2 7 1 |Noorhelm|

DAY 271: MARCH 10TH (pt. 3)

If it wasn't for the tormenting amount of pain coming from the more and more frequent contractions, Noora could've described what she felt as numb. Plain numb. It'd been almost two hours - two hours since William had walked out, and he still wasn't back. The nurses and the midwife had stopped by twice, and the second time, it'd been easy to tell that they were growing suspicious and concerned. Something was wrong.

"Okay Noora, dear," Anna spoke up, checking her for the third time within those two hours. "You're just barely 7 cm dilated, which means he or she is a little, fast one. It won't be too long before you're 10 cm and ready to push."

"How long?" Noora breathed out, eyes closed as she tried to relax. This seemed impossible though.

Anna chuckled, recognising the familiar impatience of upcoming mothers, "It can be everything from 30 minutes to 2 hours."

"I can't last 2 hours like this!" Noora groaned, just before another contraction hit. This one though, was a whole new level of pain that she never thought she'd experience. Beatrice quickly joined her side, grabbing her hand and supporting her through the painful minute that the contraction lasted. After feeling like she couldn't breathe for what felt like forever, Noora took a deep breath and let her head fall back into the pillow. Beads of sweat were starting to form on her forehead. 

"Dear, I hate to meddle, but where is your boyfriend?" the grey-haired nurse asked, grabbing a wet cloth and gently dabbing the young woman's forehead with it.

"H-he went to get some air."

What was she supposed to say? The poor nurse didn't have time to hear Noora and William's long and dramatic story. Noora knew he wouldn't leave her, not for good or for real, but he wouldn't come back before he was ready. What a shitty time to bring that up. Why did he have to do that? He could be mad at her any other day, but not now! She needed him more than ever!

"Nonsense! Is there someone else I can call?" The nurse frowned, grabbing her work phone.

"Eh-" Noora breathed out, considering who'd she be able to stand having in the delivery room with her. No one. Probably not even William, once the pain of birth hit her, but she still wanted him there. More than anyone else. "You can call my good friend Sana," she continued, telling the nurse her friend's number.

"Great. I'll go call her and be right back, okay?"

Noora nodded, biting her lip and holding back a moan. How the hell did she end up in this mess? First of all; pregnant. Second of all; giving birth all by herself. Honestly, she felt like crying. And Noora very rarely allowed herself to cry.

Somewhere else in Oslo, Sana was making her way towards the hospital, driving faster than ever before. She'd been called up by a nurse, Noora's nurse, who'd told her that there seemed to be some problems with Noora and William. Within seconds, Sana had her shoes on and was on her way, mentally killing William at least 10 times. It took her barely 20 minutes, before she pulled into the parking lot and parked the car. Not even verifying if she'd locked the car properly, like she always did, she ran towards the entrance. A very familiar figure caught her eye.

William. He was sitting on a bench, head in his hands and bent over. Sana instantly felt her blood boil ever more than it already was.

"William!" She yelled out, approaching as he unveiled his head from his hands and looked up.

"What the hell are you doing out here, when Noora is in there giving birth to your child!"

"Sana you don't und-"

"I don't need to understand! William! Hei!" Sana clapped her hands in front of her face, not trying to be sassy but just upright pissed. "Noora is in there," she pointed towards the tall building, emphasising her point, "going through the worst pain she'll EVER experience. A pain so horrible, yet so beautiful, because it's something that only you two can create together."