1 week later
Elena's POV
"See you tonight. Love you." He kisses my forehead as I mumble a reply, half asleep curled up under the duvets. Almost as soon as the door closes behind him, my head returns to my pillow and I fall back asleep into my deep, peaceful slumber, thankful that I don't have to get up yet.
Speaking of which, Layla clearly had other plans this morning. I'm jolted awake by the sound of Layla stirring from the baby monitor. I sigh gently before pushing the duvet off me and hoisting myself out of bed, albeit with great difficulty with my swollen stomach.
"Good morning, Layla." She smiles at the sound of my voice and grips the bars of her cot intensely. "How are you this morning?" I open her blinds, allowing the bright sunlight to seep into the room. I laugh as she squints and holds her arm across her forehead in an attempt to shade her eyes.
"It's very sunny today isn't it?" Her sleepy smile warms my heart as I lift her from the cot and cradle her against my body.
She leans down and gently pats my stomach. "Ba, Ba." This has been her morning routine ever since I started to show, and it has never failed to bring a smile to my face.
"Baby says 'good morning' to you too, munchkin." I kiss her temple. "Come on, let's get some breakfast in you."
A few hours later
My mother came over a few hours ago to help me out with Layla, and I have quite literally never been more grateful for an extra pair of hands. As well as a body that can move quick enough to keep a one-year-old out of trouble (something that I seem to be struggling with at the moment).
"Mum do you want-," I abruptly stop and look down, becoming acutely away of the warm sensation running down my leg.
"Um, Mum?"
"Yeah?"
"My water just broke." I look down at the small puddle on the floor, the liquid seeping into the carpet.
"What?" She appears from the kitchen, looks me up and down. In that moment she reminds of a deer startled by headlights. "Oh, gosh." She rushes to my side almost immediately.
"Okay," I mutter to myself. "Okay."
"Right, we'll ring Stefan and we're going to get you to the hospital. Layla!" She puts her arm around my back as we walk across the living room. "Come on, sweetie. Let's go on an adventure!"
I grimace at the pain in my abdomen before picking up my pre-packed hospital bag and following my mum and daughter out of the door. As soon as Layla's strapped in and we're moving, I ring Stefan to let him know that his shift is about to be cut short. He picks up after two rings.
"Elena? Everything okay?"
"Um, yeah. Nothing much. My water just broke, that's all."
"What? You are the only person I know to brush that off as nothing."
"Well, you get used to it," I laugh and hear his laugh on the other end. I already feel a lot more relaxed than I did with Layla. This being my second time and with this baby not being early combined has made me feel a lot more relaxed and calm. At least I know what's coming this time.
"Okay, I'll meet you out front. Are you okay? How're you feeling?"
"I'm fine, don't worry about me. I'll see you in a bit."
"Okay, baby. Love you."
"Love you too, bye."
It's another ten minute drive before my mum haphazardly parks outside the hospital. I get the feeling she's a lot more nervous than I am. As she's getting out of the car to get Layla out, I notice Stefan coming towards the car with a wheelchair.
"Hey, Miranda. Hey, sweetie, you okay?" Just as I'm about to open my mouth to reply, a contraction hits. The intensity surprises me so much that I double over in pain, luckily into the arms of Stefan, who wraps his arm around my back to soothe me. I breathe slowly as the pain dissipates and when I finally look up at Stefan, his eyes are filled with concern.
"Yeah, just a bad contraction. Wasn't expecting that so soon." He rubs my back before guiding me towards the wheelchair. I squeeze his hand look deep into his emerald green eyes. "Let's go and have a baby."
He smiles and squeezes my hand back. "Let's go and meet our son." I lean forward and take his face into my hands, drawing us together. Our lips meet in a kiss with enough love I feel like the floor is melting beneath my feet. Unfortunately, another contraction breaks our moment so I sit in the wheelchair and we make our way towards the hospital.
One of the benefits of having your husband work in the hospital is that you practically get treated like royalty. As soon as we were inside the maternity unit we were escorted to a delivery room, given a gown as well as a check up. Everything seems a lot more relaxed and calmer than it was with Layla, both on my end and the midwives' end. The nurse on call did mention that they'll give us more alone time since they don't necessarily need to be hovering over me for the entirety of my labour, since they're confident I know what I'm doing and that there are no health risks as of yet. I'm content with that, especially since it means that I get to spend this time with my family, as Layla and my mum can stay in the room until active labour starts.
I feel Stefan gently tuck my hair behind my ear. "How're you feeling?" I smile at Layla, who's currently sat on his lap, chewing her teething toy.
"I'm good, feeling relaxed for now. You?"
"As long as you're okay, I'm okay too." I smile at his response before a contraction hits. My face must've reflected my pain as Stefan immediately reaches for my hand and gratefully receive and squeeze it in return. I feel a hand rub up and down my back as the contraction begins to subside.
"You're doing so well, Elena," says my mum.
Before I can reply, the midwife enters, a gentle and serene smile on her face. "Hi Elena, how're you feeling?"
"I'm good, relaxed for now at least," I let out a weak laugh.
"Great, let's try and keep you that way. Okay, mamma, I'm going to check how far you're dilated. This may feel uncomfortable, but you know the drill by now." My hand grips Stefan's as she does her checks, feeling grateful for the calmness and relaxing nature of this labour.
"Okay, great. Looks like you're about 7cm dilated so things are moving pretty quickly. We'll come back in an hour to check on you, just let us know if you need anything."
"Thank you." I gently sigh and attempt to make myself comfy. Although I'm over half way dilated and it's been a fast process so far, it could be another few hours until I feel the urge to start pushing, so I might as well get comfortable.
A knock brings my attention towards the door frame, two familiar doctors now in sight.
"Hey, you two. I just saw your name on the board and thought I'd come and see you."
Stefan smiles and gently squeezes my hand. "Hey, Callie. How's it going?"
"Good. Don't worry, the interns haven't killed anyone yet and the ward isn't on fire."
He laughs. "We take our successes where we can."
"Setting the bar high there, I like it." They laugh at my comment before Callie asks about how I'm feeling this time in labour.
"More relaxed this time. I feel like I can enjoy it this time, in a weird way, you know?"
Before she can reply, I feel another contraction hit and squeeze Stefan's hand in response. It's the biggest one yet and I squeeze my eyes close and get my breathing under control. When it's over I sigh with relief, my intense grip on Stefan's hand softening as the pain subsides.
"You were saying?" Callie says, a smirk on her face.
"Shut up."
She chuckles in response. "Alright, I better go before my interns actually do kill someone. When you get the chance, send me an update. Good luck mamma!"
"Thanks, Callie."
"Can I get you anything?" He stands to attention, ready to bring me anything I need.
I shake my head. "Just stay with me, please."
He smiles, sits back down and takes my hand in his own, lacing our fingers together. "Always."
"Can you believe we're going to have two? God, is it normal to be exhausted at the thought?"
"Probably doesn't help that you're going through labour as you're thinking about it."
I laugh gently in reply, accepting the fact that he's right. Whatever comes next will be exhausting but I am most definitely looking forward to it.
An hour later
"How's it going?" My mum enters, shutting the door quietly behind her.
"Good - ow!" I clasp Stefan's hand in my own, squeezing as the tight pressure on my lower abdomen grew. I slow my breathing in an attempt to manage the pain and do this until it subsides. When I gain my composure I look at my mother. "Like I said, good."
She laughs softly before sitting down on the empty chair on the other side of my bed. "How does it compare to having Layla?"
"It's a lot more relaxed, although it still hurts like hell." She laughs again at this. "I feel like walking." At this, Stefan's immediately standing up, ready to help me out of bed and hold my hand as I practically waddle around.
"It feels good to walk." He smiles, maintaining his strong grip around my hand.
"Do you want to go and see Layla? My mum is sat with her in the cafeteria, I can get her to meet us half way." I nod, knowing that it's unnecessary given that he knew what my answer would be.
We walk, although I'm practically and shamelessly waddling at this point, for a few minutes before I'm met with the sight of our daughter, who at the sight of us scrambles away from Stefan's mum and runs towards us.
"Hello, gorgeous." Stefan happily takes her into his arms at the same time Lilly comes to our side.
"How's it all going?" She asks at the same time I feel a wave of discomfort, luckily not a contraction. My mum's grip around my hand tightens in response to my pain. "I suppose that answers your question, Lilly," she says.
"Maybe it's best to get you back to bed." I know my mum's right, I just don't want to admit it. Considering how scared and stressed we were during Layla's birth, I really wanted to be more active during labour and actually experience it for what it is.
I nod in compliance. "You're right. Although, I want to give my baby a cuddle first." Stefan gently passes her over to me and I take full advantage of her closeness. She smiles in delight as I kiss her face, silently reminding her of how much I love her. If there's one thing I want to convey to her it's that no matter how many children we have, we will always love her so much.
I pass her to Stefan's mum, not before giving her one last kiss goodbye. "Good luck, sweetie." She says with a warm smile. Giuseppe stands close behind her. "Go and have yourself a baby." Stefan offers me his arm to hold, and I willingly take it. "Thanks, I'll try."
Luckily we parted with the others when we did because almost as soon as we get back into the room, the most painful contraction yet hits and causes me to double over in pain. Stefan's there rubbing my back throughout, helping me to ease back onto the bed.
"Hi, Elena. Let's see how you're getting on." She promptly does her examination and makes a few notes.
"Right, good news! You're at 10cm now so we can start getting you to push."
"Really?" Stefan's hand tightens around my own, the statement clearly taking both of us by surprise.
She nods, pulling a stool towards her and sitting herself down in between my legs. I share a glance at Stefan, grateful for the comfort he's giving me and using it to gather all the strength within me.
"Alright then, let's have a baby..."
The next hour is a complete blur. A pain-filled blur. I feel sticky with sweat and so weak that I can't even sit up without someone's arm around my back. I try to focus on controlling my breathing after, what feels like, an entirety of pushing.
"Push once more for me, Elena! Come on, you can do it!" I squeeze Stefan's hand again before leaning forward to push as hard as I can, hopefully for the last time.
"Here's your baby boy!" The midwife smiles and swiftly passes our screaming baby to me. I'm so overwhelmed that all I do for the next minute is cry. Everything happens so fast that I barely register the small weight of my son on my chest and the loud cry that follows. I briefly tip my head back and let out a sob, my emotions completely overwhelming me in this moment. A kiss on my forehead brings my mind back to focus and to the present moment.
"Look at him, Stefan, he's so beautiful." I don't even have to look at Stefan to know that he's crying.
"Like his mum," he whispers. I smile as he kisses my cheek and our foreheads rest against one another.
"Congratulations on your baby boy." I smile at the team of midwives and briefly wipe my eyes, not to much effect considering my eyes are practically taps at this point.
"We're just going to take him to weigh him and check his heart rate and everything." She takes my son and carries him over to the scales, and whilst doing so I follow her every step with my eyes. He's been away from me for 5 seconds and I already miss him so much my heart hurts. My eyes wonder briefly across the white room until they meet Stefan, who's loved-filled gaze swaps between our son and myself.
"Well done, baby. I'm so proud of you." My grip around his hand tightens in response.
"I couldn't have done this without you." I sniffle, tears still escaping my eyes.
"Here you are mamma, your perfectly healthy baby boy." She hands our baby back to me, allowing me us to have our first skin-on-skin interaction. I smile down at our baby boy, and yet again more tears rolling down my face.
"He's perfect, Elena. He looks so much like you." He kisses his forehead gently before resting his hand lightly on top of my own.
"Do we have a name?"
We both share a warm, knowing smile.
"Yes, we do."
AN: As always, thanks for reading guys! Appreciate your support! I've definitely had a spark of creativity and motivation recently (hence the updates). Hope you enjoy!
- Chelsea x