The day is a clear, shiny one.
The sun rays fall in perfect slants over Nu's plants on the balcony, giving them a fresh and bright look.
It's a relatively calm day, Zee out in his office and Sky back in the daycare.
Nu spends a lot of it napping on the couch. This is the time where mild contraction is a regular thing.
A dull ache at his lower back and pain that comes in waves, but goes away just as quickly.
So he isn't that worried.
He had seen the worst of it with sky.
Zee returns from work early and they cook together.
Feeding Sky isn't usually a grand affair but he too can get fussy about vegetables sometimes.
It's not until everyone in the house is sound asleep and the clock ticking in the living room is the only sound in the dark, silent space of the apartment when Nu feels a sharp jolt at his lower spine.
He waits with baited breath, and oh there it is again, but even sharper this time.
He's fully awake now and waiting to see what happens next.
The pain comes in a wave, a gut wrenching pain that racks through his body, starting from his waist down to his abdomen and a small, pained moan leaves his lips.
He extends a hand beside him, finding Zee's arm and squeezes at his bicep hard when another wave comes.
"Zee, Hia-"
No response.
Hia ,"
he croaks out in a raspy voice.
Zee turns around immediately, pushing up on his elbow to inspect Nu, his eyes blink fast to adjust in the dark
"It's starting, I thin- uh think."
"Baby, Nu- are you sure?"
He asks alarmed, touching Nu in the face.
Sleep vanishes from his system as he takes in his wife's state.
Nu nods his head in response, biting hardon his lip and Nu's eyes turn wide,
"My water just broke."
"Shit!"
Zee exclaims and then he is on his feet in a skillful jump from the bed, switching on the bedside lamp.
He helps Nu sit up against the headboard and goes to the closet, hastily grabbing a pair of jeans and shoving his legs in them simultaneously.
Phone on dial,
"Max…yeah.
Yes...hurry."
He helps Nu get out of his shorts and puts on a pair of loose sweats.
The pain increases in a steady pace.
It's surprising how fast it happens.
For his first time, Nu had labor pain for almost twelve hours.
The pain that started with a dull ache at his lower back gradually increased in the span of multiple hours to a point Nu couldn't lie still on his hospital bed.
But this time, it came all at once, so suddenly, he feels totally out of it.
They already had a bag ready for hospital any moment they needed to go in.
Still Zee checks up on it and packs some more stuff.
The doctor's already on call.
They'll just need to reach the hospital.
The front door flies open and the couple marches in, Nat still in his sleep attire.
Max goes straight to sky's room to check up on him while Nat comes to stand beside Nu near the dining table.
Zee had him sit on the couch, but with the pain, Nu couldn't find a comfortable position.
So he stood by the table, hands tightly gripped at the edge as waves of pure agony drifted through his body.
Teeth gritted and eyes closed.
Sweat is already starting to gather at the root of his hair.
Nat runs a tentative palm on his back in an up down motion, hoping it helps somehow, murmurs soft words to him.
Max comes back from Sky's room to look into the bag, double checking with Zee if he had everything he needed.
"I think we should get going now, Max,"
Zee calls out, getting into his jacket.
He takes another one to drape over Nu's shoulders.
Nat looks towards Zee, frowning,
"P'Zee-e, should I drive you to the hospital?"
"No Nat, you guys stay here with Sky. You can sleep in the guest bedroom. The drive's not long, we will be fine."
They help Nu walk out of mansion.
Settling Nu on the back seat over a thick towel, Zee finally sets off in the hospital's direction, hands jittery but firm on the steering wheel.
Nu wreaths quietly at the backseat and Zee keeps an eye on him through the rearview mirror.
The palest light of dawn tinge the far East horizon as Zee's SUV speeds off towards the hospital.
A few stars still weakly blinking at the blanket of dark in the sky overhead.
Zee holds Nu's hand tightly as the letter grits his teeth through the waves of pain on the hospital bed.
The contractions are getting more intense and closer together with each passing minute.
Two hours earlier, when they reached the hospital, Nu was wheeled into the fourth floor child birth section and the doctor declared it wasn't the time yet.
Nu has been writhing on the crisp, baby pink sheets ever since, hooked to a monitor with an insane amount of wires.
Zee sits on a stool beside the narrow bed, helping Nu breath through the bouts of pain.
The monitor shows when the contractions are at the peak or when they're over and encourages Nu with soft words,
"You can do it, baby, the worst is over. Yes, yes breath."
A pained moan leaves Nu anyway.
He tries not to move around or scream too much in order to save energy for when the time comes to push the baby out.
Still, the unbearable pain is fraying at his nerves from time to time.
Zee kisses his forehead, swiping away at some sweaty strands of hair as they both wait for the next wave to come.
The blue hospital gown looks massive on Nu.
He squeezes at Zee's hand as a means to ground himself from the pain and general headiness of it.
A nurse comes and checks in on Nu.
A final check of Nu's vitals and dilation the midwife declares it's time for the delivery.
A couple nurses come in to start setting up the place.
Nervousness thrums through Zee's body as he leans down to drop a couple kisses on nu's forehead.
He doesn't do very good with blood so he'll be waiting outside while nu gives birth.
But he's also reluctant to leave his wife's side.
"Love, you'll do so good, I know just it. Hold tight, yeah?"
Nu nods his head, accepting the light kiss Zee drops on his lips,
"I'll be fine hia. Can't wait to finally meet my baby."
Zee gives him a chuckle, eyes tearing a little bit at the prospect of meeting his child after so many months of waiting patiently,
"Yeah. I can't wait. Love you, teerak. Be strong."
And with a final look at his wife's face, he's out as the midwife instructs Nu how to lay on his back and position his heels.