Keep On Walking (A Hunter Hayes Fanfiction, Book 3 of the Hardships Saga)

Chapter Fifty-Six

❝childbirth (pronounced tʃʌɪl(d)bəːθ or chahld-berth), noun
the act of giving birth to a child.❞

It had been eight hours, and Ryan still wasn't able to do it.

This was exactly how it had happened last time, too. She had fallen unconscious, because she had been in so much pain. She couldn't think straight. She squeezed Hunter's hand again, as a burning contraction shocked its way through her. It felt like she was having her insides pulled out from inside her own body. Like she was being ripped apart, rather than cut. Searing, fiery pains burst out from inside her, and she could see black mists ebbing at the corners of her eyesight, threatening to pull her under. But no, she refused. She wouldn't black out this time. She wouldn't force Hunter to make that choice again.

"You're doing amazing," Hunter said, as she screamed again. He kept the counter-pressure on her back. "Keep pushing. Come on, one, two, three!"

She was dying. "I can see the head!" called a midwife, and Hunter wiped the beads of sweat and the tears of pain off her face. "Stop pushing, you don't want to tear..."

"You're doing so well, darling. Breathe. Come on, breathe with me." He breathed shallowly, almost panting, and she followed his lead, before crying out again.

"I c-can't," she sobbed. "It hurts..." Another contraction, like a knife being twisted through her spine, made her scream again. "Bluejay, I can't..."

"You can," he said, sounding determined. "Come on, Ry. We're at the home stretch, we're almost there. I know you can do it."

"I can't... do it... anymore..."

"Yes, you can!"

There were small pauses in her pain, pauses that gave her false hope that it was all going to end. If she didn't know what the end result would be, she would have begged Hunter to just shoot her right then and there. She couldn't feel anything but the searing fire through her entire body. She cried again, and Hunter let him squeeze his hand until his fingers turned blue. "You're close, Ry!" he said, glancing over. "I can see him! Just one more push, come on! One more!"

"I... can't..."

"One," he counted. "Two..." She braced herself. "Three!"

One more mighty heave, and she screamed, the worst pain yet forcing its way through her body. But then she heard a baby's cry.

"You did it," Hunter breathed, sounding wonderstruck. "Ry..."

A nurse immediately put the baby onto Ryan's heaving chest. She felt tears in her eyes and the baby kept wailing. "Spencer," she breathed. "Our little Spence. He's here, Hunt."

"You did it!" he whispered, kissing her temple. "God, Ry, I'm so proud of you."

She leaned her head back on the pillows, breathing heavily. "Why did I want this, again?" she said, and he laughed. He was so happy. She couldn't help but let a laugh escape her, too. She had done it. She had endured eight hours of medieval style torture and brought life to the world. It was the least she could do after what had happened to Mina.

"He's too small," said a nurse, and suddenly, Spencer was lifted up and carried away.

"Wh- no! No, give him back to me!" yelled Ryan. Hunter stood, but a nurse held him back. "Sir, he needs to go into intensive care. He's too small, and he's not crying as much as he should be. That makes us think he might have fluid in the lungs."

"Will he be okay?"

"We're not sure."

Ryan had begun to cry again. Eight hours of torture, and now the result was being stolen away from her? It was too much. She couldn't handle it.