Fighting Fate

74. Earth Side

I sluggishly hit Harry's arm and muster a tiny amount of strength to hold my finger up while pointing to the entonox gas mask that I desperately need. We have been at the hospital for 8 hours now. It took 7 hours to get me to 8cm dilated and the last time my midwife Phoebe checked, I was 9cm. 

Everything is happening a lot quicker now. I lasted drug-free until I was 7cm dilated. After that I was screaming and crying through the contractions while begging for the epidural. The doctors told me that it was too late for that. 

I called them some impolite insults their way and I'm sure they didn't take it personally. 

Harry reaches for the gas mask and hands it to me. I groan in pain while holding the mask to my face and inhaling the glorious entonox. Enotnox is a mixture of nitrous oxide and oxygen. It doesn't take away the pain, but it makes it slightly more bearable. 

"This is all your fault. If you didn't get me so drunk that night then I wouldn't be in this situation right now."

"You were already drunk by the time I got there."

"Then you shouldn't have let me go home with you."

"I-"

I place my hand over his mouth to stop him from speaking. "I take it back, it's not your fault. It's Anne and Des's fault. It's their fault for making you so damn irresistible." 

Harry laughs at me before turning his head to look at the gas machine. He picks it up and analyses it in front of his face. "What else is in this stuff?" He asks the doctors. "This has to be a little more powerful than happy gas. She is off her rocket."

"Just shut up and give that back to me." I snatch the mask from his hands. 

While I breathe through another contraction, I notice Harry tying his hair into a bun so that it is off of his face. 

I impatiently hit his arm again and let out a grunt instead of using words. Harry lets go of his hair and immediately takes my mask from my hands.

"No, not that. Give me ice." I say in a tone that resembles Veruca Salt from Willy Wonka. "This isn't a beauty salon Harry. It is a hospital now stop fucking playing with your hair and give me the damn ice."

Harry's eyes widen while he holds his hands up in surrender. "Jeez, I'm sorry."

"You'll be sorry when- ah fuck. Oh my god, no. I just had one ten seconds ago, can I not catch a break?" I hold the mask back up to my face and wait for the horrendous pain in my stomach to subside. 

"Actually, your last contraction was 1 minute and 45 seconds ago." Phoebe corrects me. "Keep breathing Hailey, you're doing really well."

"Obviously I'm going to keep breathing because if I don't, I'll die." 

Harry passes me the ice chips and I take a handful of them and place them inside my mouth. "Too cold" I say before spitting them out and they land on my naked chest. I am completely naked right now. If you told me this yesterday that today I would be completely naked with my legs wide apart in front of 4 strangers, I would have laughed at you. 

But right now, I couldn't care less about what I look like or how much I am humiliating myself. All I want is this baby out of me right now. I love her, but she is causing me so much pain so I desperately need her earth side instead. 

*

"Alright Hailey, you're ready to start pushing. On your next contraction, I want you to push as hard as you can. I will count you through it. How are you feeling? Are you ready?" Phoebe peers up at me from the other end of the bed.