Trouble Doubled

First Arrival

Two Hours.

That's the amount of time Maya's been pushing for, she'd seen birth scenes in movies before but never did she think the pain was actually as advertised. With beads of sweat causing pieces of hair to stick to her face and neck, she continues to follow the Paramedic's instructions as they focus on what's going on underneath the blanket that's draped over her split legs. After another excruciating push, Maya's about to give up; and stop listening to Riley and Lucas's words of encouragement, when the medic announces that she can see 'a beautiful head of blonde hair'. At that, Lucas smiles; and presses a kiss to the side of her Maya's head.

From there, things begin to move just a little bit faster, only adding to the tension in the high school hallway. Farkle is standing to one side, chewing anxiously on his thumbnail and wincing when he hears his friend's pained screams. He begins to wonder if he'll be able to cope when his own girlfriend births their daughter, because it's not looking good for him at the moment.

"Keep it going Maya, you're doing really good." Riley says proudly, as she holds onto the hand that hasn't been occupied by Lucas. Although it's evident that the imminent mother-to-be is trying to take out her anguish on Lucas's hand, Riley also receives a bone crushing squeeze, but she's not about to complain when she's watching her best friend pushing out another human being.

Five minutes pass by before the rest of the baby's head emerges, and the medic even lets Lucas take a look for himself, sending a a combination of delight and fear through his head. But then Maya stops pushing, and rests her head against the lockers in sheer exhaustion. The room begins to feels as if it's spinning, and she wants to give up, but the pressure down there is just too extreme to ignore. "I can't do it anymore." She breathes, wiping her forehead with the sleeve of her jacket.

A male medic who Lucas recalls him saying his name is Daniel, looks up from the fetal-heart-monitor to his assistant— who's name is Michelle— and gives her a look which seems to speak words to her.

"Alright Miss Hart, you need start pushing again, your baby is getting distressed now." Explains Michelle.

Maya shakes her head vigorously, "no, you don't understand, I really can't do this anymore, I feel like i'm gonna throw up."

"You've gotten this far already." Lucas says, softly, "It's just for a while longer, and you've got the hard part over with now."

"All we need now is one, big push okay? Give it everything you've got." Michelle tells her, encouragingly.

On Michelle's count of three, Maya scrapes up every ounce of energy she has left into one big, push. Halfway through the agonising stretch, Maya's screams are joined by much smaller wails. The sound of a newborn's cry. The unforgettable sound of her baby's first breath.

Everyone is beaming, even Farkle is grinning from ear to ear despite his uneasiness, but then Michelle brings the baby— covered in blood and other pink substances— up from under the blanket after cutting the cord, causing Farkle's stomach to lurch forward.

"Congratulations," Michelle smiles, "you have a beautiful girl."

Michelle is quick to clean off the infant, before wrapping her in a plain blanket and handing her to her mom. Maya is mesmerized by the sound of her child's cries, it doesn't seem real; looking down at the very person who'd put Maya on a nine-month-long rollercoaster. Riley is the one who's bawling along with the newborn, as she kisses her best friend's cheek with pride. Farkle is given the all clear to look back by Daniel, who pats the squeamish boy's shoulder. And as he heads over to the scene, he smiles down at his best friends' newest addition, it's clear to him—now that the gunk has been cleaned off of her— that she resembles both Maya and Lucas, with her father's nose and lips, and Maya's tawny blonde hair.