“How did Ry get Bran to the hospital so fast?” I asked Bronagh as we jogged from the car park towards the Coombe Women & Infants University Hospital after passing by Ryder’s car that was parked at a sharp angle. “We live forty minutes from ’ere, and we left at the same bleedin’ time as ’im!”
“God couldn’t stop that man from gettin’ ’ere as fast as he could with Branna and those babies.”
I could do nothing but agree with her as we jogged towards the entrance of the hospital, a stitch already forming in my side from the activity.
“I hate runnin’,” I replied breathlessly.
“Since Georgie got more active and started crawlin’, runnin’ is all I’m good for nowadays.”
I laughed, then took a much-needed breather when we slowed down upon nearing the reception desk in the lobby. I thought Bronagh was going to ask where the labour and delivery ward was situated, but when she turned left and headed towards a giant stairwell, I blindly followed her. It wasn’t until we cleared the first floor that I realised Bronagh knew exactly where she was going, she had delivered a baby in the same hospital after all.
“Isn’t the labour ward off limits to visitors?”
“Normally, yeah,” Bronagh answered. “But since Branna works ’ere, and she’s the patient, that means we get special privileges.”
“We?” I slowed my steps. “You just said we … as in you and me?”
Bronagh paused, then turned to face me.
“I hear the fear in your voice,” she commented. “Push it away, ’cause we gotta focus on Branna.”
My lips parted.
“But … but … I thought I was gonna wait in the waitin’ area,” I said, grasping at straws. “I can give great moral support from out ’ere, ye’know? I’ll keep everyone updated. I won’t leave this spot, not even to use the jacks. I’ll be the best support system from a distance, I swear.”
Bronagh snorted, then turned and continued walking. With a dragged-out sigh, I followed her, silently praying that a security guard or a member of staff would inform me that I had no business being in a room where a lady was about to give birth … but no one stopped us. Not a single bloody person. I followed Bronagh towards the nurses’ station, and when I spotted Ash, Branna’s co-worker, behind the desk, I smiled along with Bronagh. Ash was lovely, and any time I had met him, he had always made me laugh with a dumb joke one way or the other.
“Bronagh, Alannah,” he said with a bright smile when she stopped before the desk. “It’s great to see you both. Which one of you is in labour so I can get you checked in?”
I snickered. “Arsehole.”
He grinned at us.
“I’d jump this counter and wring your neck if I wasn’t so excited,” Bronagh said, bouncing from foot to foot. “Which room is Branna in?”
“Number one,” Ash answered. “Sally is in there with her and so is Taylor; she’s doin’ beautifully. She’s already dilated to eight centimetres.”
Ash barely finished his sentence before Bronagh squealed excitedly and ran towards room number one at the end of the corridor. I made no move to follow her; instead, I stared at the door of the room where Bronagh just vanished.
“You look scared.”
I looked back at Ash. “Just scared? Because I feel terrified.”
His lips twitched. “Have you never seen a baby being born?”
“Not in person, and I avoid it on the telly whenever I can,” I answered. “I wasn’t expectin’ to go into the room. I thought it would have been a private moment.”
“From what Branna tells me, you’re her family. You don’t get any more private than that.”
That made me smile.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “We’re a family.”
“Then get in there,” Ash encouraged. “The more support, the better, and it’s better you than me, to be honest. Bronagh can focus on Branna, and you can focus on Ryder. The man looks like he is going to drop any second.”
I nodded, swallowed, then turned and walked towards the room Bronagh disappeared into. When I reached the door, I knocked on it gently, and maybe two seconds went by before the door was pulled open, revealing a very distraught Ryder.
“Lana,” he said, relieved. “Get in here.”
He took my hand and pulled me into the room, closing the door behind us. Instantly, my eyes landed on Branna. She was on her hands and knees on her bed, her head down, and her hips swaying from side to side as she groaned. She was wearing a pretty pink nightdress, and her hair was pulled back into a tight French plait.
Bronagh was beside her, with her jacket and bag hung up on a rack across the room. She had her long-sleeved t-shirt rolled up to the elbows, and her hair was pushed behind her ears. Her attention was 100% on her sister as she roughly rubbed her lower spine. I noticed two women, one older and one younger, pattering around the room checking machines, checking on Branna, then chatting to one another like there wasn’t a woman in excruciating pain next to them.
I assumed them to be Sally and Taylor that Ash mentioned. I had heard Branna talking about them before, but I had never met them in person.
“You’ve got this, Bran,” I said to her, finding my voice. “You’re gonna be a mammy soon.”
Branna lifted her head, and though she was sweaty and red faced, she smiled at me as best as she could.
“I’m so happy about you and Damien, honey.”
My heart warmed. “Thanks, Bran.”
She lowered her head, and said, “’Ere comes another one.”
She moaned in pain, and Ryder, who still had hold of my hand, squeezed it.
“Hey,” I said, gaining his attention. “She’s goin’ to make you a daddy real soon, and she is goin’ to be perfectly okay.”
He bobbed his head, and I knew he was repeating what I had said over in his mind. He gave my hand another squeeze, then moved over to Branna’s right side. He kissed her cheek, head, then hunkered down beside her, grabbing her hand as she powered through a contraction.
She suddenly cried out in pain, and I jumped with fright.
“I really shouldn’t be ’ere for this,” I said to no one, my stomach tightening. “I think I’m gonna faint.”
Ash snickered as he entered the room, and that frightened me as well, which told me just how wound up I was. I focused on him.
“This room is over capacity, right?”
“Yes,” he answered with a twitch of his lips. “But Branna works here, so having extra people in with her is no problem.”
I frowned at the man. “You were supposed to agree with me, then escort me off this ward and to a waitin’ room.”
Ash rumbled with laughter. “My bad.”
I focused on my friend and so did Ash.
“You’re doing beautifully, babe,” he said to her. “You’re flying along.”
Branna groaned in response, and Ryder sort of glared at Ash, while Bronagh continued to rub her sister’s back and spoke words of encouragement to get her through the current contraction.
“She’s progressin’ like lightnin’,” the older woman, who I assumed to be Sally from what Branna had told me, beamed with pride. “Those twins will be ’ere within the hour, mark me words.”
Ryder looked like he was about to faint.
“Isn’t this happenin’ too fast?” I quizzed to Ash. “Shouldn’t she be in labour for hours? Me ma was in labour for twenty-seven hours before she had me, she said it’s the reason I’m an only child.”
“Every woman is different,” Ash answered with a one-shoulder shrug. “When I came on shift this morning, the woman who had been in labour for twelve hours when I left last night was still in her room labouring while another woman came in and left an hour later after having her baby.”
“Wow,” I murmured. “That’s insane.”
“Branna’s been in labour since six o’clock this morning, and she said nothing just so Ryder would go to work. She’s in labour a good nine hours now,” Ash explained. “She just didn’t ring Ryder until her water broke an hour ago because she knew how long labouring could take, and she didn’t want to worry him.”
That was such a Branna thing to do. She wouldn’t bother anyone, even her husband, unless she absolutely had to.
Branna suddenly cried out in pain as her contractions strengthened, and I cringed right along with her as her entire body tensed. Crossing my legs absentmindedly as I inhaled and exhaled deep breaths. I found that the actions helped me as much as it seemed to help Branna, so I kept on at it.
“Do you remember,” Bronagh said to her sister with a smile, “when I was eighteen and you dropped me off at school, but I didn’t wanna go inside because I didn’t want to be around Dominic?”
Branna nodded, breathing heavily. “I remember.”
“Do you remember laughin’ at me?”
“Yeah,” Branna panted, sweat running down the sides of her face. “I do.”
“Do you remember that I said I would remind you of that moment when you were at the height of pain in labour?”
Branna growled. “I remember.”
“This is me revenge for that moment ... does it hurt?”
Branna swiped at Bronagh, who leaned away laughing before returning to her sister’s side. She resumed forcefully rubbing the base of Branna’s spine, and it made Branna groan and not in pain. She seemed to like the treatment Bronagh was giving her, while I found it all to be rather … rough.
“You won’t make me see Dominic again when I don’t want to, will you?” Bronagh teased.
Branna laughed, then cried out in pain again, and even though I had only been in the room for a few minutes, I could tell the pains were getting stronger and faster.
“It hurts,” she growled. “God, it fuckin’ hurts.”
“I know,” Bronagh said. “Breathe through it. You’ve got this, Bran.”
Branna screamed through the worst of her contraction and agony played across her face. The sound, and visual, cut me in two. I looked at Ryder who was staring at his wife with non-blinking eyes, and he looked exactly how I felt. Fucking terrified.
“What can I do, sweetness?” he almost pleaded. “I’ll do anything, just tell me, and I’ll do it.”
“Ice,” Branna groaned. “Some ice, please.”
Ryder zoomed out of the room to gather some ice before Branna even finished her sentence.
I watched him go. “He is feckin’ terrified.”
Branna inhaled and exhaled deeply four times before she said, “There is no point in reassurin’ ’im. Until the babies ... are born ... he will remain that way.”
“Or until they’re eighteen,” I teased.
Everyone laughed just as my phone rang. I checked the screen, saw it was Damien, and answered instantly.
“Any news?”
I winced as Branna screamed and latched onto Bronagh like a boa constrictor. Bronagh’s face reddened a little, which told me just how tight of a grip her sister had on her.
“She’s still in labour.”
“I heard her, poor mama,” Damien said, and I could picture him frowning. “Is she okay apart from her obvious pain? How is Ryder holding up?”
“Branna is doin’ brilliantly.” I looked at his older brother down the hallway gathering ice from the ice machine and said, “And Ryder is still conscious so I’m countin’ that as a positive.”
Damien snorted, and Ash grinned beside me before he said something to Taylor to make her cheeks redden. I watched as he patted her behind with his hand, and a smirk stretched across his face before he left the room. If didn’t take much to see that they were more than co-workers.
“I wasn’t expectin’ to be in the room,” I whispered to Damien when I refocused on our phonecall. “I feel so scared, and I keep crossin’ me legs when Branna gets a pain. Bein’ ’ere is such good birth control; they should make teenage girls come and experience this.”
Damien’s laughter relaxed me, but another cry from Branna cut the sound off. I placed my finger in my free ear so I could hear him better.
“You’ll be fine,” he assured me. “Think of it this way; you’ll get to see our nephews come into the world.”
Our nephews.
“Yeah,” I said, smiling. “You’re right.”
Branna screamed so loud it scared the bejesus out of me, and I could do nothing but wince on her behalf.
“Gotta go,” I said to Damien. “I’ll phone you when I have another update.”
“Okay, baby. Bye.”
I bit down on my lower lip to keep from smiling like a fool. Every single time he called me baby, or some silly pet name, it reminded me that we were really together, and I hadn’t imagined our coupling.
“Bye.”
After I ended the call, I pocketed my phone. Ryder re-entered the room with a jug full of ice, instead of just a small cup, and it made me grin. I had never seen someone as big as him look so scared, but I knew he wasn’t just scared for his babies. He was also terrified for his wife.
“Ye’know,” I randomly said, “I keep forgettin’ that you’re both married, and your surname is Slater now, Bran.”
She smiled through her pain.
“I know. It has a ring to it, though, doesn’t it?”
“Yup,” I agreed. “Bronagh Slater sounds foreign, though.”
“I probably won’t take Dominic’s last name,” Bronagh said with a shrug. “It’s the twenty-first century; not every woman takes ‘er husband’s last name.”
Ryder, who popped a piece of ice into Branna’s mouth, looked at his sister-in-law and said, “Does Dominic know about this?”
“No.”
I grinned. “Can I be there when you tell ’im?”
“Me too,” Ryder and Branna said in unison, making one another laugh.
I frowned when Branna whimpered as pain consumed her once more. She tucked her head against Ryder’s neck and began to cry as he leaned down to hug her. Bronagh continued to rub her back, and Ryder murmured things to Branna that made her bob her head. I sat on a chair to the left of the room as things progressed fast. One minute, Branna was breathing through her pain, and the next, her legs were parted and there was a flurry of people in the room.
A man called Doctor Harrison, Taylor, Sally and two more nurses who were on standby to take each baby when they were born filled the already crowded room.
Before I knew it, Branna was pushing. Bronagh was on her left, and Ryder was on her right, both looked like they’d swap positions with Branna in a heartbeat if they could. I, on the other hand, was focused on my breathing because I felt like my heart was about to beat out of my chest. I wouldn’t have been able to swap with Branna even if I wanted to; I was too scared.
This fear, I felt was warranted, so I didn’t feel any guilt for it.
During all the commotion, I took out my phone and began recording. I made sure to get the full view of Branna as she gave birth, and I noted that I would instantly delete it if she didn’t want to keep it, but since no one else thought to record the moment, and I was doing nothing but hyperventilating, I figured I’d make myself useful and capture the once in a lifetime memory.
“He’s crownin’,” the doctor announced after minutes of pushing. Once the head was out, Branna screamed to the high heavens. “Shoulders, chest … penis, thighs … and Baby A is here.”
Branna cried with relief as her son was placed on her chest, Ryder was completely in awe as he stared down at his firstborn son, and Bronagh, she was silently crying. Tears were streaming down her cheeks as a smile stretched across her lips.
“You did it, Bran,” Bronagh gushed and kissed her sister’s head. “You did it!”
“Thank you,” Ryder said to Branna before kissing her face. “Thank you for making me a daddy. I love you so much.”
“I love you too,” Branna sobbed.
Together, she and Ryder stared down at her baby while Taylor silently wiped him off with a towel. Ryder kissed his son’s head, and Branna quickly followed suit.
“He’s perfect,” Branna said in wonder. “And he looks just like you!”
“Are you kidding?” Ryder replied, his eyes glazed over with unshed tears. “He’s beautiful. That’s all you, sweetness.”
I stared at the baby. “Am I seein’ things, or does the child have white blond hair?”
“You aren’t seein’ things,” Bronagh laughed. “Damien isn’t the only fair haired lad anymore.”
I got a lump in my throat as emotion overcame me, but I kept my hand steady, making sure the video I was recording wouldn’t be messed up. Seven minutes later, Branna groaned in pain, and Baby A was taken to the side by Sally where he could get cleaned up, weighed, and checked over properly. I desperately wanted to go and see him, but I stayed rooted to the spot. Things then went from calm to insanity in seconds. Branna was contracting once more, and she began to push her second son out.
My vagina was in agony just looking at her, my legs were so tightly crossed I knew Damien would need to be awarded a medal if he ever managed to pry them open again.
I found myself pushing right along with Branna, as if trying to help her. Baby B, who had white blond hair also, took ten minutes longer to make his appearance into the world, making his brother seventeen minutes older, but when he did, it was with a whooping scream.
Everyone cried, mainly Branna, and a part of me thought it was because she didn’t have to push another kid out at that moment. After Baby B spent a few minutes with his mammy and daddy, he was taken aside to be cleaned, weighed, and checked over just like his brother. Both babies were returned to Branna once she delivered the afterbirth, got cleaned up with a wash cloth and got settled into bed.
I had stopped recording by the time that happened, but I was taking lots of pictures, just in case Branna and Ryder wanted me to delete the video. I moved over to the twins after they were bundled in blue blankets and had tiny white hats on their heads. I gushed over them, and when Bronagh came to join me, we both hugged each other with excitement.
After the babies were handed back to Branna, Sally said, “Baby A is five pounds ten ounces and twenty inches long, and Baby B is five pounds even and twenty inches long, too. Good job, sweetie.”
Branna beamed then turned her head and kissed Ryder, who was wiping tears from his cheeks. He spent minutes gazing down at the twins, then kissing Branna and thanking her for giving them to him once again. He carefully took one twin from her and cuddled him against his chest. My heart squeezed as I watched him. He was a mountain of a man, super tall, lean with muscle, and here he was, completely at the mercy of the tiny bundle in his arms.
“Pictures,” I announced.
Ryder beamed at me as I took a picture of him and his son, Branna mimicked him as I snapped one of her and their other son. Ryder leaned in closer, so I could get the first photo together of them as a family.
“Can we hear their names now?” I asked, lowering my device. “I think I’m about to collapse from all the excitement; give me somethin’ good to go out on.”
The new parents grinned at me.
“This little man, Baby A,” Branna beamed, “is Nixon Joe Slater.”
Ryder partly sat on the side of Branna’s bed.
“This little dude, Baby B.” He smiled down at his son as he yawned, “is Jules Alec Slater.”
I clutched my free hand to my chest. “Alec is gonna cry when he finds out.”
“Definitely.” Bronagh echoed, then to her sister, she said, “You gave Nixon his middle name after Da?”
“Of course.” Branna smiled tiredly. “He’s the greatest man, besides Ry, that I’ve ever known.”
Bronagh walked over to her sister and kissed her cheek; she then silently cried again as Branna offered her Nixon to hold for the first time. Bronagh sat down on the chair provided, and when Ryder rounded the bed and handed Jules to her, too, a little sob burst free.
“Smile, Bee,” I said and waited until she did as I asked before I took a picture of them.
Ryder and Branna hugged and kissed some more, but when he turned to me, he grinned. I was bouncing from foot to foot. I was so proud of them both, and I was so happy for them that I could have burst.
“You’re a daddy!” I squealed and launched myself at Ryder, who caught me, laughed and hugged me so tight, I could have sworn I heard my bones crunch.
“I’m a daddy.”
“Congratulations, I’m so happy for you both, Ry.”
I scrabbled for my phone once more when he released me.
“I have to update everyone,” I announced. “They’ll kill me otherwise.”
Ryder snorted, then moved over to Branna, who was now nibbling on a slice of toast and sipping a cup of tea Sally brought her. She didn’t look like she wanted either of them, but from the look Sally shot her way, she knew arguing against it was futile.
I focused on my phone and dialled Damien’s number. He answered on the second ring.
“How is she?”
“She is fabulous,” I squealed, “and so are our nephews!”
“What?” Damien shouted. “She had them already?”
“Yup!”
“Branna had the twins!” He screamed so loudly, I had to pull my phone away from my ear, laughing. “She had them!”
“Two boys for definite,” I said. “Both perfectly healthy.”
Damien repeated the information I fed him, and cheers sounded in the background.
“And Branna?” he asked.
“She’s brilliant,” I gushed. “You should have seen ’er; she was like superwoman. I’m not even jokin’; she is literally me hero after seein’ ’er go through that twice in the space of a few minutes.”
Damien laughed. “Are you okay?”
“No,” I answered instantly. “I thought I was about to faint five or six times, and me legs may permanently remain crossed forever after what I just witnessed.”
Damien sucked in a breath. “You don’t mean that.”
“I just saw a woman push not one, but two humans out of ‘er vagina,” I said with a shake of my head. “I’m never havin’ sex again. I’m sorry, it’s just not happenin’.”
“Alannah,” Damien said … or did he whimper. “Don’t make any rash decisions, just … just put sex from your mind and focus on those babies and Branna, okay?”
“Okay.” I nodded. “Still not havin’ sex, though.”
“Fuck!”
“You’re such a man.”
“Don’t tell me to calm down,” Damien snapped to someone in the background. “She just said she’s never having sex with me because she watched Branna give birth! How would you feel if Keela said that to you? … Exactly! You’d fucking cry!”
Alec.
I laughed so hard everyone looked at me, so I waved them off and turned my back, trying to focus on Damien.
“I have to go,” I said to him. “I’ll see you later.”
I hung up, noting he was still arguing with his brother to even hear me say goodbye. I jumped when my phone rang before I put it into my pocket; at first, I thought Damien was calling me back, but when a different name shot across the screen, I smiled and clicked answer.
“Hey, Morgan,” I beamed.
“Hey, Alannah,” came his response. “I’m just checkin’ in that we’re still good for me startin’ tomorrow? I’ve logged your address into my sat-nav, so I’ll make it there no problem.”
“We’re still on for tomorrow,” I said, glancing at my friends. “I still haven’t got the spare bedroom switched around yet, but we’ll manage with the desk and setup I have for the time being.
“Brilliant,” Morgan answered. “I’ve a schedule done out, and I’m buzzin’ to get started.”
“Well, it seems I made the right choice in hirin’ you. You sound more than ready to get to work.
His chuckle practically rumbled through the receiver of my phone.
“Born ready, boss.”