Diamonds Dancing

Forty Seven "Part One"

PART ONE

Four white walls clouded his blurry vision, slowly caving in on him. The brutal exhaustion seeped into his tired limbs, wreaking pure havoc but he knew better than to question it.

He could still hear echoes of her pain, it was enough to bring him back to reality.

She was extraordinary. He had never met a woman more strong or brave, her face twisted up as her head fell against the pillow.

Her watery eyes making contact with his, causing his heart to stop momentarily.

Her swollen belly was scrunched up from pushing. The contraction ended and she took a deep breath in before it was time to start again.

"It's not coming out," she wept tiredly, clamping her eyes shut. "I can't do it. I'm sorry, but I can't... Slater, I can't.."

He was frozen, unable to speak as the nurses encouraged her to keep pushing, her hair was matted against her forehead, and she was exhausted. More contractions and pushes and nothing was happening.

The insightful nurse took over instantly, soothing the birthing mother with kind words. "You can do this, Dasha. You can do it, keep pushing. A few more pushes and you'll be able to hold your baby. I promise."

He couldn't say anything. She was holding onto his hand so tightly, wanting him to be vocal but he was deadly afraid of losing it all. For it could happen in a split second. He was afraid of losing everything before he even had the chance of experiencing it.

That was a huge possibility, losing them both.

But she had wanted this more than anything, it was an ongoing battle they had been dealing with. It was hard for him to connect to the baby in the way she had, he wanted to keep her healthy and well for his own selfish reasons.

He couldn't live without her, not anymore. Not when she kept him sane, not when he had been able to find his joy in her.

She kept pushing with all of her might, the next few moments were filled with anxiety.

Then suddenly that bubble of raging anxiety, popped.

He blinked. The room went still and the world around him slowed completely down.

'Congratulations!'

A mixture of tears, laughter, smiles ingrained into his brain. He caught her sparkling eyes peering down between her legs, he was busy searching her face, making sure she was okay.

She seemed perfectly fine, the tears of joy streaming down her round cheeks.

Something about an umbilical cord was murmured, more congrats and then she was gone.

The doctor passed the newborn over to the nurse and she disappeared from his sight, leaving him in a state of panic.

"Wait, where are you taking her?" Slater asked hesitantly, letting go of his wife's hand as he moved towards the knowing nurse. "Is she okay? I-Is she still breathing?"

She had stopped crying. He couldn't hear her anymore, he couldn't hear anything.

The nurse nodded softly, wiping the baby down before she turned around. The quiet infant rested in her arms, though she was clearly still breathing as she squirmed uncontrollably.