Tomorrow Never Dies

Chapter 69 - "it's time."

"Michael?" I called, trying to keep my voice as level as possible.

"Yes my darling?" he shouted back, and I gritted my teeth as I carried on keeping calm.

"Please can you come up?" I leaned heavily on the sink, blowing out my breaths as much as I could to try and numb the pain. Michael appeared in the bathroom door behind me and his face in the mirror was overcome with a look of realisation.

"It's time?"

"It's time." His eyes lit up and he ran to the bedroom to pick up my hospital bag, hurrying straight back to me and helping me downstairs to the car. He sat me down in the back, pressing a gentle kiss to my enlarged stomach, and got into the front, driving as fast as he reasonably could. Every time he pressed his foot to the accelerator I could swear I heard sirens, but I put it down to the pain I was experiencing driving me a little crazy.

We swung into the hospital car park and parked in the closest available space. Michael helped me out of the car immediately, supporting me as I almost collapsed with the pain. We made eye contact, and he sent me a silent apology as we ventured from the car to the entrance to the hospital. We walked in, and Michael immediately called a doctor walking past to assist us.

"My wife is in labour, please help!" I grabbed his arm as a fresh wave of pain washed over me. A nurse ran over with a wheelchair and I fell into it, grateful to be off my feet, and I was rushed to the maternity ward. The nurse helped me onto the bed, helped me change, and tied my hair up as a midwife came to look at me. Michael paced nervously opposite me until I couldn't take it any more.

"Michael! Stop pacing, come here," I demanded, and he rushed to my side. He took my hand, grazing his lips against it almost unconsciously and I looked up at him. "I may break your hand if this is how much it hurts currently." Another contraction waved over my body and I grimaced, letting the nurse know what was happening.

"Your contractions are five minutes apart at the moment, you're only two centimetres dilated though so it might be a long night for you." I looked at her in desperation as the pain faded momentarily, hoping she was wrong and the labour was going to get easier. She and the midwife left, leaving Michael and I alone with the instruction to keep timing how far apart my contractions were. Michael pulled up a chair next to my bed and rubbed his hand on my stomach where our baby was getting ready to come out. We'd chosen to keep the gender a secret, opting for neutral colours in the nursery like greys and yellows, and we had two beautiful names chosen either way.

"I can't believe it's happening," Michael whispered softly.

"Trust me, if you could feel what's going on, you'd be able to believe it."

"I hope it's easy for you. Plus I don't want to be supporting you at half three in the morning or something, I'll be too tired."

"You'd be too tired? You're not the one pushing a baby out of your-" I was cut off by his lips pressing against mine.

"Save your energy," he murmured, his beautiful bluey green eyes piercing mine. He kissed me again, rubbing his thumb on the back of my hand, and he swept a wisp of hair that had fallen over my eyes off my face. I groaned as another contraction hit, contorting my body in strange ways in an attempt to make the pain go away.

"Make it stop," I complained, eager to just get the baby out. "It hurts."

"I know baby," he replied softly. "We're on three minutes now."