Melanie and Dr. Kimiko monitored Ami every second, guiding her through breathing exercises as contraction upon contraction gripped her, murmuring medical nonsense to each other, and assuring Ami she was doing well. But an underlying thread of tension resided in their voices that led Lisette and the other immortals listening to believe that all was not well.
What’s a cervix? Zach asked her suddenly.
Lisette blinked. What?
What’s a cervix? Apparently Ami’s has stopped dilating despite the hard contractions, which I gather is not a good thing.
Ummm . . . It’s a . . . female thing . . .
I already knew that. What is it and where is it located?
I don’t know, Lisette admitted.
How can you not know? You’re a woman.
Yes, a woman born in a time when women didn’t sit around discussing their lady parts.
He swore.
Hang on. She turned to her Second. Tracy?
Slumped beside her, face pensive, Tracy looked over at her. Yeah?
What’s a cervix?
Her eyebrows flew up. It’s . . . ummmm . . . Her eyes roved the room as she thought about it. Actually, I’m not sure.
Lisette didn’t feel so bad now. “Does anyone know what a cervix is?” she asked the room at large, frustration mounting. Since Ami was mortal, Lisette didn’t fear her overhearing them. And, if Zach needed to know, Lisette would do whatever she had to, to find out for him, even if she had to use Darnell’s laptop to look it up on the damned Internet.
Everyone present stared at her with what the hell looks.
“A cervix?” she repeated. “Anyone know what it is?”
Sheldon slowly raised his hand.
Tracy rolled her eyes. “Sheldon, put your hand down. Watching porn does not teach you what a cervix is.”
He grinned. “I didn’t learn it from porn. I read up on pregnancy and childbirth after Seth told us Ami was pregnant.”
Tracy’s face lit with surprise. “Oh.”
“The cervix is the lower portion of the uterus that opens into the vagina. During pregnancy it closes to hold the baby inside the uterus. During labor, it dilates or widens to allow the baby to pass from the uterus into the vagina.”
Everyone stared.
Yuri looked around. “Anyone else think that was too much information?”
Every male save Sheldon raised a hand.
Did you hear that? Lisette asked Zach.
Yes. Thank you.
His presence in her mind receded.
Once more, Lisette waited with the others.
Stanislav cleared his throat. “How bizarre is it that Sheldon knows more about a woman’s body than the women present do?”
Sheldon smiled.
More waiting.
More unbearable tension.
Several knees bobbed up and down.
Anxious teeth abused fingernails.
Stanislav’s Second, Alexei, paced back and forth and back and forth until several voices shouted at him to sit the hell down.
Suddenly, Zach swore.
What? Lisette asked, unable to remain silent.
Dr. Kimiko is recommending a cesarean.
Seth studied Dr. Kimiko. “Is there no other way?”
She shook her head. “I fully understand the ramifications and wouldn’t recommend this if it weren’t absolutely necessary.”
He looked to Melanie.
Melanie nodded.
Marcus’s eyes, when they rose to meet Seth’s, carried fear and dread and a desperate need for Seth to assure him that everything would be okay.
How Seth wished he could make that promise.
Seth leaned down and stroked Ami’s hair. “Sweetheart, the babe is being stubborn. Dr. Kimiko and Melanie think a cesarean is necessary to bring her into the world.”
Ami nodded, her sweet face pinched with pain as she breathed through another contraction. “Do it.”
“You know they can’t sedate you or numb you. Because the babe carries both alien and gifted one DNA, we have no way of knowing how the medication would affect her.”
“I know. It doesn’t matter.”
“David and I may have to—”
“Just do it,” she commanded. “I endured six months of torture. I can endure this.” She looked at the doctors. “Do it. Whatever it takes. Just keep her safe.”
That was all they needed to hear. The two women went to work. Sterile drapes replaced the lightweight hospital gown that covered Ami’s belly and the monitors strapped to it.
Melanie placed a short screen above Ami’s abdomen that blocked her view. “To keep the field sterile,” she told Ami with a smile, then looked to Seth. And so she won’t have to watch us cut her.
Seth and David had been monitoring Melanie’s thoughts ever since they had arrived so she could think concerns to them that she didn’t want to voice in front of Ami and Marcus.
Melanie wheeled a tray of surgical instruments closer to the table while Dr. Kimiko scrubbed for surgery. Seth hadn’t even thought about germs, assuming he could heal any infection that resulted if Ami’s own incredible regenerative capabilities failed her. But he supposed Dr. Kimiko had some concerns for the baby. None knew what kind of immune system the child would possess. Or if she would even possess one. None knew if the babe was infected with the virus. Ami had had such difficulty carrying the baby to term that testing the babe in utero had been deemed too risky.