Soooo...
I haven't updated this story for a while and I am so sorry for that.
Many thanks go to AGoodOmen who beta-read this chapter for me.
I would like to dedicate this to my dear Dad who isn't in a good place.
Chapter 2
"Now hold that position for one minute!"
Rugby training! That's what the exercise felt like. And for the first time since the start of the class, Becker relaxed a little. At least Rugby was something he was good at. Obviously there was no ball. And no tackling neither. They weren't even outside. But the position they were all assuming definitely reminded him of a scrum. A scrum with lots of pregnant women and their partners. They formed a circle and held each other by the shoulders, knees slightly bent, not quite squatting. The midwife explained that this exercise would help keeping up a steady position during contractions. Becker previously had wondered how useful he would be to Jess during labour. Now he learned that as a partner, he could be supporting Jess by giving her massages and steadying her when she started to get tired.
When Jess suggested they should participate in an ante-natal class, he initially felt a little reluctant to spend his free weekend at the hospital. Given his injury record, a hospital was very much the last place he wanted to be at over the weekend. But having seen the determination in her eyes, Becker knew better than to object. Jess told him that it made much more sense to book a compact weekend course than to rely on their luck, hoping that they be off their shifts in time every Tuesday evening for the next couple of weeks.
Becker found the environment quite odd. They were in a large room that vaguely resembled a gym. Although, near the large window, there was a table with medical props, room was almost empty except for a dozen big colourful sitting balls and yoga mats in the centre. Becker found it weird to sit on those bouncy balls. The room reminded him of the physiotherapy sessions he attended after his last shoulder injury due to a raptor attack in the frozen meat section of Tesco.
Once the scrum dissolved, they sat down on their mats, relaxing their legs. Becker watched Jess surreptitiously out of the corner of his eyes. She looked enthusiastic. Her hair was tied back in a pony tail and her cheeks were rosy. She had as much energy as ever and was blissfully unaffected of most side effects of pregnancy such as morning sickness and heartburn. The only downside, in Jess' opinion, was that she no longer was able to wear high heels. She downright refused his suggestion to wear flats. But Becker had been able to convince her to wear kitten heels to work as a compromise, after Jess' ankles had regularly swollen to double their normal size in the evening.
Frances, the senior midwife in charge of their course, explained the importance of proper breathing during contractions. She was as resolute as she was competent. Short and grey haired, she led them through the different stages of labour and delivery. There were five more couples in the room, all expecting their first baby. All the other women were further along in their pregnancies than Jess. She was only 24 weeks pregnant, but her doctor had suggested they'd participate in a course rather sooner than later. Any twin pregnancy came with an increased risk of preterm labour, and consequently, premature birth. And the Beckers liked to be prepared. After all, their jobs had taught them to be prepared for the unexpected.
"Right then, if everybody would put their shoes back on, please. We will start the tour of the labour ward in a few moments." Frances gave them an encouraging smile.
Becker pulled Jess to her feet gently and helped her into her orange trainers. It was getting more and more uncomfortable for her to bend over and tie shoe laces, so she gave him a thankful smile when he tied them for her.
The midwife led the group of parents-to-be across the hospital complex like a mother hen followed by her chicks. In one of the currently unused rooms of the labour ward, she explained the various pieces of furniture that included a large bathtub, an oddly shaped stool and a rather comfortable looking bed. And, of course, there were more colourful sitting balls. The walls were painted in a warm yellow and the overall impression was not that of a typical hospital room.
Out of sheer habit, Becker immediately scanned the room for potential escape routes (in case of an anomaly during birth!). He briefly considered hiding one or two EMD's in the small bag that Jess would bring with her to the labour ward, but realised that such actions would definitely be frowned upon by the staff.
With his arms crossed over his chest, Becker was leaning against the wall near the door. The gentle voice of Frances seemed to have a soothing effect on Jess who cuddled into his side. He put an arm around her shoulder and closed his eyes for a moment. His thoughts started to drift. Jess' pregnancy had been a huge surprise for both of them. They hadn't planned to have a baby than early in their marriage. And given how highly organised and meticulous they both were, the pregnancy was quite a shock at first, especially because they were using contraceptives. Jess had been taking a course of antibiotics to fight a persistent bronchitis. When she still felt tired and exhausted weeks after the cough was gone, she went to see the doctor again. But this time, it wasn't a bug, it was a baby!
After the initial surprise, Becker went through a wide range of emotions during the following weeks. There was an enormous amount of joy, of course, but also quite a lot of fear. What if Jess died giving birth? He would never forgive himself if he lost her due to a condition he was responsible for. How would he be able to raise two children alone? He had no idea about babies! There were moments of insecurity: Would he be a good dad? Would he live long enough to be a good dad? How would parenthood change their lives? But there were also moments of pride. The macho in Becker found it quite flattering that he had sired twins! There were even moments of relief (especially after having informed Lester about the pregnancy, an encounter Becker had dreaded...). The dominant emotion Becker felt though was love.
A sudden shuffling of feet made Becker open his eyes again. The group was leaving the labour ward. Their class was over for today. While holding the door open, of the fathers-to-be asked Frances, whether they would do that cool rugby exercise again tomorrow.
"I hear you, lad!" Becker thought and gave the man an appreciative grin!
I got the inspiration for this chapter from a comment one of the fathers-to-be made (yes indeed, it was the rugby comment... ;-D) at my ante-natal class. I thought Becker would appreciate it...
Reviews are, as always, very much welcome.