Accidental Surrogate

Ella

I'm gripping my sister’s hand, gritting my teeth and groaning through the first of my pushes, when the door bangs open again.I don’t open my eyes — can't look - Quite frankly, at this particular moment I don’t care who the hell it is - if it's Hank, or Roger, or insurgents coming to kill us — all I care about is the horrible, tearing pain within me as I work to bring my baby into the world.I moan, throwing my head back against the pillows as I pant, feeling the pain subside a little bit.

"How is she?"

I hear Hank ask, and I open my eyes to see him there next to me.I try to give him a little smile, failing a bit.

"Hello, Ella," he says softly, his voice warmer than I'm used to.

"You look like you're doing great." mI murmur my thanks to him as he turns his attention back to Cora, getting a full report, and I shift my gaze to Roger, who stands awkwardly across the room.

"Roger," I say, putting my hand out to him, inviting him closer.

"Hello, Ella!" he calls, awkward.

"Happy...happy birth. Or whatever."

Sinclair starts to laugh quietly.

"Come over, Roger," he demands and Roger sighs, hanging his head and deliberately choosing not to look at me as he comes to stand with his brother.

"What," Sinclair asks him as he arrives at his side.

"More of a cigars in the waiting room kind of guy?"

"Yeah," Roger agrees, giving his brother a little glare.

"I'd say that’s much more my vibe."

"I wanted you here," I say to him, giving him a tired little smile.

"I want you to meet the baby."

"Of course I want to meet the baby, Ella," Roger says, his voice kinder now as he meets my gaze.

"Just...when you've cleaned it up a bit. Gotten some of the goop off." I laugh, a little, but groan when I feel the pain start to return.

Cora climbs up onto the bed for this one, cursing a little at the lack of stirrups and the soft surface of the mattress that makes it harder for her to see what's really going on.

tries to muffle his groan as he turns away, which perversely makes me want to laugh in one of the more painful

Sinclair solid a

quite quickly through

me as the contraction ends and I pant, working to catch

you should be in the final parts of it now," he says, patting my knee and

back at him but note, interestingly, that Cora rolls her eyes at him a little bit when he says this. I have no idea what that could mean - is there trouble in

rounds, of me huffing and pushing with all of my might during the contractions and then resting, as best I can, in the short spaces between them. I can feel my

work, but my sister calls encouragement to me and my mate is by my side through

feels like an endless repetition of this pattern, Cora gives

here!" she says, and the cheer in

her with hope in my eyes and

head will be born, and then

pain ravaging my body.I wait for the next contraction and, when it comes and Cora tells

"Oh, his little head!"

says, smiling at me, "he’s here, Ella! Just a couple more to bring forward his body next!" I nod, eager, and begin to push again. And push, and push. I gasp, laying back and panting as I feel the contraction end, and I look to Cora

demand, working to sit up and moaning at the pain

wrong? Where's

asks, suddenly tense next

Inaction and the passing of responsibility to another -

wants to

"Um,"

-

exchange glances again, then looking down at the baby. I struggle to sit up, to see the

I beg, my eyes

have

back and I see that her face

progress in the past few pushes. Which is sometimes a sign

"There is some worry,"

a large baby, that

gasp,

rigid

Hank

with large babies. It’s called shoulder dystocia — we think his shoulder

I gasp, confused, baffled, horribly

"What do we -"

though her worried voice