92. And then there was III...

12.5K 606 165
                                    

"Richard... umupo ka muna, iho. Ako ang nahihilo sayo eh," Anna pleaded at Richard, who was agitatedly pacing back and forth along the hallway. "You need to relax, iho."

"I'm sorry ma, but she's been in there for almost 12 hours," Richard replied, looking distressed. He paused from walking and faced his companions. "Bakit ang tagal? Is she gonna be okay? And why won't they just let me stay in there with her?"

"Iho, maniwala ka sakin, hindi mo gugustuhing manatili sa loob buong panahon na naglalabor ang asawa mo," Teddy piped in. "Alam mo ba, nung itong mama niyo ang nanganak kay Nico, ilang malulutong na mura at hataw sa mukha ang natanggap ko. Ang sabi e ayaw na niyang umulit, pero heto't nakatatlo naman kami."

"Tumigil ka nga, Teddy!" Anna told him with a slap to his thigh. She flashed him a slicing glare, and Richard let out a nervous chuckle.

"Maine is going to be okay, Rich," Meg said, talking over the couple who were now quietly bickering. "I'm sure she'll be ready any min—"

"Mr. Faulkerson?" a nurse called from the delivery room door.

"Yes, that's me," Richard answered right away.

"You need to suit up na po, she's almost ready."

Richard followed her through the door and into another small room, where he was instructed to wash his hands and change into a scrub suit. He was also handed something to sanitize the small camera that he was holding in his shaking hand.

They entered the delivery room, which was now buzzing with energy, and he saw the nurses getting Maine ready for delivery.

"Mallows," she called weakly as soon as her eyes focused on him.

"Panda," he replied, stepping closer and holding her hand. "I'm here."

"They said I'm ready..."

"Yes."

"Pero paano ko iiire to kung sobrang groggy ako?" she said, almost slurring. They had infused something into her IV hours ago, and although she had awoken several times within the last 11 hours because of contraction pains, at that moment, she still wasn't completely awake.

"Don't worry, iha, you're body will do it for you," one of the doctors told her, patting her arm.

"Ano po—?" Without warning, a wave of contractions hit her again, more painful that anything she had ever felt all night. It seemed to have set all of her nerve endings afire, effectively jolting her sleepy brain into attention. She was now more awake than ever, feeling the raw pain of labor in all its intensity. She screamed, and Richard held her hand tightly, feeling helpless.

"Okay, iha, direct that energy into pushing the baby out, okay?" The doctor instructed between her legs. "At the count of 3. Three, two, push!"

Maine let out another scream as her upper body lifted involuntarily from the bed, getting into that position that was taught to her during her childbirth class. The doctor was right, her body was doing all the work for her. The only thing she seemed to be doing on her own was screaming the pain out.

"You're doing great, Maine, I can already see his head. Breathe and give us one big push at the count of 10. Just one big push, Maine!"

She struggled to remember the breathing techniques she had learned, as the doctor began the countdown, and then, at the signal, she gave her all in that one giant push.

There was a small gasping sound, and suddenly the room was filled with the indignant cries of the little baby in the doctor's hands. Maine stared at it, her eyes already brimming with tears at the build up of overwhelming emotions in her chest. She was tired, and the echo of labor pains was still reverberating throughout her body, but the happiness that was slowly growing inside her chest was nothing like she has ever felt before.

"Here he is. Here's your little baby Faulkerson," the doctor said as she walked the baby towards her and carefully placed him on her chest.

The baby stopped crying at once and just let out cute, small grunts as he crawled over her chest, his small mouth wide open, searching for a nipple to latched on. He closed his eyes contentedly as soon as he found one, and Maine let out a shaky sigh.

"My baby..." she whispered affectionately. She looked up at Richard and saw that he had tears in his eyes too, and his face was very pale. "Are you okay?"

"Yes. You did great, Panda," he told her. He leaned in and kissed her forehead, and the. stared longingly at the baby again. "Have you decided on a name?"

"Yes. Our first choice. Richard Mallory III," she answered, and Richard let out a small chuckle.

"Thank you," he whispered, and gently planted a small kiss on her lips.

"Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Faulkerson," the doctor told them happily. "We need to put Maine back to sleep, but do you want to have your first family picture first? I don't think Richard managed to get a footage of the whole thing."

"Seryoso?" Maine asked, looking at him.

"I was too caught up with what was happening, Panda. Besides, you were holding my hand too tightly, pati ata energy ko hinila mo, nangangatog pa tuhod ko hanggang ngayon oh."

Maine smiled, despite herself, and gazed at the top of the baby's head again. "That's okay, I guess. Especially since I probably looked like hell the entire time."

"Never," Richard assured her, making her smile some more. "In fact, that was probably the most beautiful I've ever seen you. You were amazing."

"Thank you."

"I love you, Panda."

"I love you too."

"So... about the picture?" the doctor butted in.

"Yes please. Thanks, doc," Richard said, handing her his phone, then he leaned closer and smiled as the doctor captured one of their first moments as a family.

Naabot mo na ang dulo ng mga na-publish na parte.

⏰ Huling update: Feb 10, 2019 ⏰

Idagdag ang kuwentong ito sa iyong Library para ma-notify tungkol sa mga bagong parte!

ÜnexpectedlyTahanan ng mga kuwento. Tumuklas ngayon