That Night

Chapter 29

     -Sorry for the delay again : (

It didn't take long for Marinette to check in at the reception desk and for the group to be led to a private labor and delivery room. Marinette got changed into a hospital gown and sat on the edge of the bed waiting for the doctor to come in.

It was only a couple minutes later when Dr. Dubois opened the door and approached Marinette. "Are you ready?"

Marinette nodded. For the last weeks she had been taking herbal supplements recommended by her doctor to help the process move along faster and now she was here. In only minutes the process of her induction would begin, and she didn't want to wait any longer.

Dr. Dubois smiled at Marinette gently and explained the details of what would happen.

Once she had finished with her explanation, and was confident that Marinette and her family were prepared, she invited a nurse to come in. He started Marinette on an IV drip to begin the first dose of her medicine.

Dr. Dubois continued. "It shouldn't be too long before your contractions start. You can move around for a while, but once your contractions start getting closer together you'll want to stay laying down on the bed. I'll come to check on you periodically to see how your progressing."

Marinette nodded hesitantly. There was nothing complicated to what Dr. Dubois was saying, but she was still nervous. Months of build-up to this, yet she still felt unprepared. Her mind cycled through all the what ifs but she had to stop herself.

She felt someone grab her hand and squeeze it gently. In response she looked up into Adrien's shining eyes. He leaned down and kissed her temple with such gentleness. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, hugging her. "Everything will work out," he whispered in her ear. "Things will happen just as they should. I love you."

Marinette sighed and her shoulders relaxed. "Your right. Everything will be just fine." She leaned into Adrien's hug.

For the next few hours Marinette paced around the room while on the phone with Alya. She allowed herself to be distracted by Alya telling story after story about the citizens of Paris and their classmates. Telling of crazy antics and heartwarming moments.

Marinette's contractions had started, but they were still far apart, and she was able to smile as she listened to Alya speak in her ever-enthusiastic voice.

Dr. Dubois came in and checked on her several times while Marinette left Alya on speaker so that she could hear. After a few hours Dr. Dubois came to check on Marinette again. "Your contractions are now about five minutes apart. I want you to lay down for a while so you can endure the contractions easier. I'll come back in another fifteen minutes to check on you again and see where we're at. Ok?"

Marinette smiled at her in understanding and the doctor left the room. Alya continued talking to keep Marinette distracted. Adrien and Marinette's parents also joined in on the conversation. For several minutes they would smile and chuckle at Alya's stories, then when a contraction hit Marinette, they would comfort her and try to keep their conversation going as best they could.

Marinette was extremely glad for all her family who were supporting her: her parents, her best friend, and the love of her life. She had to struggle through contraction after contraction for hours on end, but in the minutes between contractions she was able to smile wanly as she looked at her family surrounding her.

Dr. Dubois checked on Marinette several times before she entered the room and was able to announce: "Your contractions are just a couple minutes apart now and you are nine centimeters dilated. That means we need to get you into position for delivery, ok?"

Marinette nodded. The nurse came back in and aided in getting Marinette situated and instructing her family to get into protective robes that would cover their clothes. With the nurse's help Marinette laid back and propped her knees up near her head. Adrien stood at her shoulder.

Dr. Dubois came back into the room wearing her own robe in addition to medical gloves and a mask. She sat on a stool and rolled to the side of Marinette's bed. She checked the baby's heartbeat on the monitor and felt Marinette's stomach to figure out the baby's position.

"He's in position for the birth." She smiled at Marinette as she rolled to the foot of the bed. She checked Marinette's progress then looked up into her eyes. "You are fully dilated so we are going to begin pushing." Adrien rested a hand on Marinette's shoulder and grabbed her hand.

"With the next contraction I want you to push, ok?"

Marinette nodded weakly. She felt worn out from all the contractions that she'd already suffered through and from her racing thoughts and heart. Louis was going to be all right, wasn't he? She pushed these negative thoughts from her mind and focused on Dr. Dubois at the foot of the bed and the contraction that would be coming any second, signaling her to push.

As the contraction came, she breathed deeply and pushed, trying to follow the instructions that she was receiving from her doctor. Every time she needed to push again, she squeezed Adrien hand with the full strength of somebody who had spent years fighting crime every day and holding her entire body weight while swinging from a yoyo. But Adrien didn't even grimace from the pressure, he was a superhero too after all, instead he just squeezed her hand back and whispered into her ear how much he loved her and his dreams for their future together. The way he was talking Marinette knew he wasn't just talking about them as boyfriend and girlfriend, but about them being bound to each other legally. This made her smile, but she couldn't think on it too long as she was bombarded with excruciating pain.

Marinette tried to regulate her breathing as instructed by Dr. Dubois. She did her best to focus only on her breath and the sweet words that Adrien was whispering to her as she pushed.

"He's crowning," she heard the nurse call from behind Dr. Dubois' shoulder.

Marinette looked at her in question and she clarified. "We can see his head." Marinette relaxed, but Dr. Dubois interrupted. "That means that you need to give all you have for these last several pushes. These will be the hardest, but then soon enough he will be born and into your arms. Are you ready?"

Marinette nodded, her messy, sweaty hear falling around her face. She was exhausted and didn't feel like she could push anymore, but she knew that she needed to for her baby boy.

Tiki was at home with Plagg, but in her head Marinette imagined her kwami giving one of her pep-talks filled with comfort and encouragement. Marinette took a deep breath and tried to channel the power of Ladybug and her miraculous (even though she was out of costume) as she had to push again.

After several hard pushes Marinette heard someone call out, "The head is born." She looked to Dr. Dubois for further instruction.

"His head is out of the birth canal. On the next contraction you will need to give us a couple more pushes then he should be born."

Marinette smiled widely and her smile lit up her face despite the circles under eyes, sweat pouring down her face, and hair flying everywhere. Soon enough her little baby would be born into this world and she would officially become a mommy.

As she felt the contraction coming on, she focused. Listening to Dr. Dubois' guidance she gave the final pushes and then she felt her body relax.

"He's out, and he's beautiful," Dr. Dubois proclaimed.

Marinette grinned and she squeezed Adrien's hand and looked at her baby. "My Louis."