Pushing. Hurt. Like. Hell.
I screamed as loud as I ever had in my life when burning ripped through my vagina. “Ahhhhhhh!” I roared until my contraction faded, but even then the burning lingered.
“Branna,” I cried and squeezed my eyes shut. “It’s burnin’.”
I felt the cloth against my head.
“Push through that sting, do you hear me? You push through it with everythin’ you’ve got.”
I did just that. For thirty more minutes I pushed like hell through the burning sting until I thought I would collapse from exhaustion.
“She’s crownin’, that means the head is almost out, Kane,” Branna whispered. “You’re about to deliver your baby.”
Fear struck me.
“Branna, help him,” I pleaded, terrified Kane might let the baby fall by mistake.
“I’m ready,” he breathed. “I’ve got this, babydoll, trust me. Push as hard as you can one more time.”
Ryder and his brothers hunkered down in front of me and they each grabbed my hands, arms and legs, letting me use them as leverage.
“Let’s do this, Ado.” Alec smiled.
I nodded my head, then I sucked in a huge breath and with all my might, I bore down and pushed like my life depended on it.
“Good girl, babydoll,” Kane cheered. “Keep pushing... keep pushing.”
“The head is fully out,” Branna whooped a few seconds later.
More burning pain flooded my vagina and I screamed, but quickly inhaled and exhaled through the pain.
Nico moved to the side to get a better view and laughed. “Nothing but dark hair, a true Slater.” He tried to high five Damien who pointed at his own mop of white hair causing Nico to wince and say, “My bad, bro.”
I screamed loudly once more as increasing pressure mounted at my entrance, intensifying the burning.
Kane was laughing as he said, “Shoulders are out... chest... torso... butt... legs... and toes. You did it, baby.”
I slumped forward as I felt the baby leave me.
“It’s a... boy!” Kane suddenly announced. “It’s definitely a boy.”
I gasped and tried to look down between my legs, but the water was clouded with blood. “Are you sure?”
Branna carefully sat me back and leaned over into the pool and lifted my leg so Kane could wind the umbilical cord under so I didn’t hurt myself or the baby. I turned my head and burst into tears as I looked at Kane who had our baby scooped up in his big arms. I was smiling and weeping until I noticed something.
The baby wasn’t crying.
“Branna,” I said. “Why isn’t he cryin’?”
“It’s normal, give him a second,” Branna said then reached over and took the baby from Kane without asking.
He still wasn’t crying.
Five-seconds of nothing passed and it felt like a lifetime.
“Oh, please,” I screamed as panic struck. “Please make him cry.”
Kane grabbed hold of my shoulders as I tried to stand up. I shoved him away from me and tried to make it closer to Branna. She couldn’t move very far because the baby’s umbilical cord was still attached to me.
“Come on, baby boy,” Branna cooed to the baby as she rubbed him roughly with one of our baby towels. She continued this while I wailed and Kane hugged me from behind.
Alec had his hands on either side of his head, Nico and Damien were both chewing on their nails, and Ryder was just staring at the baby and Branna.
Time was frozen until... magic.
The loudest wail you could imagine from a newborn filled my apartment, and it was the best sound I had ever heard in my entire life.
I cried harder with relief that the baby was alive, and Kane, who was shaking behind me, whimpered lightly and pressed his face into the back of my hair.
“You little brat,” Branna tearfully laughed as she finished wiping the baby’s face. “Givin’ your mammy and daddy a fright like that.”
“Your fuckin’ uncles, too,” Alec stated and bent forward, placing his hands on his knees, panting like he just ran a marathon.
Branna moved over to us and leaned down. She lowered her arms, and gently rested the baby onto my chest. I scanned my eyes over the baby until my eyes rested in between his legs.
“It is a boy,” I cried with happiness. “We have a son.”
Kane wrapped his arms around us and kissed the side of my face. “Thank you so much, baby.”
“For what?” I sniffled, looking back to him.
“For giving him to me,” he said and kissed my lips.
I cried with happiness and looked back down to my son who started to cry, loudly. “Shhh,” I cooed and gently rocked him. “Mammy’s got you.”
My heart burst with love in that moment.
I was someone’s mother.
“He looks just like you, Kane,” Branna commented through her soft crying.
“No way,” he murmured, his eyes locked on our child’s face. “He’s beautiful, that’s all Aideen.”
I smiled with glee, and let my eyes roam over my son’s face. He had a cute button nose, real chubby cheeks, a head full of dark brown hair and plump pink lips. I lifted him up and leaned my mouth down to his head and I kissed him.
“I love you,” I whispered. “I love you so much, baby boy.”
Kane repositioned himself behind me. He put his legs on either side of my hips and pulled me and our baby back into his chest. He leaned his head into the side of mine and we both stared down at out little angel.
“I can’t believe we made him,” I murmured. “He is perfect.”
“He is,” Kane agreed.
Branna reached down and gently pressed on my breast and the baby gurgled then hummed as he relaxed even more against me. I closed my eyes as she moved to her bag and took some objects out. I felt her come back over and lean over me and the baby, but I only opened my eyes when she spoke to Kane.
“Cut between the clamp and my fingers.”
I opened my eyes and saw Branna handing Kane a funny shaped pair of scissors and then glanced down to the baby’s umbilical cord. What I can only describe as a white peg was clamped near the baby’s belly button and Branna was directing Kane where to cut.
Kane did as told and cut through our son’s umbilical cord. It took a few cuts, but he cut it off and handed Branna back her scissors.
“You might want to claw my eyes out, but can I have him for a few minutes? I’ll dry him off and wrap him up nice and warm.”
I frowned at Branna. “Why?”
Branna chuckled. “I have to help you deliver the placenta, babe, and I want to weigh him.”
Oh, right.
“Okay,” I glowered and carefully handed my son over to her.
Branna smiled as she leaned in and kissed my head. “He will be back in your arms before you know it.”
I hoped so, I already missed him.
Branna weighed the baby, and he was ten pounds on the dot.
Ten. Fucking. Pounds.
I was terrified to think how big he would have grown had I carried him full-term.
After weighing him, Branna then cleaned him up and placed him in the Moses basket next to my bed. Everyone, except Kane, left the room then as Branna came to my side.
The next ten minutes were painful, but not as painful as active labour.
“There you go,” Branna said as she pressed on my stomach once more.
I winced as I felt something pass through my body.
“All done,” Branna announced then reached into the water and lifted a clump of something nasty looking and placed it into a plastic bag next to her.
Branna lifted our son from the Moses basket and gave him back to me, I held my arms up making sure the blanket he was wrapped in didn’t touch the water of the pool.
I glanced up when I heard a soft click. I noticed Branna had left the room so it was just Kane, our son and me.
“I was so scared there for a second.”
Kane kissed my shoulder. “Me too, sweetheart. My heart stopped.”
Mine did, too.
Our son wailed and it made me chuckle when Kane said, “I love your cry.”
I gazed at the baby then murmured to Kane, “You don’t think the smoke from that night hurt him, right?”
“No,” he replied. “Look at him; he is healthy as can be. Pink and big all over.”
His little face was pressed against my chest, and his instinct took over. He tried to suckle on my skin so I nervously repositioned him under my breast as I remembered what Branna had taught me. Kane reached around and adjusted my breast and nipple with his hand until it was close to the baby’s mouth.
It took about a minute of adjusting, and brushing my nipple against our son’s mouth, but he eventually latched on and began to suckle.
“Ow,” I winced.
“Are you okay?” Kane asked me, his voice barely a whisper.
I nodded, but continued to wince. “It hurts a little, but it’s okay. Branna said that a little pain was normal.”
Kane pressed his face to the side of mine, and we both looked down as our son fed for the first time. I heard a little click, but didn’t look up. I heard some movement then the sound of a shutter caught my attention.
I looked up and saw Branna smiling apologetically as she tucked her phone into her trouser pocket.
“Sorry, it was too perfect of a moment not to capture.”
I smiled and looked back down to my son.
“How is everythin’?” Branna’s voice whispered.
“Perfect.”
“Branna,” Kane murmured. “He latched on.”