Betrayed

... and baby makes three

At 40 weeks, I was exhausted, cranky and swollen all over. I went out for walks with Axel and Gabriel every morning while Lane had been sending Janice new recipes to induce labor for the last two weeks and each day, Janice brought me some new miraculous concoction guaranteed to work. At night Gabriel gave me mind shattering orgasms to stimulate contractions, and I felt bad that his fiancé was now the size of a beached whale. Not that he would say such things, but I was disheartened by the way I looked and felt. I knew it was temporary but I was getting anxious to meet my baby. Sam, Janice's boyfriend, was helping with some projects around the house and cottage to keep Gabriel occupied while the four of us waited impatiently for the stork to drop by.

Finally one night as we lay in bed after an ordinary day, I felt a distinct popping in my lower belly before a rush of liquid squirted out of me. As fast as I could, I rolled out of bed and waddled to the bathroom. Gabriel, panicking, rushed after me while trying to put his pants on and dodging an equally concerned Axel.

"Baby, what's wrong?" he asked, full of concern, holding the whining dog back by the collar.

"I think my water broke" I laughed, feeling more liquid come out of me. Gabriel simply raised an eyebrow at me, unable to compute what was going on. "Do you mind getting my bag and waking Janice up?" I asked calmly. He simply nodded and walked off in the direction of Janice's room. Moments later I heard a loud squealing noise coming from Janice as she rushed to my side talking a mile a minute.

"Gabe, get the bags, we have to bring her to the hospital, we are having a baby tonight!" she sang out. I heard Sam's chuckle on the other side of the door as I changed into clean underwear. "Do you have contractions?" Janice asked.

"No, I don't think so" I replied, taking stock of how I was feeling. The amniotic fluid was still running down my legs and I tried my best to clean myself up. Finally ready, and with bag in hand we left the house, Sam driving us to the hospital. Gabriel sat at the back of the SUV with me, never taking his eyes off me and placing a protective hand over my belly. I was admitted to the hospital and brought to the labor and delivery department by wheelchair. The nurses checked me and confirmed the liquid gushing out of me was in fact amniotic fluid. I spent most of the night pacing the hallways awaiting contractions which never came.

In the morning I was hooked up to a Pitocin drip to help the contractions along but it wasn't until the late afternoon that I started pushing. After twenty minutes of what seemed like unsuccessful pushing, I broke down, weary and tired from a lack of sleep and in an incredible amount of pain.

"Harper, you are doing really great" the nurse reassured me. Gabriel looked worn out, but he never left my side, holding my hand, pushing the hair out of my face, and giving me words of encouragement. Janice and Sam had left the delivery room when I started to push, feeling that it was an intimate moment for Gabriel and I. I wouldn't have minded if Janice stayed, but I was more self conscious about Sam seeing me naked.

"Mr. Mason, would you like to see the head crowning?" the doctor asked as a contraction overtook me.

"No, stay here!" I told Gabriel with pleading eyes. He smiled warmly at me and kissed my forehead.

"It's okay baby, I can handle it!" he whispered to me. I watched for his reaction but all I saw was complete and utter awe all over his face. "I see the baby's head, Harp," he announced, looking up at me.

"Harper, give us a good hard push when the next contraction starts okay?" the nurse asked. As if I could do anything about it. I felt the beginning of the contraction begin and I braced myself with short panting breaths before holding my breath and bearing down with all I had. A burning sensation overtook me for a few seconds before I heard Gabriel gasp.