The blank white light shined brightly in Cosmo's face as he was situated in the cyan sheets, his feet propped up against metal stir ups. His stomach felt as if it was about to explode as he slowly figured out where he was, barely able to maintain steady breathes. He leaned against the bed, resting his head on the pillow until he felt his stomach punch him again, forcing him to scream.
"Honey, you're gonna be ok. Just take deep breathes and..", Papa Cosmo was cut off by Cosmo's harsh tone.
"W-Where's Wanda? She needs to be here-OW! SHIT!", Cosmo screamed, ignoring his father's uncomfortable squeaks. Papa Cosmo squirmed as Cosmo struggled in the bed, trying to reposition himself so the contractions weren't as harsh.
"I-I called her..she's coming soon."
"Well she better hurry up! I don't know how much more of this I can take! AAH!", Cosmo screamed again, just as the door busted open. "Wanda! Where have you been?"
"I-I'm sorry Cosmo. I'm here now.", Wanda said, grabbing his hand on the right side of the bed. "Why don't you just focus on your breathing and relax-"
"RELAX? Easy for you to say! Did you happen to forget YOU did this to me? I CAN'T RELAX GOD DAMNIT!", Cosmo shouted as a much harsher contraction hit, forcing him to lunge almost completely across the bed. , finally looking up from his collection of hot women, looked at Cosmo with a smug yet somewhat concerned look.
"Well, you look like you're in a lot of pain, Cosmo."
"WOW NO SHIT SHERLOCK!"
"Here, if you'll stop lunging, let me take a look and see if you're ready to push yet.", said, checking the cervix with a small frown on his face, "Looks like you're only about 6 cm dilated. You still gotta hang in there. Just relax and everything will turn out just fine, just like me."
"Oh god..why did we think this was a good idea?", Cosmo whimpered, now starting to sob as the last contraction settled down a bit. "Can't the baby just be born yet?"
"No sweetheart. If you push too early, it can damage your cervix and make the delivery worse.", Wanda explained, mildly unsettled by Cosmo's glare, "Just trust me on this, Cosmo."
"I-I know, but it just hurt so bad and I'm so hot…OH MOTHER FUCKER!", Cosmo screamed again, making both the doctor and this family jump. Dr. Studwell grabbed his wand and poofed up a bucket of ice, shoveling a piece up for Cosmo.
"Here, let the cube melt into your mouth. It will give you something to focus your energy on instead of your contractions, and it will keep you cool. ", he said, stuffing the cube into his mouth before he could protest. Cosmo's body relaxed slightly as the ice turned to water, finally allowing him to lie back down on the bed.
"W-Wanda..I-I don't know if I can keep doing this. I want her out now..", Cosmo whined as if he were a toddler, "I'm not strong enough."
"She will come out when it's time. Don't rush the process, Cosmo, or things will get worse.", Wanda sighed sadly, stroking his hand for comfort, "You're doing great, darling. Once you've dilated enough, then the hard part will be over, and we'll have our baby. I promise it will all be worth it if you give it time and patience."
"B-But it's been 9 hours already! How much longer can this take?"
"Well it depends. Some men are able to give birth after only a few hours, and others go over 48..", started, Wanda's glare shutting him up.
"48 HOURS? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!"
"Cosmo! Relax!", Wanda yelled, "Quit talking. Just breathe."
Not wanted to anger his wife any further, Cosmo did as he was told, the breathing somewhat helping with the contractions, although Cosmo still felt like he was getting run over. Papa Cosmo kept rubbing his left hand and whispering comforting words to him while Dr. Studwell would pass him some more ice cubes and occasionally check on his cervix, slowly but surely making progress.
"Alright Cosmo. Looks like you're up another 2 cm! Just a little bit longer and then we'll be ready to push."
"Wanda..", Cosmo whimpered, crawling over to his wife, who hugged him, "I-I'm so nervous."
"Keep taking deep breaths baby. We're here for you. You're gonna do great."
"B-but what if something's wrong with the baby?"
"Then the doctors will do everything they can to help. But you've got to do your part first, ok?", she said, kissing him on the forehead. "We're not gonna leave your side. You've got this."
After a few more hours, the same cycle seemed to repeat itself. Cosmo would get a little bit of time to relax before another contraction hit, almost as if they were each getting more and more painful. After each contraction, Cosmo would also position himself either towards Wanda or Papa Cosmo, trying to get them to hug him before his stomach kept cramping.
About 5 more hours had gone by, and the sunset emitted some rays from the hospital window. God, how the hell is it already evening? Had I really been in the hospital that long?
"Good news, Cosmo!", 's voice boomed, grabbing the green haired fairy's attention, "Your cervix has finally reached 10 cm! We can go ahead and begin pushing now when you're ready."
"I'm ready! I'm ready! Oh god…"
Dr. Studwell motioned for Cosmo to scoot up closer to the stir ups, putting blue rubber gloves on his hands. He gently moved Cosmo's legs further apart from each other, and made sure the feet rested in the stirrups firmly.
"Alright, what you're gonna do is wait for the next contraction to hit and then push. Still make sure to focus on your breathing as well, but also time your pushing with your contractions. We don't want to rush this, understood?"
Cosmo nodded as he waited for the next contraction to hit, squeezing his father's and wife's hands even harder than he had while dilating. His heart started racing as he felt his stomach cramp up and contract, making a small, squeaking noise.
"Honey, just relax and focus on your breathing and pushing. Are you ready because it's time.", Wanda asked, holding Cosmo's hand even firmer.
Cosmo squeaked softly before he began to push, screaming almost immediately after trying. He felt like his inside were being torn to shreds while his body was being set on fire. Sweat and tears escaped as the contracted ended, trying to catch his breathe up,
"Wow! Looks like we already got a good bit of the head!", Dr. Studwell announced, "Keep going when the next contraction hits, Cosmo. We're making good progress."
"WHY DO YOU KEEP SAYING WE? YOU'RE NOT THE ONE GIVING BIRTH RIGHT NOW!"
"Ok Ok geez! Don't' get snippy just because I'm doing my job! Didn't realize today was all about you."
"Dr. Studwell, will you please just do your job?", Wanda snapped, rolling her eyes as her husband attempted to lunge at him, Wanda pinning his back against the bed.
"Alright fine then. But let's make this quick, I've got dinner with some wonderful ladies in 2 hours."
"Are you serious right now?", Papa Cosmo asked, his tone a lot louder and harsher than usual, startling Cosmo and Wanda a bit, "My son is in pain right now and all you care about is your date? You honestly think my son and grand daughter's lives are less important than your social life? No, everyone here stays until the baby is born. I don't care if it takes us all night or if you lose your already low change of getting action. I have no problem seeing you in court for malpractice if you abandon my son. My family comes first!"
If he wasn't in so much pain, Cosmo would have laughed his ass off. He knew his father and Dr. Studwell didn't see eye to eye on most things, but he never thought the normally timid Papa Cosmo would talk speak his mind. Maybe he was hallucinating..maybe his father didn't actually say those things and he was making things up. Cosmo wasn't sure anymore, but wasn't left much room for thinking before the next contraction hit again. He forced his hands down on the bed rails and pushed harder than before, screaming as loud as he could.
After several long hours of screaming, crying, and cursing, Cosmo's last push allowed the baby's feet to come out, allowing Wanda to cut the cord as his new daughter's cries echoed the room. Dr. Studwell handed her over to a male nurse that cleaned her up before wrapping her in blankets, handing her to Cosmo as she continued to cry.
"Aw..it's ok. It's ok. Shh…", he started, holding the baby close to his chest as he lied back down, his exhausted breath finally slowing down, "Daddy's here..daddy's here. Shhh.."
The baby started to quite down as she rested on Cosmo's chest, barely noticing her mother and grandfather inching up close to the bed to look, tears filling their eyes. Wanda held out her arms as Cosmo passed the baby to her, allowing her to hold her a while before passing her to Papa Cosmo, whose face almost instantly smiled the moment he held her. After a little while of cooing and rocking the baby, he finally gave her back to Cosmo, who almost looked like he was ready to pass out.
"Welcome to the world, darling. Oh, if only your entire family was here to see how beautiful you turned out to be.", Cosmo whispered, pinges of sadness hitting him as he looked around the almost empty room.
"I'm sorry Cosmo. That's why I was so late coming to you. I was trying to get a hold of my parents, but I hadn't gotten much.", Wanda sighed, "They should've been here. I should've tried harder."
"Well, what can you do at this point? At least you and dad are here."
"Yeah well..", Wanda said, playing with the baby's small green hair stands, "Everyone should have been here. I'm sorry Cosmo."
"Well, as much as I wanna agree, right now it might be best if the entire family wasn't here. Our family has a way of making everything about themselves. Besides..", Cosmo said, finally smiling, "We got more important things to think about, like a name!"
"Mind if I made a suggestion?", Papa Cosmo's voice spoke, now returning to its normally gentle tone, "What about Cassia? After your grandmother, Cosmo?"
"Cassia?"
"Oh yes. I remember you two being awfully close before she passed from her magic accident, dear. I still remember finding you and her playing hide and seek in her rose garden when I came to pick you up. It was almost as if she was the mother figure you had been looking for."
"I like it, but Wanda?", Cosmo looked at his wife hopefully, "What do you think?"
Wanda didn't say much for a few minutes, though her warm smile was still plastered on her face. She got up from her seat and hugged Cosmo, before kissing the baby on the cheek, allowing a smile giggle to sound.
"But what about a middle name?"
"You have anyone you were close to, Wanda?"
"Not particularly."
"Well then, I think I want her middle name to be Chelsea, after my sister."
"Oh, I'm sure she'll be all over the moon with that idea."
Cosmo allowed another small rotation of baby holding before the bright lights in the hospital started to dim, the fairies' eyes getting more and more heavy. After the docters had fed Cassia and had given her back to Cosmo, he shuffled closer into the sheets, while maintaining his grasp on her. He smiled softly and kissed her on the forehead, speaking to her softly before falling asleep.
"Welcome to the world, Cassia Chelsea Cosma."
