'Ethan! Ethan! I need you urgently' Kate shouted up the stairs. She was stood wearing a long white flowing summer dress. Her long brown hair was pulled back off of her face in a loose bun.
Ethan hurried down the stairs. 'What's wrong baby' he asked. His gaze fell to his wife's stomach. Her hand was rested on it. 'Is it the baby?' He asked worriedly.
Kate nodded. 'I think it might be time' she whispered.
Ethan looked clueless for a moment before realisation hit. He was about to become a dad. He grabbed his phone and dialled his brother's number.
'Caleb. Its Kate, the baby is on its way' he murmured.
Kate gripped the banister as a wave of pain hit her. Ethan stood besides her rubbing her back gently. He hung up the phone and put it into his pocket. 'Cal's on his way' he muttered. He led Kate to the sofa and lay her down. Her tanned face drained of colour. 'I'm scared' she admitted.
'Me too, you'll be fine, I'll be right here with you. We're in this together remember' Ethan assured her. Kate sat up, the pain struck again this time it was worse. She grimaced as the pain peaked. Her face screwed up tightly as she focused on keeping as calm as possible. Ethan held her hand as she rested the other on her bump.
There was a knock at the door. Kate insisted on getting up to go with Ethan to see who is was. She didn't like sitting by and letting other people do things, she hated being the centre of attention as well. Ethan opened the door to reveal his brother carrying a huge medical bag and a tank of Entonox. 'How's the patient doing?' He asked as he entered the house. Kate stepped forward to greet her brother in law. As she kissed his cheek she cried out in pain. Cal put his arms out to hold her so she didn't fall over. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly and pulled a face. A small scream escaped her lips.
'Let's get you somewhere more comfortable' Cal suggested leading her towards the sofa. He pulled on a pair of gloves and began checking her over. He pressed against her bump. It was swollen and rigid, exactly the way it should be. He tried to be gentle so that he didn't make Kate anymore uncomfortable than she already was. 'Alright the baby is in the right place, now have your waters broken?' He asked.
Kate shook her head. 'Right then maybe you could go for a quick walk, don't go too far and see if that does the trick' Cal suggested. He quickly got his equipment ready before accompanying his brother and sister in law. Cal stood on one side of Kate whilst Ethan stood on the other. Every so often they had to stop because Kate had another contraction and would grip onto their arms and cry. Her waters broke after a few minutes of walking so they returned home. Ethan went upstairs to fetch some clean clothes for his wife. He handed them to his brother.
'Let's get some nice clean clothes on you and that will make you feel loads better' Cal suggested.
'No' Kate snapped.
'Baby, I don't want you to be lying around in cold damp clothes, you might catch a chill' Ethan whispered. Kate continued to refuse.
'We're doctors, honestly we have seen everything and besides you're about to have a baby' Cal pointed out. Kate muttered incoherently in response before allowing them to help her. They peeled the wet clothes off of her and pulled on a t-shirt. Her own clothes wouldn't fit over her bump so she ended up wearing a pair of tracksuit bottoms that belonged to her husband. Ethan leant her an old t-shirt so that she was comfortable.
She curled up on the sofa in the new clothes. She pulled Ethan's hoody off of the ironing pile which was sat beside her and pulled it on. She liked the familiar scent of it and buried her head into it. She reached a hand out for Ethan. He took it and crouched beside her. 'How are you feeling sweetheart?' He asked softly.
'It hurts so much more than I expected. I wish it would stop' she muttered.
'I know baby. Just think of how amazing it will be to hold our little baby after all of this' Ethan whispered.
Cal took Ethan's place whilst Ethan took the dirty clothes to the laundry room. He grabbed a face cloth and dampened it. Whilst he was gone Cal held Kate's hand. She tightened her grip before leaning forward. She moaned in pain for a moment before sitting back on the pillows. Throughout the contraction Cal stroked her back and kept her calm. 'You're doing really well. Keep breathing. There we go, nearly finished now' he murmured.
Ethan returned with the face cloth and held it to his wife's forehead. After a few minutes of this Kate decided that she might try a bath to help ease the pain. She climbed off of the sofa and waddled up the stairs. Ethan trailed behind her with Cal.
'She's doing really well, Ethan' Cal murmured.
'I know she is. She's really scared about being a parent though' He mentioned.
'I know she is but just remind her that you both are in this together' Cal told him. Ethan ran the bath whilst Cal sat with Kate and held her hand as another contraction took over.
Cal helped Kate get out of the tracksuit bottoms and into some bikini bottoms and a top. He helped her into the bathroom where Ethan was waiting for her. He was stood by the bath making sure that the water was the right temperature. They lowered her into the bath carefully and stayed beside her. Cal went downstairs to retrieve the equipment whilst Ethan sat with her.
A contraction came unlike any before. Kate shrieked in pain. Ethan rubbed her back desperately trying to ease her pain. He whispered encouragingly to her and tried to keep her calm. As soon as the contraction finished another took its place. Kate leant forward and howled in pain. 'PLEASE MAKE IT STOP' she sobbed.
'CALEB!" Ethan shouted. Cal sprinted up the stairs. He followed a distraught Ethan into the bathroom. He crouched beside the bath tub.
'Are you alright darling?' He asked concernedly.
'I can't do this anymore, it's going to kill me' she cried.
'You're doing marvellously. Just keep breathing and stay calm. I'm going to get the Entonox for you' Cal whispered. He returned a minute later carrying the canister of gas. He hooked it up and placed a mouth piece in her hands. 'Breathe this in when it hurts' He explained.
Ethan held the mouthpiece for his wife until she needed it. Cal made each of them a cup of tea and helped Ethan carry Kate out of the bath. They were drying her off when she suddenly started crying.
'Hey baby what's wrong?' Ethan asked worriedly.
'I don't want to do this anymore. It's too much' she sobbed.
'Come on Kate, You're doing really well. I'll check you over in a moment and we'll see how much longer it will be' Cal murmured.
They put her dry clothes back on before Cal carried her back to the bed. She snuggled into the soft mattress. Cal sat at the foot of the bed. He pulled on a pair of gloves. Ethan sat with Kate and kept her talking whilst Cal checked how far along she was.
'Right. I would say you are about 7 centimetres. So that means that you will hopefully be ready in a couple of hours. I suggest you get some rest in here for a while so you have the energy to push when you need it' Cal recommended. Kate nodded. Ethan pulled the curtains closed and wrapped the duvet around his pregnant wife.
'If you need anything at all just shout for me' Cal instructed. Ethan pulled up a chair and sat beside his wife. Within a short space of time both of them were completely fast asleep. Cal sat on the sofa downstairs watching mind numbing TV whilst waiting for his brother to come and get him.
He decided after about half an hour to go and check on Kate. She was asleep when he first tiptoed into the room. He set up the equipment he would need at the foot of the bed. She began to stir before crying out in pain. Ethan was holding her hand and felt the muscles in her body tense. He jumped out of bed. 'Cal!' he shouted. Cal popped his head up from the foot of the bed where he was sorting his things out.
'Oh, um she's getting more and more upset' Ethan whispered, feeling ashamed of panicking like he did.
'It's alright, I'm going to stay up here from now on because it is nearly time' Cal informed his brother with a smile. Ethan smiled at him weakly. Kate sat up on the bed wiping her eyes. Cal handed her a tissue.
'It's alright sweetie. We're here now' Cal whispered. He took the used tissue from her as she started to grimace.
'Breathe baby, keep going. You're doing really well' Ethan soothed. He took her hand.
Kate sat upright and Ethan sat behind her and started rubbing her back. She relaxed and smiled as he pressed his thumbs into her back making it hurt less.
She yelped as another contraction took hold. Ethan held her in his arms as she tried her best not to cry. Sheer determination was etched on her face. Ethan wrapped an arm around her. She buried her head into his shoulder. 'I'm sorry' she whispered.
'Why are you apologising?' Ethan asked.
'Because I thought I could do this. I can't this is impossible' She stated.
'What was it you told me? Nothing is impossible, everything is possible if you put your mind to it' Ethan told her.
Kate smiled. Ethan always seemed to know the right thing to say when she was struggling and it always seemed to work. Cal sat on the bed by her feet. 'Well put' he whispered to his brother. Kate nodded in agreement before her attention was taken by another contraction. She bit her lip to stop her from screaming and kept breathing. Soon it was over. Despite how tired she felt, deep down she knew that this was possible.
Cal pulled a blanket over her and ducked down to check how far along she was. He pulled on a pair of gloves and checked. She was exactly ten centimetres. He popped back up.
'Right then Mrs Hardy. Are you ready to meet your baby?' Cal asked with a grin.
Ethan stood flummoxed by his brother's announcement. He looked at his exhausted wife. She looked at him, determination glowed in her eyes.
'Let's do this' she muttered before getting comfortable. Ethan grabbed her hand and squeezed it tightly.
Cal rested his hand on her knee. 'On this next contraction I need you to push as hard as you can' he instructed.
The next contraction came and Kate pushed with all of her might. She repeated this process a couple of times before Cal announced 'I can see the head'. Tears formed in his eyes. Ethan had tears dripping down his cheeks. Kate focused on the task at hand and continued pushing. A few minutes later and the room was filled with the shrilling cries of their new born baby.
Cal reached down and lifted the baby onto Kate's chest. Kate and Ethan began crying. Cal clamped and cut the cord whilst wrapping the baby in a blanket. He handed the screaming bundle to his sister in law before tidying her up. 'It's a boy' He declared. He had tears streaming down his face. Kate and Ethan were both crying as well.
Kate cradled the tiny infant in her arms. Ethan tickled his new son's chin. He was adorable with soft brown hair decorating his head. She handed the bundle to her husband. Cal helped her sit up more comfortably. 'How are you feeling?' he asked.
'Better now that the whole ordeal is over' she whispered.
'I'm going to give you some fluids to help prevent dehydration. Ethan or I will monitor it and administer more if and when you need it' he explained.
Kate shrugged her shoulders. Ethan handed her their baby before taking her hand in his. Caleb prepared the equipment so he could insert a cannula and administer the fluids.
He cleaned her arm and tied a tourniquet around her upper arm. He pulled it tight before steadily inserting the needle into her arm. She barely flinched. Her focus was stolen by the tiny baby that was wiggling in her grasp. He attached the fluids to her and left her to rest. He packed away the equipment.
'So, what's his name then?' Cal asked Ethan. Ethan grinned.
'We thought we would call him Charles Caleb Hardy, Charlie for short' Ethan murmured.
Cal's face lit up. 'Really?' he asked.
Kate nodded. 'Really Cal. We wanted to name him after the second most important guy in his life after all you saved my life, you've saved Ethan's life and you brought him into the world, it's only fitting' she whispered.
Ethan handed the tiny bundle to his brother who cradled him in his strong arms. He sat beside his wife.
'I'm so proud of you baby. I love you so much' he whispered.
'I love you too Eth' Kate smiled before kissing Ethan.
