You're So Pretty On the Outside

I grumbled in annoyance when a slight pain coursed through my stomach and flipped onto my other side. I muttered a little bit about how I couldn’t wait for the baby to be born as I continued to toss and turn.

Suddenly a warm liquid gushed between my thighs and my breathing hitched.

“Fuck!” I screamed. I held my stomach and started talking to it. “I was just kidding. Stay in there!”

I heaved my body off of my bed and pulled on a random pair of shoes. Gena was spending the weekend with John so I had to get to the hospital on my own. I grabbed a jacket and the bag that Gena and I had packed to bring to the hospital and ran out to my car.

I have to say, it probably would have been a lot smarter to call an ambulance because driving while I was going through labor was extremely difficult to say the least.

Once I finally arrived at the hospital I didn’t even bother to park. I pulled up next to the emergency doors and yanked the keys out of the ignition before grabbing my bag and painfully waddling into the bright building.

“I need a doctor over here!” I exclaimed.

A couple of nurses rushed over with a wheel chair and helped me sit in it.

“I’m going into labor,” I explained. “My water broke. The baby is early.”

“How far along are you, Miss?”

“Almost 8 months.”

She murmured a few things to herself before wheeling me to a room. It was built for three people, but at that point I was the only inhabitant.

“Do you have anyone that you need to call?”

I shook my head as I took deep breaths. “No. My sister is the only one and she’s out of town.”

The nurse, an older woman, gave me a disapproving look before helping me into a gown and going off in search of a doctor.

As I waited, I paced the room and held my aching back. It didn’t take long for a doctor to arrive.

“So it seems like you’re having your baby now,” he said in a cheery voice.

I scowled at him and read his name tag. Dr. Simmons.

“No shit, Simmons,” I muttered.

Dr. Simmons made a clicking sound with his tongue. “Now, I know it hurts, but that’s no reason to get an attitude. Let’s get you into the bed.”

He practically forced me to get onto the sorry excuse for a bed and I gripped the side as a strong contraction hit me.

“Jesus! Fuck!”

The sadistic freak just chuckled and wrote something down on his board.

“How close are the contractions?”

“Too close,” I spat.

Dr. Simmons sighed in what seemed like disappointment.

“Ms. Moore, I think it would be a bit difficult for you to give birth to that baby on your own so I suggest that you start to cooperate.”

“Can you just give me the drugs?” I begged.

“I’ll call for an epidural. First though, I would like to see how far along you are.”

He snapped a glove onto his hand and I fell flat on my back with a groan.

The anesthesiologist came in about five minutes after the examination and a nurse helped me sit up while he administered the epidural.

“Alright. So based on your current progress I think it’s safe to assume that you should be having this baby within the hour,” Dr. Simmons said too cheerfully.

“An hour?” I whimpered.

He made a reprimanding sound. “Don’t complain. There are women who are in labor for days. Consider yourself lucky.”

He left without another comment and I groaned to myself. I heaved myself out of the bed and paced around for about 45 minutes when my door flung open. I glanced up in alarm only to find my sister there with John.

“Did you really think that you could do this without me?” she asked with a smirk.

I stared at her wide eyed. “How did you know?”

“I asked the neighbors to call me if it seemed like something was going on with you. When they did, we raced down here. Come to think of it, we didn’t pack up or check out of the room we rented so we’re going to have to go back after this is all over with.”

“You guys didn’t have to come,” I murmured.

My sister just looked at me as if I was a moron.

“I’m practically going to be this kid’s second mother. I do have to be here. As for John, where I go he goes.”

I smiled at the two of them appreciatively and winced as another contraction hit me. I gripped the edge of the hospital bed and took a deep breath as I waited for it to end.

The nurse that had been checking on me every five minutes came into the room, took one look at me, and ran off with wide eyes.

I took that as a sign that it was about time so I got into bed with some help from John and Gena.

Dr. Cheerful came into the room and I sneered at him.

“Nurse Rebecca tells me that you seem about ready to start pushing.”

“I assume so, but you’re the doctor,” I said sarcastically.

“Angel, be nice! He’s just trying to help you,” Gena said sternly.

I grumbled to myself and gripped the bed as another contraction started.

He laughed. “It looks like she really is ready to come out so I guess we should get started.”

He helped me put my feet in these stirrup things. I blushed at the fact that he was going to be between my legs throughout the entire procedure. A couple of nurses had joined us in the room at that point.

“Would you two please hold her legs in place?” Dr. Simmons asked John and Gena.

They agreed and each held one of my legs in place.

After about fifteen minutes of pushing, I was finally able to hold my daughter. I was breathless as I looked down at the tiny infant in my arms and stroked her fingers.

“She’s so tiny,” I whispered. “Hey, Gracie Pie. I’m your mommy.”