“Wow,” I murmured. “That’s insane.”
“Branna’s been in labour since six o’clock this morning, and she said nothing just so Ryder would go to work. She’s in labour a good nine hours now,” Ash explained. “She just didn’t ring Ryder until her water broke an hour ago because she knew how long labouring could take, and she didn’t want to worry him.”
That was such a Branna thing to do. She wouldn’t bother anyone, even her husband, unless she absolutely had to.
Branna suddenly cried out in pain as her contractions strengthened, and I cringed right along with her as her entire body tensed. Crossing my legs absentmindedly as I inhaled and exhaled deep breaths. I found that the actions helped me as much as it seemed to help Branna, so I kept on at it.
“Do you remember,” Bronagh said to her sister with a smile, “when I was eighteen and you dropped me off at school, but I didn’t wanna go inside because I didn’t want to be around Dominic?”
Branna nodded, breathing heavily. “I remember.”
“Do you remember laughin’ at me?”
“Yeah,” Branna panted, sweat running down the sides of her face. “I do.”
“Do you remember that I said I would remind you of that moment when you were at the height of pain in labour?”
Branna growled. “I remember.”
“This is me revenge for that moment ... does it hurt?”
Branna swiped at Bronagh, who leaned away laughing before returning to her sister’s side. She resumed forcefully rubbing the base of Branna’s spine, and it made Branna groan and not in pain. She seemed to like the treatment Bronagh was giving her, while I found it all to be rather … rough.
“You won’t make me see Dominic again when I don’t want to, will you?” Bronagh teased.
Branna laughed, then cried out in pain again, and even though I had only been in the room for a few minutes, I could tell the pains were getting stronger and faster.
“It hurts,” she growled. “God, it fuckin’ hurts.”
“I know,” Bronagh said. “Breathe through it. You’ve got this, Bran.”
Branna screamed through the worst of her contraction and agony played across her face. The sound, and visual, cut me in two. I looked at Ryder who was staring at his wife with non-blinking eyes, and he looked exactly how I felt. Fucking terrified.
“What can I do, sweetness?” he almost pleaded. “I’ll do anything, just tell me, and I’ll do it.”
“Ice,” Branna groaned. “Some ice, please.”
Ryder zoomed out of the room to gather some ice before Branna even finished her sentence.
I watched him go. “He is feckin’ terrified.”
Branna inhaled and exhaled deeply four times before she said, “There is no point in reassurin’ ’im. Until the babies ... are born ... he will remain that way.”
“Or until they’re eighteen,” I teased.
Everyone laughed just as my phone rang. I checked the screen, saw it was Damien, and answered instantly.
“Any news?”
I winced as Branna screamed and latched onto Bronagh like a boa constrictor. Bronagh’s face reddened a little, which told me just how tight of a grip her sister had on her.
“She’s still in labour.”
“I heard her, poor mama,” Damien said, and I could picture him frowning. “Is she okay apart from her obvious pain? How is Ryder holding up?”
“Branna is doin’ brilliantly.” I looked at his older brother down the hallway gathering ice from the ice machine and said, “And Ryder is still conscious so I’m countin’ that as a positive.”
Damien snorted, and Ash grinned beside me before he said something to Taylor to make her cheeks redden. I watched as he patted her behind with his hand, and a smirk stretched across his face before he left the room. If didn’t take much to see that they were more than co-workers.
“I wasn’t expectin’ to be in the room,” I whispered to Damien when I refocused on our phonecall. “I feel so scared, and I keep crossin’ me legs when Branna gets a pain. Bein’ ’ere is such good birth control; they should make teenage girls come and experience this.”
Damien’s laughter relaxed me, but another cry from Branna cut the sound off. I placed my finger in my free ear so I could hear him better.
“You’ll be fine,” he assured me. “Think of it this way; you’ll get to see our nephews come into the world.”
Our nephews.
“Yeah,” I said, smiling. “You’re right.”
Branna screamed so loud it scared the bejesus out of me, and I could do nothing but wince on her behalf.
“Gotta go,” I said to Damien. “I’ll phone you when I have another update.”
“Okay, baby. Bye.”
I bit down on my lower lip to keep from smiling like a fool. Every single time he called me baby, or some silly pet name, it reminded me that we were really together, and I hadn’t imagined our coupling.
“Bye.”
After I ended the call, I pocketed my phone. Ryder re-entered the room with a jug full of ice, instead of just a small cup, and it made me grin. I had never seen someone as big as him look so scared, but I knew he wasn’t just scared for his babies. He was also terrified for his wife.