Chapter 37- Welcome to the World

Maya tried to keep calm the rest of the week, not wanting to cause any undue stress to herself or the baby. She did not know that her mother or any of the other parents had planned something to finally rid themselves and their children of Lauren and her psychotic mess. Maya tried to stay busy by preparing for her and Josh's baby and catching up on her missed schoolwork. She was starting to get nervous however, because her due date of the 31st, had come and gone. She called the doctor on the morning of February 2nd, and she told her that it was normal to go a few days past, but any longer than a week, she wanted Maya to come in. Maya assured her that she would keep her updated and hung up the phone. She continued to stay busy the rest of the day with housework and homework, until Josh got home from work.

"Hey, Josh, what do you want for dinner tonight?" she rapped on the bathroom door. He had stepped in the shower after work and couldn't hear her. Maya opened the door and stepped into the steamy bathroom. "Josh, dinner. What do you want?" He pulled back the shower curtain slightly, to reveal his head, covered in shampoo.

"Whatever you want, Maya." Josh replied. Maya nodded and pulled out her phone.

"How about Chinese food? Some cashew chicken with noodles?" Maya's stomach growled at the mere mention of Chinese food.

"Sounds good. Go ahead and order it. I'll be out in 5 minutes." As Maya turned to leave, she almost slipped in a puddle.

"Josh. This is what towels are for. I almost broke my neck on this puddle of water on the floor." Maya admonished him.

"It's not me. I have not been out of the shower yet." Josh replied. Maya looked down and realized that it was not Josh's mess and it wasn't 'water', per se.

"Josh? If you didn't make this mess, then that means…" Maya trailed off, waiting for Josh to realize as well. It wasn't clicking as easily for him. "Josh? I think my water just broke." Panicking, Josh tried to turn off the water and get out of the tub so quickly, he slipped on floor of the bathtub and landed with a thud.

"Oh! Are you okay?" Maya exclaimed, trying not to laugh. She held out her hand to help him up, but he waved her away.

"I'm fine, Maya. Get your go-bag. I'll be dressed in a minute." Josh instructed. Maya nodded and left the bathroom. She retrieved her bag from the closet and pulled out her phone again. She called her mother and then Riley to let everyone know to meet them at the hospital. As she waited for Josh on the couch, she was gripped with a contraction, that made her lose her breath for a moment. When it passed, she breathed a sigh of relief. Josh emerged from the bathroom, hair still dripping and his shirt was on backwards. Maya stifled a giggle and rolled off the couch to a standing position. She grabbed her bag and waddled to the car, stopping halfway when another contraction came along. She didn't remember the first trip to the hospital taking this long. It felt like everyone on the road was trying to get in their way, on purpose. Agitated, Maya tried to focus on her breathing while squeezing the life out of Josh's free hand, apologizing immediately after the contraction passed.

When they finally reached the hospital, the same nurse was there, waiting with the same wheelchair. Smiling, the nurse gestured to the chair, making Maya giggle.

"It looks like it has your name on it." The nurse quipped. Maya nodded.

"Maybe I can take it home, as a souvenir?" Maya joked. When they reached the maternity floor, the family was already there in the waiting room. Maya waved at them as she rolled by and went through the metal doors, Josh right behind her. When the nurse got her settled into the bed, Maya asked if her mother could be back here, too. The nurse instructed her that the doctor would come in and explain everything first and would give any permissions that were allowed. Breathing through another contraction, Maya nodded and smiled weakly. After the contraction passed, Maya closed her eyes and lay her head on the pillow. The doctor knocked on the door, and came into the room, closing the door behind her.

"So, is today the big day, Maya?" her doctor flashed a big smile at Maya, who was trying her best not to bite the head off everyone. Maya nodded.

"I sure hope so, Dr. Because this was supposed to happen like, 3 days ago." Maya replied.

"Yeah, babies come in their own time." The doctor talked to her while examining her. "The important thing is for the safety of you and the baby. Let's see what we are working with here. Shall we?"

"Okay. Whatever you have to do." Maya replied. The doctor rolled her stool back and took off her gloves.

"You are at 6cm dilated, which puts you in what is called active labor. I can start you on an epidural, if the pain gets to be too much. Just let me know." The doctor went to attend to another patient, while Maya and Josh worked through her contractions for another hour and a half. When the doctor came in again, to check Maya, she informed her that she was now at 8.5cm and in the transition phase of labor.

"This is where it gets fun." The doctor replied, facetiously. As she headed for the door, Maya called her back.

"Can my mom come back here? Please?" Maya asked.

"Of course, Maya. I'll go get her. Oh, now would be the time to get the epidural, if you want it. After this point, it's generally too late." She left to retrieve Katy and returned a couple minutes later.

"I'm sure I'll be okay, Doctor, but thank you." Maya decided. The doctor nodded.

"Okay. I will be back in about 30 minutes to check on you. The contractions you will feel from this point, will be more intense and they will last longer. Push the button if you need something." With that, the doctor was gone again.

The doctor was not lying. Within 10-15 minutes, Maya's contractions had reached the point where Maya was red-faced and in tears. She had made up her mind however and was not going to change it. Katy was feeding her ice chips and Josh was dabbing Maya's forehead with a cool rag.

Ten minutes later, the doctor came in to check her one final time. She looked up at Maya and smiled.

"Okay, Maya. You are officially at 10cm. Are you ready to push?" the doctor asked. Maya had been ready to push for at least the last hour. She had been resisting the urge, upon instruction from the last nurse who came in. She nodded and took a deep breath. On the right side of the bed was Josh, holding her hand. On the left side of the bed, was her mother, holding her other hand.

"Okay, this is what you are going to do. You are going to want to push, almost like you are having a bowel movement. Do you understand?" the doctor asked. Maya nodded. "You are going to hold that push for 10 seconds, and then relax for 5. Then we will do it all over again. Ready?" Again, Maya nodded. When she felt the urge to push, she pushed for 10 and rested for 5, as instructed. Taking a deep breath, she started again. Pushing for 10…9… bearing down 8…7… She felt like she was being ripped in two. 6…5…4… The tears in her eyes were falling onto her hospital gown. 3…2…1…She stopped and breathed for 5 seconds. Another 10 seconds of severe pain, and a short five second breather. This went on for about 15 minutes. Suddenly the doctor looked up.

"All right Maya. The head is right there. I just need a big push, so we can see rest of the head and who all this gorgeous hair belongs to." The doctor explained with a smile. Maya pushed with all of the strength she had. She took a quick breath and pushed one more time.

"Okay. Head is out. Last push, Maya. Make it a good one." Maya gathered all the remaining strength she could muster, and gave one last big push, before collapsing on the bed. The doctor caught the baby as he slipped out with the last push. Everybody waited with bated breath for a sound. Any sound. Suddenly, the silence in the room was cut with the shrill, deafening scream of a newborn. Katy and Maya released the breath they had been holding and smiled at each other.

"Do you want to cut the cord. Dad?" Josh's eyes welled up with tears as he nodded. He was officially someone's daddy. He grabbed the scissors and snipped where the doctor instructed. The doctor wrapped him up in the nursing blanket and handed him to Maya. As Josh looked on, he had never seen Maya so happy. The look on her face did not compare to anything else in the world. She was in complete bliss, staring at their baby boy. He kissed the top of her head and breathed in the scent of her hair.

"Hello. It's Mommy." Maya stroked his face with her pinky finger and looked into his angelic face. "Hello, my darling. I have been waiting so long to meet you. Welcome to the world, Gabriel Shawn Matthews."