AN: Here we go, another chapter here. There are about four more to come.
I hope that you enjoy! Let me know what you think!
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Patience. Patience was something that Daryl knew that one had to have when they were waiting for a birth. He knew little else, though, when it came to women giving birth.
When the pains first came upon Carol, Andrea had let him know in the calmest manner that he thought she could possibly deliver such information. The contractions had started. They were quite some distance apart. It would be a while, but the baby was coming eventually. And then she'd told Daryl that it was best for him to keep working for a while. She'd sit with Carol. She'd keep an eye on her. She'd let him know if anything happened.
Nothing happened—nothing except Carol's body slowly made adjustments for the birth that would take place eventually. Nothing happened that sent Andrea back out the house with more information for Daryl. It was nothing but a waiting game. It was a game of patience.
Daryl had a great deal of patience, but it wore a little thin around the edges when it came to his wife and his soon-to-be child.
Daryl did try to focus on his work, but he found that he was too distracted. Everything he did, he felt like he was doing all wrong. Work that he could usually do with his eyes closed suddenly seemed so complicated that he almost felt like he'd forgotten how to use his thumbs. Even the simplest of tasks turned into a struggle. Eventually, though he got everything done, in double the time it would normally take, that absolutely couldn't be left for the day. For all his attempts to wrap things up early and spend most of the day at Carol's side, it was still very nearly dark by the time that Daryl made his way into the house. When he got there, he expected to find Carol laboring in the bed, but instead he found something that very nearly looked like a calf roping taking place in his bedroom.
"You need to lie down, Carol," Andrea insisted. "You need to rest what you can 'cause there ain't no resting once the baby's set to come out."
Carol was walking around the room, panting, and ignoring Andrea. When another of the pains came upon her, she grabbed the windowsill and stood holding it in her hands. Daryl could see from where he was standing that her legs were shaking. Her whole body was shaking. He quickly crossed the room and held her hips to offer her some support. He looked to Andrea.
"Things movin'?" He asked.
"I don't know," Andrea said. "The contractions are more regular, but they aren't comin' too quick. Hitting her harder, though. I can't check her to see if she's progressin' because I can't get her to hold still."
Daryl turned Carol's body as the pain released her and she turned herself around to face him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and sunk into him, blowing her breath out hot on his neck. As soon as his arms were around her, she very nearly gave off entirely using her own legs for support.
"She's shakin'," he said to Andrea, even though he wasn't facing her any longer.
"She's weak," Andrea said. "Tired. When she's not trying to outrun the contractions, at least. They hurt, too. Pain'll give you the shakes if it's bad enough."
Daryl laughed to himself.
"What the hell would you know about it?" He said.
"Enough," Andrea offered in response.
Daryl swallowed, realizing that he might have very well overstepped himself. He hadn't meant to, but he was worried about Carol and was not entirely in the mood to be educated about things that didn't involve telling him how long it would be before they could put this part of it the whole thing behind them.
"Come on," Daryl said to Carol. "Let's go to the bed. Let's just—get you to the bed, OK?"
"I don't want to," Carol protested.
"You want me to hold you?" Daryl asked. "Because you ain't barely on your feet, Carol. Let's go to the bed. You gonna be more comfortable there."
Daryl didn't know if, in fact, Carol would be more comfortable in the bed, but he knew that she'd at least conserve some of her energy there. He got her to the bed and she came willingly enough since she didn't seem to have the strength to fight him. Andrea helped him ease Carol down and he helped her lie back.
"You wanna check to see if things are movin' along?" Andrea asked.
"You can," Daryl said. "Hands are smaller. Not that I know if it matters."
"Right now, I guess everything matters," Andrea said. She got up and Daryl watched her as she went to wash her hands at the basin. He held Carol against him and she closed her eyes, her breathing still heavy, like she might be set on taking a nap while she had a break between contractions. Andrea returned and took her time checking Carol, shushing her gently when Carol woke enough from her pretended nap to protest being touched in any way. "There's progress," Andrea said. "But she ain't ready yet. She ain't open enough."
"She's gotta relax," Daryl said.
"That's what I've been tellin' her," Andrea said. "But she's not listening to me. Not right now."
"Oh I want you to try to relax!" Carol spat.
Andrea looked surprised and Daryl couldn't help but laugh, even though he wasn't sure which part of the situation it was that brought him the most humor—Carol's sudden need to snap at Andrea or Andrea's surprise over the bite in Carol's tone.
"You gotta relax so it'll come on," Andrea said. "Don't fight it. When your body's gotta get somethin' out like that, it's just gotta work it out. It's as natural as breathin', Carol. Just—let it happen."
Carol pulled loose from Daryl and pushed herself into a position to sit up again.
"This is a long way from breathin'!" She declared.
Daryl put his hands on her shoulders and worked the muscles there, hoping to relax her a little. It seemed to work for a few moments, and she sagged her head forward to make it easier for him, but the moment another contraction hit she was done with that and done with him. Ignoring his protests, and Andrea's too, Carol hit her feet again. She seemed half-asleep one second and ready to go to blows with the both of them the next. Bare legged and bare footed, she padded across the floor to the opposite wall and then started to pace back and forth against it—walking from one end of the room to the other.
Daryl looked at Andrea and raised his eyebrows. She shrugged her shoulders.
"What you thinkin'?" Daryl asked, lowering his voice.
"I'm thinking she needs to lie down," Andrea said. "She ain't had a chance to recover completely. Still tired from the sickness and now this? This ain't the worst of it yet, Daryl. The worst is still yet to come. She could keep on like this for hours. Days even. Could be tomorrow before the baby comes."
"It don't feel right to tie her down," Daryl said. "Feels like she oughta know what's best for her. She oughta know what she needs to and where she needs to go. She oughta know if she wants to lay down or if she'd a heap rather walk back an' forth 'cross the room."
Andrea shook her head at Daryl.
"It ain't what she wants to do that worries me," Andrea said. "It's that she needs to try to sleep some. Try to rest what she can. Closer she gets? Less she's gonna get the chance to catch her breath. I just don't want her spendin' all she's got right now."
Daryl sucked in a breath and nodded his head. He got to his feet and started toward Carol. He almost laughed when she looked at him, wild-eyed, as he approached her. For a moment, he might have been able to believe that his loving wife was as wild as any beast he might have cornered in the woods somewhere. And just like any of those beasts, she tried to escape him by walking as far away as she could from him until she finally did find herself cornered.
Carol shook her head at him.
"I don't want to lie down," Carol whined. "My back hurts."
"We'll get all the pillows we can," Daryl said. "Blankets too. We'll fix it for ya so's ya back don't hurt." Carol frowned at him and shook her head. Daryl nodded his in response. "We lookin' out for you. Lookin' out for the baby. Gonna do what's best for the both of you. Get'cha to lay down. Get'cha where your back don't hurt, OK? You gonna close your eyes an' you gonna try to rest. OK? Gonna try to get'cha some sleep if you can." He looked back at Andrea. "She eat?"
Andrea nodded her head.
"But she was sick," Andrea said. She shook her head at Daryl. "I don't think she's wantin' to keep nothin' down right now. She just keeps giving back what she takes in."
"Get'cha some rest, then," Daryl said. "Come on...Andrea'll get us some blankets and some more pillows?"
Andrea got to her feet.
"I'll get the ones outta my cabin," she said. "Everything else you got is in here. Won't take but a minute."
"Take your time," Daryl offered, stepping closer to Carol. "We got us a couple hours at least." Andrea rushed out of the room, ignoring Daryl's words that there was no need to worry, and Daryl finally closed the gap between himself and Carol. She wrapped her arms around him, finding herself caught, and sunk into him again. She rubbed her face against his neck. He could still feel her body trembling, though he didn't know if it was pain or exhaustion that was causing it. "I got'cha," he said. "Let's go back to the bed."
"It hurts," Carol said.
Daryl laughed to himself, even though he imagined that Carol wouldn't think it was very funny or decent for him to laugh.
"I reckoned it might," Daryl said. "Thought you said you wanted to do this again. Thought you said we was gonna have us a whole mess a' kids."
"We are," Carol said, still holding tight to him.
"This is kinda part of the whole thing, ain't it?" Daryl asked. "Gotta do it every time. Might as well start—gettin' used to it now."
Carol sighed and rubbed her face against him.
"I'm tired," she said. As if to illustrate her feelings, she sagged a little in Daryl's arms and he braced himself to support the extra weight. When he started back toward the bed with her, she came with him willingly. He got her to lie down again and he worked to rearrange everything he could reach to try to find some comfort for her. It wasn't easy since he couldn't even begin to imagine what might need the most support at the moment. Carol grabbed at him when another one of the pains came upon her and Daryl simply willed himself to go somewhat limp as she pulled him around her like he was as flexible as one of the feather pillows she was bending to her will. He bit his lip at the sensation of her short fingernails digging into his flesh. She didn't mean to hurt him—and if this was the hurt that he had to endure for her comfort, he figured it was the least he could do. It probably didn't compare at all with what she was going through—or what was yet to come.
By the time the pain had passed, Andrea returned with the pillows and blankets from the little house that she was calling home. She put them on the bed and Daryl tried to arrange them under Carol's legs and body to try to find something comfortable to her. She changed the position of a few of them, but nothing seemed to help a great deal. No amount of pillows and blankets could take away the pain of the impending arrival of the child.
Daryl wasn't sure how long he and Andrea stayed there in the bed with Carol, practically holding her down as she fought against herself and both of them with each of the coming pains, but they stayed long enough that darkness good and well settled in around them. And, eventually, Carol stopped fighting them with each new pain. She simply clung to the pillow that she'd gathered up for support and, much like Andrea had suggested to her to do, let it happen.
Daryl spent most of his time curled against Carol's back, almost lying on top of her. She seemed to do better with him there and he stayed in the position long enough that he almost started to sleep there, fully waking only when she did. He only truly committed to waking when Andrea got up from her position and lit a lamp in the room to save them all from the blackness that had swallowed them up.
"I almost forgot you was here," Daryl said, turning his head to watch Andrea as she washed her hands.
"I gotta check her again," Andrea said. "Contractions are comin' more regular now. Was keepin' an ear out for Merle, but he ain't come by yet. Figured we'd send him for Doc."
"You think it's time to go an' get him?" Daryl asked. "It's time for the doc?"
Andrea shrugged her shoulders and set about her work of checking Carol's progress. Carol didn't protest this time. She'd stopped protesting anything. Everything that was happening now was simply happening to her. She didn't seem so much to be an active participant as she was a victim of her circumstances.
"Is it time?" Daryl pressed.
"I don't know," Andrea said with a sigh. "I mean—the baby ain't comin' right now but I don't know if you oughta go an' get Doc anyway. It'll be time soon enough to get her to start pushin' and I can deliver it myself but...I'd rather have Doc here."
Daryl nodded at her.
"That makes two of us," Daryl assured her. He kissed Carol's face and she opened her eyes and turned her face enough to be able to look at him. "You heard what's goin' on?"
"I'm not asleep," Carol said. "I'm just—resting. Lettin' it come. That's what it is, right? Natural? And—it's gonna be this way every time."
Daryl kissed her again, right at the corner of her mouth, and when she tried to catch the kiss, he kissed her again properly.
"Maybe it's gonna get easier the next time," Daryl said.
"It will," Andrea said. "It will. That's what they always say. First time's the worst for everything."
"I'ma get the Doc," Daryl said to Carol. "You don't fight Andrea too bad an' you keep the baby in 'til we get back, OK? Don't leave her tryin' to deliver it all on her own. Merle's comin', I'm sure, but he ain't gonna be no help to neither of you. Can't even stand to help with a calf."
Carol swallowed and nodded her head.
"I think I'll stay like this," Carol said. "It's not as bad like this."
"You like stayin' like this, then this is how the hell you stay," Daryl said. He nodded his head at Andrea. "Andrea's gonna bring herself right on over here an' she's gonna take over for me holdin' ya down. Pressin' down on ya just like this..."
Andrea came over and Daryl helped the woman take his position with Carol.
"What am I doing?" Andrea asked.
"Just lay there," Daryl said. "She's likin' the pressure."
"Feels safe," Carol said. "Warm."
Daryl swallowed and nodded his head.
"You as safe as you can be with Andrea," Daryl said, "'til I get back. I ain't gonna be gone long."
"You're gonna have to go to Doc's room," Andrea said. "He won't be in his office at this hour. He's in the Grand Union. Room twelve. Top of the stairs an' to the right. Just at the top."
Daryl nodded his head and quickly wrestled his way back into the boots he'd lost earlier.
"I won't dally," he promised. "You just...keep her comfortable 'til I get back."