“Right,” I say, remembering that I’m not his only patient. “How long does that take?” I ask selfishly.
Meghan looks up from the various devices she’s checking around the room and says, “Don’t worry, Lucy, he’ll be here.”
“Are you expecting anyone else?” Sarah asks, helping me up onto the bed, which is surprisingly soft.
“Yes, my fiancé. He’s flying back from New York right now.”
“Oh, good,” she says. “We were worried he wouldn’t make it back in time.”
“You know who he is, then,” Sebastian says.
“Yes. But don’t worry. Your privacy is our second highest concern,” she says, winking at me.
“What’s your first?” Sebastian asks, putting my bag down.
“The baby, of course.”
“Oh, right,” Sebastian says.
“Speaking of which,” I groan, and close my eyes.
“Okay, just take deep breaths,” Sarah says calmly as the contraction wraps around me. She puts her hand on my back and says again, “Deep breaths.” I try to breathe in and out as she rubs my back through the contraction. When it passes, she smiles and says, “Good job.”
“Lucy, why don’t you go ahead and get changed,” Meghan says, handing me a soft open-back hospital gown, reminiscent of my days after the accident. “We’ll be back in a few minutes. Everything off, ties go in the back.”
They leave the room and Sebastian gives me an empathetic look, as if he’s watching my dignity jump off me, one traitorous piece at a time. “Want me to step out?” he asks, while I gather the gown in my hands.
“No, just turn around. I wouldn’t want to scar you for life with my alien body.”
“You know I really don’t care.”
“My dignity is abandoning me by the second. I’d like to hold on to as much of it as possible for as long as I can.”
He laughs and turns around and patiently faces the wall while I change into the gown.
“The nurses are young,” I say, yanking my yoga pants off my ankles.
“Yeah, but they seem to know what they’re doing.”
I pull my shirt off over my head and say, “As long as Dr. Fletcher is here, that’s all I care about.”
“That’s all?” he asks, turning his head toward his shoulder.
“Well, obviously that’s not all I care about.” I tie my gown behind me and sit back down on the comfortable bed, feeling slightly better to be out of my binding clothes. “Okay,” I say, scooting back against the pillows. “You can turn around.”
Sebastian turns around and sits on the edge of the bed. “Reminds me of the last time I saw you in a hospital bed.” He pulls the warmed blankets up over my legs and stomach. “How’s that?”
“Better.” I close my eyes and exhale softly.
“Of course, you weren’t smuggling a beach ball under your blankets back then.”
I laugh, but another contraction squeezes me, pulling me up off the pillows. “Ow,” I cry, gripping the rail on the side of the bed.
“Okay, just breathe,” he says calmly.
“I’m trying,” I cry.
“He’s right, you have to breathe through them, or they’ll hurt a lot worse,” a new nurse says, walking into the room.
I look up at her stern face and the wiry gray hair that surrounds it.
“Did you take any Lamaze classes?”
“No,” I say, grimacing.
She gives me a disapproving look. “The hospital offers them for a reason.”
“Actually, many would argue that Lamaze is a dated technique and the rhythmic breathing can worsen the pain,” Sebastian says confidently.
I smile at him as the contraction releases its grip on me. The baby books.
“Well, they probably haven’t delivered as many babies as I have,” she says to him.
“Will you be delivering mine?” I ask, trying to sort through feelings of concern and confidence.
“No,” Meghan says, walking back into the room. “Her shift just ended.”
“I just came to get an update for Dr. Fletcher.”
“Oh,” I say, glancing between them.
“Lucy, I’m going to go ahead and check you now,” Meghan says, and Sebastian springs to his feet. “We’ll see how far dilated you are.” She smiles and pulls on a pair of gloves.
“Okay.” I push the blankets off me and scoot down a little, but another contraction burns across my stomach. “Ow!”
“Okay, just breathe,” she says calmly, waiting to check me until it’s through. “Just tell me when it’s over.”
When it passes, I gasp, “It’s over.”
“All right, let’s see how far dilated you are.” She does a quick examination and I pray that I’m not dilated very far. She looks up at me and pulls her gloves off. “You’re about three centimeters.”
“That’s good right?” Sebastian asks hopefully. “That means we have time?”
“Yes, she has to get to ten centimeters before she can push.”
“And how long will that take?” he asks, giving her a serious look.
“Good luck,” the older nurse says to Meghan, and then leaves the room, in exchange for Sarah, who returns with a smile.
“Don’t worry about her,” Meghan says. “She’s always cranky at the end of her shift,” she whispers.
“But she’s delivered a lot of babies?” I ask, wondering how much experience Meghan and Sarah have.
“Yes. But so have we,” Sarah says confidently, and I exhale a comforted breath.
She reaches around me. “I’m going to get you hooked up to a fetal monitor now and then we can call the anesthesiologist.”
“Oh, but I don’t want an epidural.”
“Okay,” she says, helping me sit up. “Well, you don’t have to decide right now. Just let us know if you change your mind.”
“Okay.” She fastens the monitor around my stomach and it fills the room with the fast swooshing sound of the baby’s heartbeat. “I love that sound,” I say, falling back against the pillows.
“Is that the baby’s heartbeat?” Sebastian asks, and I realize he’s never heard it before.
“Yeah.” I smile up at him.
“It’s so fast,” he says, pulling his dark eyebrows together.
Meghan pats his shoulder reassuringly. “That’s a good thing.”
“Dr. Fletcher said her heart’s really strong. Just like Sam,” I say quietly to myself.
Sebastian reaches for my hand and sits beside me on the bed again. “He’s going to make it, Lucy.”
“We’ll be back soon. Just let us know if you need anything,” Sarah says, following Meghan out of the room.
“Want some of these really yummy-looking ice chips?” Sebastian asks, picking up a small plastic cup.
“Sure.”
He hands me the cup and I let a few small pieces of ice fall into my mouth. As they melt, the cool water runs down my throat and it actually makes me feel a little better. “Can I have some more?”