Standing In The Crowd

We got to the hospital within five minutes, but it seemed like hours. Each stop and acceleration produced yet another whimper from me. Alyssa kept glancing at me warily.

“I’m FIne,” I assured her between gasps.

She just turned her attention back to the road and sped up.

When we got there Alyssa pulled up to the curb and waited as I hoisted myself out of the car, relying heavily on the poorly designed plastic handle over the door.

“I’ll see you in there,” she muttered as soon as I closed the door. I nodded and she went to find an empty parking space. I looked up at the building I was about to enter. Everything was about to change.

***

“Well?” Alyssa asked as the doctor entered, already practically exhausted from keeping me calm. Meanwhile, I tried to stifle a moan while clutching the hard plastic rails of the bed.

“No action tonight folks. You might as well get some rest,” he told Alyssa, then turned to me, “Would you like us to call the father?”

I shook my head, biting my lip so hard I tasted blood.

“Anyone else?” He asked, momentarily taken back, but recovered well.

I nodded, but kept the pressure applied to my lip.

“Tom?” Alyssa asked, seeing what was happening and I nodded again.

***

It had been three hours… let me say that again… THREE FUCKING HOURS OF NONSTOP AGONY since Alyssa had left. I didn’t bother keeping the whimpers down anymore, they were full blown screams now. The only thing that helped calm me down was the thunder outside. Rain was coming down in bucket loads now and hammered at the fragile window at the end of the room.

I was scared to take the pain meds they kept offering because I’d heard they only prolonged the process and upped the risks of problems.

“And how’s my favorite roommate?” Asked a welcome voice.

I opened my eyes and looked at the doorway and saw Tom walking in. I opened my mouth to say something, but all that came out was a wrenching scream.

“I see. Now what can we do to make it better?” Tom asked, cocking his head.

“GET this FUCKing thing OUT of me,” I tried to say midcontractions.

“Look Charlie. Just breathe. And push-” he started.

“WHAT do you THINK I’ve been TRYING to DO for the PAST few HOURS?!” I demanded, my eyes bulging. I know I looked like I’d just escaped from the mental ward the floor above me.

Tom smirked, then walked over and stood beside me offering his hand. I grabbed it and held it for dear life.

“I think we’re almost ready,” said a nurse whose nametag was facing the opposite direction.

“Yeah, MAYBE,” I murmured the best I could.

“This next contraction I need you to focus all your energy on pushing this thing out,” she told me calmly.

“You WANNA switch PLACES?” I demanded, “Cuz I DON’T think you KNOW just WHAT I’ve BEEN doing for the PAST THREE hours.”

“The more you push the faster this will go. And the faster things will start to feel normal,” she told me in a serene tone.

“I think we’re WAY past NORMAL. THERE is NO way my VAJAYJAY is gonna EVER be the SAME,” I informed her.

“On the count of three then? One- Two—THREE!” She instructed.

“FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!!!!” I screamed the single loudest scream of my life as I pushed with every ounce of strength I could muster.

“I can see the head,” the nurse told me.

“See. You can do this,” Tom told me, using his free hand to move some of the hair out of my face that had become glued to my face thanks to the sweat.

Five long (and unimaginabley painful) pushes later, the screaming demon was out of me.

“It’s a little girl,” the nurse announced, handing me the bloody thing. As soon as she was in my arms she stopped crying.

I looked into two familiar icy blue eyes and was speechless. After all this waiting. After all the suffering and worrying. She was here.

“She has your nose,” Tom said, searching her for any other features he could find analogous to mine.

“She’s perfect,” I choked, still fighting back tears.

“Well let me just go clean her up,” the nurse said picking up my daughter and quickly removing her from my arms.

“Hurry,” I commanded, letting the other nurses clean up the table so I could actually put my legs down and give them a rest.

After what seemed like forever, the nurse came back with my little girl and put her back in my arms.

“Are you the father?” The nurse asked Tom who glanced at me.

“No,” I told the nurse for him. She gave us each a funny look, but continued.

“Well there’s some paperwork that needs to be filled out soon. But we’d like to keep you two overnight just in case,” she told me.

“That’s fine. We’re not planning on going anywhere,” I told her with a smile, “Are we Torrie?” I asked my daughter who just went back to closing her eyes.