by Barb Shuler
“Hey, dummy, don’t shake the pregnant woman!” Kelly hollered out.
I laughed softly as I looked up at Rooster.
“I- I’m honored.”
I cupped his face in my hands and grinned through my tears.
“The honor is all ours. There are no words that would do justice to how grateful we are to you. Our son is a lucky boy.”
The group whooped and everyone hugged again. I wiped the tears from my face, as did Jenn. We grinned as we moved back towards the water, only for Jenn to mutter “Watch this”.
“Hey, I almost forgot.” The guys all looked her way and I knew by the twinkle in her eye what was coming. “Hunter and I are pregnant.”
With that, she left her fiancé standing there, mouth agape like a fish, as she ran into the water. The whooping and hollering started up again and then Hunter was in the water chasing after her. He scooped her up and spun her.
I felt Max behind me when I stopped at the water's edge. The feeling of the waves lapping at my feet and ankles was calming. His big arms came around me and rested on my belly, while his chin rested on my shoulder. “They’re happy.”
“We all are. The last few months have made us all stronger, in many ways,” I said, meaning each word.
“No truer words, baby.”
I shivered as his lips brushed against my neck. I moved my hands to lay atop his as I watched Jenn and Hunter. I grinned at their playfulness. I was glad I would be a new mom with my best friend. Yes, she was months behind me, but that was okay. We would still be able to let our kids grow up together. Do all the new mom stuff we used to scoff at. I smiled up at Max and whispered.
“Shouldn’t we tell them that we eloped already? Jenn may kill us if we wait too much longer. I don’t want a repeat of the roof. My life flashing before my eyes once is enough.” I laughed softly, but Max tensed up behind me.
“That is not funny. But yeah, I guess we should tell them before anyone gets butthurt.”
“People’s butts are none of your business, Mister. Well, not unless it’s mine.” I laughed as he tickled my sides. “Stop that!”
I got away from him - which I’m sure is because he let me - and took off into the water. Do you have any idea how hard it is to run into the ocean while pregnant? It ain’t easy, man. There was a moment or two of nausea but it dissipated quickly. Swimming was no easier than running. I was huffing by the time I swam out to where the waves were barely cresting. My head fell back and I just floated there.
I felt something tug at my ankle and laughed when Max popped up beside me. “Ooh, a pretty SEAL.”
I squealed when he leaned in and placed a loud smacking kiss to my cheek before making a ridiculous sound. I shifted and tried to swim away from him. He caught me though.
“Where do you think you’re going?” He asked as his arm went around me. I leaned back against him, my legs kicking softly.
“Nowhere.”
“Good answer, Mrs. Callahan.”
“I’d never go far, handsome. I can’t move that fast while I’m the size of a whale.” I shrieked as he pinched my ass. “Damn, Max, don’t be doing that!”
“Mommy!! He-” The yell came from the water. Max spun when a loud whistle rolled across the water. Hunter was already in the water and heading out to the flailing arms.
“Shit, get to the beach, baby.” He jerked around and dove under the water. I watched as he and Hunter surfaced. They took deep breaths and then dove again.
I slowly started to swim back to where I could stand. I could feel the tug of the water around my legs as I took in my surroundings. A hand gripped mine and I accepted Rooster’s help. By the time I was only ankle deep I was panting. Swimming while pregnant should be its own Olympic sport.
Jenn came over and we held hands as we watched our guys swim back in. Max had a screaming woman who kept dragging him under. I went to take a step further into the water but Jenn’s tug on my hand stopped me.
“He’s fine. Look, she’s calming down.” I watched and saw she was right.
Hunter sprinted to the beach with a little boy in his arms. Jenn and I moved to where they were. A few compressions, and a breath in the mouth, had the little one coughing. Hunter had him turned onto his side and responsive before the life guards even got to him. They’d obviously not seen there was an issue since the guys reacted so fast. The woman was helped out of the water and she wrapped her arms around her son.
I turned away from the group when I felt my stomach do this thing. A sharp pain stabbed me in the abdomen. The first one wasn’t so bad, but the second made me doubling over. I took in a deep breath and let it out.
“Kennedy, you okay?” Jenn rested her hand on my back and I nodded as I stood.
“Yeah, I just felt a little sick. Maybe we can head back to the house. Might be too hot out here for my pregnant self.”
“Sure. Let me grab our stuff.”
“Okay.”
I took a few more deep breaths before standing upright again. I made sure I had my balance before taking a few steps in Jenn’s direction. A few steps away from Jenn the pain hit again. It felt like I’d pulled or strained something. See, another reason pregnant women shouldn’t be out playing in the water. That’s all I needed was a pulled muscle. I had to go check on the Sand Castle later. There was no time for a pulled muscle. I had too many things going on right now for me to be sidelined.
18
Kennedy
It was official, I was going to die. The pain in my side, back, and lower belly hurt so bad that I was panting. I felt like something was ripping me open from the inside out. I could see the house, but I wasn’t going to make it. I needed to stop for a minute.
“Kennedy, what is it?” Jenn asked me as she came up and wrapped her arm around me. I shook my head and started up the steps to the house when Bruiser came barreling up the steps and to the door.
Damn, how’d I forget my dog? Ugh! I was losing it.
“I’m fine.”
I regretted those words as soon as they were out of my mouth. Another pain hit and that’s when it happened. My water broke. Or I peed, but I was sure it had to be my water ‘cause, Jesus, there was a lot of it.
“Holy Hannah. Babe, your water just broke,” Jenn said a laugh escaping her. “Fuck, yeah.”
“Shut up.”
I tugged away from her and all but crawled up the stairs. I barely made it to a lounge chair before I collapsed. My body wasn’t having the movement right now. I cried out as another pain slammed through me.
“MAXIMUS!” I heard Jenn’s loud cat calling and whistling.
God help her, I know she’s was just trying to get Max’s attention, but did she have to alert the whole beach that I was about to push a human out of my hooha.
I took in a long deep breath and tried to calm my racing heart. Just like the counselor had showed me to do in the hospital the last time. I was okay, I was in no immediate danger, so there was no room for a panic attack. It was a baby. Women had them every damn day. It was no big deal, right?
“What’s wrong?” I heard the boom of his voice only seconds before he was at my side. “Talk to me, baby. What’s happening?”
“My water broke.” A sob escaped me then. So much for being calm and brave.
“Hey, it’s okay, baby. TONY!”
“Yo, I’m here, chill. I had to get my bag. Kennedy, did you have any pain before your water broke?”
“I’ve been hurting since last night. My body is the size of Shamu!” I growled out.
Tony and Max exchanged a look.
“Hey, focus on me, woman. Don’t be pissy with Tony.”
I looked up to see Jenn all smiles. I wrinkled my nose and sighed.
“I’m sorry. It just hurts.”
“Either I check her and we call EMS or we check her and hightail it to the ER? Your call, man.”
“Wait a damn minute,” I said swatting Tony’s hand away from my arm. “It’s my hoohoa! What in the hell do you mean, it’s hi
s choice? Don’t you dare look down there!”
“Guys, you’re stressing her out. Call a fucking ambulance and let’s get her to the hospital.”
I looked up and met Jenn’s gaze. She moved to sit beside me on the lounger.
“Deep breaths. Remember how they taught us in that class. Deep breath in, hold for three seconds, and then let it out slowly.”
She ran a hand over my belly, which was followed by another. I let out the breath I had taken in and grabbed Max’s hand when another pain burned through me. It literally felt like my girly parts and abdomen were being torn apart.
“Um, shit. Tony, I think you best keep that bag out…”
“What are you feeling?” he asked, slipping on a pair of gloves.
“I think… I think the baby is coming out. I can feel it.”
“Can we move her inside?” Max asked him.
Tony shook his head before he spoke, “no, it’s too late to move her. It could hurt the baby.”
“I’m okay here, just catch the baby because he’s coming out, now.”
“Hunter, I need towels and a basin of warm water. Everyone else, turn to the water, make a wall and don’t move until I say so. Jenn, hand me that big beach towel. I’m going to lay this across her so she has some privacy. Kennedy, I’m cutting your bathing suit.”
“Just make it stop!” I gritted my teeth and bit back a scream.
“I’m here, baby. Look at me, focus on me.”
“Yeah, count the ways you are gonna rip his balls off for knocking you up.” Jenn’s laughter made Max scowl, but I did smile. At least until another pain ripped through me.
“Son… HUNTER, I need those towels now!”
“Here. Water is heating. I’ll be right back.” He left in a rush and I watched as Tony situated the towels and then looked up at me.
“Kennedy, the baby is crowning. When I tell you to, I want you take a deep breath, hold it, grab the backs of your legs, lean up towards me, bare down on your bottom and push as hard as you can. Jenn, I want you to count ten seconds. Kennedy, at the end of those ten seconds, you will exhale and quickly inhale another breath, count to ten and you can let it go, okay?”
I nodded and squeezed Max’s hand tighter.
“You can do this, baby. We’re right here.”
“Okay, Kennedy, push.”
That first count of ten seemed to take forever. The second was even worse. The pain, sweet God in heaven, the pain made me see double and hopeg I wasn’t about to be ripped in half. It felt like a knife was being slid across my skin. Each time I thought it was over, that it was going to stop, it started again. Each push had me biting down on my lip and screaming under my breath.
“EMS is here,” Hunter said as he rushed back onto the porch.
Tony didn’t spare him a look. He just held my gaze.
“I need you to give me one more big push and then you get meet your baby. On three, okay?”
I nodded and on three I pushed again, with everything I had left in me. I knew the minute the baby was out. The pressure and pain almost completely vanished. It was all I could do to focus through the tears and exhaustion. The bundle was laid on my chest, my son. I wrapped my arms around him. My lips went to his cheek.
“Happy Birthday, my sweet boy.”
Maximus
“Why did I agree to this again?”
I turned to Kennedy and raised a brow. “Agree to what, baby?”
“Sharing my son with these people.”
I chuckled and moved back to the lounger where she sat. Michael Hunter Callahan had been born in a whirlwind of emotion, and even now, a week later, it was still that way. It had been a constant rotation of people in and out of the house, which wasn’t anything unusual, at least not since the attack. I leaned over and kissed her nose. The glass of water in my hand went to hers and she took it, drinking greedily. We had come outside to give Hunter and Jenn a little bonding time with little Michael. I sat beside Kennedy and brushed a stray hair from her face.
“It’s not like we could tell his godparents no when they want to see him. Just think of it this way, that is at least one less diaper we have to change.”
She laughed.
“That’s true. That kid just smells foul sometimes.” Her nose wrinkled before she brought the glass back to her mouth and finished it off.
“You hungry? Jenn brought you some of that fruit and granola stuff you like.”
“A little. I’m more thirsty, but I think that’s because I slept so long this morning. I mean, more than usual. Three hours at a time isn’t really that long, but at least he’s not up every thirty minutes like he was when we first came home. ”
She yawned and scrubbed her hands across her face.
“I’m sorry we were on a call last night, baby. I should have called Jenn to come sit with you two.”
“It’s fine, babe, you have to work. We did okay. He was just gassy. I have no idea why though. All he’s had is boob milk.”
I chuckled.
“I can’t tell ya, baby. He’s just a stinky boy.”
“Maybe, he must take after his daddy.”
I poked her nose and grinned at her. “Best be glad your not able to be tickled yet, at least for two more weeks. After that, I’m gonna be doing some major tickling, of all kinds.”
“Yeah, yeah,” she said with a smirk before yawning again.
“Come on. You need to go back to bed.”
Her face wrinkled and she shook her head.
“Not until I feed him. My boobs are killing me and I don’t want to start leaking, ‘cause that’s just gross.”
The wail from inside had me getting to my feet and helping Kennedy to hers. We made it inside as Jenn stood and started to gently bounce Michael.
“Stop all that fussin’, your Mama needs a little sleep. You’re as bad as your daddy. Boobs are good and all, kid, but there is more to life than that.”
I snorted and shook my head.
“Hey, my boobs are his food, don’t be telling him stuff like that.”
“How’s that working for you?” Jenn asked, frowning.
“Honestly, it fucking sucks. My nipples feel like they’ve been chewed up and spit out, but breast milk is the best for him. I’ve started pumping some, so that at night I can give them a bit of a break. We’re only one month in and I’m already over it.”
“I don’t think I need to know anymore…” Jenn’s face was pale.
“Let me have him. Once his belly is full he’ll chill. He’s his daddy’s boy for sure.”
When the girls went to the bedroom I sat back on the couch and scrubbed my hands over my face. I was dead on my feet. I’d had only an hour of sleep this morning after getting home. I don’t know how moms do this.
It sucked for sure.
“Why don’t you and Kennedy go take a nap after she feeds Michael. Jenn and I will clean up and get lunch made.”
“Man, I can’t let y’all do that.”
“Well, let’s put it this way then. You’re to take your stubborn ass to bed, and make your wife rest. We’ll handle the house, lunch and the little man until you’re back up. There’s bottles in the fridge so we’re covered.”
“You’re a bossy asshole, you know that?”
“Yep and you love me for it. It’s why you have friends, man. Let your sister and I help.”
“It’s not like I have a choice.” I grumped.
“This is true. Now, get.”
I got up and patted his shoulder as I made my way through the living room and down the hall. When I got to the bedroom, Jenn was taking the baby from Kennedy. Her eyes were barely open.
“There’s more milk in the fridge.”
“I know, Bubba, sleep. We’ve got him.”
“Thanks.”
“Anytime. It’s good practice.”
Without another word she was out of the room, the door shut and I was crawling into bed with Kennedy. I pulled her to me and kissed her temple. It wouldn’t take long for
me to be out.
Hopefully a little nap with my girl would make this evening much better.
Epilogue
A year and a half ago I gave birth to my son, my sweet Michael Hunter. He had weird timing as to where and how he wanted to come into the world, but it will be a story I can tell his prom date about in another sixteen years.
I didn’t expect baby number two to do the same thing. But here I am, trying to get my husband’s attention while he and his team accept an award from the Mayor for their service during a big drug bust a few months ago. Three of the team, Hunter, Kelly and Max were all injured. Thankfully, it wasn’t as bad as it could have been.
“Today, we honor these brave men for their duty, which put them in harm’s way, and caused injury to some. It’s their bravery, and their willingness to step in when no one else would, that sets them above the rest.”
I was so proud of them, but I had to set that aside for a few moments. I moved closer to the front of the stage and made a small hand gesture to Max. His eyes were trained on the Mayor as he gave his speech, though.
I had to bite back a groan as a pain sliced through me. The clutch in my hand was all but smashed. I kept my hand curled into it as I breathed through my nose. The man beside me gave me a look and I gave him a small smile.
How in the hell was I going to get his attention? I looked around and found Jenn coming back into the room. I made my way to her and took her hand.
“Jenn,” I took a moment to get her attention.
“Don’t worry, Michael and Cassidy are fine. Cora said they were both sound asleep and had been for about an hour.”
She turned to look at me and I met her gaze.