Tessa

“Oh, here comes another one. God, it’s a big one. Ow, ow, ow . . .”

“Breathe, baby, breathe.” Ethan clutched our joined hands to his chest. “Hee, hee, hooo. Hee, hee, hoo. Hee, hee, hoo.”

“This is bullshit.” I ground out the words between clenched teeth. “Breathing doesn’t make it stop fucking hurting.”

“Your jaw is clenched, honey. Remember what we learned in the childbirth class? If your jaw is tight, your pelvis is tight, too. Try to relax–“

“If you fucking tell me to relax, Ethan, I’m going to tear off your ears and stuff them down your throat.” I narrowed my eyes. “And don’t think I won’t do it.”

“No, I believe you.” Ethan nodded toward the monitor. “Look. It’s past the peak. The contraction is ending.”

“Okay. Okay.” I finally managed a deep breath and let it out in a whoosh. “Okay. I’m sorry, Ethan. I just–it’s hard. This is hard. So much harder than I thought it would be.”

Ethan trailed a finger down my hairline. “I know, honey. But you’re doing great. You’re a superstar. I’m so proud of you.”

“It feels like this day is lasting forever. It’s been eons since my water broke, right? Days?”

“Ah, it’s been about eight hours, actually.” Ethan sounded apologetic. “But like I said, you’re rocking this. It can’t be much longer now.”

“That’s what you said a while back,” I accused. “And then the stupid doctor came in and said I was only six centimeters. Stupid, stupid doctor.”

“Right, but remember, with each contraction, you’re making progress.” He patted my hand and managed a smile. “So even though I know it hurts, try to look at it that way. You’re one more contraction closer to all of this being over and us seeing our little girl.”

“Even though it hurts?” I gazed at my husband in disbelief. “Tell me, Ethan, if I were to grab you by the balls and twist every five minutes for eight hours, how helpful would it be if I said you’re one ball-twisting closer to the end?”

Ethan paled slightly and swallowed hard. “You have a point. Sorry. I just—” He ran one hand through his hair, leaving it sticking straight up. “I feel so goddamn useless, Tess. You’re lying there doing all the work and suffering, and the only thing I can do is hold your hand and tell you to fucking breathe.”

I shifted a little, only slightly mollified. “I’d like to say I’m sorry you feel that way, but from my vantage point, whoever designed this whole process has a lot of explaining to do to the women of the world. Or maybe I should say to all females.”

“You’re probably not wrong.” Ethan pressed the back of my hand to his cheek. “But you know, if I could—”

“Another contraction.” I ground out the words, squeezing his fingers. “Oh, shit, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it—”

“So how we are doing in here?” Dr. Notting breezed into the room, looking as fresh as a summer day as she perused the tablet in her hand. “Hmm, you haven’t been checked in three hours, it looks like. How’re you feeling, mama?”

I was feeling like a tube of toothpaste that was being twisted in the middle, but in the midst of the contraction, all I could do was grunt and moan.

“Ah, she’s having another contraction,” Ethan responded for me helpfully. “They seem to be about three minutes apart now, and she’s getting pretty tired, doctor.”

“Sounds like we’re getting close to having a baby!” the doctor answered brightly. “Let’s check you and see what’s going on.”

Ignoring the fact that I was pretty sure my insides were trying to claw their way out of my body. Dr. Notting snapped on a pair of gloves and sat down on the rolling stool near the end of the bed. When she slid her fingers into me, my eyes rolled back, and the pain, which I had thought was as bad as it could get, suddenly intensified by ten.

I was about to screech out a howl and tell the woman to get the fuck away from me when the contraction began to abate at the same time she looked up at me.

“Ten magic centimeters, mama. Are we ready to push?”

Was I ever.

As long as my labor had been, pushing seemed to happen in a snap. Ethan held my hand and murmured encouraging words, Dr. Notting kept proclaiming that I was the best pusher she’d ever seen, and in only three pushes and about ten minutes, my daughter was in my arms.

Our daughter.

She was messy and screaming, but she was also the most beautiful creature I’d ever seen.

“Oh, look at you,” I sobbed, cradling her against my chest. “Hello, baby. I’m Mama.” I slid a sideways glance to Ethan, who was staring at the baby in shock and wonder. “And this handsome guy over here is your daddy. He’s the most wonderful man you’re ever going to meet, sweetheart. We love him so much.”

Ethan bent to brush a kiss over my lips. “Look what we did, Tessa.”

I blinked up at him, tears brimming. “Thank you, Ethan. I love you so much.”

“I love you, Tessa.” He laid a reverent hand on our baby’s head. “And I love you, baby girl. I’m going to take care of you forever. You’re the best part of our happily ever after.”

And just like that, we were a family.

Keep the Small Town Love Sizzling!

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