I love you" she whispered as Iain reached out to wipe at her tears, "I love you.
It didn't take long, less than an hour later Rita's cries were replaced with those of her daughter, "Oh Rita" Iain whispered, his eyes filling with tears as he lifted their baby to Rita's chest and wrapped a towel around her, "she's so gorgeous, Thank you.."
"Iain" Rita sobbed as she rocked her daughter, "oh baby" she gently kissed the baby's nose, "I know, I know" she cooed as the baby wailed in her arms, "we're all crying aren't we, even Daddy and he never cries" Rita looked up at Iain who was gazing down at her and their daughter, "we're all so happy that you're finally here, we've been waiting for you for so long." Rita looked up at Iain again, tears wet on his cheeks, "she's so beautiful."
"She gets it from you" Iain smiled softly as he kissed Rita's lips softly, "I'm so proud of you."
"I love you" Rita whispered.
"I love you too" Iain wiped Rita's tears away, "both of you."
"She needs a name" Rita said softly, as Iain ran his index finger over the baby's cheek.
"She does, but it can wait until she's been fed and dressed and you've had some sleep, she's not going anywhere."
"And you're not going anywhere either?"
Iain smiled and pecked Rita's lips again, "Look at the two of you" he said softly, "why would I want to be anywhere else?"