Above Rubies (Rockland Ranch)

by Jaclyn Hawkes

  By the end of another two hours he respected her strength more than ever. Seth was timing her contractions and Rossen could tell by the look on his face that this baby wasn’t going to wait for a nice, cozy hospital. He prayed the baby would be okay, even though she was coming a few weeks early.

  Rossen turned to Seth. “You aren’t by any chance LDS, are you?”

  Seth smiled. “I was just thinking a blessing would be a good thing. I have oil.” The two of them moved close to her and proceeded to give her blessing as her body tensed into another long contraction. As they said amen, Rossen gathered her close again and continued to rub as he talked to her.

  Talking seemed to help. He could feel her relax and breathe as he spoke and he began to ask her questions to help her focus away from the pain. Between the next contractions, as she lay back against him, he turned to his sister, glad she wasn’t one of those emotional, ditsy types and said, “Joey, go see if any of these truckers have a blanket or sheets or towels or anything like that. We’re going to need something better than a wool blanket for this baby.”

  Kit didn’t even look up and he realized she already knew she was going to give birth in a beautiful wooded canyon in the back of his dad’s Suburban.

  Seth had his case open and was sorting through, pulling a few things out to set them aside.

  Her contractions were coming one on top of the other and surprisingly, Rossen could feel himself grow singularly calm. They’d do what they had to do as well as possible. It was as simple as that, if you figured in constant prayer.

  He held her to him and asked what she was going to name her. She’d just started to answer when another contraction hit. She almost arched with this one and groaned right out loud.

  Joey came back with an armful of folded linens. "We’re in luck. One of those guys had just done his wash this morning.”

  Seth took a deep breath. “Can you help me stretch her out a little up into the back? I think I’d better check her. Here, Joey will you help me?”

  Rossen pivoted with her and pulled her legs up into the truck and back toward the driver’s seat. He was talking her through another contraction as Joey covered her with a sheet and Seth snapped on a pair of exam gloves. Rossen raised a knee to let her lean against so she could recline, but he could still hold her close. He kept his head tight to hers, talking to her and pushing hard against her back. He could hear Joey and Seth talking back and forth, but his focus was on trying to ease Kit’s pain. He prayed over and over in his mind as he held her.

  He felt himself panic just slightly when Kit cried right out and gripped his shirt in a near strangle hold. Seth spoke to her, “Kit, you’re doing fine. She’s coming along. You’re almost done. Hang in there. It won’t be a whole lot longer.” Rossen felt himself calm down again as he struggled to release Kit’s hands from his shirt. For a second there, she had it so tight at his throat that he couldn’t breathe. He continued to talk to her, his voice low and steady, not even sure what he was saying as she relaxed into the brief lull.

  She tensed again and tried to turn over, gasping from the pain. Rossen let her turn, but she came right back and buried her face against his shirt, clutching him. He heard his shirt start to tear before she finally let go again.

  The next contraction hit with a vengeance. This time she had his hands in a grip that actually hurt him. When she let go she was panting and Joey handed him a small towel to wipe her face. As he gently smoothed away the perspiration, she started to cry and hid her face against him. He held her and stroked her and the tears seemed to help. She didn’t tense so on the next one.

  Seth began to talk to her again, “Okay, Kit. This is it. You’re doing great, but it’s time to push this baby all the way out. When the next one hits, push for all you’re worth.”

  Almost instantly her body almost convulsed, the contraction was so strong. For someone so fine boned and gentle, this strain was intense enough that it was scary. She had hold of his shirt again, but he was so focused, he didn’t know. He was talking to her and Seth was talking to her, but she was completely into the pain and didn’t hear either one. Rossen couldn’t get her attention and felt like he'd completely let her down, as he heard Seth say something urgent to Joey.

  He heard the baby gasp and cry as Kit relaxed in his arms. She began to cry again and he was suddenly a nervous wreck. He glanced back at Joey and Seth for the first time to see them working with the tiny, purple, dark haired baby.

  The sight of that baby rocked him to his toes and he felt like he couldn’t get a breath. The magnitude of it all became overwhelming and he pulled Kit against him tightly, words of comfort forgotten, as he worked in vain for some semblance of composure. He tried repeatedly to swallow and wondered for a second if he could get a breath and then if he was going to hyperventilate. Kit whimpered in his arms and brought his focus back instantly.

  He’d been holding her too tight and he released her to carefully help her sit up and see her baby. She looked up and gave him a beautiful, tired smile, then relaxed back in his arms and closed her eyes. He brushed her hair back again and gently kissed her forehead and whispered, “You were incredible.” She opened her eyes for one long moment to look into his, then closed them again and turned her head against his chest and sighed.

  He studied her face for a moment, trying to sort through his jumbled feelings, then decided it was impossible and looked back at the baby. This was too precious a moment to try to think through. He felt how he felt. Right now it was all okay.

  Joey and Seth worked together like they'd done this a thousand times. They were cleaning and drying the baby with the towels and some sort of wipes, and then worked on the cord and Seth put some drops in her eyes.

  She was pretty ticked about the whole deal and screamed at the top of her lungs, her tiny arms and legs pumping furiously. Rossen laughed softly as he watched. Even mad she was exquisite.

  Finally, they wrapped her in the other clean sheet until the only thing that showed was her miniature pink face. She calmed right down and immediately her small blue black eyes began to look around. They handed her up to him, as they began to straighten up the aftermath of this amazing happening in the back of the vehicle. He held her close to him for a moment, marveling at this new human being in his hands.

  He gently touched Kit’s shoulder. “Hey, sleepy head. I have a present for you.” She opened her eyes again, their cobalt depths tired.

  She reached out a slim brown hand to touch the baby reverently with one finger. “Is she all okay?”

  Rossen glanced back at Seth who said, “As far as I can tell, she’s perfect.”

  Rossen repeated to Kit, “She’s perfect.” His voice was husky.

  Kit looked up at him with wonder. “She is, isn’t she?” She gave one more tired smile and closed her eyes again.

  Rossen held the baby and watched her watch him, her eyes alert and shiny. Kit slept against him and Joey and Seth talked quietly in the back. The sudden tranquility in the truck was almost eerie after the tension before.

  Rossen was almost angry when within minutes of the baby’s birth, they could hear the low growl of a big truck’s motor not far ahead. Within the next hour the road was open and passable. Seth had been watching both Kit and the baby and seemed to think that even somewhat early, the baby was fine. Rossen sat quietly in the back of the suburban with Kit and the baby sleeping against him, while the others pulled the truck around to hook back onto the trailer. Joey went in search of the trucker who had loaned the linens and they gave him fifty bucks and a delivery report.

  Saying goodbye to Seth was almost painful. After their time together he almost felt like another brother, and Rossen was glad he left a card so they could talk to him again if they had questions on the way back.

  At the end of their prenatal class, Rossen had thought he had a handle on all of this, but now, as Joey finally pulled away from where they'd been stranded, he realized he had no clue how to handle it at all. He’d stayed where he wa
s to let Kit rest and he cradled the baby, wishing they had a car seat with them to buckle her safely into.

  A half hour from home, Kit woke up and tried to sit up and look around. She looked at the baby again without trying to take her from him and he wondered if she was afraid to hold it. He hoped it was just that it was new and strange, and not that her fears of it reminding her of her foster father had come true. But then as he watched the wonder in her eyes, he knew she loved it and placed the baby gently in her arms.

  Kit looked scared and Rossen encouraged her, “You did a great job, both in carrying her and delivering her. You were a trooper and I’m proud of you. You finally got your sweet baby girl and she‘s as beautiful as you.”

  The baby woke up and started to fuss and they weren’t sure what to do. Kit started to bounce her and when she didn’t respond, she sang to her. The baby still wasn’t happy and began whimpering with her little lips pressed together almost making an “mmm” sound. Rossen took her and unwrapped her until he found a tiny hand and put it up near her face. She began to suck on it immediately. Kit smiled as the baby mellowed right out and asked, “Hey, how did you know to do that?”

  He laughed. “I just remember that first ultrasound.”

  He’d been thinking about what they needed to do and asked Kit, “Is it okay if we drop Joey by home before we continue on to the hospital?”

  Kit looked at him in surprise. “Why do we have to go to the hospital now? I already had her.”

  “Don’t you want to go in and be checked and make sure everything is all right? She’ll have to have some tests anyway. They can watch her and help you in case we don’t know what to do.”

  Kit looked as tired as he knew she was and said, “Seth thinks she’s okay. Don’t you think it would be okay to just go home and ask your mom if we have questions? Tomorrow or sometime we can go to the doctor. Right now I just want to go home.” She handed the baby back to Rossen and while considered, she lay back again to close her eyes.

  Rossen looked down at the tiny, little human and gave a small smile. “Home it is. If we think there’s a problem, we’ll take you in then.”

  ****

  At seven o’clock that evening Joey stopped the truck in front of the house and helped all three of them out of the back of the suburban. They hadn’t had cell service until they were almost home so they decided to just show up instead of call.

  Rossen opened the door to the house and helped Kit in, wishing she would have let him carry her. Joey brought up the rear with the baby. As soon as Naomi saw them she rushed over, talking up a storm about how worried she'd been. When she saw Kit looking positively haggard with Rossen basically supporting her, she broke off mid-sentence, and when Joey came past and handed her the baby and followed Rossen and Kit back to Kit’s room, Naomi came unglued.

  “Oh, my stars!” She was almost yelling and Rob rushed in from his office just as the baby began to scream. Naomi hurriedly said, “Oh, I’m sorry. Shhh. There, there. Don’t cry.” She began to frantically try to quiet the baby, who only got more upset because she was.

  Rob walked over and took the tiny infant and held her close, and she settled right down. He turned to his wife. “What in the world are you doing, Naomi? Whose baby is this? And why are you bawling?” Naomi had commenced to cry and she went to him. He put his free arm around her asking gently, “What‘s wrong?” She sobbed all the harder and the baby began to cry again.

  Cooper, Treyne, and Sean came in the kitchen door at the same time that Slade, Isabel, Ruger and Marti came in from the garage. Slade said, “I see they’re finally home. Is everything okay?” He saw Naomi crying and instantly asked, “What’s wrong? Were they in that accident then?” Naomi still had her head buried against Rob’s chest and none of them could tell what was going on. Finally, Isabel asked about the baby and it was as if a light clicked on. The whole family made a bee line for Kit’s room, except Naomi, who still stood and cried.

  A minute later Rossen came back in and wrapped her in a bear hug. “Don’t cry, Mom. We didn’t mean to scare you.” He patted her back. “She’s okay, they’re both okay, we’re all okay.” He pulled back from her. “You’re okay.” She gave him a watery smile and went back to sobbing again.

  When he finally got her settled down, he took her hand and led her toward Kit’s room. “I’m glad you’re okay ‘cause Kit really needs your help. When we finally got out of that canyon, she just wanted to come home instead of going to the hospital. She’s hoping you’ll know what she should do with that hungry, small human in there. And do you know what happened to the diapers and stuff we bought the other day? We could really use them.” Naomi smiled and was back to her usual calm competence as she went through the door.

  She walked up to the bed to smile down at Kit, who new held her daughter and say, “Apparently, you got more than scenery.”

  Kit gave her a tired smile. “Way more.”

  ****

  At ten o’clock that night, Rossen felt like this day had lasted through four. The baby and Kit were both finally resting. It had taken hours to get the baby fed. At least that’s what it had seemed like. He'd actually felt left out. While Kit and his mom were doing that, he and his dad had gone into the attic and brought down the antique cradle his mom had used with all of them. They dusted it and scrubbed everything with antibacterial detergent and put new clean linens on it. When they’d finally let them back in the room, he’d put it beside Kit’s bed and laid the tiny bundle in it.

  They’d found the diapers and things they’d bought, and though the baby seemed to be perfectly well clothed, Naomi had still sent Joey into town to buy some things she didn’t think they could live without overnight.

  Rossen was sitting in the great room wondering if he should go to bed or sleep in here so he could help Kit if she needed it. He finally opted for his own room and hauled himself up. He stopped at Kit’s door for one last look before he went down. He watched the two of them sleep for a minute. How was he ever going to get this day out of his mind? There was not a chance he ever would.

  Several times in the night he heard the baby fuss just for a moment and wondered if she needed any help. Finally, after four he heard the baby fuss for longer and went upstairs to check on them. The baby was in her cradle, but Kit was still dead asleep and he knew she was exhausted from her labor and restless night. He picked the baby up, thinking he could keep her entertained for awhile and let Kit sleep just a little longer.

  He wrapped her back up in her blankets that had come loose and as soon as he did, she settled right down and began to look around again. He took her with him to the great room, settled into one of the recliners that rocked and began to slowly rock her back to sleep.

  ****

  Kit found them there in the morning. For just a moment, when she'd woken up and realized her baby wasn’t there, she'd panicked, but it had only taken her a minute to know that Rossen had probably come and taken the baby so she could sleep. She dragged her tired and sore body in search of them and found them in the rocker, snuggled up together, both of them dead to the world. She took a picture of them with her phone and then went and got in the shower.

  She was stiff and tender and the shower felt good. When she shut it off, she could hear the baby through the closed door and hurried as fast as she could make her thrashed body move to rescue Rossen and apologize, “I’m sorry. She was sleeping soundly when I got in.” She took her into her room to nurse her and once she’d fed her, took her back out.

  He got up to take the baby again. “Let me hold her while you rest.” He took her from Kit and brought her right up to his face. “She smells amazing. I had no idea babies smelled this good.” He turned to Kit. “By the way, what’s her name? I don’t know what to call her.”

  Kit looked slightly bashful. “I was thinking of Tawna. Do you think your mom would be offended if I used Naomi for a middle name?”

  “I think she’d be honored.”

  Kit went back to her room, saying
over her shoulder as she left, “Pat her on her back if she gets fussy.”

  Rossen played with the baby, letting her grab onto his fingers with her teeny hands. He unwrapped her and took off her socks so he could see her toes, too. He hadn’t been around a baby since his nineteen year old brother, Cooper, was born. He had no idea they were this fascinating.

  Sean came through the kitchen door and tried to take her from him. When he didn’t give her up, Sean complained to their mother when she came in next, “Mom, Rossen’s hogging the baby! He won’t even give me a short turn.”

  Naomi swatted Rossen as she went past. “Share, you big, fat hog!” To Sean she said, “Wash your hands first.”

  Rossen regretfully handed the baby over. She instantly started to fuss and he said, “See? She doesn’t want you. It’s me she likes. ‘Cause I’m the one who bout had his clothes shredded helping get her here. Kit said to pat her back if she seems unhappy.”

  Naomi asked, “Is that really what happened to your shirt yesterday? I saw it was all ripped, but didn’t suspect it was Kit.”

  Rossen gave her a self-conscious smile. “The rips are nothing. At one point she had it gripped so tight at my throat I couldn’t breathe and I couldn’t get her to let go. She’s stronger than she looks.”

  “I hope it gave you a whole new appreciation for women and babies.”

  Rossen began to unload the dishwasher. “That’s a no-brainer. Even after that danged class I never dreamed it would be that hard on her. It was awful to watch.”

  Sean had been patting the baby and she gave a very unladylike burp just as Cooper walked into the kitchen. He thought it was great. “Yeah! Now that’s my kind of baby!” He tried to take her away from Sean. “Mom, Sean’s hogging the baby! Tell him to give me a turn.” Both Rossen and Sean cracked up and Naomi turned to look at them with her hands on her hips.

  “Do you want me to put that baby in time out?”

  Just then, Treyne and Ruger came into the kitchen. “Wow, she’s already in time out and she’s only one day old? What’d she do?”