Isn't She Lovely
Ticking off the days on the calendar each evening, had recently become Aria's favourite pastime. At first she ticked them off with excitement; she couldn't wait to start growing and feeling kicks and to get the glow that so many women talked about. However the growing meant none of her favourite clothes fit and the kicks hurt and the glow was more like a constant sweat for having to work extra hard to perform simple tasks. So she no longer counted down the days with excitement or anticipation. Each night she took her marker to the calendar she felt even more impatient and uncomfortable. She sighed deeply as she marked off another day, with two weeks still remaining until her due date.
"Don't sigh like that; this is supposed to be fun." Ezra teased getting up from the couch to come stand behind his heavily pregnant wife.
"I can sigh all I want when I'm carrying your child." Aria sniped. Ezra placed his hands on her stomach and began rubbing soothing circles. At Ezra's touch their child began to kick an aria groaned.
"I want her out!"
"She'll come when she's ready." Ezra said calmly, gently twisting Aria round to hold her in his arms. Aria buried her head into his chest and he placed a soft kiss on her forehead.
Ezra had taken to the idea of becoming a father like a duck to water. Being that bit older than Aria meant that by the time she had brought up the idea of starting a family, he was more than ready. They hadn't been trying for very long when Aria fell pregnant. She hadn't expected it to happen so fast, but once they'd read all the books and started stocking up on diapers and formula, the fact that she was going to become a mother became slightly less scary and slightly more exciting. However now being nine months along and extremely uncomfortable made her forget how exciting it all was.
Aria looked up with Ezra her eyes, though still beautiful, were heavy with sleep. The constant kicking made sleepy nearly impossible and Ezra wished there was something he could do to help her in some way.
"Let's go to sleep." Aria yawned, taking his hand and leading him to the bed. Together they pulled back the covers and slide in. Before Aria looked like she was shoplifting melons under her shirt, they used to sleep in a together in a tangle of limbs finding comfort in the arms of each other. But now Aria takes up most of the bed tossing and turning trying and failing to get comfortable. They both long for the nights when they can sleep closely together again. Ezra gave Aria a tender kiss before turning off the light hoping that she'd actually sleep.
At precisely one am, Aria awoke with sharp contractions. Aria had experience Braxton Hicks contractions earlier in her pregnancy and these were far worse. That's how she knew this was really the start of her labour. She reached out and shook Ezra, but he was in too deep of a sleep to feel her. As the pain worsened she resorted to hitting and kicking Ezra until he eventually woke up.
"Ow!" He yelled, now wide awake, after a rather forceful kick in the shin.
"It's happening now." Aria said breathing heavily. Ezra's eyes widened in panic.
"We need to go, let's go!" Ezra exclaimed as he pulled on his jeans and a t-shirt.
Aria sat on the bed breathing like how she'd been taught, to help with the pain. Ezra frantically ran around their apartment gathering up their phones, keys and Aria's hospital bag. He was halfway out the door before he realised that the person who was actually having the baby was still very much in the apartment, and very much unable to move without help. He backtracked into the apartment, he helped get up and guided her to the car.
He drove at what could be considered an erratic speed, but with it being the middle of the night, the roads were clear and Aria was practically clawing at the windows. When they arrived at the hospital the midwife found it very amusing that Ezra seemed to be more nervous than Aria. She admitted them and checked over Aria.
"It'll be a little while yet." She said reassuringly, "Make yourselves comfortable."
As the dark night turned into the pale morning sky Aria's contractions became more intense. Aria had decided that she only wanted Ezra in the delivery room with her, and so they decided that they wouldn't tell their families about Aria's labour until the baby had safely arrived. As Aria Lay there her brow creased as she experienced another contraction, Ezra watched in awe at his wife. He wished there was some way that they could share this, so that she didn't have to go through all this pain alone. But he knew deep down that she was the strongest than she appeared and she was tough enough to do this.
When the midwife informed them it was time to push, Aria made sure to tell Ezra she loved him before the pain took over and she cursed his name to hell and back. Tears of frustration and pain streamed down Aria's face.
"I can't do it!" She cried. After fourteen hours in labour she felt like giving up was the only option. Ezra placed a gentle kiss on her temple.
"Yes you can, you can do anything, I love you." He whispered. Aria nodded and took his hand as the midwife argued her to push again. Suddenly Aria's cries where matched with the cries of her daughter as she arrived in the world at exactly three twenty-six pm. The nurse wrapped her up and placed her on Aria's chest.
The tears that Aria had shed were now tears of joy as she held her baby girl in her arms. Even Ezra couldn't disguise the little tears that fell upon seeing his daughter for the first time. They looked at each other and shared a tender kiss before looking back at their daughter; the perfect being that they had created. She shared their dark curls and she had Aria's wide set eyes and soft pink pout; and Ezra's nose, although hers wasn't slightly crooked from a fight many years earlier.
They looked up at the sound of a voice at their door.
"Do you have a name yet?" Their nurse asked, smiling at the new family.
They looked at each other for a moment, they'd discussed a few names and they each had a favourite that they hadn't told the other.
"Maisie." They said at the same time. They let out a little laugh.
"Her name is Maisie." Ezra said tenderly before placing a soft kiss atop his daughters head.