Page 163 of All The Things: The Last Thing He Needs Omnibus

Tina looked like she was about to protest, but a contraction hit her and she bunched up, grunting through it, before she could say anything.

Ben waited for it to pass, watched Gavin hold her hand, whisper to her, get her to breathe. When it was over, she dropped her had back on the pillow, panting. “This sucks,” she said, letting go of Gavin’s hand.

“Did you want me to call down and get you set up for an epidural?” the nurse—Sharon—asked as she made a few notes in Tina’s chart. “You’re getting close; this is your last chance.”

“No, I’m okay.” Tina didn’t look okay, but Ben figured that was to be expected.

He stepped closer to her, kissed the top of her head. “I’m gonna go keep Mom company in the waiting room.”

“No, you stay, please?” Tina already sounded exhausted. Gavin kept feeding her ice chips, and the nurse moved quietly, but quickly, around the room, pulling out drawers that had equipment hidden in them.

What the hell was Ben supposed to say? The idea of being in the room for the entire bloody mess of childbirth was on his top ten list of things he never wanted to do. He’d flown back home when Anna had delivered her kids, but he spent his time in the waiting room where he belonged.

As Ben tried to think of an excuse to get the hell outta Dodge, Tina looked at him with wide, terrified eyes. “Please?”

He took her hand when she reached for him, squeezed it, and said, “Yeah, of course.”

Another contraction hit her, and Tina grunted and tensed through it.

The nurse patted her leg tenderly. “The doctor will be in here in just a minute, hon.”

Tina nodded like she understood, but Ben couldn’t imagine how that was possible. He remembered the one class he took with her, only a few weeks ago. “You got your happy place in mind?” He wasn’t sure if he was trying to distract Tina or himself. She nodded in response and then let out a deep breath as the pain seemed to ease.

Another contraction hit, right on top of the last, and Tina let out an inhuman—maybe even unearthly—sound. She scrunched up into a ball, and the nurse said, “Don’t push yet.”

Thankfully, the doctor strode in at that moment, and they got Tina reclined slightly, feet up. The nurse didn’t say anything, but she moved around the bed, sitting Gavin down next to Tina, having him support Tina’s arm and shoulder. Ben mirrored him, but he kept his eyes on Tina’s face. He had zero interest in anything going on down below.

Dr. Adams slapped on some gloves while the nurse tied a surgical mask around his face, and then he took his position at the foot of the bed. “You’re doing great, Tina. The baby is crowning. On your next contraction, I want you to push as hard as you can, okay?”

As it turned out, her next contraction started before he even finished his sentence. Ben glanced at the doctor and didn’t like the look in his eyes. “Sharon, get me the internal monitor.”

Tina panted for breath as she fell back after her big push. “What are those?” she asked, panic in her voice as she watched the nurse roll a small machine over and pass two thin wires to the doctor.

“Nothing to worry about. I’m going to put these two little monitors on the baby’s head so we can watch the heart rate and oxygen, okay?”

Gavin sat silently, his back to the monitor. He swept Tina’s hair off her face and offered her a weak smile.

Tina let out another primal howl and pushed again. Ben watched the monitor. He didn’t really know what he was looking at, but when the constant little beeping line dipped down and faded to nothing, he thought he understood and a shot of fear hit him in the gut.

The doctor looked over his shoulder and said quietly to the nurse, “Get anesthesiology on the line—we may be doing an emergency C-section.”

Even Ben knew what that meant.

Tina seemed to hear too. “What? Why?” Her voice was strangled with emotion, terror.

“We’ve got a very big baby trying to get out of a very small girl. Everything is okay right now, but I need you to listen carefully.” Another contraction seemed to hit her, and the doctor said firmly, “Don’t push, Tina. I know it’s hard, but don’t push.”

Tina groaned and shifted on the bed, and every part of her body tensed. Ben said, “Hey, Tina, breathe with me, okay?” He inhaled deep and let it out slow. Tina tried to do it with him, nodding her head as tears streamed down her cheeks.

“Good job, Teeny,” Gavin whispered. He took the cool washcloth from the table next to him and wiped her face with it as she let out a small sob.

“Okay, Tina.” Dr. Adams was cool and collected, but Ben still didn’t like the worried expression on his face. “I need you to get up on your hands and knees, okay?” Ben shot him a look but didn’t argue. As Tina shifted around and tried her best to get up, the doctor went on, “We’re going to try a very old trick I learned from the best midwife on the planet, okay?”

It took some doing, having to pause in the middle for another contraction, but Tina managed to get up on her hands and knees like she had been told.

The doctor continued, in that soothing, calm voice. “Women aren’t supposed to give birth on their back. It makes it easier for us, but harder for them sometimes.” Ben looked away as the doctor did something behind Tina, speaking the whole time. “I need you to rock your hips, all right? Just rock them a little, and on the next contraction I need you to be very, very still.”

Gavin had turned his head, watching the doctor, and he went white as a sheet. Ben couldn’t help but glance down then. He looked just in time to see the nurse pass Dr. Adams a deadly looking scalpel.

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