Nathan Jones - First Winter

But the labor seemed to progress quickly, the contractions coming closer and closer together over the next few hours. Soon Matt found himself being gently ushered around the partition, informed it wouldn’t be long now. April bustled in to take his place holding Sam’s hand and offering encouragement.

He felt a bit bad not being there to support his wife all the way to the end, but a bit relieved as well.

As he imagined the birthing process had gone for who knew how many centuries or millennia, he waited out in the main room with his dad and Terry, while the women handled the final moments of bringing a baby into the world.

It wasn’t an easy wait for him, having to listen to Sam’s pain as her gasps and moans turn to muted shrieks over the next half hour or so. Then he felt guilty because if just hearing it made him feel that awful, he couldn’t even imagine how she must be feeling.

Finally her cries were joined by urgent whispering from the other women, and he was sure he heard the word “crowning” said along with even more intense encouragement. After another minute or two all the noise dropped into a moment of sudden, tense silence.

This quiet was different than the others, a deeper hush. Matt found himself on his feet, listening intently. Surely it couldn’t already be over. Sam had only been in labor for a few hours, and with her petite size and it being her first child they’d expected the pregnancy to be so difficult for her. This had to be just another lull between contractions, Sam resting and the others giving her some space.

Then a tiny cry pierced the air and Matt’s heart dropped out from beneath him. He slumped back onto the chair, a swirl of emotions warring with numb disbelief.

The baby was born, had just taken its first breath. Their baby. He was a father.

He stood again, waiting eagerly for someone to come out and get him so he could see his son or daughter. His dad pulled him into a hug while Terry slapped his back.

It seemed to take forever for the women in the other room to do whatever it was they did, cleaning the baby and wrapping him or her in a clean cloth and helping Sam get composed after her ordeal. Matt couldn’t help but begin to pace, listening to the continuing small cries of his child until finally, to his relief, they petered out to hiccups and then stopped.

His mom emerged from behind the partition, beaming as she dried her freshly washed hands on a towel. “You can go in,” she said, pulling Matt into a tight hug. “It’s a girl. A healthy baby girl. Congratulations, daddy.”

A girl. A daughter. Matt found himself grinning stupidly as his mom stepped aside, and he eagerly stepped around the screen.

Sam lay limp on their bed, pale face soaked with sweat and equally soaked hair clinging to the pillows propping her up. She’d been covered with a blanket but was still in the labor position, and he realized she still needed to deliver the placenta.

But that was just a fleeting thought, because in his wife’s arms she held a small bundle that immediately grabbed Matt’s full attention. April hovered nearby, as if ready to spring into action if she was needed. When his sister saw him she stepped away to clear the path between him and his family.

Sam looked up when he entered, giving him a radiant smile in spite of her obvious exhaustion. “Hey.”

“Hi, mommy,” he said, coming over to her and sitting on the edge of the bed. He leaned over to kiss her damp forehead and smoothed away a bit of limp hair, then looked down at the tiny face peeking out from the bundle. Their baby was still a bit red from her ordeal and her first cry, eyes scrunched tightly shut and lips smacking and making tiny bubbles. A fuzz of the same raven hair as her mother’s was plastered damply to her head.

Matt could immediately see she was the most beautiful girl in the world.

He kissed Sam again and rested his cheek against the top of her head, staring down at their child. “Good job.”

“I want to say it wasn’t as bad as I was afraid it would be,” she said in a wrung out voice, “but it was pretty miserable.” She moved one finger to gently stroke her daughter’s cheek, a single tear of mingled exhaustion and joy slipping down her own. “And completely worth it.”

Matt reached down to mimic her gesture, feeling the baby soft skin. His wife immediately shifted slightly to support the newborn’s head and lifted her, offering her to him. He accepted his daughter as carefully as he could, feeling like it was impossible for his big clumsy hands to properly hold someone so tiny and fragile. Beneath the blanket he felt the baby kick her legs very slightly.

“Hi,” he said, looking down into the small red face. She didn’t respond to his voice, still blowing her little bubbles.

He only held her for a few seconds before returning her to her mother, who began adjusting her shirt to nurse. April immediately bustled over to help, offering a pillow to help support the baby as they waited to see if she’d latch on.

All of this was new to Matt, and he felt a bit awkward. “Do you want me to stay?”

In response Sam, eyes still on their daughter, blindly searched out his shoulder with her free hand and gripped it tight, pulling him closer. Matt complied, a bit relieved to let her dictate what to do here. Together they watched their daughter, so tiny and new, cuddle against her mommy.

“She’s a miracle,” he whispered.

His wife looked up at him with a soft smile. “Now’s as good a time as any to settle on her name. What will it be?”

Matt pulled her a bit closer. “After listening to you screaming for a the last half hour I’d feel like kind of a jerk if I didn’t let you have this one. Olivia Chloe Larson it is.”

April, who’d been getting ready to slip out and give them their space, shot him a dirty look. “Screaming? I believe you mean “singing the angelic cries of a mother’s love.”

He couldn’t help but give his sister an impish look. “The angels need to do some serious practicing, then. That’s not a chorus I’d want to listen to.”

Sam’s shoulders shook with exhausted laughter, and she held little Olivia a bit more securely so the baby wouldn’t get dislodged. “Oh wow, that mental picture is awful.” Matt abruptly yelped as the fingernails of her hand holding his dug in slightly, and his wife turned to give him a sweet smile. “Although I hope you really do appreciate how hard this was.”

“I do!” he said, hastily but with complete sincerity. He leaned down and kissed her. “You were amazing.”

They sat watching their child nurse for a few minutes. Then Sam gave a sharp gasp of pain. “Oh! I think that’s the afterbirth coming.”

Matt bolted to his feet. “That’s my cue to leave… I’ll go get Dr. Maggy.” He hesitated. “I mean, unless you really want me to stay.”

She made a face. “Yeah, no. I think this is a magical moment I can do without you seeing.”

His mom and the doctor were already pushing into the room, his mom gently accepting Olivia and cuddling her close as Sam sat up a bit and got back to work. Matt wasted no time slipping out around them into the main room.

A burst of cold air announced his dad returning, closely followed by Rick and Alice. The blond young woman was holding Aaron and Paul’s hands, at least until they saw Matt. Then they rushed over to him.

“Uncle Matt, Grandpa says the baby’s here!” Paul shouted.

“Is it really a girl?” Aaron asked, crowding his younger brother.

“Shh,” Matt said, smiling at their excitement. “Yes, the baby is here and she’s a girl. But we still need to be quiet for a little longer.” He turned to Rick and Alice, accepting a congratulatory handshake and hug in that order from his friends. “Thanks for watching them.”