2 7 1 |Noorhelm|

DAY 271: MARCH 10TH (pt. 1)

The last three weeks, or almost all three, had been quite calm. Oslo was still very cold, but March was upon them and so was spring. Nothing was wrong, but to Noora, nothing was right either.

"I'm going to murder someone, if this baby doesn't come out right now," she moaned from her spread out position on the couch. She'd woken up in the middle of the night with strong cramps and aching in her lower back, causing her to get up and never going back to bed. That was about 2 AM. It was now Sunday morning, William was in the kitchen and Noora's due-date was supposed to have been a week ago. Yet, there they both were without a baby. The last days up to the due-date were so intense, and it'd only grown worse with each day that went by after. William witnessed it all.

"As long as it's not me," William mumbled, tired, sitting down on the sofa table and handing her a mug of warm tea.

"I miss coffee," Noora grabbed the mug from him, looking down at the brown-green liquid with disgust. "I don't want to be pregnant any more."

"It'll be here any time soon, Noora. Calm down," he took a sip from his own mug.

If looks could kill, William would've been dead by now. Twice. Noora's eyes shot into his like daggers, killing every ounce of confidence he had within himself.

"You can tell me to calm down, when you've had en entire person inside of you for nine months straight! When you've felt like a fat hippo for nine months and when you've peed 30 times a day for nine months. Until then, please shut up!"

That, of course, shut up the always confident brunette. This wasn't the first time she'd scolded him during these nine months, but truth be told, he was getting tired and impatient himself. He knew what was coming, and of course he was excited. But the thought of having to see Noora go through the pain of labour and birth dreaded him. Honestly, he just wanted it to be over.

"Unnskyld," he mumbled, tired of her mood and getting off the table.

Noora sighed, the regret of yelling at him quickly hitting her.

"William," she managed to grab his wrist before he got too far away. "Unnskyld. I didn't mean to yell. I'm so tired."

Not being able to stay mad at her for too long, especially not because of something this silly, turned around and sat down next to her.

"Me too. And I know you're doing the hard work," he gently put a hand on her huge belly. "But seeing you like this? It drains me too."

"I know," her voice was now calm, completely in contrast to two minutes ago. She put her free hand on top of his. "Why does it have to be so late? I want it out."

Her head dumped onto his shoulder, burying her face in it. Automatically, not being able to resist it, he kissed the top of her head.

"I know," the mumble was barely audible, as his lips were still pressed to her messy, tangled hair. Being tired also meant that the self-care was minimal these days.
For a while, they just sat there, not saying anything. William thought she'd fallen asleep, until she suddenly removed her head from his shoulder and sat up straight.

"I have to pee... Again," she hardly managed to, but got herself off the couch. "Look at me. I look like an old lady."

William chuckled, "I didn't know I had a thing for old ladies. You learn something new every day."

"Shut up," Noora mumbled, waddling to the bathroom.

Once she was out of sight, William put his feet on the couch and turned on the TV. There was nothing super interesting to watch, like football, since it was Sunday morning. But he needed something to waste his time. A crime show caught his attention, allowing him to lean back on the couch and relax as the pictures on the screen took him somewhere else.

"William!"

Quickly, he snapped out of his dazed off state, pushing himself off the couch.

"Yeah?"

"William! Come here!" Though she wasn't exactly screaming in horror, something was definitely not how it should be. His walking steps quickly turned into slow jogs. In a second, he was standing in the bathroom doorframe, looking at Noora and a little puddle of water on the floor. If he had to compare her to something, as to describe her, he would've said a deer in headlights.

"Didn't you make it to the toilet?" He frowned.

"For helvete, William! It's not pee. My water just broke! The pain I've been having since the middle of the night was probably small contractions!"

Now it was William's turn to look like a deer in headlights, realising that the moment he'd dreaded, but also waited for, was finally here! He walked over to her, putting his hands on her stomach in worry.

"Are you okay? Does it hurt?"

"No, I'm okay so far. But we need to go to the hospital."

"Yes, of course. Put on your shoes and coat. I'll get your bag and the keys."

Within the next five minutes, William had collected what they needed, helped Noora downstairs and got everything settled in the car.

"Ouch," she spat out from the passenger seat, holding her stomach.

"Fuck, does it hurt already?" William had just turned on the car, but immediately turned his attention to her, immensely worried.

"Yeah, a bit. B-but just drive. The sooner we get there, the better," the tone of her voice told him that she was in some pain, but she managed to put on a strong attitude and calm herself down. William immediately backed the car out of its parking spot and started driving towards the hospital.

"Can you manage to warn the other's in the chat?" He briefly looked at her, before looking back at the road. Though he'd never do anything to risk her safety, William definitely took advantage of his car's speed, gliding onto the highway, past everyone else.  About a month ago, they'd created a group chat with their closest friends, so that they could easily warn everyone, when it was time.

"Yeah," Noora groaned, grabbing her phone from her pocket. She'd waited for so long now, but she couldn't believe it was time. Their baby was coming.