“Call me whatever you want. I watched the videos and planned for this.”
The doctor and nurse walked in seconds later. She flung her head back on the bed, screaming at the sudden wave of pain.
“I hate this. Give me something.”
The contractions were no longer minutes apart but seconds.
“No, I can’t. She’s too far gone. We need to deliver this baby now,” the doctor said. One of the nurses threw a gown on him, and April whimpered throughout the pain. It was just a long stream of pain, refusing to let up. “Are you staying, Mr. Jones?”
She stared at her husband. He’d gone pale.
“You’re so not leaving me,” she said, crying.
“I wouldn’t leave you.” He kissed her head, taking a seat. Henry took both of her hands as the doctor called for extra help. “No matter what happens, Doc, you make sure she survives, do you understand me?” Henry said.
“Sir, it’s not going to get that bad. I see the crown. This is going to be a simple delivery, but I’m not going to lie, it’s going to hurt like hell.”
April whimpered, hating that piece of news.
The doctor didn’t lie. She was asked to push, and she pressed her head against Henry’s arm as she begged for a reprieve.
“I promise, April, one last push and that’s all.”
“I can’t,” April said, moaning.
Henry kissed her head. “I love you, April. You can do this.”
She shook her head, closing her eyes. Exhaustion was a horrible thing.
“You listen to me, April Jones, you will push one last time or I will make sure you don’t come for a month.” He whispered the threat against her ear so only she heard.
Sobbing, she sat back up, holding onto Henry. With one last push, she heard the most precious sound in the word.
Gasping, she watched as the doctor worked and then her baby was wrapped in a blanket. She didn’t see any of the blood or anything else.
The nurse handed the baby back to the Doctor.
“Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Jones, you have a beautiful healthy baby boy with a nice set of lungs on him.” He handed her son to her, and all the exhaustion and pain swept away as she stared down at the most precious, beautiful thing she’d ever seen.
Henry kissed her head. “You did it, baby.”
She looked up at him, smiling. “We did it.” She gripped his neck, drawing him down for a kiss. “Look what we did,” she said.
“I know. We made a beautiful baby boy.” Henry touched his cheek, and her son’s gaze looked between them. She knew from the books he couldn’t make them out, but it didn’t matter. “You were amazing.”
“I was awful.” She kissed the top of his head, smiling down at the tiny person they created.
“We’re not going through that again,” he said.
April chuckled, knowing in her heart they were going to have more kids.
Epilogue
Twenty-five years later
“Sure, honey, you can call whenever you want, but if you’re driving home, warn us first,” Henry said, talking to their daughter, Michelle. “Why? Well, I’m making up for lost time with your mom. We could be in a compromising position.”
April chuckled as she imagined their daughter vomiting over the line. Henry knew exactly what to say to get what he wanted. If he didn’t want to have any unexpected visitors he knew what to say to give them plenty of warning.
“You’re bad,” she said when he hung up the phone.
“Our daughter is an hour away at college. She could make it here every day. I’ve not been looking forward to this day since her birth for her to spoil my plans.” He joined her on the sofa, kissing her hard.
Her body melted against his touch. Her pussy awakened, and she wanted Henry deep inside her. The last twenty-five years had been pure bliss. They were still happily married and the loving parents of five kids. She didn’t know how she got him to get her pregnant not once but five times. After the birth of Blake, he’d seemed reluctant to get pregnant again. When Leon came next, he made her wait a whole year before he’d even consider another kid. For their third child they were blessed with June. Henry wouldn’t budge on the name. April hated her name, but he loved it.
Their next two kids came not long after, Shaun and then their last, Michelle. April would have happily had more kids, but the doctor advised for her to stop. Her body wouldn’t take more kids, and if she wasn’t careful, she may not have survived another delivery. Michelle’s birth had been complicated and stressful. From three months, April was ordered on bed rest as she’d been spotting and almost lost their daughter. If she was stressed, that didn’t compare to the pain Henry went through. She knew he’d ended up on anti-depressants for a few months during her last pregnancy. He was her rock even if he fell apart a little. She didn’t push him though and took all the precautions the doctor advised.