“Want me to help you?”
“You’re welcome to come to keep me company, but I do not want you to help me. What I want you to do is put your feet up and rest.”
“Where’s the fun in....? Ooooh,” she gasped, bending forward and grasping the back of a nearby chair.
“What is it? What’s wrong?”
“I think I just had a contraction,” she said after a moment.
“Come on, sit down,” he told her, putting his arm around her and helping her to the sofa.
He eased her down onto it and knelt in front of her, caressing her belly, halfway expecting her belly to open up and start pouring out babies.
“Okay, remember your breathing,” he told her, glancing at his watch and clicking a button on the side. He began timing the contractions, making sure they weren’t the fake kind the midwife had told them about.”
“I think it’s time to call the midwife,” she told him once they got closer together.
“Right. Midwife,” he said, jumping up and grabbing his phone from the table nearby. He held his breath as the phone rang on her end, finally exhaling as she answered.
“Kara? It’s me, Malcolm. Autumn is in labor.”
“Oh, great. How far apart are her contractions?”
“About eight minutes, but steady.”
“Perfect. I’m on my way in five. You’ve got the birthing room ready?”
“Yes,” he told her.
“Okay. Looks like a good day to have some pups, or maybe cubs, huh?”
“Maybe. I guess we’re going to see.”
“I guess we are. Be there soon.”
Malcolm ended the call and tossed it back onto the table.
“She’s on her way. We’re going to be parents!” he said excitedly.
Autumn smiled at him briefly before seizing with another pain. He waited for her to get through it, breathing with her, and then offered her a hand up.
“Come on, let’s get you into the birthing room,” he told her.
“I guess you’d better put those last beds together while I’m giving birth,” she laughed.
Malcolm chuckled. They had set up a space in the nursery to serve as the birthing room so she could labor at home. On either side, there were beds already built, four in all. There were two more that he hadn’t yet finished. Hopefully, they wouldn’t need them.
With Autumn in place in the hospital bed installed for this occasion, he stepped out long enough to answer the doorbell as it rang.
“Let’s do this,” Kara cheered, coming inside. She was followed by her sisters, Mary and Bess, who usually served as her assistants in deliveries. Malcolm was glad to see them.
With greetings out of the way, they all headed back to the nursery. Malcolm took his place beside Autumn, holding her hand while Kara did her initial exam and got her into position for the births. He could hardly contain his excitement as the contractions grew closer and they were mere moments away from seeing their children brought into the world.CHAPTER THIRTY-THREEAutumn-14
Autumn had never experienced such pain in her life as she panted and perspired, listening to Kara give her directions on when to push and when to rest. It seemed like it was taking forever before they even began to see the first baby crown, but finally, there it was, and in mere seconds afterward, Kara was holding up a crying baby for her to see.
“One healthy girl with ten fingers and toes,” Kara said, clipping his umbilical cord and handing him off to Mary. Autumn struggled to see him, but there was no time. Babies came one after another, challenging even Kara to keep up.
“Wow, we’re going to have a whole football team by the time we’re done from the looks of it,” Bess exclaimed, cleaning and wrapping each baby she was handed and placing them sideways in one of the beds so that they were against one another for warmth.
It was exhausting, but thankfully, everything went without complications. When all was said and done, she and Malcolm were the proud parents of six boys and two girls. Whether they were bears or wolves would remain to be seen for bit as their smells mingled with one another, but once they were a few days older, their scents should be more distinctive.
“Wow, that’s a lot of babies, but you came through it like a champ. Let’s get you all finished up down here, and then you can hold some of them and Malcolm can hold some of them, and Mary and Bess too,” Kara laughed.
“I think we’re going to need more beds, Malcolm,” Autumn said, her voice sounding far away and tired, even to herself.
“Oh, wait. We’ve got a little problem here. Bess, I need your help. Let Malcolm take care of the babies.”
“What is it? What’s wrong?” Autumn asked.
“Don’t you worry. We’ve got it under control. It’s just a bit of hemorrhaging, not that uncommon after such a large litter.
Autumn’s heart raced. She felt like she was slipping away. The room was gray, and she felt wet, like she was lying in a puddle. She could see blood on the front of the scrubs Kara was wearing and a look of horror on Malcolm’s face.