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Ellie was on her way back to the house from the barn, having fed the sheep their dinner, making sure they were settled in for the night. She'd already finished her evening routine of checking the perimeter, locking fences, double checking that every bolt she could find was thrown. She was looking forward to a hot shower and some downtime with Dina, who'd been increasingly more on edge as the day went on. They had both just attributed it to Dina being so far into the last trimester of her pregnancy. Her hormones were fucking wild .
She had damn near had a high speed come apart that morning because the oatmeal Ellie had made was too runny. Of course she apologized some time later, confessing that she didn't feel like herself anymore most days. Ellie was hoping that once the baby was here Dina would feel better.
Just as Ellie reached the steps of the back stoop she heard Dina's scream. It sent a shiver up her spine. Fuck. She took off, almost tearing the door off of its hinges.
" Dina! Where are you?" she called from the kitchen as she raced towards the living room.
Dina screamed again. "Ahhh!! Up-ahhh-up… fuck …stairs!!"
Ellie took the stairs two at a time and made it to their bedroom in seconds. Her heart was beating out of her chest, all of her senses in hyperdrive.
Dina was on her knees hunched over the foot of the bed, forehead resting on the mattress. There was a small pile of clothes next to her on the floor, she must've been putting laundry away.
"Dina! Are you ok? What happened?"Ellie moved to rest a hand on her shoulder.
Dina moaned, clutching her round belly. She sharply inhaled, wincing.
"Pretty sure the baby's coming."
Ellie tried, and failed miserably, to count the days and weeks in her head that they thought they'd had left before they should've expected Dina's delivery. They had planned a trip into Jackson for the birth so they would have medical support, should they need it.
"Wha– a-are you sure? Wasn't there something in those books about, like false labor or whatever? I thought we still had time befo–."
Dina interrupted her. "Well I'm feeling pretty confident that I didn't–owww– fuck, piss myself, so that means my water just broke." She was panting, drenched in sweat. "So, yeah, it's happening." She motioned to the small puddle of liquid by her feet.
Ellie was stunned, complete panic taking the reins.
"Shit. Ok. Baby's coming. Fuck. Ok. You gotta walk me through this. I don't remember what to do." Ellie was a stuttering mess.
Dina screamed again, hands tight around her belly. "Fuck, El! I've never done this before either!"
"Right. Obviously. Sorry, I'm trying to get my mind around this. Ok, let's get you into the bed. Hang on."
Ellie made a dash to the bathroom to wash her hands, practically scrubbing the skin off of her hands and forearms. Her brain beginning to work again, she stumbled through the last few chapters of the pregnancy book in her head. She grabbed the small stack of extra towels and the pair of scissors from beside the basin and returned to the bedroom.
Dina was waiting exactly where Ellie had left her, hands around her belly, now rubbing wide circles on either side of it.
Ellie approached, running a hand though Dina's hair and resting her palm on the back of her neck.
"Hey, I'm here. Sorry I freaked, I think I'm good now. We got this."
Dina lifted her head, tears streaming down her cheeks. " Ellie. I'm scared, I don't know if I can do this!"
Ellie kneeled down next to her, placing her hands on top of Dina's on her belly.
"Hey. You can do this. You're the strongest woman I know, everything's going to be fine. I'm gonna help you, we're gonna do this together.
Let's get you up, ok?"
Just as she attempted to get Dina on her feet, another contraction struck. Ellie held her until it passed, Dina grunting and squeezing Ellie's forearm with a force she didn't know was possible.
"Gotta breathe, babe. Keep breathing though it." Dina shakily inhaled and exhaled, letting the contraction subside.
When they both deemed it safe to move, Ellie stood and gently helped Dina to her feet. She was trembling. Between the force of her contractions and kneeling for so long, all the strength she had in her legs was now gone. They were able to get her to the edge of the bed and Ellie helped push her the rest of the way to lean against the headboard.
Dina gave her a weak smile, "Thanks. That's a little bit better." Ellie kissed her forehead, cupping her cheek and wiping away a falling tear with her thumb. "Of course."
Dina lifted her hips up so that they could spread a few towels underneath her. "You're gonna have to help me get these off. You gotta check me." She pulled on the hem of her shorts.
Ellie leaned over and kissed Dina, rubbing a hand on her belly. "Probably a good idea, yeah?" She kissed her belly with a hum before settling her hands at Dina's waistband.
She slid the stretchy cotton shorts over Dina's hips, noting their dampened center, removing them completely. She made to do the same to Dina's panties, but was stopped by hand on her own.
Dina gave her an anxious smile. "Whatever's going on down there, I'm sorry in advance." Ellie couldn't help the small laugh that escaped her lips.
"Promise it won't change the way I feel about you."
She pulled the underwear down and off, purposely averting her eyes from Dina's center. She needed a moment to collect herself before things got real.
"Yeah, so I'm gonna just check and see how things are going, ok?"
Dina nodded, lips drawn tight. She could feel another contraction close by.
Ellie pushed Dina's knees apart gently. She placed her left hand on her thigh, grounding herself.
Everything she could've read about pregnancy and childbirth would have never properly prepared her for the reality of it. The sight before her was terrifying and beautiful at the same time. There was so much going on, it was hard to distinguish between what was supposed to be there and what was actually there.
She gently brought her right hand to meet Dina's center and there it was . She could feel the top of their baby's head just inside. Wet and slick, and covered in thick dark hair. Holy fuck.
"Babe, I see the head!" Oh God, please don't let me fuck this up.
That was the moment Dina's next contraction hit her, stronger than before. Her upper body lurched forward, hands desperately clawing for Ellie, clamping down on both of her forearms with superhuman strength.
" Fuuuuuuck!! It fucking burns–holyshit!"
"It's ok, it's ok. Just breathe, I've got you."
Ellie peered down between Dina's legs and saw that their baby's head had slid a bit farther out.
"I can't do this, El! It hurts so fucking bad! I changed my mind, I'm not ready!" Dina was in full panic mode, sobbing, breathing ragged, nearly hyperventilating.
"Dina. You can do this. You have to do this. I'm here. Keep breathing, ok?"
She nodded as another contraction neared. "I feel like I have to push, I need you to hold my legs!"
Ellie grabbed hold of Dina's knees, bracing her firmly, giving her the leverage she needed. Dina placed her hands on top of Ellie's with brute force. A part of Ellie's brain wondered if she wouldn't come out of this with two broken hands. She quickly dismissed the thought. She was willing to take her chances.
As the next contraction barreled its way into Dina, she took a deep breath and pushed, bearing down against Ellie, slowly exhaling through a strangled scream. Ellie saw the top of a pair of shoulders attached to the tiny head full of dark hair.
"Oh my God, D. Baby's almost out, I see the shoulders!"
Dina was leaning back, panting. She felt a surge of adrenaline as her next contraction rammed into her. She sat forward, clasping her knees and Ellie's hands again, drawing a deep breath, and fucking pushed. The sounds coming out of her were animalistic, primal. She felt the most intense wave of pressure shoot from her body and suddenly Ellie was yanking her hands free from Dina's grasp.
Ellie reached down and scooped up the baby just as the tiny feet fell free from inside of Dina. The room filled with a piercing cry and she was holding their son in her hands.
The air in the room felt electric, the lights seemed to glow brighter than the sun. Three different sets of crying- the only sounds.
Ellie gently laid the screaming baby onto the bed on one of the towels, reaching up to remove her hair tie. She eyeballed a length of the umbilical cord and wrapped the elastic band around it, knotting it. Thankfully she'd had enough sense to skim all the way through at least one of the pregnancy and birthing books they'd acquired. She brought the scissors up, separating the infant from Dina.
Ellie approached the side of the bed and carefully placed the baby, wrapped in the decades old bath towel, in Dina's arms.
Tears streamed down her face, blurring her vision. "He's perfect, D. We have a son."
Dina pulled the towel open, memorizing each inch of the tiny, messy and wrinkled form in her arms. She bent to kiss her son on his head, formed slightly into a cone from his entrance into the world. She was sobbing into the dark swatch of hair at her lips.
"Hey you. I'm so happy you're here."
Ellie slipped into the bed beside her, pulling Dina to rest her back into her chest. She joined in, inspecting the newborn. Counting fingers, toes, noting the downy fuzz covering his body, the shape of his lips and ears.
"That was the most amazing thing I've ever seen. Dina, you did so fucking good. I'm so proud of you."
She leaned down to place a gentle kiss on their son's tiny forehead.
On her way up, Dina caught her cheek with her hand, meeting her eyes. They regarded each other for a few moments, both of their eyes still damp.
"I couldn't have done this without you, El. You know that right? We did this together."
Ellie smiled softly, pressing a gentle kiss to Dina's lips. "Yeah. Together ."