27 weeks pregnant
GISLEE SQUEEZED HER EYES SHUT, her stomach churned with the amount of pain she was in. Vomit threatened to come up, she forced it down not wanting to aspirate.
The rocking of the boat was no help.
"Oh my fucking god," she moaned out, "I don't get how people do this multiple times."
"Oxytocin is released, so essentially you're all high and forget about the pain. Which makes you want more babies." Emmy said, remembering she googled the exact question while she was waiting for another one of Gigi's late night cravings to finish being prepared.
"That definitely won't be happening with me, ever again."
"How long till we get back to shore?" Jo asked.
Emmy stood, "I'll go ask him."
"Probably wish we had gone somewhere closer to Seattle, huh?" Gisele glared at Jo, now wasn't really the time to joke with her, "Sorry. Not exactly the time to joke."
"What I would give for an epidural right now." Emmy walked back, and instantly Gisele knew it was bad by the look on her face, "What's wrong?"
"He was talking really fast and all I could understand was something about the wind prohibiting the movement of the boat... I not a hundred percent sure though."
Gisele threw her head back, "Great. I'm going to have premature babies in a boat."
Emmy felt her insides churn, she leaned closer to Jo, "Didn't Jackson's other baby mamma get sliced open on Meredith's kitchen table and have the baby yanked out." She had heard Meredith and Maggie whispering about it while aggressively scrubbing the table when she went to get a few things before coming here.
Jo nodded, "Yeah."
"I can hear you two," Gisele said, as she exhaled deeply, "And there will be no cutting into Gisele Devon-Ocean Shepherd. I'd literally rather die."
Emmy reached over and slapped Gisele's arm a little too harshly, "Don't joke about that, especially not right now."
Gisele winced and grabbed her arm, "Ow! I'm already in pain you don't have to add more."
"She's right," Jo agreed, "You aren't allowed to joke about dying right now."
Gisele rolled her eyes, "Whatever."
"Can't we call Arizona?" Jo questioned, even though she guessed it was a huge no due to being hours away from the shore.
"No, but you can FaceTime her," Emmy told, "We have internet here."
"Maybe we would call someone." Jo suggested, "This boat isn't going fast enough."
"I'll call Robbins." Emmy said.
Gisele laid back onto the lounge chair, letting out a long sigh.
"You okay?" Jo asked.
Gisele shook her head, "Not really. I'm scared and feel like a little kid." Trying her hardest to blink back her tears.
Jo held onto her hands, "Hey, everything's fine. You will be okay."
She sniffled as a few stray tears fell to the chair, "I know. I just feel like I'm not going to m—"
Emmy knelt down in front of her, "Hey, you can't talk like that, okay? Vas a estar bien." The FaceTime call was accepted and fetal surgeon's face appear on the screen, "Oh my god, Arizona. Her water broke."
Arizona frowned and Emmy could see the fear in her eyes even through the screen, Emmy already knew this was a bad situation but the blonde's expression didn't help to alleviate any of her worries.
"What? Are you sure?" Arizona worriedly asked.
Jo nodded frantically, "Yup, pretty sure. She's like eight or so centimeters."
"Are you guys on the way to the hospital?"
They all glanced at each other, it wasn't a possibility as of now.
"Uh, no."
Arizona was flabbergasted, for some third year surgical residents, they weren't bright, "What are you doing? Get her to a hospital now?"
"See that's the problem... we're about two-ish hours from shore and we're in a boat." Emmy explained.
"More like a small yacht." Jo corrected.
Arizona couldn't fathom why they would be anywhere near the ocean right now.
"Have you contacted the national guard or any emergency services?"
Emmy nodded, "Yes, the Captain just called them but they're going to take a little while to reach us."
"What are we supposed to do?"
"Do you have an emergency kit. Most boast are required to have one." Arizona told, "It should have an ambulance bag, they definitely won't have a NICU sized one but you'll have to do with the child size one until help arrives."
"That it," Saying Emmy was unsatisfied, would be the understatement of the century, "Aren't you supposed to be some sort of neonatal genius? You literally gave us nothing."
Arizona scoffed, "There isn't much I can help with if I'm not there, not to mention the fact that you three on a boat in the middle of the ocean."
Realizing how bitchy she sounded, Emilia apologized, "Sorry, I didn't mean for it to come out like that. I'm just-I'm worried about Gigi."
"I know... don't cut the umbilical cord when the first baby is born. The cord still brings oxygen to them even after birth so you shouldn't need to use the ambu bag."
"What do we do after?" Jo asked.
"Pray the contractions stop until help comes, maybe use some fishing line and stitch her cervix up."
Gisele rolled her eyes, "No one is doing anything to me out here. No cutting me open or stitching me closed."
Was it a little selfish and self absorbed that Gisele didn't want to go through the pain and trauma of being cut open without anesthesia(yes, maybe a lot) but she wasn't April and she definitely wouldn't beg for someone to do it or her, not even if it meant it would save the lives of her unborn children.
She knew that sounded horrible and it made her sound like an awful mom and human being but it was the truth.
"Okay, don't cut the cord," Emilia repeated, "What if the rest want out too?"
"Don't cut the cord."
Jo nodded, "So we don't cut the cord."
"Don't cut the cord." Arizona repeated.
"Also, the first baby is coming out hand first." Jo said.
"No one is putting their hands in me and pushing these babies back inside or moving them in any way." Gisele protested.
"They should be small enough to pass through and they're flexible enough that their bones won't be broken if you manipulate them." Arizona explained.
Gisele groaned out in pain, this contraction was way stronger than the other, she knew it was different then the other ones.
"I need to push."
"What?!" Jo questioned, "Are you sure?"
"I'm pretty sure."
Emmy helped Gisele sit up in the lounge chair before slowly helping her lean back into the chair.
"I know this is a stupid thing to say, but don't push. Hold it, for like five seconds," Emmy said, "I'm going to get towels and yell and the Captain. I will be super quick."
Emmy ran away from them and towards the Captain.
"Okay, I'm going to check you know." Jo said. She checked and Gigi was in fact ready to birth the first baby, she was fully at a ten, "You're ready to have the first baby."
"I'm so scared." She whispered.
"Everything's fine, remember."
Emmy came back with a handful of towels and a large first aid kit.
"Okay, I got the stuff." She dropped to her knees and saw just how far dilated Gigi was, she jerked back, "Ew, you're about to have a baby."
"I know." Gisele felt another contraction rip through her, "I have to push."
Emmy went to her side and headed hold of her hands, "Just squeeze okay."
"Push whenever you're ready, Gigi."
Gisele took a deep breath, then pushed. Then she felt a fiery sensation and stopped, gasping for a breath.
"Oh my fucking god, this really burns," she let out a shaky breath, "How do people do this with full term ten pound babies?"
"How's it going Jo?" Emmy asked.
"It has so much hair," Jo gushed, "The arm is a little in the way but Arizona was right, they're really flexible but I'm worried about it losing oxygen so not to be rude or impatient but... you need to hurry."
Gisele groaned, "This sucks."
Emmy pressed a kiss onto her check, "I know babe."
Gisele continued to push and moments later she felt a sudden relief of pressure, she cringed at the feeling of the baby sliding out if her.
Everything was deadly quiet while Jo cleaned the baby up, it felt like an eternity bake there was any sound.
A tiny whimper sounded through the air, Gisele choked up, she couldn't believe she had just given birth to an actual human that she was now responsible for.
"It's a girl!" Jo announced, wrapping the tiny baby in the fluffy towel before holding her up to show Gisele and Emilia, "Want to hold her?"
Gisele shook her head, "No, not yet."
Emilia inches closer to the baby, making sure she never let go of Gisele's hand, "She's so—"
Gisele cut her off, "Ugly, they look like featherless baby birds."
Emmy nodded, "Yeah."
Jo scoffed, "You guys are being mean."
Emmy tilted her head to the side a little, "Are we though?"
Taking a second look, the baby was bright pink and translucent, Jo could see practically every vein. They were in fact, not wrong.
"Okay, but you don't have to be mean about it."
"How's the baby breathing?" Arizona shouted, wanting to be sure she would be heard.
The three of them had forgotten she was still on the phone.
"Normally, I guess," Jo said, "I'm not exactly sure how a baby born at 27 weeks should be breathing but she's breathing."
"Mommy," they heard Sofia's voice through the phone, "who are you talking to?"
"To Gigi."
"Can I talk to her?"
"Not right now. But she had a baby."
They heard an ecstatic gasp, "Really?"
"Yup, they're girls."
"Yes."
"Why don't you go help mama unpack your room. I'll show you the babies later."
Gisele furrowed her brows, last she heard Arizona let Callie take Sofia to live with her in New York, which if you asked her was the stupidest decision ever. What was the whole point of the brutal custody battle if she was just going to let Sofia go with Callie.
Call her petty but she wouldn't let that happen.
"Where are you?" Gisele asked the blonde.
"New York."
"Why?"
"To help Sofia settle in before I go back to Seattle." Arizona explained.
"I have so much to say but I'm so tired."
Jo decided to check Gisele once again, her eyes widening when she saw a tiny pair of feet sticking out.
"Arizona, there's feet sticking out."
"Don't panic, since baby A was mostly head first, it sorta paved the way. It should be fine if she delivers the second like that."
"I'm literally going to have my uterus taken out." Gisele said.
Gisele started to push once again, thankfully for her, this time she only pushed three times.
This time, the baby immediately let out a loud shrill.
Jo cleaned the baby off, wrapped her in a towel and held her up, "Another girl."
"They're identical, Jo." Emmy said, "They're all girls."
"I want to see them," Gisele said, Emmy and Jo grabbed a baby then gently placed them in Gigi's arms, "Hi babies. They're so ugly."
The smile on Emmy's face faded away, she noticed Gigi dozing off and going a little limp, "Are you okay?"
She nodded, "Just exhausted."
Jo was too caught up watching Gisele with the babies and was confused why her knees suddenly felt wet, she looked down and a puddle of blood forming.
"Arizona, she's bleeding a lot."
"Are you sure? Because it's normal to bleed."
"It's a lot."
The Captain approached them, but stopped with a good amount of distance away, "Saranno qui tra tre minuti."
"Buono." Emmy yelled, "Everything's going to be fine, the coast people are here in three minutes."
"Jo, you need to check the position of the third baby. The bleeding isn't a good sign."
At first glance, she couldn't see a head or any other appendage.
"I think she's transverse."
Just then the loud noise of a helicopter was heard.
Gisele could feel herself dozing off, "Take them."
Emmy quickly handed each one over to Jo, "Don't go to sleep, okay. They're here."
"I'll try."
Gisele remembered being strapped into a backboard then being hosted up into the helicopter. It was loud, the rescue people were speaking Italian too fast for her to understand and the last thing she heard was Emilia screaming her name before everything went dark.
NOTES
Sorry this took forever but I just hate writing birth stuff. Couldn't decide if I wanted them to be boys or girls I was leaning towards boys but I flipped a coin.