MC's Viking Warriors- Bear #1

Part 32- Vidar

Astrid's ankles didn't go down in swelling after the bath, or my gentle foot massage, and now I am getting worried. She is so uncomfortable and nothing seems to soothe her. Liam is grizzling with teething pain so I feel like I am being pulled from side to side with my family in need.

I call my ma, knowing that I can't look after them both with enough attention on my own. "Ma, I need your help. Can you come round and be with Liam he-"

My words are cut off as I hear Astrid's scream of surprise. With Liam in my arms I run from his nursery and into our room. My ma has hung up and is presumably on her way over to us. I find Astrid standing from the bed, a shock look contorting on her face. There is a liquid around her feet and dripping down her legs.

I freeze as my brain takes a second to make the link. "Baby?" I squeeze out, she nods, biting her lips.

"Hospital?"

"No not yet, I haven't had a contraction so they'll just send me home."

"Ok..." I reply anxiously, I hate the idea of her not going straight to hospital but she's been constantly reading and researching things to do with the baby so I have to trust her.

"Where do you want to be?" I'm going to let her lead this entire situation, truth be told I probably haven't done enough by way of preparing myself for this day. But I get the general gist.

"The be-" Before she can finish her sentence she's doubled over in agony and screaming. A large splash distracts me from her pain. Her legs are drenched in blood. Before she can drop to the floor, I catch her. I holler for help, for my ma, for anyone.

I hear a door slam and thunderous footsteps ascending the stairs. My parents walk in along with Mouse. My ma dashes towards us and takes Astrid's hand in hers.

"Erik, call an ambulance! Now! Tell them a woman has gone into labour and had a haemorrhage."

Waiting for that ambulance to arrive nearly kills me. I just hold her pale hand and tell her over and over again that I love her, and I've got her. Pale death haunts her face as my ma tries to get her comfortable.

Liam stays with Mouse as I am bundled into the ambulance along with Astrid. My parents are following the ambulance in their car. The paramedic sets about saving Astrid and Eira, injecting her with various needles and giving her oxygen. My heart is in my throat and I'm drowning in fear.

"Keep talking to her." The paramedic encourages, "it can help."

I grip her hand even right and pull it to my chest. Kissing her hand, my lips catch on the cold metal of her engagement ring.

I cry at that.

An emergency room doctor takes Astrid's stretcher and runs as he rolls her to an emergency delivery room. I try to follow but I'm firmly stopped by a nurse.

"She needs an emergency c-section for them both to make it. You can wait out here."

I'm too terrified to fight against what they say. If they save my girls I don't care what they say to me or make me do.

There is a line of chairs directly opposite the room they rushed her into, I take the one nearest the door and wait with my head in my hands.

Hours could have passed, maybe even days, but my ears finally pick up a muffled baby cry.

Unable to compute what that noise truly means, I jump from my fear induced trance and pace before the door.

A few minutes later, the door opens and a nurse dressed in scrubs appears in front of me. There's a wiggling, squirming ball in his arms. I can see a tiny , pink starfished hand.

My daughter's hand.

The air leaves my body, I feel winded as the man walks closer to me and gestures for me to sit down again.

I do as I'm directed. "Congratulations dad. It's a girl. Mother is still in theatre but she's doing well."

My daughter is placed in my arms and for the second time today tears fall as I hold her close to me. Her face is different from Liam's. If anything, she looks like my father or me.

Her little hand reaches up to my face uncoordinatedly and brushes against my cheek. I take her little hand in mine as her eyes gaze upwards and unseeing at me.

My parents call out to me as they finally see where I'm sitting.

"Astrid? How is she?" My ma desperately asks.

"Still in theatre, but she's doing well."

"Is this her then?" I nod my head as Eira grips her hand around me finger.

My father sits on one side of us as my mother takes the other. She coos and strokes her round little cheek. My father has refused to look at my daughter, he's staring vacantly forwards and swallowing hard.

"Pa?" I question, trying to tame the light buzzing of anger at his dismissal of his first granddaughter.

He reluctantly looks at her little face, he reaches a hand out to her and she grabs his index finger instead of mine. He breaks down in a light sob.

I realise in that moment that he wasn't being dismissive of her, he was trying to keep his emotions in check.

My mother whines for her granddaughter and I reluctantly hand Eira over to her. We sit in silence, appreciating my baby girl for an unmeasurable amount of time. Once Astrid is out of theatre and awake the rest of the club will come to meet the new baby.

The door opens again and Astrid is wheeled past us, sleeping, but some colour has returned to her cheeks. A surgeon stands before us and he smiles lightly.

"They're both going to do just fine. Astrid will wake up within an hour, you can sit with her if you wish. And congratulations."

He smiles at the gurgling baby in my arms. Eira seems to charm every person who lays eyes on her. She's just like her mother.