better now > sequel to neighbours. [HS]

spin off

"HARRY IM GOING TO PUNCH YOUR TEETH IN IF YOU TELL ME TO CALM DOWN ONE MORE TIME"

Mae thrashed around on her gourney as the ambulance wheeled her into her delivery suite along with a handful of midwives. Harry, scared to death, refused to let go of her hand and followed them each step of the way. They were greeted by their parents when they arrived to their suite and Harry took a sigh of relief. He's done this before, sure, but his ex-wife Aria was much more quiet during birth and doses up on every pain medication there was.

As for his wife now, Maelynn, she was too late to get her epidural and had a long night ahead of her. She cried out in pain as each contraction flew through her body and she couldn't help the screams and tears they were coming out of her, which only frightened Harry more. Soon her mother took her bedside to calm her down as he looked on in shock.

His mother pat his back encouragingly. "She's okay, sweetheart. She'll be okay." Anne promised him.

"I just hate seeing her like this." Harry stumbled on his words, genuinely feeling guilty that his wife was suffering to bring their child into this world and he only had to sit back and watch. He took Mae's hand and peppered kissed all over her sweaty face as he whispered encouraging words to her. He tried their breathing exercises and the coping techniques they learned in all of the classes they went to but it looked like all of that flew out the window once reality hit.

"Harry make it stop," Mae cried to him. As if he couldn't feel any guiltier. She panted and eventually began to daze in and out of consciousness.

"Hey! Babe, open your eyes, you're okay. It's going to be okay." Harry soothed her as the nurses hooked IV's, monitors and drew some bloods.

"It was so easy compared to this with Ana," Davina admitted. Harry looked across to her. She was holding her daughters hand, stroking her face softly. "It's my fault, I should have just drove her here when she began the contractions." Harry sheepishly admitted, feeling angry at himself now. Everyone told him otherwise and that nothing was his fault but he felt it. She woke him up at five with slight contractions and then again at six screaming in pain. If he had just brought her in at five she could have her pain relief and everything would be okay.

————

Sixteen hours in and it was time to push. Harry and Mae were not coping well to say the least. After sixteen hours of no sleep and constant pain for Mae, a fight with the doctors by Harry and no food, they were ready to call it quits, except they couldn't, and it was time to push.

"That's it Maelynn, you are ten centimeters and ready to go!" A nurse cheered her on. Mae was exhausted. The thoughts of having to muster up every ounce of strength left to push seemed impossible to her. She couldn't do it. "Harry I can't push." She sighed out weakly.

"Of course you can," He encouraged. He put his hand on her upper back and room her hand in his other. She sat forward and shook her head. "Go behind me." She panted out to him.

They had practiced this before at birthing classes but nothing compared to the real thing, nevertheless, Harry did as she asked. He kicked off his shoes and climbed onto the bed. The nurses tried to question but Maelynn told them to, her words exactly, " Shut up and get this motherfucker out of me."

Harry sat on her pillow and Mae sat upright, his legs at each side of her. She pressed her back to Harry's chest and held her two hands and put his chin on her shoulder.