Page 27 of Dreaming of His Omega
He pushed through the crowd to my side. I reached my hand out and nearly sobbed as his fingers closed around it.
“Elarian, what's happening?”
My throat closed up and I shook my head, suddenly unable to speak. Thank the gods, one of the nurses was able to do it for me. She quickly explained the situation to Traviel.
Another nurse produced a set of scrubs “Do you want to be in the operating room?” she asked Traviel.
“Of course I do.”
I focused on watching Traviel getting dressed in a set of booties and scrubs. It started to take my mind off the panic about what was happening. True to the anesthesiologist’s word, I couldn't feel anything anymore. Not even the contractions. I could only tell one was happening because I could see it registering on one of the machines.
Then, Traviel put tucked up all his hair into a little hat, pulled it down over just over the points of his ears, and draped a surgical mask around his neck. He was dressed like a freaking doctor for an operation. And it hit me again that that's exactly what I was having.
“I'm scared,” I said. I wasn't sure if I meant for Traviel to hear or not, but he did. He was by my side in an instant, and took my hand.
“I'm here, Elarian,” he said softly. “I'm here.” I could see the tears in his eyes. “I'm so sorry I went away this time. You know, I would never…”
“I know,” I said, as my eyes filled with tears again. But this time not from the fear of a c-section or something happening to the baby. “Please,” I begged. “Don't vanish again.”
“Excuse me,” one of the nurses said. “It's time.”
I whimpered as they began to push me out of the room. Traviel caught my hand and walked briskly alongside me. I lay back and looked at the ceiling as paneling and lighting flashed by. I kept reminding myself it was urgent.Notemergency. The baby was fine. Would be fine. Traviel was with me. Everything was going to be okay.
We reached the operating room and another flurry of activity began. People were introducing themselves to me, and explaining something I couldn't figure out, until I was heaved up and slid onto another table. I gasped in surprise, not just at being moved, but by how easily they did it. And then another nurse appeared at my head.
“Hey,” he said. He gave me his name, but I was so overcome with my thoughts that I couldn't have repeated it back if my life depended on it.
“I’m here to take care of you,” he said. “Anything you need, you just let me know.”
“Okay,” I said trying to focus on him.
He said something about being nauseous, but I still couldn't concentrate. It wasn't until they were stretching my arms out and strapping them down, that I came back into focus.
“Whoa,” I said, “What's going on?!”
If the nurse had already told me, he didn't seem to mind repeating it. “It's not uncommon for you to start shaking and shivering,” he said. This time, I paid attention. “So, we're going to have your arms out here, so they don't get in the way. And then… in just a second… here we go!” Suddenly warm air, almost hot, began blowing across my arms and over my chest. The thing I thought was a blanket started billowing around me.
The nurse continued, “We blow warm air over you to keep you comfortable. How does that feel?”
“Actually,” I said, feeling a little calmer for the first time since I found out about the c-section. “It feels nice.”
“Good. If you feel like you're going to be sick, just let me know.”
“Okay,” I said.
They hung a curtain up in front of me, blocking my lower half from view. Then, someone ushered Traviel off to the side.
“I love you,” he called, as he moved out of my line of sight. “No matter what happens, I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
I swallowed nervously. I could hear people moving around below the curtain and see shadows. Dr. Evans stuck his head around it.
“Alright, Elarian, we're about to begin. You might feel some tugging and some pressure, but that's totally normal.”
I didn't feel anything. I just lay there, completely numb. I closed my eyes as the warm air washed over me. If it weren't for the fact that my arms were strapped down, and I was starting to feel a little ill, I could have been laying on a beach in the sun. Actually, I was starting to feelreallyill. My eyes popped open.
“I'm going to be sick,” I groaned.
