The Proposal(88)
The kind, middle aged nurse thrust her hand out to Aidan. “I’m Annie. I assume you’re the proud father-to-be?”
Aidan bobbed his head. “Yes, I am.”
“I’m so glad you made it in time to see your son come in to the world.”
“So am I.” His gaze went to Emma’s. “I never thought I would say this, but thank God for Pesh.”
She smiled. “We do owe him a lot.”
Aidan held up his hand. “Let’s not get carried away now.”
The door pushed open, and a female doctor not much older than Emma entered the room. She looked familiar, and Aidan remembered that he had met her once before when they were doing a Round Robin with all the OB doctors in the practice. The name on her white coat read Dr. Karen Middleton.
She smiled at them. “So Baby Noah has decided to make his entrance into the world?”
Annie nodded her head. “Yes, he has.”
Slipping on a pair of rubber gloves, she glanced between Aidan and Emma. “Then let’s get the show on the road. Shall we?”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Emma drew in a deep breath. This was it. When it came down to pushing, it was the real deal.
“Okay, Emma, if you’re ready,” Annie said.
She nodded, and using her hands, she pushed herself up in the bed.
“If you don’t object, we’re going to put up a mirror, so you can watch Noah be born. Is that okay?” Annie asked.
“Sure. I want to see him.”
“Um, where can I stand to ensure I won’t be seeing Em’s vagina?” Connor asked. Emma shot him a look, and he held up his hands. “I love you, darlin’, but I’ve made it eighteen years without seeing your vajayjay, and I’d like to keep it that way.”
Annie chuckled. “Stand there behind the bed, and you won’t catch a glimpse or a reflection,” she instructed.
“Thank you so much!”
Annie then motioned at Aidan. “If you’ll take one of her legs and,” she paused to look between Casey and Connor. Immediately Connor shook his head. “Like I said, I’ll be back here in the corner.”
Casey laughed. “I would love to help.”
Aidan took Emma’s left leg while Casey took her right. “Okay, Emma, breathe normally, grab the backs of your legs, and push down while we count,” Dr. Middleton instructed.
Emma sucked in a deep breath and then started pushing as hard as she could. She barely heard Dr. Middleton and Annie counting to ten. “Good. Stop.” Emma had just caught her breath when Dr. Middleton said, “Okay, again.”
Pinching her eyes shut in concentration, she went through three more exhausting rounds when Annie exclaimed, “Open your eyes, honey. He’s crowned.”
Emma’s eyelids flew open, and her expectant gaze honed in on the mirror, peering in wonder at Noah’s tiny head. “Aw, Em, it looks like he’s got strawberry blonde hair!” Casey commented.
Aidan grinned. “Nah, I think it’s redder, and he’s more of a Ginger.”
She gritted her teeth at him. “Don’t you dare call our son a Ginger!”
Connor and Casey laughed while Aidan leaned in and kissed her cheek. “I’m only teasing you, babe. I just hope it will darken up and be as beautiful as yours.”
Emma opened her mouth to thank him, but Dr. Middleton interrupted her by saying, “Okay, now another big push.” When Annie got to ten and Emma started to relax, Dr. Middleton shook her head. “Keep going, keep going.” Just when Emma thought she couldn’t go anymore, Dr. Middleton said, “Okay, stop.”
Emma’s head fell back against the pillow from the exertion. She didn’t know if she had any strength left within her to push again. Closing her eyes, she drew in a few deep breaths to try to dispel the exhaustion.
“Just one more big push, Emma,” Dr. Middleton said.
Gripping her hands tight into the backs of her thighs, she put everything she had left and then some into the push. Dr. Middleton’s voice echoed over the loud groan emitting from Emma’s lips.
“And here he is!” she exclaimed, holding a wailing and bloody Noah up for both Emma and Aidan to see.
The world around Emma shuddered to a stop, and all she could focus on was Noah’s strong cries. It was as if every molecule, every cell, and every fiber of her being hummed and buzzed with the new life in front of her. Noah—flesh of her flesh and bone of her bone—was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen or heard for that matter. Tears stung her wide eyes.
“My, my, he’s still a big boy for being three weeks early,” Dr. Middleton remarked with a smile.
Unable to speak, Emma reached out her arms for Noah, desperate to hold him. He wouldn’t feel real until she could put her hands on him. “Hang on, Mama. Let’s get him cleaned up a bit,” Annie said.