“Yes, hours. Keely has a ways to go before she’s ready to deliver. Pitocin will create stronger, more consistent contractions. I’ll be back in a few hours to check on her.”
“Don’t I need to change into scrubs or something?”
“Not until we’re close to the finish line.” The doctor spoke to the nurse and they wheeled the IV over.
After starting the IV drip, another contraction hit.
The nurse brought Jack a chair. “Sit. Get comfy. You’ll be here a while. If you need anything, hit the call button.”
Another seven hours passed and Jack was wrung out.
Keely, his beautiful, wonderful, tough cowgirl held it together. She hadn’t taken a swing at him, like her brothers had warned him she’d do. She hadn’t tried to twist his dick off or knee him in the family jewels, like her brothers had warned him she might try. Good thing, he’d left his cup at home. She’d only called him f**kface-asshat-sonuvabitching-goddamn bastard, twice—pretty much a normal day for them.
The harder the contractions, the quieter she became. When the contractions seemed to come without pause, she breathed through every one, keeping a death grip on his hand. Focused on him, she connected so intimately to him he swore he felt her labor pain several times.
Jack fed her ice chips and wiped her face with cool cloths. He rubbed her back. He offered her lots of praise. He did everything he was supposed to do but none of it seemed enough as she struggled to bring their child into the world.
“Jack,” Keely panted.
“Yes, sweetheart, what do you need?”
“You should say that to me all the time. Oh God-oh God-oh God—that f**king hurts!”
“Look at me.”
She shook her head and kept her eyes closed. “Get the nurse. I need to push. I need to push now.”
He hit the call button.
The nurse checked her and gave them the thumbs up. “She’s at nine.” She tossed him a set of scrubs. “I’ll stay with her while you change.”
Everything in the next fifteen minutes passed in a blur.
Keely had gone into a trance-like state as she faced the final hurdle. He stayed by her side, but he wasn’t sure if she knew he was there.
Medical personnel came in and out of the room.
Finally Doc Monroe returned. “Okay, Keely, let’s do this thing. Keep focused on your breathing. There are times I’ll want you to push and times I won’t. Listen to Jack. He’ll help you through it.”
“Oh God, it f**king burns so bad I need to push,” Keely shouted.
“All right, gimme a push.”
Jack had to grit his teeth at the painful sound coming from his wife. He didn’t know if he’d survive this. He didn’t know how he could ever ask this of her again.
“Hold on one second sweetie and breathe. Jack, get her a little more upright and hold on to her.”
He tilted the bed and grasped her shoulders.
“Okay, Keely, go ahead and push again,” Doc Monroe said.
Keely made a grunting cry. Once. Twice. Then she slumped against him. “I can’t.”
“You can,” he assured her. “We’re almost there. I promise.”
“Just two more pushes, Keely, and your baby will be here.”
He felt Keely gather herself. Then she bore down so hard her entire body shook.
“Hold one second. Good. All right. One more.”
Keely reached for his forearm. “Jack—”
“I gotcha. Squeeze me as hard as you need to.”
She emitted a triumphant cry and nearly broke his forearm, but he didn’t care because he knew she’d done it.
He peered down her body but couldn’t see anything.
Doc Monroe laughed. “Congratulations, Donohues, you have a baby girl.”
Jack was stunned. If he hadn’t been holding on to Keely he might’ve crashed right to the floor.
A girl?
What the hell did he know about little girls?
Then the bloody, slippery thing was laid on Keely’s stomach.
They both just stared at her.
“Omigod. There she is,” Keely said in awe. “She’s real. She’s...ours.” She turned her head into Jack’s bicep and started to cry.
Jack pressed his cheek into the top of Keely’s head, so overwhelmed he couldn’t speak.
“Daddy, do you want to cut the cord so we can get her cleaned up and checked out?”
“Ah, sure.” But as he reached for surgical instrument, his hand shook so violently he almost dropped it.
Doc Monroe patted his arm. “It’s okay. I’ve got it.”
Snip.
Then the nurses whisked the baby away.
She screamed bloody murder.
Jack wanted to go see what they’d done to her to make her cry like that. That wasn’t natural...was it?
“Jack?”
“What?”
“You can let go of my shoulders.”
“Oh. Sorry.”
Keely leaned back into the mattress. Jack kissed her forehead. Her temple and finally her lips. “I love you. That was amazing.” He kissed her again. “You’re amazing.”
“Keely, gotta give me one more push.”
She wrinkled her nose. “This was the gross part in the books. The placenta.” She sat up and pushed.
“All done. No episiotomy. No tears as far as I can tell,” Doc Monroe said and stood. She patted Keely’s knee. “Good job, Mama. Lemme check on your girl’s stats so you can have her.”
Keely placed her hand on Jack’s cheek and turned his face toward her. “You okay?”
“No.” He shook his head to clear it. “A girl.”
“You surprised?”
“To say the least. Both our families are male dominant.”
“Well that’s about to change in our household,” Keely said.
“She weighs eight pounds two ounces,” Doc Monroe announced. “She’s twenty-two inches long. And she...” She laughed. “You’ll see.” She wandered over with the bundle and stopped at the foot of the bed. “You feeling up to holding her?”
Keely held out her arms. “Gimme.”
“We’ll give you half an hour in here and then we’ll move you into a regular room.”
“Can I have some food, too?”
“I’ll let them know.” The medical personnel vanished.
“Jack, hand me that pillow.”
Keely placed the pillow lengthwise on her lap and laid the baby across it. “Let’s unwrap our girl and check her out.”