Clearer (J.HALE)

25

I was panicking.

There were still weeks to go. This was too early.

"Uh, okay," Emily said shakily, moving over to me. "We need to get you to a bed. Can you walk?"

I nodded, too bewildered to talk. My pyjama bottoms were soaked, as were my socks, and my legs only moved in stiff, jointed steps. I wasn't ready.

"I'm not ready," I whispered, grabbing hold of Emily's arm as she led me out of the kitchen. "It's too early, I'm not ready!"

"It's going to be fine," she said, sounding more resolute by the second. "Can you do stairs?"

"Oh my God," I whimpered, shuffling toward the staircase.

"There's no avoiding it, Imogen," she said. "You've just got to do it."

I started to cry.

"One step at a time, honey. Up one?"

I lifted my right foot onto the first stair.

"Now the other."

With Emily's help, I managed to totter up the stairs. I couldn't really see properly because of the tears, everything a snotty blur.

"Just lie down here," Emily said, leading me toward the guest bedroom. "I'm just going to get some towels-

"Wait!" I interrupted as she turned for the door. "I want to go to the hospital! I agreed on a hospital birth with Carlisle..." I paled. "Oh my God, Carlisle won't be here!"

Emily placed a hand on my cheek, attempting to soothe me. "Take a breath, Im-

"No, no, no, you don't understand," I choked out between the sobs. "I need Carlisle! I need him to be here!"

"That isn't really an option right now," she said softly. "Now, do you want me to call an ambulance? My car's in the shop so I can't drive you."

I blinked at her through hazy eyes. "I-I don't know."

"Okay, well," she said, "that's fine. We haven't had any contractions yet, right? You have time to decide."

"How do we know when it's over?" I asked. "The fight."

"Sam said he'd call," Emily said, chewing on her lip. "But there's a storm coming in, so-

"There's a what?"

She grimaced. "It'll be fine! It'll be fine. I'm going to get you some towels."

I placed my palms on the mattress either side of my legs as she left the room, forcing myself to take a deep, controlled breath, and hold it.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

I let my lungs deflate and breathed in again.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

I breathed out, a few strands of hair flying away from my face in the breeze. Then I tilted my head back and looked at the ceiling.

I was going to have a baby. And almost as a response to my thoughts, my body juddered with what I could only assume to be a contraction. It was unlike any sensation I had ever felt before or could even imagine.

"Oh my God," I whispered, spine curving me forward around my stomach in response. "Oh my God!"

"What?" Emily yelped, rushing back in.