Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX

Chapter 4

The first thing that the midwives had told her, back in the earlier stages of her pregnancy, had been that the contractions themselves would not be as painful as the physical process of pushing the child from within her own body out into the world. Understandably, Ryleigh was terrified; knowing now, as she did, that the time had come. There would be no help for her or the baby if something went wrong, and now it was too late to hope that someone might come across them on their way to work - it was only just beginning to get light out here in the countryside, and the road was quiet enough that early morning traffic would not really exist.

It was really just going to be her and Chazz, alone without professional help.

She told her lover that it was time, that she could feel it, and then clamped down on his hand when she felt him beginning to sway - it stopped him from passing out again, even if he did have to literally pry his fingers away from her grip.

Desperate, Chazz flipped out his expensive mobile phone once again and prayed to whatever deity might exist, whichever one might listen, that there was a signal. Then he tried using Ryleigh's; neither one gave him any signal, there was none to be found in such a remote place.

His girlfriend's agonised scream caught him off guard and he jumped, momentarily letting go of her before pulling her writhing body against him hopelessly. He had no idea what to do, no idea what was supposed to be happening, but he did know this: he was going to have to deliver his own child into the world. There was no doctor, no midwife and Ryleigh would need some help - it was all down to him now.

This was not what he pictured. This was not what he wanted. That didn't mean that it wasn't going to happen.

Damn it!

"Ryleigh, I'm gonna ... I'm going to help you."

"Well, hurry up, then!" she shrieked, unable to hold back.

"Look, I know this isn't what we planned but..."

"I don't care, Chazz! I don't care! This baby's ready, he wants out right now!"

Chazz almost smirked; when had Ryleigh decided that the baby was a boy? They had wanted to be surprised...

Her next whimper brought him back to reality and suddenly the sex of the baby was unimportant; what mattered was that he or she was born safely to a mother who was going to be healthy following the birth.

"Okay, here we go."

Chazz knelt between her legs, feeling around with his fingers - how many nights had he done this to give her pleasure? It was so different now, such thoughts couldn't even reach his mind - and determining that she was definitely ready to give birth, as far as he could tell.

"Ready, love?"

She glared at him in answer - she had been ready for several hours, it was getting light now. Her patience had worn thin and finally disappeared, her tolerance for pain long since gone. It was time.

Chazz told her to push but she ignored him, knowing that he was merely copying what he had seen on television and in movies. He was trying to help but she could feel that the time to push wasn't there yet - it wasn't known knowledge that told her so, it was her own body. She could feel when it was time to-

Now. With the next contraction, she pushed, screaming and startling her boyfriend simultaneously.

Chazz lost the little colour that was in his cheeks; had it been lighter, one would have been able to see it visibly drain from his face. His breathing became terribly irregular, almost matching the pained panting of his girlfriend. His dizzy state of mind told him that he was about to faint again, but he suppressed the urge to collapse - it was manageable only by sheer force of will to not abandon Ryleigh when she needed him most. Contrary to popular belief, he had genuine morals and he truly loved her.

Chazz did not pass out; it was a valiant effort, anyone had to admit. Ryleigh was in trouble if he passed out and he knew it. That's why it could not happen.

And so it was with a great effort from him, and a far greater effort from Ryleigh, that a rythem of whimpering, moaning and pushing was set into place.

The midwife Ryleigh had consulted was, she now realised, quite wrong. She had thought that pushing would feel terrible, that it would increase the pain, that it would tear her apart worse than the brutal contractions had. Now she realised that she had been very, very wrong to fear this - pushing felt good. Well, it was still painful as hell and what she considered complete agony, but it felt natural and that was good.

She was still in a lot of pain but she now understood the power of controlled breathing and rough pushing - it was agony, it was terrible, but now she was in control of the pain. This natural feeling gave her new strength.

With said new strength, Ryleigh was able to continue. And almost an hour later, when the sun rose above the nearest trees, a tiny infant was brought into the world.

/

Ryleigh fell backwards against the backseat of the car, flushed and panting and still whimpering. There was a moment of relative quiet before the high pitched wail shook Chazz out of his momentary frozen state - he hadn't even realised that he had been frozen until the cry startled him.

He looked down to the bloodied, glistening child that lay between Ryleigh's legs, the head cupped gently in his now wet hands. He shook his head and then pulled the squalling thing towards him, resting it on his knees. Pulling the infant into his arms had been his original intention before he had realised that he had yet to cut the umbilical cord. Silently cursing himself, he balanced the screaming child on his lap as he reached for their emergency first aid kid - it had been found a couple of hours previously, under the passenger seat - in order to find a pair of scissors.

It was only when Ryleigh's body convulsed that he realised there was something called 'the afterbirth' which had still to be delivered, and the gungy, bloody mess that was expelled from Ryleigh's body was so repulsive that he almost vomited. The child on his lap was the only thing that prevented him from doing so.

Now that the labour was over, Ryleigh struggled to lift her head and look at the child.

"Is he okay?" she wept, tears pouring town her cheeks as she lifted her weak arms.

Chazz wordlessly passed the baby over to his girlfriend, who cradled the newborn in her arms weakly. She nuzzled the hot, wet head of the child she had just given birth to tenderly, muttering her greetings to the child she was weakly holding to her chest in a lopsided cradle.

Chazz sighed, reluctant, and whipped off his trademark coat - this particular coat would never be worn again after this. He reached over his girlfriend's limp body to settle the garment over the baby, smiling slightly as Ryleigh automatically shifted the child so that they were more tightly swaddled by the coat. Then he settled himself next to her, one pale finger tracing the warm scalp of the child that he was only now realising was here and real and his.

He chuckled softly as he realised that he hadn't checked something fundamental. "So, is it a boy or a girl?"

Please R&R