The room is dark, the only sound being Ricardo's soft breathing that stabilizes her, slowly drags her out of this confused, fretful place she woke up to. She blinks, then blinks again, uncertain what exactly woke her up. Slowly pulling herself out of bed, she walks to the bathroom and hangs her head, exhausted and pressing her hand against the wall to steady herself as she stares into the mirror. Her hair is untamed, her eyes are bloodshot, and she barely recognizes herself. She's just turned towards the toilet when something twists deep inside of her and she gasps, closing her eyes. "My water just broke," she whispers, half in awe and half in horror.
She weighs her options, mind working overtime. Yes, she knew for awhile now what the plan was going to be but now that it's time to implement it, she's scared. Shaky. So many things could still go wrong, but she knows the alternative would be even worse. Clenching her hands into fists, she finishes up in the bathroom, careful to make sure everything's dry and looks normal before she goes, and is on her way back to the bedroom when the first one hits- pain so sudden, so sharp that her knees almost buckle and she has to bite back a cry of pain. She stares into the darkness, eyes wide as her lips tremble. This... is going to suck... She tries to remember the breathing exercises she'd seen in a virtual lamaze class, and shivers as she breathes through the last few seconds of the contraction. It had been short, and she knows it's going to be a little while before she feels another, but it's barely midnight and she grimaces at the thought of how long she may have to go through this.
The first labor is always the longest, she thinks to herself, slowly feeling her way back to bed. She tries to rest but her nerves are on fire, senses sharp, waiting for the next- which comes nearly 40 minutes later, and she grits her teeth and tries to breathe deeply without waking Ricardo up. Thankfully, this isn't one of his insomniac nights, and he actually seems to be sleeping well, face serene and breathing even whenever she looks over at him. She wants to touch him, kiss him, find some comfort, but that would undo everything she's attempting here, so she stays her hand and takes what she can from his mere presence as the lengthening periods of pain come faster and faster throughout the night.
By the time the sun starts to rise in the sky, she's twelve minutes apart and her nerves are frayed, not even able to sleep between contractions for fear she'd wake up crying out her distress. Ricardo wakes a couple hours later- eight minutes apart-, rolls over and hugs her, and she pretends to be asleep, relieved that it's between contractions and she's already forced herself to relax upon feeling him stir.
He watches her fondly and brushes his fingers through her hair. "Rest well, Foxy. You deserve it." He eases out of bed, clearly trying his hardest not to wake her, and as soon as the door clicks quietly behind him, she buries her face in her pillow and whines, low and long, as another agonizing contraction tenses through her stomach, the pain radiating through her hips down deep into her thighs.
She's never felt pain like this, even when she broke her tailbone. She cries and shakes and lets out the last few hours of pure, silent suffering, before resting her hand on her stomach. "It's ok," she breathes out. "I don't blame you, baby. It's just poor timing. If not... if not for COVID, mama would be in the hospital, probably enjoying some really nice drugs about now." She hiccups and digs her feet into the bedding until finally it eases, leaving her breathing brokenly into her pillow. She knows she won't be able to hide this for much longer, they're growing much more intense and close together, which means it's probably about time to actually push anyway, but she's not sure. Would need someone who knows what to look for to check for her, and... She closes her eyes and whimpers, nothing around her making sense as another contraction tears through her, her fingers tugging helplessly at the sheets as she stifles more moans and pleas into her pillow.
She has no idea how much time has passed, spending the last while locked in a haze of sharp pain, the time between contractions shortening to the point where she's barely caught her breath at the conclusion of one before the next begins, when she hears the door open and her heart sinks- Ricardo is standing there, a bright smile on his face, and a tray of food in his hands and-
Breakfast in bed, her mind thoughtfully provides for her even as she grits her teeth through another contraction, and- he notices, he pales as soon as he sees her, almost dropping the tray onto the dresser before rushing for her. "Alicia!"
She squeezes his hand, gasping shallowly as the pain ebbs, for now, and presses her face desperately against his palm, sobbing. "I'm sorry," she whimpers. "I had to- I..."
"How long?" he breathes out, hovering over her in horror. "Alicia, how long?"
"My water broke at, like, midnight," she admits, and watches the horror and fear cross his face even more intensely. "I couldn't wake you up- this is, this is how I wanted it." She finds the strength somewhere to sit up, somewhat, and cradles his face in her hands, staring deeply into his eyes. "I didn't want to be separated from you when I had our first child. I needed you, that's all. Nothing else."
He cries, wet hot tears dripping down her fingers and she kisses them away, struggling to smile at him even as another contraction crests, starts to pulse through her, and she moans, long and low. This seems to stir him out of whatever fugue he'd fallen into and he twists, pulling away from her. Before she can protest, he's rushing for the door, leaving her to sink, cold and shaky, back against the pillows. "SOFIA! Alicia's in labor!"
There's a cry in Spanish from the kitchen, and then the rush of activity, and Sofia is by Ricardo's side, holding her hands and searching her face, and Alicia misses her mother even more intensely right now, but she's relieved too, because all of the pain and fear from the last nine hours are worth it as Sofia marches off to collect towels and whatever else she needs, Alicia's mind slowly drifting back into a pain-filled haze too deeply to consider what anyone else is doing. It takes everything in her just to breathe normally, and she only snaps out of it a little when Sofia returns, slowly stroking her cheek.
"I'm going to check," she says softly and Alicia stares up at her, not fully understanding the words until she feels cool air against her flushed skin, and- "Oh." Sofia sounds unlike Alicia's ever heard her before and Ricardo joins her, the two of them whispering amongst themselves as Alicia stares up at the ceiling and waits.
She knows it's time without Sofia informing her, so when Ricardo gently eases up behind her and braces her shoulders, guiding her up into a position where she can get some leverage, she breathes through her nose and grips his hand. "I love you," she says with as much strength as she can muster and he smiles at her through his tears.
"I love you too," he whispers, leaning in to kiss her.
She breaks it off with a gasp and whimper of pain, her nails biting deeply in to his palm as the newest contraction tears through her with a sudden sharpness that blinds her to everything else, Sofia's instructions barely registering in her mind as she instinctively digs her heels in and- PUSHES. Nothing else matters around her, not Sofia's encouragement, or Ricardo's supporting touches, just the repetitive cycle of pushing- breathing- brief periods of rest- and then more pushing. She's sweaty and crying, Sofia telling her step by step what's happening, but it barely registers with her as she bears down, finally feeling something give deep inside of her, and-
A sharp, wailing cry pierces the air and Alicia closes her eyes, sinking back into Ricardo's arms as her body trembles and they listen to their child's first introduction to this world. She laughs brokenly and presses her face back against Ricardo's shoulder. "I feel ya, little one," she breathes out, still aching and feeling so exhausted as her body clenches in the after-affect of labor.
None of that matters as Ricardo gently eases her back against the pillows and joins Sofia, hands amazingly steady as he takes the scissors from her and follows her directions to cut the umbilical cord. Alicia watches, breathless, as he takes the baby from Sofia and cradles it close, before looking up at her with an adoring smile on his face. "We have a little boy," he shares with her and she sniffs, smiling up at him. "You are the most incredible woman I have ever had the honor of knowing."
Her hands tremble as she reaches out for their son, sobbing softly when Ricardo rests him in her arms. She can feel Sofia still handling aftercare, her entire body feeling oversensitive and shaky, and she's not sure how she'll be able to thank the woman when all of this is over, but right now, she's got her son making soft little noises against her chest and Ricardo holding her protectively, their fingers interlaced over their newborn's body as they absorb every second that they can of his beginning, and she thinks for this moment in time, life feels pretty damn perfect.