Reaching the End
With Henry, things had been very different. Metal handcuffs securing one wrist to the cot. Even in labor, she is still a felon. The steady beep of machines displaying her heartbeat, the intensity of contractions, blood pressure. The sickly smell of chemicals makes her nose burn. Her voice is raw from screaming.
The cramping is constant and the medical staff won't provide an epidermal no matter how she screeches. Her body convulses violently to expel Neal's baby, her cheeks burning with salty tears.
The pain only changes after her son arrives. Instead of a physical ache, it's an emotional one; She can't give him the life he deserves. He needs a family. She has to give him his best chance.
And now, her only son will not be her only child.
She is forced to leave recollections behind as she feels Killian's arm at her side. He tenderly lifts her exhausted limbs so she can scoot to the edge of their mattress.
This time, her hands are free to clench, squeeze and grab as needed. It's the smell of the sea that greets her when she inhales. There are no scrubs and masks here, just the arms and touch of her pirate; her husband.
In the short space they have before the pressure starts back up, she reaches for Killian. "Thank you."
"Whatever for lass?"
"For being here." Tears of gratitude leak from her eyes as his mist as well. "I love you."
"And I you Emma."
Their lips meet in a quick kiss before she begins to shudder. She feels the baby slide a little deeper, closer to the only space it can exit. Her legs open instinctively to accommodate the change. She has a second to gather her breath before she is forced to push all her energy downward. "Uhhh Uh uh!"
Killian's words of encouragement are muffled and distant as her whole being focuses on the pressure. It keeps going and she forgets control. Her voice sounds loud to her own ears...she can only imagine how deafening it is for the man bent between her knees.
She sinks into the pillows at her back after it eases, her whole body shaking with the effort. "You're doing bloody brilliantly love." Excitement is written on every inch of his face. "I can feel the babe's head. She's not too far up."
"You're so strong," he murmurs.
She gasps out a chuckle."You might not be so fond of that strength when it mangles your remaining hand."
His laugh makes her own lips twitch but the light moment is swiftly broken when, with a curse, the cycle begins again.
Killian's fingers return her desperate squeeze. He gives no hint of discomfort. "Keep going Swan. That's it. Great work love!"
She feels pride at the compliment. What her body is struggling to do...her husband understands and appreciates the effort.
She feels a slight tug at the space between her legs, only to realize Killian is once again checking her.
"I can feel her hair Emma! She's so close!"
It's almost as if her energy...and humor... is restored just by his announcement. "Now who's assuming?"
"I grant you I have long held my own predilection but you can be assured, boy or girl, I will be happy."
His words fall away as Emma cries out. "Bloody hell!"
There was his pirate princess. He bites the inside of his cheek to prevent the bubbling laughter and concentrates on the child's progress. The hair he felt inside of his wife moments ago is now peeking through, growing at Emma's every explosive grunt. It's dark and downy.
He's soon to be a father! She will be a mother again.
As much as he wants her ordeal to be over though, the midwife's instructions echo in his head. "Easy now love. Don't push...relax. Relax. Let your body get accustomed to the stretching. I don't want you to tear."
"But...but, it burns Killian," she gives a frustrated growl. It's like a fire encircling her center.
"I know, but it will make it easier I swear. Trust me Swan."
Her pants echo in the room as she follows his direction. She tries to mimic his breaths.
Soon.
