Page 146 of Shots Fired

“Well, I’m pleased I can bring you good news.” The doctor pulls a white sheet back over my lower half and snaps off her gloves, tossing them into the medical rubbish bin. “You’re now seven centimeters dilated and making great progress.”

I could cry. Both from the pain and the fact that,finally, my labor is starting to move forward. I’m aware that some poor women labor for days without much progress, but I couldn’t be of those women. I was ready to wilt at the first contraction.

The doctor points toward the birthing pool. “Do you want to try now, Darcy? I suspect the baby won’t be all that much longer.”

Another contraction rips from me, this one much stronger. “I don’t know if I’ve got it in me to get off this bed and in there,” I wail, throwing my head back into the pillow as I grit my teeth through it.

“I’ve got you,” Archer says, curling his arms under my body.

“Sir, I’m not comfortable with you carrying your wife anywhere.”

We’re already halfway over to the birthing pool when Archer turns with me in his arms.

“My wife made it clear that it was her dream to birth our daughter in the pool with yellow sensory lighting. And that’s what she’s going to get.”

He leans down, placing a kiss on my forehead. “I’m going to lower you into the water now, okay? Then I’ll take off your shirt so you don’t overheat. I’ll reduce the lighting to get it all cozy for you, and we’ll work through this together.”

Partly because I don’t have the energy for words, but also because I’ve now joined the nurse’s involuntary swoon session, I nod and let Archer do as he described.

When the nurse and doctor leave the room, Archer walks over to the lighting panel and sets it up just as I originally planned.

A couple of seconds later, another contraction hits me, but the weightlessness of the water takes the slightest edge off it. Don’t get me wrong; I still want to scream blue murder, but somehow, the warmth against my skin helps to alleviate the unbearable, gripping pain.

“Are you sure you don’t want pain relief? It’s not too late, and you don’t need to be a hero about it,” Archer asks, swishing a little water against my baby bump.

“No. I’ve come this far,” I say, shaking my head and closing my eyes. “This is a battle I’m having with myself.”

“Okay, we’re starting to crown. We only need a couple more really big pushes from you, Darcy.”

Nope. It’s a hard nope from me.

I shake my head profusely as Archer takes me into his arms. Around ten minutes ago, he stripped down to his boxer briefs and climbed into the pool with me.

“You can, Darcy Doll. I know you can. What do you need?”

“I j-just n-need this baby out.” My cries are now full-blown wails. “Can you push her out for me?”

Another contraction builds, and I wrap my arms around Archer’s neck, digging my fingernails into his shoulders.

“That’s it. Take it out on me. Just keep pushing.” He kisses my sweat-soaked forehead, murmuring against my skin, “I’ve never loved you more than I do in this moment.”

The midwife leans down into the pool. “One more, Darcy, and we’ll have her.”

I have no idea where the strength comes from when I lift my head to look at Archer. The burning and pain are unbearable, but I know we’re so close to starting a family.

“One more,” he whispers. “One more, and she’s ours.”

On a cry I know will summon my entire family upstairs, I deliver Emily into the pool, and the midwife quickly reaches down and gathers her up, immediately placing her on my chest.

“She’s got your features; I can tell she’s just like her mama.” Archer’s shaking voice is the only sound I hear between my own sobs and the tiny cries leaving my daughter.

Emily’s eyes are still closed, but as the nurse quickly takes her from me to clean, weigh, and wrap her, I can already see the resemblance.

“I’m so fucking proud of you, Darcy.” Archer wraps his arms around me, pressing his forehead against mine. The weight of my exhaustion has fully lifted, replaced with a pure exhilaration I’ve never felt before. “Do you want me to ask everyone downstairs to leave visiting for a while? We can have people around when we get back home.”

I shake my head, ready to get out of the pool and hold Emily again as she begins to cry. “No. Invite them up. They’ve all waited, and I want them to see how beautiful she is.”

A half hour later, I’m tucked up in bed with a fresh set of nightwear and my messy hair somewhat controlled in a bun Archer attempted for me.