When she returned to my room, Nico, Alec and Damien were hovering by the bedroom door looking in. I smiled at them and waved them in.
“Come in. I’m decent.”
They entered the room but quickly made a show of looking up at the ceiling when Branna lifted my nightie upwards until it sat under my breasts. I chuckled at them and said, “I have big knickers on, lads. All you will see is belly and leg if you look.”
They hesitantly peeked at me then fully looked when they saw I had nothing private on show. Alec climbed onto the bed and sat next to me while the twins stood a metre or two away from the bed, watching me warily.
“Where is Kane?” I asked Damien. “Is he on his way home?”
He licked his lips and said, “He didn’t answer his phone, but we left text messages and voicemails. We’ll keep on trying until he picks up.”
I frowned. “He is with Ryder, why don’t you try—”
“Already did.” Nico cut me off. “He isn’t answering either. They’re both probably doing sets and their phones are on silent.”
I blinked. “What if he misses the birth?”
Branna chuckled. “Darlin’, this takes a while. Trust me, he will be here.”
I nodded my head to Nico and said, “Did he take his injection this mornin’? I can’t remember if he did or not.”
“He took it,” Alec confirmed. “He binned the needle in that yellow bucket on the kitchen counter when I came over.”
I nodded my head and relaxed a little.
I glanced at Nico. “Did you ring Bronagh?”
“She and Keela are in town searching for a new bed since our base... broke.”
I snorted. “You broke the base of your bed?”
He shrugged, smirking. “It was bound to happen at some point. I’m actually surprised it lasted so many years of us having sex on it without caving in.”
I laughed.
My attention was brought to Branna when she squeezed some gel on my stomach. She turned on the little machine that found the baby’s heartbeat, then placed the Doppler onto the gel on my stomach and swirled it around.
There was some static, then almost straight away there was a beautiful thudding sound.
I smiled, and so did Branna.
“The heartbeat is as strong as ever.”
“Is it just me,” Alec murmured, “or does the heartbeat sound scary similar to the beat of the song Jingle Bells?”
We laughed and listened for a minute more before she put the machine to the side and wiped my belly free of gel. We chatted then for a few more minutes, until everything stopped when a pain struck.
“Oh, shit,” I winced and hunched forward, gripping onto my stomach as if it would somehow help ease the pain.
“Breathe,” Branna’s voice soothed. “Remember your breathing.”
Right, my breathing.
Big inhale, long exhale, big inhale, long exhale.
I dropped my head back to my pillow when the pain eased. “Shit, that really hurts.”
“That’s labour, darlin’.” Branna chuckled as she busied herself and grabbed different items from her bag, humming as she did so. There was a spring to her usual dragged step, and she looked happier than I’d seen her in a long time.
I hoped it was because of the baby coming and not because I was in pain because that’s what the next four hours consisted of. Pain, pain, some laughter, and more fucking pain.
It was excruciating.
I had never felt anything like it before in my life, and there was no let-up to it either. I had some gas and sucked in air for pain relief, but even that only minimised it slightly by making me lightheaded.
Through my pain I noticed Kane still wasn’t with me, and the more pain I felt, the more irritable I became about it. I needed him here, and he was nowhere to be found.
Damien even left at one point to go looking for him at the gym, but he came back alone and told me the manager said they left a few hours ago.
We had no clue where they were and all sorts of horrible things ran through my mind. Things like what if Big Phil somehow had him?
I tried not to think about it as the contractions came faster, and lasted longer. The entire time Branna was monitoring the baby’s heartbeat, which always remained strong and steady like it was supposed to. She checked to see how far along I was dilated every thirty minutes to an hour, and during the last hour I went from five centimetres to ten. The brothers had set up the birthing pool Kane and I purchased weeks ago, in our bedroom, and Branna lit some candles and played soft, instrumental music.
It really helped me relax, or relax as much as could.
I was in the middle of pulling my nightie off my body and fanning myself as heat attacked every inch of my body. I was naked from the waist down, but I didn’t care. I had a comfortable sports bra on, but nothing else.
I was too far gone with pain to even consider the brothers being uncomfortable. I didn’t care about them or anyone else; I just cared about myself and my own comfort.
“Fuck, fuck, fuucccckkkk,” I all but snarled as I bent forward and placed my hands on my bed. I swayed from side to side and tried to focus on the music instead of the pain that stabbed me.
“Branna,” I said in a very calm voice when the urge to get this baby out of my body occurred. “I need to push. I need to push right now.”
Branna and the lads lead me to the birthing pool.
“This is very different than what I imagined seeing Aideen’s private parts would be like,” Alec murmured from behind me as I eased myself down into the birthing pool.
Nico choked on air. “You imagined that? Bro, she is our brother’s girl. The mother to our niece or nephew.”
I looked up at them when I was settled on my knees and leaning on the pool’s side.
Alec blinked. “I’ve imagined it since I first met her... should I be sorry about that? Because I’m not.”
Nico shook his head. “I’m telling Kane you said that.”
“You’ve always been a little snitch bitch!” Alec hissed.
“Time and place, bro,” Damien grumbled. “Time and place.”
I wanted to laugh at them; they sounded like arguing little boys, but I couldn’t because all I could focus on was the pain that consumed me.
“Kane!” I cried as a mighty contraction tore through me. “Oh, please. I need him.”
“Death!” Alec hissed. “That is what he has asked for by not answering his fucking phone!”
Nico nodded in agreement then reached for my hand and grabbed ahold of it.
“He will be here, Ado.”
“When?” I screamed and squeezed Nico’s hand when the pain I felt intensified. “I’m goin’ to fuckin’ kill him if he isn’t already dead or worse.”
Nico’s face turned red and his eyes almost bugged out of their sockets.
“Ow,” he whimpered. “Ow. Ow. That hurts.”
I let go of his hands and focused on Alec laughing at Nico as he shook out his hand and cradled it against his chest.
“I can’t do this,” I panted.
Branna looked up and locked her eyes on mine. “Babe, a few more minutes and you’ll be a mammy. You got this.”
I didn’t have anything.
I couldn’t fucking do it.
“Make it stop,” I screamed as burning filled my vagina. “Help it stop. Damien!”
“Oh Christ,” he whispered and scrambled closer to me, but full blown panic came over him and he could do nothing but move to the side and rub my hand.
Alec took his place in front of me.
“Take her mind off of it,” Nico whispered to him, but had his eyes locked between my legs.
The way I was positioned was not ladylike at all.
“Sons of Anarchy!” Alec suddenly shouted. “I’ll put on the show and you can-”
“Shut. Up,” I growled as I stared at him. “And don’t move a bloody muscle. You’re me focus point.”