"SWEETHEART" I cover my ears as Audrey yells for me, once she's done, I tap her shoulder and she blushes seeing that I was right behind her the whole time. "Sorry" she whispers and I just chuckle, plopping down next to her. She opens her arms and I scoot closer, allowing her to lay her head on my chest.
She's grown more clingy as the due date approaches and it's the sweetest thing. "I thought you left" she mumbles in reference to me saying I'd go shopping since we don't have many groceries left. "I plan to later" I inform her and she nods, moving even closer to me and holding me tighter. "I think she's coming soon" she whispers, "why do you say that? Just a feeling?" I inquire.
"Yeah, I've also been having Braxton-Hicks" she groans, and I rub her head as I pout. I'm actually surprised by how calm she is talking about it because I know the false contractions can be alarming. "How often?" I ask her, "not mu-" she stops and takes a sharp inhale with her hand placed on her tummy. "Are you ok, baby?" I ask concerned, "me baby or the baby baby?" she teases and I roll my eyes playfully.
"You baby" I say swirling my finger before booping her nose which makes her giggle. "Yeah that was just another one- oh" she winces and I start to frown, questioning whether these are just false contractions after all. I place my hand on her belly, just rubbing in soothing circles and she sighs. "Take deep breaths for me" I instruct and she listens as I move my hand over the bump, feeling for any signs.
It takes a while but then I feel her muscles contract, hardening under my finger tips. It stays that way for quite a bit before they soften. "I'll be right back, ok?" I say calmly and she furrows her eyebrows but nods. I quickly but calmly make my way to Billie's office where she's been working for the past two hours. I knock softly and hear her mumble 'come in'.
I close the door gently behind me so it doesn't make a sound and head over to her desk. "Howard" I say and her eyes shoot up and she eyes me curiously, I never call her that unless it's very serious. "Hughes" she counters, "not to freak you out but uhhh I think the baby's coming" I mumble and her eyes fly wide open. "What?! Why would you- how do you know?" she fires rapidly, "well she told me she's been having the false contractions and I felt her belly... I don't think they're fake" I explain.
"Did you say anything to her?" she asks, "I wanted to run it by you first so we could both be there versus me having to brief you after freaking her out" I explain and she nods. "Let's go then" the blonde says, gathering her things and leaving the room with me. We find Audrey on the couch and she immediately turns around hearing our footsteps with a grimace on her face.
"Guys... uhhh" she says shakily, "we know, darling. I'll help you up" Billie says rushing over as I grab the keys. "I wet the couch" she whines, "don't you worry about that. I'll clean it" I assure her and she nods with a nervous expression. "It hurts" she whispers as she passes through the open door, "I know, baby. It'll be ok" I reassure her.
We get her in the backseat and Billie sits with her while I drive. I meet eyes with the medium in the backseat and we both nod to each other. We'd gone over this a while ago, figured out the game plan. The baby bag and stroller has stayed in the trunk for about two weeks now. I'm the designated driver because I drive the fastest, while still of course being safe, and we both know she'd want to be out the car as soon as possible.
Being enclosed will only worry her more, having a baby in the car with no professionals near by... not fun. "Ughhh" the actress groans and my foot presses more on the gas as I speed through the yellow light. "We're almost there, honey" I tell her and she just groans in response, I look at Billie and she shakes her head which makes me narrow my eyes.
"I- I think... baby... coming..." Audrey pants and I meet the mediums eyes again and she grimaces, eyes wide with fear. "Check her cervix" I say, "what?" Billie asks frantically and god I can't drive AND be there for the actress. I allow myself to come to a red light, throwing the car in park and snatching off my seatbelt. I can't really sterilize my hands but I remember I have gloves in the glove box simply because I thought it was weird to not have them in a container named for them?
I turn around holding myself up on the seat and lift Audrey's dress. "I'm going to touch you, ok? Just try to relax as best you can" I tell her and she nods quickly. I feel blindly until I find it and I look up at Billie as my mouth falls open. I put two fingers in and I could barely feel anything so I begin to separate them and it just keeps going.
"Call the doctor, please" I tell Billie as I take off the glove and turn back around to drive. I see her frantically typing while holding Audrey's hand. "W-what's going on?" the actress asks as I begin to drive again, "I can't see so I'm not entirely sure but you're already dilating and very quickly so I'm going to try and go faster, ok?" I try to keep her calm but I am not calm at all.
It seems to me that she's almost ready but I'm not her doctor which is why I'm having Billie call. "Hello? Ok wait" she puts her on speaker and Audrey wails, "hi to you too, Audrey" the woman chuckles. "This isn't funny, Samantha! I feel like I'm dying" the actress cries, "alright just take some deep breaths and someone tell me what's going on" she says.
"Well... here, I think it's best you tell her" Billie says holding the phone to me and I take it keeping one hand on the wheel. I put the phone in the holder and toss mine to the side. "Hi..." the doctor prompts for my name, "Natalia" I state and she makes a sound of acknowledgment. "Alright, Natalia, tell me what's happening" she says and I begin to list off everything that's happened.
"She was complaining of Braxton-hicks but I felt her belly and they felt a bit too intense to me. We're in the car now on the way to the hospital but she said she thought the baby was coming. I felt her internal cervix and she's... well she's dilating that's for sure" I say, "I umm—I used two fingers and spread them to maybe... 8 cm but it felt like it was continuously expanding" I recall as quickly and calmly as possible.
"Ok good and how far are you?" I look at the street name and my eyes widen, "A solid 15 minutes at least—there's traffic" I answer and she hums as she thinks. "You seem to know a bit about this, am I right Natalia?" she asks and I nod but realize she can't see me, "yes I ummm I'm a cna" I tell her. "Wonderful! I'm going to need you to pull over" she says, "r-right now?" I ask and she affirms it so I pull to the nearest parking lot.
"Does your back seat collapse?" she asks, "yes ma'am" I say with my voice wobbling. "Ok, Billie I need you to recline the seat slowly so Audrey can lay back" "got it" the medium gets started on that while I sit there panicking. "W-why can't—I can hold it, I swear!" Audrey cries, "honey, you can't hold a baby when it's ready to come out. You'll be perfectly fine, I'm certain you're in good hands" Samantha said.
"Natalia?" I reply and she tells me to take her off speaker and step out the car. "Yes ma'am" I say once she done it, "I'm going to give you very specific instructions and I need you to follow along carefully. If you have any questions feel free to ask once I'm done, alright? It'll be quick" she says and I take a deep breath to calm myself.
"I'm sure you know she needs to be at 10cm before she's technically ready. Which means you'll need at least 2 fingers spread out to check, which you've already done. Now just for reference 10cm is only about 4 inches so if you could spread them before, she's almost ready. You'll need to check every so often to make sure she's not in extreme distress—more than is expected of course. You know her facial expressions in case she doesn't verbalize it, so keep that in mind" she instructs and I nod along.
"Any questions as of right now?" she checks, "no ma'am" I reply. "You're so sweet and calmer than most. Now just remember, keep a level head, you've got this! As long as you maintain your breathing, you'll be fine. If she sees you stressing she will too so just try to keep your demeanor in check" she warns and I make the mental note.
"Now get in there. You've got it and I'm right here if you need anything" she states. I enter the car, pushing the driver seat as far as it will go and squatting in front of her. "Am I on speaker now?" Samantha asks, "yes damn it" Audrey replies. "Check her cervix again" I do and tell her I think she's ready, "we're really doing this? Like this is really happening?" Audrey asks.
"Don't worry, Audrey. I've prepped Natalia and she is more than ready to deliver this baby. I would trust her to deliver my own" the doctor says and I smile a bit as I brace myself. "Now Audrey, I need you to push. Tuck your chin to your chest and then give it all you've got" Samantha says, "you can do this, darling" Billie encourages her as I just stare at her pussy basically.
She starts to push and I'm surprised by how easy it seems to be going. I check the time and it's passing by so fast, the voices blurring as I focus only on what I can feel from Audrey. "Stop pushing" I say all of a sudden, "what the FUCK do you mean STOP PUSHING?! This baby needs to come out RIGHT FUCKING NOW OR IM GONNA RAISE HELL" the actress screams. Billie just looks at me bewildered and I struggle to come up with words under the pressure because I know Audrey is in pain.
"What's going on, Natalia?" Samantha asks me calmly, bringing me back to a state in which I can think. "The baby is crowning" I reply, "what the fuck does that mean?" Audrey asks as her breathing picks up, "it's ok, don't worry. It's normal it just means the baby's head isn't dropping back in when you have contractions and you need to give your body time to adjust. So you get a little break, just breathe through the contractions" I say like I'm on autopilot.
Whenever it comes to dispensing information it's like I'm a different person or not even a person at all. I can spit out facts like a computer sometimes and I'm glad for this as the in-depth explanation helped to calm Audrey's breathing. "Exactly as Natalia said, just take some time and we'll let you know when to start again" Samantha says.
"Billie I want you to drive" Samantha says, "but how-" "I'll move her over so you can let the seat back" I say. I gently inch Audrey over as Billie makes her way around the car. She puts the phone in the holder and connects it to the car so we can all hear. "Oh my god please I can't—I can't do it, Lia" Audrey cries, "you can. I believe in you, sweetheart" I tell her and she shakes her head.
"Hey, hey... look at me, ok? Look at me. You're so strong and it's only a bit longer. I know you can do it" I state firmly and she bites her lip before nodding. "Give me my phone" I tell Billie and she hands it to me without question. I pop one of my headphones in and Audrey makes eye contact with me while I do it. "Are you really putting on fucking music right now?!" she yells, "wanna hear it?" I counter sassily and she pouts before nodding.
I shake my head amused and take the headphone out before playing it. Margaret by Lana Del Rey is the first thing that comes on and Audrey cracks a smile. "Of course it's Lana Del Rey" she scoffs, "hey, she's like the best ever... aside from Adele and—well so many others but you know you love her" I smirk. "Maybe a little bit—but only because you've basically shoved her down our throats for MONTHS" she exaggerates and I roll my eyes.
"Ok... I think it's time to push again" I tell her and she exhales sharply, "you've got this" I encourage her and she smiles. "Thank you" she whispers, "you're welcome, baby and other baby" I chuckle. "Alright... next contraction give me a big push" she grunts as she does, "good good. ETA" I ask "5 minutes" Billie answers. "Beautiful... oh she's coming" I say, "fuck!" Billie exclaims.
"What?!" we all ask in unison, "some dumbass crashed now there's a block on part of the road" she says. "It's fine. Everything will be ok" I say, "Natalia is right, just stay calm" Samantha says. "You're almost there, alright? One more push should do it" I say, "baby's head is out?" Samantha asks and I tell her yes. "I'm tired" Audrey whines, "I know, honey, but just do another one for me—I know you can. And then you can rest" I promise her.
"O-ok..." she sighs, she pushes and the baby pops out "ah-ha" I chuckle in shock. The car goes silent and then I pat the baby's bum and she starts crying. "Oh thank god" Billie lets out a sigh of relief, "I-is it a girl?" Audrey asks tiredly. "Sure is" I beam, handing her to Audrey and leaning over to grab a blanket out the trunk. I help the blonde wrap it around our little girl and then I fall into the seat next to her.
"Holy shit..." I breathe out, "you did good, Natalia. I'm proud of all of you for how you handled this. I'll be waiting for you all when you get here" the doctor says and then Billie hangs up. "What a fucking day" she sighs, "you're telling me" Audrey chimes in. "Holy shit..." I repeat as I stare wide-eyed at the back of the headrest in front of me.
"I just... I just delivered a baby. Your—OUR baby..." I say in disbelief, "you did. Thank you, I don't know what we would've done without you" Audrey says tearfully. "Here... you should hold her" she says and my head snaps to her as my eyes dart between her and the baby. "A-are you sure I-" "I'm sure. It's thanks to you that she's even here" Audrey nods happily with tears running down her face.
I carefully take her and hold her to my chest, clearing her face from the goop and wiping it off on my shirt. "She's so beautiful" I whisper as I gently rock her, "just like you" I add as I look up at Audrey and she blushes while trying to hide her big smile. "What will her name be?" I ask, "I honestly can't even think right now to choose" Audrey chuckles.
"She looks like a... Sarah" I think aloud, "I like that... it's pretty" Audrey yawns. "I think it's good too" the medium says and she pulls up to the hospital finally. "You have to pick a middle name, Audrey" Billie speaks up, "so the baby is taking your last name?" I ask. "Yes, we decided since she carried I'd get the last name" Billie explains, "Catharine" Audrey answers without doubt in her half-asleep state.
"Sarah Catharine Howard"