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.