Storming up the stairs with the two brothers close behind, Maebh followed the sound of pained moans. Maggie laid in a bed with her head propped up and both her hands clutching the bulging shape of her baby bump. A look of relief crossed her sweaty face when her eyes landed on Maebh.
"Mae, I'm so sorry but we–"
"You can apologise as much as you want later, not now. You feeling alright?"
Maggie shrugged, casting a tired smile. "Like there's a ticking time bomb inside me."
"Accurate description."
Maebh dropped the contents of her bag on the bed and turned her attention to Coinín. Remembering how he had mentioned buying supplies, she summed up everything she might need and sent him on his merry way. Taking a seat on the side of the bed, she cleared her throat. "I'd like to see how far dilated you are. Could you- um remove your knickers please?"
Behind her, Maebh noted the sound of someone trying to smother their laughter. Turning around, she shot Bear a look that could kill. "Don't you have anything useful to do? Go help your brother."
Once the two women were alone, Maggie removed her underwear and lifted her dress, enabling the now shy-looking Maebh to take a peek.
"There are four stages of dilation. After the last one, the delivery of the baby will take place." Maebh scrunched her eyebrows together. "How long ago did your water break again?"
"About an hour ag-" Maggie's face clouded over in pain.
"Was that a contraction? But didn't you have one just ten minutes ago?"
Maggie nodded, still wincing.
Coinín returned and resumed his position next to the bed when noticing his wife's pained expression, dropping the supplies.
"I don't understand.." Maebh muttered to herself. "If her water broke an hour ago, she should have at least a couple more hours until she goes into active labour.." she returned her gaze to the tense couple. "You're 5 centimetres dilated, the process is going way too fast."
All the colour drained from Coinín's face, but it only took him a moment to reinstate himself. "What do you need me to do?"
"Do you have a bath?"
He frowned. "A bath?"
"Yes, do you have one?"
"Well, yeah-"
"Show me."
Puzzled, he lead her through an adjoined door that flowed into a bathroom. Maebh observed the bath, noting that it was just a regular bath, no Jacuzzi. It did not have many spots that could hide additional bacteria.
"It will do." she stated and strode back to the bed to grab the plastic gloves, a cloth and the chlor-clean solution.
Coinín chased after her. "It will do for what?"
Feeling a little guilty for not including them in her decision making, Maebh turned to face them. By then, Bear had returned from god knows where.
"We are going to do a water birth." She informed them. "I don't know why, but you're dilating way too fast and I'm scared it might cause complications. The warm waters of the bath will feel like the waters of the womb to the baby, making it less of a traumatising transition. And in case of uncontrolled bleeding, I won't have many ways to stop it so the pressure of the water might help."
Whilst the two Lowell brothers were looking dazed from the information overload, Maggie shot her an encouraging smile. "Whatever you think is best, doctor."
"Wait." Coinín awoke from whatever haze he'd been stuck in. "If the baby opens his mouth, he will drown..."
"Don't worry, babies are born with a dive reflex. This causes them to swallow any liquid rather than inhale it. Therefor, they can't drown as long as I ensure his head reaches the surface at around the same time as the rest of his body does."
With that being said, Maebh brought all the supplies to the bathtub and got to work. Every nook and cranny was cleaned, no surface left untouched. Just in case, she repeated the process twice before deeming it safe.
Re-approaching the others, she watched Maggie taking deep breaths, her eyes squeezed shut.
"Five." Bear answered before anyone else could.
A scream pierced the room.
"Make that four minutes." he added.
Maebh peeked under Maggie's dress and her earlier suspicions were confirmed. Having dilated over 3 centimetres in the past 15 minutes, they needed to get her into the bathtub, and fast. Running back, she turned on the tap and held her hand under the stream until she felt satisfied with the temperature.
"Coinín? Please help her get into the tub." Maebh said. "Make sure she sits with her back in an upright position and put some clean towels behind her back and on the rim for comfort."
Coinín took his wife into his arms and carried her to the bathroom. Maebh went to follow them until Bear latched his fingers around her wrist. The sudden contact made her go rigid.
"Do you think she's going to die?"
Maebh couldn't believe the idiocy of the man. She reached out and smacked him on his shoulder. He gave her a nasty glare and raised a hand to rub the sore spot.
"I've never met a woman so prone to violence.."
"You deserved it! Maggie is sitting right there! How can you be so– so... ugh!" she whisper-shouted, pulling her wrist loose and hasting towards the tub.
The thought hadn't even crossed her mind until then. Maggie. Dead. It was a real possibility. They had no professional equipment or emergency number they could call. Maebh had no experience, and she was a slave to the knowledge that rested in her memory.
"Mae?"
The voice was close and jolted her back down to earth. Glancing up at Coinín, who was sitting on his knees beside the tub. He looked like he was waiting for something.
"What?"
He shook his head in silent mirth, eyes crinkling. "I asked what we should do now?"
She scanned everyone's faces. "I don't know, we wait I suppose."
"You suppose?" He repeated. "This is no time for mindless guessing, Irish girl!"
"Should have considered that before you trapped me into doing this!"
"Please just.." Maggie sighed, silencing the bickering pair. "Both of you, zip it."
Trying to keep busy, Maebh fetched the supplies and gave them another thorough wash by the sink.
With all three of them in the room and Maggie in the bathtub, the bathroom was crowded. And with every scream, her husband looked paler, possibly even green.
"Bear," Maebh said. His eyes met hers quickly. She nodded towards his brother and he looked confused for a moment as he glanced over, then comprehension dawned on his face. Walking up to him, he murmured something into Coinín's ear before taking his shoulders in the cradle of one long arm and leading him from the bathroom. His brother looked reluctant to leave, wincing at the cries Maggie screamed out, but after another whisper from Bear, he exited the room.
At that point, Maebh switched gears, all of her training at university and information flowing through her head. Maggie moaned, head falling back on some towels that had been set up as a pillow.
"Try to keep from moving for now, Mags, I'm going to check if you've dilated any further."
Maggie nodded, closing her eyes and inhaling deeply, trying to render herself immobile. Glancing down underneath the soaked fabric of her dress, Maebh instantly recognised the phase she was in, shaking off the shock and sudden fear that was sprinting through her veins.
"Where is Coinín?" Maggie whimpered.
"Barfing his guts out, probably. I will call him back when it's time to push."
"I'm going to have my vagina ripped apart, and he's puking."
Maebh bit down hard on her lip, watching as Maggie stilled, chest rising and falling beneath the soaked dress. She stiffened and tried not to arch her back. Contractions were coming in even faster now, giving her hardly any time to breathe.
Maggie's eyes grew wide and scared, as if she knew that it was time. She began to cower and sob viciously, tears leaking from her eyes like broken faucets. Maebh shushed her, placing a hand on one of her knees and squeezing lightly. She tried to comfort her, but Maggie continued to cry.
Coinín burst in recovered from his little episode. He licked his lips, wincing as he watched his wife and kneeled down next to her. Maggie's hand reached up weakly, eyes half-lidded in exhaustion. Coinín took it quickly, shooting a shaky grin in her direction.
"So," he whispered. "You ready for our mini-me?"
Maggie cracked a smile at this, however weak it was.
"She's ready." Maebh said, looking sideways at Coinín, who glanced back at her with uncertainty.
"Okay, Mags," she told her, raising her voice as Maggie panted. She saw her shuddering, knowing a contraction was about to rip down her body, which would be the time to start. "Push on the count of three—"
"Wait, wait! I can't!" she cried out, sweat beading down her temple. "I-I don't want to die."
Maebh opened her mouth to reassure her again, but the father-to-be beat her to it.
"You are not going to die." Coinín murmured, leaning forward. "I swear to the gods, you're not. You are going to push our son into this world and watch him grow up. And you'll be the greatest mother. Do you understand?"
There was a pause, right as the contraction struck her spine; Maggie's teeth clenched together as she tried to block out the pain. Face twisted in agony, she nodded.
"I'm so proud of you, Mags. Now, on three, you're going to push. One...two...three—"
Shrieks made their eardrums explode, but Maebh learned to block them out after the first few seconds. As soon as the contraction died out, Maggie stopped pushing, gasping for air. Maebh nodded at her some more, feeling the smile slip from her face as she concentrated, but she forced it back onto her lips, noticing from the corner of her eye as Coinín did the same.
"You're doing amazing, Mags. Now let's do it again, okay? One the count of three. One.. two.. three–"
Her hand brushed something new in the water and underneath the thin cotton of Maggie's dress, and she wanted to laugh with joy.
"Baby is almost here!" Maebh cried out.
Almost instantly, there was a change in demeanour in both parents-to-be. Maggie sat up straighter, pain washing away into something stronger, gripping her husband's hand, she leant forward, ready to push again.
"Almost there, Mags." Maebh told her, looking down at the progress she had made. "One.. two.. three–"
Maggie didn't scream this time, rather letting out a large, frustrated grunt. Underneath the dress, Maebh could feel a round top: the baby's head. Pregnancy liquid and blood stained the water in odd colours.
Maebh nodded at Maggie again as she finished up from her quick rest, indicating for her to push one more time. She clung to her husband's hand.
"One..." Maebh began. "two...three!"
The last push was given, and her fingertips barely registered the baby arriving into the world. There was a moment of nothing but heavy breathing from all of them, and then the unmistakable high-pitched cry of a newborn struck the air, followed by a euphoric chuckle slipping past Coinín's lips. Maebh placed the screaming baby on his mother's chest for skin-to-skin contact.
"A boy." he breathed, emotion cracking his voice. Maebh felt a sudden urge to leave the room, to give their little family some privacy.
"A boy.." Maggie breathed back to him.
Maebh glanced up at her, looking for signs of recession, but she seemed to be glowing. Beyond drained, but still glowing and healthy. After a quiet moment of sitting in the middle of the teary-eyed two, she broke up the special moment and told them she needed to clean him up and check that everything was alright.
"Think of it as his first checkup," Maebh said, reaching down and taking the baby from Maggie's arms, wrapping him in a blanket. Grabbing the disinfected scissors, she held them out to Coinín; he looked at her with wide eyes. "Would you like to cut the umbilical cord?"
He took them from her wordlessly, hovering cautiously over the bundle in her arms. She guided him with her voice to where to cut and once he snipped it; the baby gave a soft grunt, but continued to squirm normally. When she glanced back up at Coinín, he was smiling down at his son like he had won the lottery.
Maebh carefully set him down on top of a couple of towels before opening up the towel and drying him, to stop him from getting cold. She wiped the blood and the greasy white substance from his skin before clearing out his nose and mouth. Examining his little body further, everything appeared to be okay. With her ear pressed delicately against his chest, even his heartbeat seemed completely healthy.
Had this been a birth performed by a professional, in a safe and fully equipped environment now would have been the time to weigh and measure the baby, to inject some vitamin K and collect a tube of blood from the cord to check his blood type which would also be used for other tests.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the case, and Maebh could only hope she had done everything right. She slipped on his first diaper, wrapped him in a blanket and put a small hat on to keep his head warm. As she handed the little one back to his mother, she felt a sense of relief wash over her.
"Ten tiny fingers and ten tiny toes, everything is where it should be."
"Oh, thank the gods."
With the help of her husband, Maggie had stepped out of the bath, moved back to the bed and delivered the placenta. And despite the fast pace of the birth, there was no excessive blood loss, nor were stitches required. Wiping her sweaty body down with a wet washcloth, Maebh left the new mother and her baby to rest. Until then, Bear hadn't said a word, so it came as a surprise when he asked his brother if they had any specific name in mind for their son.
"Elias," Coinín answered. "Elias Kenyon Lowell."
"Like the mountain range?" Maebh questioned.
Coinín could only nod as he went to sit next to Maggie and stared at Elias, utterly mesmerised by the bundle of joy they had created together.
Maebh left the room, pulling Bear along. Downstairs, they sat down at the dining table, both with a glass of wine. Maebh glanced at the clock on the wall: 03:12. Elias' birth had barely lasted an hour.
"So, where is Logan?"
"At a friend's house."
"Do his teeth still hurt?"
Bear pulled a face. "Not that I'm aware of."
"Hmm," she hummed thoughtfully.
It took two more servings of wine before Maebh finally felt herself starting to relax. A faint buzz stirred in her veins after setting the empty glass down on the table and slumping in the chair.
"Whatcha lookin' at?" Maebh questioned, unsuccessfully attempting to imitate a southern accent.
Bear, who had been staring, shrugged. "I miss you."
"How can you miss me, I'm right here?"
"Come on, you know what I mean. I'm a wall, you can push all you want, but I'm not going anywhere."
Maebh groaned and threw her head back. She stared up at the ceiling and the ceiling stared right back at her. A question bubbled up. Should I finish the rest of the bottle?
"Mae.."
"I really am not in the mood for this right now. Especially not if you're going to compare yourself to inanimate objects."
Bear pinched the bridge of his nose, clearly irritated. The sight made her giggle a little as she clumsily rose to her feet and tried to set one foot in front of the other in a perfect line –her arms stretched horizontally to keep her balance. "Anyway, I'm off to bed."
—————————————————
It was nearing sunrise when a nauseating feeling awoke Maebh and forced her from the guest bedroom for a glass of water. The wind rattled the windows as flakes upon flakes of snow battered against the planes of glass. It appeared she couldn't get a decent night of sleep these days.
She blundered down the steps, feeling like her feet were offered resistance from something thick and oily when, clearly, there was no such thing. An uneasy sensation settled low in her gut and came to an abrupt halt when three knocks resounded through the hallway.
Rather than open the door herself, Maebh hastened down the remaining steps and hid behind a corner, waiting for either Bear or Coinín to show up. It didn't take long before the latter appeared from the office. The door swung open and she could hear the murmurs of a deep, masculine voice.
Daring to peer around the corner, she moved her head from its hiding place. What she did not expect was to see her stranger standing there. The enormous man crowded the doorway, with his feet planted apart and his shoulders wide. He was accompanied by two unfamiliar men of equal size.
A gasp left her mouth, and she quickly tried to muffle it with her hand. To her relief, the men had been too deeply engaged in their conversation to notice her eavesdropping.
Too curious to miss anything, she willed her nerves to take a chill pill and took another peek at the men. Her stranger's glorious face was marred by the curved scar that appeared lit up like a scimitar in the morning light. Even now, after a month of absence, the flaw only increased the appeal of his features.
For a split second, Maebh got attacked by another wave of emotions, this time a distinct moment of alarm —like her inner spider-senses were going haywire.
Why was he here?
Her mystery man stepped inside, shadowed by the two other men. Their dark, brooding presence made her uneasy. She realised then that her beautiful stranger hadn't spoken once. The two others did all the talking as he stood observing, silently.
The volume of their voices rose to a notch that allowed her to listen in on what they were saying.
"Your brother will be prosecuted accordingly." One man said in a low tone.
Although Coinín's back was turned to her, he visibly stiffened by the announcement. He nodded. "I understand."
An army of question marks marched into Maebh's head.
"As of today, you will be relieved of your duties."
"Please- please reconsider, my soulbond gave birth to our son a few hours ago. I need this, now more than ever."
"You failed to trace her for years and again to report her when she was living right under your nose. The Curia Regis has deemed you unfit to continue."
Coinín started shaking, causing an unsettling feeling in Maebh's stomach as she listened on to words that made little sense. "You don't understand. Her scent is nonexistent and until last night, I had never seen her without the contacts."
"The decision is final."
The wind outside took the open door as an invitation and swiftly made its way inside, blowing into the hallway and around the corner, ruffling through Maebh's hair. With the shifting breeze, her stranger tossed his head in the air, inhaled deeply and bellowed a carnal growl from his chest.
Taken aback by the display, Maebh took a step back, making the floorboards groan and her presence known. Slowly, with the grace of a predator, he turned to face her. His icy gaze of paralysing qualities, holding her hostage, her limbs feeling boneless as she fought to stay on two feet. Dizzy beyond words, she slid down the wall.
Within the blink of an eye, he crouched down to her height.
"Look at me." He demanded, guttural and impatient. Maebh got the impression he rarely spoke. The sound shook her through and through, suddenly much closer as one hand reached for her cheek. Although they looked rough and battered, his hands felt like they had been dipped in warm oil. Maebh's skin danced, every nerve and follicle gasping
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