Knox carefully positioned Harper on the covered floor, and her hand shot out in a panic to grab his own. "I'm right here, baby, I'm not leaving your side," he vowed. As the doctor and midwife examined her, Knox kept his focus solely on Harper. He'd wanted to be with her every step of the way, and he was going to make up for the fact that he so far hadn't been. He'd keep his fears and concerns to himself. This was all about her.
"I wouldn't bother with the heating pad or anything, Meg," said Rodgers. "The baby's crowning already."
Seeing fear glimmer in Harper's eyes, Knox squeezed her hand. "Just think, we'll finally see the baby soon. You'll finally know if it's a girl or a boy – I know that's been driving you crazy." Her mouth quirked, and just the sight lightened the guilt weighing on his shoulders. He might be pissed at himself, but she wasn't pissed at him.
"It's been driving you insane too, admit -" Harper cut off with a moan as a contraction seemed to slam into her womb. She hadn't thought the pain could get any worse. She'd been wrong.
"Once the baby's in your arms, you'll forget all about the pain," Sharon promised. "Now get ready. We're going to need you to start pushing in a few moments." As soon as the next contraction began, Sharon said, "Okay, push."
Harper pushed. Nothing happened. As time went on and the pushing achieved jack shit, she clung to Knox's hand, so fucking glad he was there and so fucking surprised she hadn't crushed any of the bones in his hand. Even at home, away from danger, she felt completely out of her element. Utterly out of control.
His touch was strong and reassuring; his words were encouraging and supportive; and his presence was calming and made her feel safe. She needed that right then. Needed the way he squeezed her hand, rubbed her back, whispered in her ear, and didn't complain when she dug her nails into his skin.
Drained, she sagged against him. "I can't do this anymore, I just can't." She'd pushed and pushed, but nothing was happening.
He kissed her temple. "You are doing it, baby. I'm watching you do it and I'm proud of you." He smoothed her hair away from her face. "I know you're tired, but you're doing great." Turning to Sharon, Knox scowled. "Should she really be in this much pain? And should it really be taking so long?"
Sharon gave him a pitying look. "Sweetie, it ain't called ‘labor' for nothing."
Rodgers smiled at Harper. "Just visualize your cervix opening like a flower -"
"Stop, just stop," Harper snapped. He'd done nothing but make dumb and often wildly inappropriate comments until he'd lost all credibility to her. It was just her luck that she'd end up with a doctor who used humor to get himself through tricky situations.
Another contraction came, and she dug her fingers into Knox's arm.
"Okay, Harper, time to push again," Sharon declared.
Harper pushed. There was a loud farting sound. Her mouth dropped open in mortification, but then Rodgers gave her a sheepish look and said, "Sorry about that. I had chicken korma before I came."
Unable to deal with him right then, Harper held up her hand. "You are not here. You're just not."
Sharon chuckled. "Ignore him, honey, I do it all the time."
Harper did exactly that, concentrating on pushing and breathing while Knox whispered encouragements in her ear and told her he loved her. And when Rodgers announced that one more push would do it, Harper's heart skipped a beat. Still, she pushed. Hard. With what even she could admit was a bloodcurdling scream, the baby's head was out. It took just one more push for the rest of the baby to come out. And there it was.
Rodgers grinned. "You have a baby boy, congratulations."
Awe and wonder crept over Harper, and her throat seemed to close over. Still, she somehow managed to ask, "Why isn't he crying?"
"Oh, he will," said Sharon. "Don't doubt it."
After the cord was cut, Rodgers took the baby aside, checked him over and then, yep, the baby started bawling.
As Sharon covered Harper up, Rodgers gently rested the baby on her chest with a little blanket and said, "He's fine. Ten fingers, ten toes, and he has a big set of lungs on him. Good luck with that."
///
Harper's heart stuttered and her chest clenched. To others, he probably looked like a prune. To her, he was the most beautiful, perfect thing she'd ever seen. She spoke in a low, soothing voice. "Hey there. You're here," she marveled. "And you're a boy." He was familiar in the strangest way. She smiled at Knox. "Can you believe we made this little person?"