Birth of the baby
Maria was trying to work in her office in her precinct but the pain in her back was making her walk around. Finally, it seemed to lessen, and she sat back down and went back to performing her quarterly evaluations. She was almost done but had saved the more difficult staff for last. For too many years things had been slacking up here and she was determined to bring this precinct back up to what was expected by the commissioner. Since she had arrived and taken over patrol duties her staff had learned what was expected and was shaping up. There were still a few individuals who weren't performing as she wanted, and she was contemplating transferring them out.
Thirty minutes later she was down to her last report when she realized that something was going on. The irregular muscle spasms were now almost constant. She stood up and was surprised to see a huge puddle under her chair. "When did that happen?" she asked herself. She was about to head to the ladies room when she was overcome by the urge to push. She was two days past her due date but at her last OB visit, she was told she wasn't ready to deliver yet. She reached down and felt something strange - it felt hard and round and - just then she realized the baby was about to be born!
"Perez, get in here yesterday" she screamed. She picked up her phone and dialed the father of her child. "Get to my office now, please hurry," was all she managed to say. Her patrol officer, Rachel Perez, came in and saw the puddle and her boss bent over breathing funny. "Call for a bus forthwith, get the senior patrol officer in the house and call the captain. Move!" She began breathing as she had been taught in class but knew she only had moments between contractions. Just then, Danny and Sean arrived. Danny took one look at the mother of his child and knew exactly what needed to be done.
"Officer, I need you to go to the shower room and get some of the used towels to spread around on the floor. Then bring me four unused towels that are still folded and put them on the desk. Go, now!" Officer Perez ran off to get what Danny asked for. "Maria, I'm going to check what's going on, just relax, okay?"
Maria was sitting on the edge of the visitor chair in her office. "I'm pushing a watermelon out of my vagina, you try doing that and I'll tell you to relax…oh, shit, here's comes another one…hurry up, dammit!" Maria started panting while Danny checked on the progress of her labor.
Perez had spread towels around to catch the fluids that would accompany the birth and set the unused towels on the desk. Sean was standing near Maria taking a video of the birth but had agreed to film without compromising Maria and her wishes regarding the birth. "Maria, I can see the head so when you next get the urge to push, go right ahead. Remember to take a big breath and let it out, then take another big breath and give it all you can. You can do this; I'll be here working with you. Ready?"
"Yeah, I'm ready and if you have any ideas about another kid, you'd better - oh, damn here it comes." She took a deep breath and let it out, then took another breath and pushed.
"Great job, babe, the head is moving down and will probably come out with the next contraction, get ready." Together they worked to bring their child into the world. Once the head was out Danny checked to be sure the cord wasn't wrapped around the baby's neck and then Maria pushed again to get the shoulders delivered. "Sean, get a picture of this, the baby has its hand on the cord, making sure nothing happens. Okay, our baby is finally here!" He used both hands to hold on to the slippery infant. He turned the baby face down so that any liquid could drip out of the mouth. "Perez, get one of the clean towels, open it and drape it over the baby's back." The officer complied and Danny wrapped the towel around the baby and turned it over. The baby looked Danny in the eye and then screamed. "Hey, little one, I'm not that ugly. But don't worry, you're gonna look like your momma and she's absolutely gorgeous especially now." Danny waited for the cord to stop pulsing before handing the baby to Maria. She was laying back, getting her breathing back in control.
"Danny, is it a boy or a girl?"
Maria's doctor had arrived during the delivery and was watching Danny deliver his child. The EMT's arrived shortly thereafter and waited with the doctor. She took a quick look and asked for the clamps for the umbilical cord. She placed the clamps appropriately and asked for the scissors and handed them to Danny. He looked surprised but was able to do the job with the doctor holding the cord for him. Then, he stood up and walked to Maria's side. "Maria, meet our daughter. What name did you decide on?"
"AnaMary Elizabeth Baez-Reagan", she replied. "Sweetheart, I'm so glad you're here. You look just perfect. That was your daddy that brought you out into this world and this is your older brother, Sean, he'll protect you from all the bad things out there and he's going to be your best friend." The baby stared at her mother as if she understood every word. Then, she screwed up her face and began to cry again. Dr. Cooper walked over and began assessing the status of the placentae. It had not yet been delivered so Maria was instructed to start the baby nursing. Instinct took over and the baby latched on sucking greedily. Danny and Sean were amazed.
"Excuse me, Danny, but you're not finished here."
Danny looked at the doctor. "Uh, what do you mean, I'm not finished?"
She explained that the placentae had to be delivered and since he had done such a wonderful job delivering his daughter, he should also finish the job. She explained what he needed to do and very shortly they were slipping the placentae into a plastic bag to be examined and verify that all of the placentae had been expelled. By this time, the baby had a full stomach and was beginning to doze. Maria was reminded to burp the baby and was rewarded with a very loud burp.
The paramedics finally were able to take vital signs on both mother and baby and get ready to transport them to the hospital. But before they left, Danny had Sean take a picture of the new family and send it out to everyone in the family. Danny rode to the hospital with Doctor Cooper. "So, Detective, how did you learn to deliver babies? she asked.
"Well, I was present when my sons were born, and it was just the best experience of my life. I had hoped to be more involved this time, but I wasn't expecting to actually deliver the baby. But I did research so I could help Maria as much as possible with the delivery."
"You did a great job. Was Maria complaining about being in labor?"
"No, she said her back was bothering her, but she didn't think it was labor. She said it wasn't the awful pain she'd been expecting, and it happened so fast."
"I couldn't have done a better job, there was no tearing, and the baby seems to be perfect. The name is a bit long, don't you think?"
"Well, Maria's sister is Ana, my mother was Mary and Elizabeth was my grandmother's name and is also Maria's mother's middle name. I love my sons but a girl? I'm in love, Doc, and God help anyone who tries to date her."
They arrived at the hospital and were directed to the maternity unit. Maria and the baby were examined officially and pronounced perfectly healthy. Her room was set up with all the paraphernalia needed for rooming in including a place for Danny to rest. He lay down and listened to Maria tell their daughter all about her family and things she could expect from them. She alternated between Spanish and English but suddenly Danny was having trouble understanding what she was saying. He heard gunshots and shouting and this constant beeping and then there was just silence and voices coming and going. But on a regular basis he heard her - Maria. He didn't understand what she was saying but the content seemed familiar. She was reading from various chapters of the Bible and he was trying to understand what she was saying. He tried to move but couldn't. There was all kinds of noise and beeping around him again and that made it hard for him to think. People were coming and going all the time doing things he didn't understand. Finally, he grew exhausted and slept.
