Rating: T
Tags: Labor/Delivery, Fluff

I really wanted to write a labor/delivery in the abo universe because I've never seen one. I'm not sure if 3000 words counts as a ficlet or drabble, but here we are. Hope you all enjoy.

The sound of a key turning in the lock had Emma's head snapping around – the room following – and a pained hiss pressed from between her lips as she scrambled on the bed to face the door. The hurried movement triggered another cramp, but it didn't quite reach her through the fog of fear that someone unwanted was invading a place that was supposed to be safe.

"Emma," Killian murmured, following her onto the bed and placing his hand cautiously on her arm, "it's alright, love – it's only Brigid. We called her, and she has the key to let herself in, remember?"

"Oh, yeah," Emma mumbled, blinking away the fog at the edges of her vision and swaying into her mate's presence, "it's hot in here – the window?"

Killian knew better than to ask if she was certain – he'd done that the first time, and it had not gone over well. He nodded, giving her a slight squeeze before backing off their bed, careful not to disturb the mass of blankets that Emma had arranged exactly as she liked.

"No, don't," she suddenly whined, realizing that asking him to open the window meant he would have to leave her side. "Leave it."

"We'll let Brigid take care of it, and I'll stay right here, Swan – how about that?"

She hummed her approval, wincing as another cramp rolled down from her abdomen, building as it went and making her back bow and her knees dig into the blanket.

"Emma?" A calm voice called from the entrance, very far from the bedroom. "It's Brigid. Can I come in to see how you're doing?"

"She's in the midst of a contraction," Killian called back, his blunted wrist and hand massaging her hips as she panted into the blankets, unable to speak. "Give her a moment."

Emma ignored the actual words and just let the soothing cadence of Killian's voice wash over her, his hand somehow finding exactly the right place to push to relieve the pressure, and his scent wafting from him, thick and comforting as it soothed her frayed nerves and exhausted body.

"I'm good," she bit out with a sigh when the worst of the pain had passed, "come on in."

Footsteps sounded across the hardwood and toward the bedroom door. Emma's body tensed and her hair stood on end. Logically, she knew it was Brigid, and that Brigid was safe, but it seemed her primal brain didn't get the message, and she let a low growl rumble in her throat, scooting backwards as she tried to distance herself from the door and also finagle her mate between herself and the intruder.

"Wait just a second, Brigid," Killian cautioned, shifting fully onto their bed and folding his long legs cross-legged beneath him. He placed himself fully in Emma's line of sight, wrist stroking her arm as his hand brushed her cheek and drew her wide, panicked eyes back to him.

"I'm right here, Emma. I'm not going anywhere, and I won't let anyone through that door that you don't want. Yeah?"

"Shit, I know – it's Brigid," Emma groaned, willing herself to relax. "I just...god, it's fucking hot in here, Killian."

"I'm going to tell her to come in, and then she'll get the window. Is that alright?"

No! – her body alarmed, the omega in her wanting no one near but her mate while she was in such a vulnerable state, but her brain knew she really, really didn't want to do this without a professional who would make sure everything was fine.

"Yeah."

"Come on in," he called, refusing to let Emma drop her eyes, holding her gaze through his connection as her Alpha while the door opened cautiously and their midwife entered the room. "Can you open the window – Emma's hot."

"Of course," the woman nodded, keeping her gaze low and away from Emma's nest on the bed. "I'm just going to sit over here once I take care of that, okay, Emma?"

Emma nodded, a bead of sweat rolling from her forehead and down her nose as she monitored the midwife's movements from where she was resting on the bed on hands and knees. Her hair was swept back into a damp ponytail, the small hairs that framed her face sticking to her flushed skin.

"I'm really hot – like, hotter than during a heat. Is that normal?" she asked, giving her exhausted limbs a break and folding forward so she could lay curled on her side, her head resting on Killian's thigh. It was hot – he seemed to be as hot as her – but somehow, it was perfect.

"That's completely normal," Brigid reassured her, setting her bag down quietly and pulling the chair into a position where she could see Emma, but Killian was still between them. "Just like during a heat, it's your body's way of encouraging contractions, except instead of only producing slick, the contractions serve to move your pups lower into the birth canal, so they're going to be stronger."

"No shit," Emma hissed as another one roared to life, making her arms shake as she shoved herself back onto her hands and knees and leaned into, Killian holding her steadying and rumbling something deep and wordless against her hair as she breathed through it.

Brigid waited until the contraction had passed before she spoke, Emma's body sagging back to the bed while Killian rolled his hand and wrist over her back, soothing her as best he could.

"I'd like to check you and see how everything is progressing, if that's alright with you?"

Emma murmured her consent weakly, but nearly snarled at her mate when he made to give her space, the loss of his body against hers an immediate threat to her comfort and safety – she needed him here, right here.

She couldn't do this without him.

"You can stay right where you are, Killian. I'll just work around the both of you." Emma's eyes flickered open as their midwife made her way over, gloves already on her hands. "Emma, can I ask you to just swing your right leg open – just like that, perfect – now, just relax. You're going to feel my fingers, okay? I'm going to see how dilated you are and how close your first one is..."

Emma tolerated the feel of the midwife's fingers far better than her scent so close to her nest. It didn't matter that she was a beta, as all midwifes were; right now, everything that wasn't her or Killian was a potential threat to their unborn pups, and her body was tensing with a panicked need to defend her space. Killian's hackles had gone up as well, she'd noticed – his muscles tense where her head rested and a low, warning rumble starting in his chest.

The midwife seemed unfazed, staring at the ceiling with her head tilted to the side as she measured Emma's cervix with her fingers and then withdrew, stepping back slowly and depositing the gloves in the nearby trash. She'd been working with them for the entire pregnancy, and her scent, while not welcome, was familiar, at least. This was a sensitive time for a mated pair, and while some chose to go it alone, it never hurt to have someone who'd seen it all on hand.

"You're doing so well, Emma," Brigid smiled, already pulling out another pack of sterilized gloves to have at the ready. "You're eight centimeters, and I can feel your first little one at plus-two – so I don't think it will be long before you're going to feel ready to push."

"How will I know?"

"Right now you're probably feeling a lot of pressure from the head coming down, but when they're ready and you're ready, you'll know – you won't be able to help pushing. So you tell me if you feel that sensation at all – that urge."

"Is there anything else I can do?" Killian asked, his demeanor relaxing once more as the midwife returned to her post at the edge of the room, well away from their nest. Emma began to struggle to sit up and he shifted, helping bear her weight as she settled back onto her hands and knees, rocking forward as another contraction came on and she groaned through it.

"Just keep doing what you're doing – it's helping. Right now, your glands are working overtime to produce pheromones that are soothing for Emma, triggering the release of endorphins that are helping her manage the pain."

"This is managed?" Emma growled, biting back words that were more suitable for Killian's line of work than her birthing nest.

"I know, dear," Brigid commiserated, "but believe me, without a mate, it's much worse. Killian, just let yourself respond to your own instincts, and to Emma's as well. It might not feel like it, but both of you are made to do this – your bodies already know what to do."

"I'm cold," Emma muttered, dropping back to the bed and nuzzling at the nearest blanket that smelled reassuringly like her mate, purring as he dragged it over her and rubbed her body through the soft material before placing the back of his hand against her sweaty forehead.

"Are you certain, love – you're burning up..."

A plaintive whine was all he got from beneath the blankets and he looked pleadingly at the midwife.

"All of those extra hormones and pheromones right now are going to leave her a little muddled, that's normal too. Our job is to keep her comfortable," Brigid reassured him, and then rose and quietly shut the window, the soft thump only making Emma jump minutely beneath the comfort of the blanket.

The minutes between her contractions passed quietly, Killian doing his best to comfort her and respond to her needs as she tried to regain her strength for the next one, but she'd been in early labor since first thing that morning, and it was wearing on her. He rubbed circles into her lower back and made sure some part of him was always within her reach, helping her onto his lap when the pain became too much and she needed the security of burying her face in his neck and drinking in his scent while he held her.

The next contraction barely gave her a break at all, riding on top of the last one as Emma knelt between Killian's spread legs, her arms looped over his back as she hissed out her breaths into his shoulder. Her teeth clamped down around him while he steadied her hips with his hand and stump. She bore down without even realizing, the pressure so great she wasn't sure she'd have been able to stop. Despite the sensation that she was being ripped in two, it was easier like this, breathing in her mate's scent with each panted breath she took.

Easier didn't necessarily mean less painful though, and a scream tore its way free of her as the pressure spiked, breaking through the fog of endorphins. Killian glanced nervously toward the midwife as he held Emma steady, more concerned with making sure his mate was okay than the minor discomfort of Emma's teeth digging into his skin.

"Is it time to push?" Brigid asked, earning an irate snarl from Emma as she hissed through the comedown of the contraction and sagged against Killian.

"Yeah," Emma finally managed to spit out, the roughness of her voice prompting Killian to reach nearby and snag one of the water bottles they'd left on hand, popping the top and holding it up to her mouth so she could take a small sip. "Definitely."

"Okay, can I check you again to see if you're fully dilated?"

Emma nodded and Brigid worked quickly, pulling away with a pleased smile and turning her attention to her bag as she got out a few more sterile packs of instruments.

"You're at ten, Emma. You look great, those little ones are ready to get here and meet their parents. Whenever you feel a contraction, I want you to take a deep breath in and bear down with your whole body, okay? Keep pushing as long as you can after it passes, and then take a rest...I'll be right here if you need me."

"Right," Emma nodded, the room still swimming as she tipped her chin up to meet Killian's worried gaze, losing herself in the hopeful blue of his eyes.

"You can do this, love," he murmured, ducking his head and letting his forehead rest against her own, their noses bumping. "I know you can."

"Love you so much," she sighed, smiling at the gentle kiss he placed to the top of her head in these last few moments they would have as just the two of them. "They'll be here soon, just a little longer..."

"Aye, you're brilliant, Emma, amazing. I can't wait to meet them."

The next contraction hit her hard and fast, and the one after that.

Adrenaline burned through Killian as Emma lost her strength and melted into him, needing him to hold her up while she concentrated on pushing, sucking in deep breaths and holding them in as she bore down, her entire body trembling with the effort. When cool wash clothes appeared beside the bed, he laid them on her forehead and neck to cool her, and when she snapped at the cold, he wrapped her upper body in the blankets from their bed and held her. Seeing her in such pain tripped every instinct within him, and his alpha wanted to lash out at the slightest provocation. It took all of his willpower to repress the vicious snarl building in his throat when it was finally time for the midwife to move closer to the bed, Emma's weak cry for help reminding him that the woman was here to help them bring their pups into the world.

Brigid assured him with calm, measured words that everything was progressing as it should, and though it felt like hours, it was a mere ten minutes later that Emma – lying against his chest with her knees drawn up – brought the first of their twins into the world.

"It's a girl," the midwife crooned, carefully lifting the tiny thing from between Emma's trembling thighs and resting her on her chest.

Killian could only stare in awe. She was impossibly small, a little red bundle of flailing limbs and dark, wispy hair that was slicked to her skin. Tears ran freely down Emma's cheeks as she cradled their first pup, tugging her up to rest against her breast as their little babe tested her lungs with gulping breaths and a hearty shriek that had his hand immediately moving to rest over her little body, covering it in warmth. His chest swelled with a love that his body was too small to hold as he watched his mate nuzzle their firstborn, completely lost in the sight and touch of the being she'd worked to bring into the world.

Brigid worked carefully while Emma was distracted, checking her abdomen for the position of the second and then performing a quick internal exam before declaring it wouldn't be long.

"Do you want the honors, Papa?" she asked, hands busy clamping the umbilical cord that had finally stopped pulsing.

Checking to make certain Emma was content, he eased out of his position and bundled pillows behind her to keep her comfortable. Then, with surprisingly steady fingers, he took the scissors the midwife offered, and severed the cord between the little plastic clamps.

It wasn't long before Emma's body shuddered with the first signs of contractions building once more, and casting wary eyes at the midwife, she whined for Killian, placing their little girl carefully in his arms as she pushed herself back against the headboard and fisted the blankets tightly, preparing for their next little one to arrive. He longed to be at Emma's side, touching her and providing relief, but when he glanced at the tiny thing wrapped in a blanket in his arms, her little, red face peeking up at him blearily as he rocked her, he knew he wouldn't be able to set her down just yet. The mere presence of another person, trusted as the midwife was, had his inner alpha on edge, and he wasn't about to let his daughter out of his sight – but his mate was fierce and their son was impatient, slipping into the world after only a few intense pushes.

The world shifted and settled after that – his heart impossibly full as he watched their two little ones sleeping peacefully against one another in the bassinet resting beside him on the bed. He held Emma through her aftercare, his mate drifting into a much needed sleep on his chest as Brigid carefully examined her and made certain any wounds were tended to. When his son whined in his sleep, making his sister startle and cry, Killian gently rocked the bassinet with his hand and crooned softly, hoping they would both sleep for at least a little while longer so that he didn't have to move and wake Emma. Her weight was a balm to his raw nerves, reminding him that she was fine, their pups were fine, and everything was as it should be.

He knew their nights and days would be long after this, and most likely sleepless, but looking down at the two miracles they'd created and his mate sleeping softly against his chest, he knew he wouldn't have wished for anything else.