"Push, Sira! Push! Breath slowly... take a deep breath... shhh shh, breathe, love.."
When Sira had announced that it was time to push, all of the professionalism that Addy had gathered around her immediately shattered. With her heart in her mouth, her hands shaking almost beyond her control, the little healer had immediately rushed to her lovers side and peppered kisses all over Sira's face, muttering that she could do this and everything would be okay.
It took a few chimes before Addy was able to resume her spot at the end of the bed, watching for the baby to present. Keeping up a constant stream of instruction and comfort as Sira screamed and swore, Addy tried to reassure the other woman that it was almost over, that she had to be close. "Just a few more pushes, Sira. Just a few more!"
Sure enough, just as Sira had predicted at the top of her voice, the baby's head appeared. Nearly choking on her nerves and excitement, Addy's first reaction was to laugh. It was hard to explain why, but all the emotions mixing together in her head somehow produced laughter. So, with a smile and a pair of dimples, Addy reached forward and gently grasped the baby's head, supporting it as Sira finished the job.
There was a collective intake of breath when the baby slid out onto the bed, a dozen pairs of eyes all focused on the same thing, waiting for the same moment, waiting for the child's cry.
"Come on, come on.." Taking a clean cloth, Addy scooped up her child and cradled it against her, covering it with the cloth while using the corners to clean some of the goop out of her eyes and mouth. Tiny, pink and covered with disgusting birth juices, Addy couldn't pull her eyes away. She continued to clean, taking a quick moment to check their child's sex, bouncing the little bundle a little as she too waited for it to draw it's first breath.
"Come on!" It seemed as if whole bells had passed as the entire room waited, though it couldn't have been more than half a chime before the tiny chest lifted, quivered, sank, and then lifted again. Eyes wide and full of tears, Addy let out the breath she had been holding in a giant whoosh, lifting her child to cradle it against her chest... just as the baby started to wail.
It was what everyone had been waiting for. The moment that piercing screech filled the air, the room erupted in cheers. With tears of happiness streaming down her cheeks, though she was unaware that she was crying, Addy stepped around the side of the bed to Sira's side.
"Sira... meet your daughter."
When Sira had announced that it was time to push, all of the professionalism that Addy had gathered around her immediately shattered. With her heart in her mouth, her hands shaking almost beyond her control, the little healer had immediately rushed to her lovers side and peppered kisses all over Sira's face, muttering that she could do this and everything would be okay.
It took a few chimes before Addy was able to resume her spot at the end of the bed, watching for the baby to present. Keeping up a constant stream of instruction and comfort as Sira screamed and swore, Addy tried to reassure the other woman that it was almost over, that she had to be close. "Just a few more pushes, Sira. Just a few more!"
Sure enough, just as Sira had predicted at the top of her voice, the baby's head appeared. Nearly choking on her nerves and excitement, Addy's first reaction was to laugh. It was hard to explain why, but all the emotions mixing together in her head somehow produced laughter. So, with a smile and a pair of dimples, Addy reached forward and gently grasped the baby's head, supporting it as Sira finished the job.
There was a collective intake of breath when the baby slid out onto the bed, a dozen pairs of eyes all focused on the same thing, waiting for the same moment, waiting for the child's cry.
"Come on, come on.." Taking a clean cloth, Addy scooped up her child and cradled it against her, covering it with the cloth while using the corners to clean some of the goop out of her eyes and mouth. Tiny, pink and covered with disgusting birth juices, Addy couldn't pull her eyes away. She continued to clean, taking a quick moment to check their child's sex, bouncing the little bundle a little as she too waited for it to draw it's first breath.
"Come on!" It seemed as if whole bells had passed as the entire room waited, though it couldn't have been more than half a chime before the tiny chest lifted, quivered, sank, and then lifted again. Eyes wide and full of tears, Addy let out the breath she had been holding in a giant whoosh, lifting her child to cradle it against her chest... just as the baby started to wail.
It was what everyone had been waiting for. The moment that piercing screech filled the air, the room erupted in cheers. With tears of happiness streaming down her cheeks, though she was unaware that she was crying, Addy stepped around the side of the bed to Sira's side.
"Sira... meet your daughter."
