February 1st
(3 days before due date)
"My back is killing me." Winry said putting both hands to her lower back.
Edward had just finished brushing his teeth. "You need me to rub it?"
"That'd be great."
"Well, you can't lay on your stomach. You'll have to stand up." She braced herself against the bathroom counter. Edward lifted her shirt and placed his warm hands on her back, and rubbed hard. She groaned under the pressure. He continued this until she slumped her head down. "Feel better?"
"Yeah but I want to take a warm bath too. Plus, it'll help me relax before this little one comes." She rubbed her large belly adoringly.
He kissed her forehead. "Alright, I'm going downstairs in case you need something."
She took a long soak, which helped her muscles relax. She slept well, which had been quite difficult recently. Winry woke up around 5:30 with more back pain. She went downstairs, which didn't alarm anyone because she was usually up and down at night. She made some chamomile tea to help her get back to sleep. Then she noticed the back pain would ease up and come back, and was starting to accompany abdominal pain.
'Wait, this might be contractions.' Winry was alarmed and was about to go upstairs to wake up Edward but hesitated. 'What if it's a false alarm? I need to time these to be sure.' She took Edward's pocket watch, and began timing her contractions. Around 7 am, she realized that this was it. Her contractions were about 10 minutes apart and were slowly increasing in frequency.
'Ok, this is it. It's time to wake him up'. She made her way upstairs right after a contraction so she could make it all the way upstairs. By the time Winry made it upstairs, she was out of breath, which was her new normal. 'I hate those damn stairs.' She turned on her bedside lamp, and went to Edward's side of the bed. 'He looks so peaceful.' He was sleeping on his back with his stomach out again.
"Edward, it's time." She shook his shoulder. He still snored. She shook harder, and then yelled at him "Edward, wake up!"
"What? It's early." Edward groaned not even opening his eyes.
"It's time." Winry said softly.
"Time for what?"
Winry's brow furrowed. "You jackass. The baby is coming!"
His eyes shot open, and he sat up quickly "Seriously?!"
"Yes! My contractions are ten minutes apart." She smiled at him.
"We have to get ready! We have to call the nurse!" Edward jumped out of bed.
"Wait, the nurse said to call when my contractions are 5 to 7 minutes apart but we still have to get the bed ready." They pulled open the basket along with the nurse's instructions and materials, and started getting their room ready.
Winry sat on the bed quickly while getting prepared. She winced in some pain. Edward saw her and kneeled in front of her so he could see her face. "Are you okay?" She grabbed his shoulders, and continued wincing in pain.
"Contraction." She muttered under her breath. When it was over, she looked up at him and he looked terrified. "Edward, it's okay. This is normal."
"I know but I don't like it." He looked away.
"Remember we both wanted this, and we both knew we would have to face this." She hugged him. "Just don't leave me, okay?" She sounded a little nervous.
He held her tighter. "I won't."
They continued getting ready having to stop every now and then so Winry could get through her contractions. She sat on the bed after preparations were complete. Edward was timing her contractions so that she could rest between them. After a stronger contraction, Winry asked Edward for a favor. "Ed, can you braid my hair?" Ed looked confused. She had never asked him to do her hair. "Please?" she asked.
"Sure. Let me get the hair brush." He sat behind her and started brushing her hair. She smiled because it felt good to be taken care of. She winced and grabbed his leg. The contractions were getting stronger and more frequent. He stopped brushing her hair and gently rubbed her back. He wasn't sure what to say. He wasn't used to comforting others. She let go of his leg when it ended and relaxed. He braided her hair. Then she started contracting again. Ed looked at his pocket watch. "That was 5 minutes apart. I'm going to call the nurse." He turned to go but she grabbed his hand.
"Don't leave me!" She cried out. Edward was frustrated by this but took pity when he saw how scared she was.
"Fine, let's wake up Al and he can call. Ok?" He helped her up and they went to Al's room.
"Alphonse!" Edward banged on the door.
"What is it?" they heard him mumble through the door.
"Winry's in labor and we need your help." The door opened to a wide-eyed Alphonse.
"What?! Are you serious?"
"Yeah, can you call the nurse? Her number's next to the phone."
"This is so amazing!" Al hugged Winry really tight, and then he ran downstairs to the phone.
The nurse arrived 30 minutes later and made her way up to Edward and Winry's bedroom. Winry was sitting up in bed with Edward sitting next to her on the bed. She saw the nurse and exclaimed "Nurse Jenny, I am so glad that you are here."
"Me too. It looks like you two did a good job preparing." She started setting her tray of instruments up and gowning up. She put on gloves and went to the bedside. "Okay, we have to check you and see how far you along you are." Winry laid on her back and spread her legs. She was in a night gown and had already removed her underwear. Edward felt uncomfortable watching this. When the nurse checked her, Winry groaned in pain. She didn't remember this hurting at all at the clinic. Edward once again looked terrified. The nurse said "You're about 3 centimeters."
Winry cried out "You're kidding me, right?"
"She has to get to 10, right?" Ed asked, and the nurse nodded.
The nurse told her that walking might help. "Let gravity do some of the work."
Edward and Winry walked around their room and up and down the hall stopping every now and then so Winry could work through a contraction. He'd hold her up with her leaning on him. Al watched them and felt helpless. He was supposed to be there to help but felt like he couldn't do anything except some words of support. "You can do this. Keep breathing." They kept walking and making rounds. They would take short breaks every now and then.
In the hallway, Winry stopped and had a look of terror on her face.
"What's wrong? Tell me!" Edward started to panic. Al and the nurse came out.
"My water broke." Winry said. They all looked down and noticed a puddle on the floor. Winry wanted to get a towel to clean it up but they refused to let her help.
The nurse examined the puddle. "It's clear so that's good. We are making some progress!" The nurse started cleaning it up.
"I'm going back to bed." Winry said. She was so embarrassed.
Edward sat next to Winry on the bed. "You're doing great." He put his head next to hers. He felt so guilty that she had to through all this. Then another contraction hit her and she groaned louder than before. He put his arms and around her and held her with their foreheads together. She cried out in pain. "Just breathe." He didn't know if he was telling her or himself this. "You can do this. Just keep breathing." It finally let up and she laid her head on his shoulder.
The contractions were very strong and really close. After a really strong one, Winry looked at the nurse. "Nurse, I feel like I have to push."
"Oh, let's check you first. Don't push, just breathe through it." Winry laid on her back and held Edward's hand awaiting the pain. She groaned when the nurse checked her. "You're ready." The nurse smiled at her. Edward and Winry looked at each other with their mouths agape. This was it. "Let's get into a good position," said the nurse getting them back to the task at hand. They propped Winry up with more pillows. "When a contraction comes, push for 10 seconds. I'll count for you." After several pushes, not much progress was being made. "Edward, I want you to hold her leg back like this. Winry, can you hold your leg up?"
Winry tried to pull her leg back but failed. "I'm so tired." Winry said exasperated.
The nurse looked at Edward. "Go get your brother." Edward jumped off the bed and yelled out the door for his brother. The nurse covered Winry up with a towel. "Just breathe through this next one."
Al came in and sat in a chair next to the bed. "Just hold her leg back like this." Edward told him as he picked up her leg. Al looked at Winry's face. He did not want be that familiar with his sister-in-law.
The nurse removed the towel. "Ok, next contraction, push."
Winry started pushing and the nurse counting. The boys held her legs and her hands. After pushing, she would fall back and swear. They kept up words of encouragement. "You can do this." "You're almost done."
Finally, the nurse told them "Baby's crowning. You're almost done."
Edward looked into Winry's eyes. "See? You're almost done. Keep going." She found strength just by looking at him. She pushed hard and the head was finally out. Winry pushed again and the nurse said "Just one more push, and baby will be out." With that, she pushed with all her might and fell back when she felt a release. They all heard the cry of a new infant.
Ed let out a breath he didn't even realize he was holding. He looked at the nurse and then his wife. "You did it!"
Edward looked at the nurse, who was smiling and told them "It's a boy. And he has excellent lungs."
The baby was screaming at this point. "A boy?!" He looked ecstatic and looked at Winry. "It's a boy!" Edward told her even though she heard the nurse. She smiled at him with a tired look of accomplishment.
"Alright Dad. Do you want to cut the cord?" The nurse handed him the scissors.
"Oh uumm. Sure." Edward said. He didn't realize she was talking to him. She showed him where to cut, and he learned you have to cut the cord really hard because it was tough. Al looked at Winry and congratulated her.
The nurse wrapped up the baby in a towel. She picked him up. "Let's go meet your mom." She brought him to her. Winry took the tiny bundle in her arm so that the baby was facing her and Edward. She started crying tears of joy.
"We've waited so long to meet you. Shhhh shhhh it's okay." She comforted the baby. The three of them looked on in awe at the miracle of life. The baby turned it's head and looked up at Winry's voice. He started to calm down a little. Winry caressed the baby's face and hair lightly with her fingers. She couldn't believe that he was here.
After the nurse checked the delivered placenta and cleaned up Winry, she reminded Edward "The baby needs a bath next."
"Oh right," Edward said and got off the bed. He ran some bath water until it was warm and filled up a large bowl. He set it on the counter and grabbed a few towels. He went back in the bedroom and told them "The bath is ready." Winry handed the baby to Edward. They were both awkward handling the baby between them, both trying to be careful. Edward got him cradled in his arms and took him to the bathroom followed by the nurse. The nurse helped Edward wash the baby and scrubbing to get the goo off of him. The baby cried. He did not like the bath.
When the baby was clean, Edward put a diaper on him and dressed him in thick red pajamas. Then the nurse showed him how to swaddle the baby and they brought him back to his mom. The nurse informed Winry that she needed to feed the baby next.
Alphonse took this as his cue to leave. It was lunch time so he went downstairs to make breakfast for lunch because Winry wanted eggs and bacon. Winry unbuttoned the top part of her gown and the nurse asked if she wanted to try holding him on her side or across her chest. "I'll try the side," Winry said and the nurse handed the baby so Winry could cradle him on her side. The nurse put a pillow under the baby to support Winry's arm. Edward sat on the bed and leaned his head over to peek at the process. He knew Winry had been nervous about this because the book made it sound complicated. The nurse helped her position and showed her a trick. The nurse put her finger next to the baby's cheek and he turned his head toward her finger. The baby then latched on to Winry and started suckling. She looked at Edward because she was so excited. "I did it."
Edward smirked. "I knew you could do it." The baby kept suckling and the nurse gave them some instructions for postpartum care. After the baby finished eating, he fell asleep. They put him in the bassinet so Edward and the nurse helped Winry clean up and get into some warm pajamas. They also put clean sheets on the bed.
By this time, Al brought up brunch for Edward and Winry, who were grateful. They hadn't eaten since the night before and it was already 1 pm. The nurse left and said she or the doctor would come by tomorrow. After she left, Al asked them "So are you still going to name him Benjamin?"
Winry looked up at Edward. He was in charge of the boy's name as long as it okay by her. Edward looked at the child. "Yep, but I think we'll call him Ben for short. Benjamin Edward Elric."