NOVEL SIMPLE Labor
Disclaimer: I made a lot of mistakes with the labor/c-section scene. I do not know much about pregnancy, and my mom doesn't remember much about hers. So I am apologizing in advance for the mistakes you will read.
When they reached at the VIP room for Ender, wheeling him in, Ender thought about how the room reminded him of a suite but the hospital version of it.
Stopping the wheelchair at the bed, Nevan and Ender's father helped him stand while his mother pulled the cover back on the bed.
He laid down, still taking deep breaths as the pain continued to course through him. Each contraction made it difficult for Ender to keep the pain off his face and from crying out.
A nurse came over with a hospital gown as another one began to move the wheelchair out. "Here, he needs to change into this." The nurse handed the gown to Ender's mother.
"Once he changes, we are going to get him ready for the c-section. He can choose one person to stay in the room with him when we start. Everyone else has to wait outside until the babies are here." The doctor continued.
Ender barely paid attention to the doctor while his parents and Nevan nodded their heads. The doctor and the remaining nurse walked out, closing the door behind them.
"Honey, we need to change you out of those clothes and into this." His mother put the gown in front of him.
Ender's face laid stuck in a frown as he looked at the hospital gown; he did not want to move nor get up. "Mom, I don't want to be rude, but I don't want to change or even move at this point."
His mother shook her head before grabbing onto his shirt, pulling it up. Ender held his shirt down, "Mom!"
"En, do you want to get this over with or sit in pain?"
Ender didn't say anything, his face was a mix of a frown and pout before he started pulling off his shirt. He moved towards his pants, groaning as he began to pull them off, but stopped and looked at everyone staring at him.
"Can I get some privacy at least?"
"I have already seen you naked more than once." Nevan shrugged. He leaned on the wall near the bed.
"We are your parents." His mother and father simultaneously spoke.
Ender sighed, rolling his eyes at them. He grabbed the gown from his mother, putting it on. Then he took his pants and underwear, which were still a bit wet, off.
He was going to throw them on the ground, but his mother grabbed them and his forgotten shirt, putting the dirty pajamas on one of the chairs.
Ender went back to relax as much as he could, breathing in and out. Nevan grabbed his hand, causing Ender to squeeze it into a bruising grip.
"I swear, Nevan, if you get me pregnant again, I will crush your balls."
Nevan did not reply, but he did wince at the horrible image Ender gave him. Ender's mother laughed as his father cringed like Nevan because it reminded him of some old times.
She heard the doctor and nurse coming back, "Well, it is for the best if Nevan stays with you. We will be right outside while telling the others to wait when they arrive."
Ender nodded his head as he continued to squeeze Nevan's hand with all his strength. Nevan wanted to pull his hand away cause it hurts, but he stayed, dealing with the pain.
His parents walked out of the room, at the same time, the doctor and nurses came back in. Once the parents left, they closed the door behind them.
One of the nurses gave Nevan gloves, a mask, and some scrubs to change. Ender had to let go of his hand so Nevan could change in the bathroom.
The doctor pulled out a needle that looked about three and a half inches long. Ender wanted to cry at that point.
"We are going to turn you on your side and give you an epidural to numb the lower half of your body." The doctor explained.
As they started turning him over, Ender internally cried as he thought of ways never to get pregnant again. He would rather not deal with this ever again.
Nevan walked out of the bathroom, putting his dirty clothes with Ender before putting on his gloves. He made his way back over, watching the doctor give Ender an epidural.
When they finished, they put Ender back into his original position as Nevan went to grab Ender's hand again. "How are you feeling?" Nevan asked.
"Like I am ready to kill you," Ender spoke through gritted teeth, waiting for the epidural to kick in.
"Ah, well, as long as you are fine," Nevan replied, letting Ender's threats go over his head.
Ender glared at him as the doctor began to raise his gown, "We need to shave your abdomen and wash it with an antiseptic solution." The doctor continued to explain before starting.
Ender wanted to say that he did not care about all the explanations; he wished for the doctor to start and get the babies out already. But he kept quiet, not wanting to be rude.
They shaved his abdomen, then cleaned it. After that, they pulled out a catheter to insert into his bladder. At that point, Ender closed his eyes to imagine that he was somewhere else.
His eyes even started to water as he wished for everything to be over.
Once they finished, they grabbed a short, transparent screen, placing it near the abdomen so that the area remains sterile.
"Are you feeling numb?" The doctor asked.
Ender nodded, keeping his eyes closed.
One of the nurses gave the doctor the knife needed to make an incision. Nevan squeezed Ender's hand back, showing he is still here as he watched the doctor.
Ender let out a hum in response but did not open his eyes. He did not want to see anything, or he might end up passing out.
The doctor used a low-transverse incision as he started cutting Ender open. Ender squeezed his eyes together, feeling uncomfortable, but at least he did not feel any pain.
The procedure lasted for ten minutes as they cut Ender open and suctioned his amniotic fluid before pulling the babies out.
The baby girl was the first to be pulled out as Nevan called for Ender to open his eyes; he wanted to hold the baby so badly but knew he couldn't at the moment.
Crying entered the room, causing Ender to open his eyes and see one of the nurses cutting the umbilical cord as she held the baby.
His face softened as his heart started to fill with love while he thought about holding his baby.
Then, the baby boy came as the doctor pulled him out. They cut the umbilical cord from the baby as the sounds of crying grew a bit louder since both babies were crying.
Ender felt his body completely relaxing as his grip on Nevan's hand loosened. They both wanted to take hold of their babies.
After everything was done and cleaned, and they stitched Ender up, Ender and Nevan got to hold their babies.
Nevan sat near an exhausted Ender, holding his baby girl in his arms while Ender held their son. The babies were tiny, moving around as they had a bit of trouble keeping their eyes open.
Ender and Nevan smiled at their babies, touching their tiny fingers.
His parents walked back into the room, bringing a crowd in with them. Before anyone could speak, Ender put a finger towards his lips, telling everyone to keep silent. He didn't want the loud noise to bother them.
Everyone whispered instead as they looked at the babies, wanting to hold and spoil them already.
Mother, "Aw, they are so cute. Where is my phone? I need to take some pictures."
Father, "This takes me back to when you guys were born. What are their names?"
Liam, "I believe my heart may have stopped from the cuteness."
Kay, "Nothing will harm my niece and nephew; I will kill anyone if they do."
Hana, "My heart is so full at this moment."
George, "I also need pictures, a bunch of them."
Thana, "I want to poke their adorable cheeks."
Yan, "Aw, they are so cute."
Nan, "NanNan wants to hold them too."
Tia, "Babies are so small and cute."
Fe, "Coming from these two, I knew the babies were going to be adorable. What names did you choose for them?"
Kori, "I also want a picture."
Ender felt a bit overwhelmed and tired with everyone's comments as he looked towards Nevan to answer.
Nevan looked at everyone, replying with, "Thank you, everyone, and please, welcome Vera and Emil Long to the world."
At first, they were going to hyphen their last names for the babies, but Nevan decided that they should only take Ender's last name.
"Welcome!" Everyone shouted with low voices.