Pygmalion
By DocPaul
Chapter
Forty-six: Apollo and Athena
Day
Seventy-three: Thursday,
“Michael!”
Amy stood back from the door to let Michael enter. “Is it Maria? The
babies?”
Michael
laughed in self castigation. Amy only associated his arrivals at her doorstep
with ill-fortune. It had only been a week, but they were all still reeling from
the events surrounding Pierce. Or, as some of them were mentally terming it,
Liz.
“No...,”
Michael sighed. “Yes.” He laughed, shaking his head. “You have no idea how
I don’t want it to be true, but yeah, there’s something wrong.”
Amy
patted his arm. “Maria.”
“Maria.”
~~~
“Hey.”
Maria
looked up from her gardening. “Mom!” Sitting back, Maria winced at the
strain on her back. The garden was overgrown; she had had little time to do work
in it, and her green thumb was more brown than green. Things always died on her.
Always.
Strange
that this year it was doing so well.
Maria
looked over at her choppycoated cat. Mr. Boo was licking his ears furiously. Ms.
Fluffy had finally decided that his hackjob haircut wasn’t that bad and gave
him another chance (to the relief of both sets of their pets), but there was
just one cowlick, a whorl, that irritated the feline just behind his ear. And he
still hadn’t forgiven Michael. The cat felt Maria’s gaze, and quickly meowed
his displeasure, once again outlining his grievances and the necessary
compensation Michael needed to cough up to repay his claim.
“Don’t
start with me, Mister!” Maria said severely. “I told you to lay off the
white socks. Did you think he was going to live with all that hair in his
drawers forever?”
Mr.
Boo meowed his answer, his wailing reaching an irritating pitch.
“Yes,
yes, indeed!” Maria said soothingly. “He could’ve shut the damn drawer.
That is a point to your favor.
But….once again, I must state emphatically that I’m not getting involved in
this dispute.”
Mr.
Booboo sneezed expressively and took himself off to find Oscar. Obviously, Oscar
would be a more sympathetic ally, seeing how Michael had once tried to shoot
him. Yes, his larger pet was getting to be a real menace, and someone had to get
him under control. Boo sashayed off in a huff.
“Yours
and Michael’s relationship with that cat is unnatural. You realize that,
right?”
“Nonsense.
Mr. Booboo is a very highly-evolved cat.”
“He’s
not human, honey.”
Maria
snorted. Of course he wasn’t. “Accusations of anthropomorphic assignments
will not be entertained, nor considered.”
“Uh
huh.” Amy helped Maria up to her feet. “What are you doing scratching around
in the dirt anyway?” Amy looked around at the wild garden. “Good God! What
happened? This place is like an Oasis in the middle of the desert!” She gaped
at Maria in shock. “What did you do to it?”
Maria
shrugged. Holding up her hand, she became firm. “Whatever you do, don’t
suggest that I ‘pushed’ the garden to grow. It didn’t happen.” She
looked around her in wonder. “I think that I was so busy that I forgot to come
out here and kill everything. Without me acting as a major predator or
performing unnatural selection, the greenhouse effect ran out of control.”
Amy
laughed. “I’ll have
“No,
thanks. I’d rather not divert their efforts from the ridiculous to the
increasingly absurd. Supposedly I’ve got the most powerful device ever created
to known intelligence residing in a space that was supposed to be my new bedroom, office, and Jacuzzi area, and it will
one day be created by my babies.”
“Okay,
so your life is a walk in the Twilight Zone. You win.”
Maria
snorted. “Thanks! Just my over achiever status rushing to the top again. I
thought my type A personality type card had been revoked for non-payment of
membership dues.”
“Oh,
the anally deranged are always with us, sweetie.” Amy patted Maria’s hand.
“Want to come to an environmental rally with me?”
“Do
I have to dye my skin green or hang raw meat from my body again?”
“No.”
Amy said, rolling her eyes. Always the complainer. Her daughter really could
whine. Where did she get that from? “Though, this one does require nudity.”
Maria
laughed. “Oh, that would be special! Me with my pregnant belly. I can’t see
my darn feet. Tell me they’re still there.”
Amy
seemed to be examining Maria’s lower body. “Honey, it doesn’t look
good.”
“Hair?”
Maria said in a horrified tone.
“Bushels.”
Maria
struggled to her feet. “Thank God you came to rescue me! We must go do
ritualistic hair removal! At once! Do I want a forest to be the first thing my
children see? Mother is a gorilla!”
Amy
laughed and helped Maria to her feet. Over the last week, she seemed to have
passed a certain point in her pregnancy. Finally, she was looking very ripe,
round and ready to pop.”
“My
back is killing me!”
“Kneeling
on the ground, will do that.”
“Spoil
sport.” Maria huffed, sniffing her discontent. The least her mother could do
was console her.
“Wax
or shave?”
Maria
seemed to think it over. “Wax. It’ll last longer. I could stand a little
pain.”
Amy
frowned. Ignoring the comment, she quickly found all they would need and got
their favorite mother/daughter ritual underway, outside of shopping, cooking,
and eating. Oh, and talking.
“So
when you going to mug me?”
“Mug
you?”
Maria
searched her mother’s face. “Michael sent you.”
Amy
snorted. “As charming as Michael can be at times, I don’t need him to get me
to come see my daughter.”
“Uh
huh,” Maria said, unconvinced.
“I
worry.” Amy said. “It is getting so close to your delivery date, and….”
“I
have another month, mom.”
“First
children are often early.”
Maria
stopped dabbing her leg with the wax. “I heard they were often late.”
Amy
made a face. “Not in the DeLuca family. Why, if I remember, Frankie was at
least six weeks early, and…” Amy paused. Both she and Maria became silent.
Frankie,
Jr. Neither of them ever talked about him. Hadn’t for a long time. Ripping a
sheet from her leg, Maria winced at the pain. It was strange, but it felt good
in a way. Like releasing something.
“Do
you think he hated me because I’m a strong focus?”
“Maria…”
Amy didn’t know what to say. How to explain the illness that ravaged her son.
Was it genetic, or a freak occurrence? Perhaps that question meant more to Maria
now that she was carrying babies. Would they be prone to mental illness?
Psychotic behavior? Or something so candescent that it wouldn’t be apparent on
the surface? Would they be normal and well-balanced?
“I’ve
wondered lately. It seems that people tend to either like me a lot, or hate me.
Frankie hated me.”
“He
didn’t hate you, Maria. He wanted you for himself. He didn’t want to share
you with anyone. Not even me or your father. It was a sickness that we
couldn’t understand.”
Maria
nodded. “When I was a child, all I wanted was for him to love me. It always
felt wrong. I’d see him and I would feel a need to run, to hide. So much
terror.”
Amy
squeezed Maria’s hand. “I’m sorry. So sorry. We should’ve kept you
safer. No parent wants admit they can’t protect their young, even from each
other.”
Maria
stroked her stomach. “Bygones, Mom. So much water under those bridges.”
Amy
searched her daughter’s face. She could see what Michael was seeing. Pain.
Maria was in immense pain. Every breath. Hurt. She was struggling to hide it,
but those who loved her best could see it in the lines of her face and the
shadows under her eyes. She wasn’t crying.
“Maria,”
Amy held Maria’s hand tight. “Don’t slide. Don’t go back to being the
woman you were before Michael. You held so much inside. These last few years,
you’ve come so far! No more panic attacks. No more shock. You stopped
repressing. Don’t go back!”
Her
hands stopped at her side. Maria rubbed her face with the side of her arm.
“Mom…” Maria let out a small sound of despair. “I’m afraid.”
“Of...?”
“Crying.”
Maria turned to really look at her mother. A tear was slowly working its way
down her cheek. “I’ve cried all this while. And I’ll cry more. It seems to
be my place. I was so afraid to open these gates. Dianne. Janhie. Dad. Frankie.
Mrs. Mulhoney. So many lost. So many almost lost. You. Jim. Kyle. Tess. Sean.
Alex. The babies. Michael. All of us.”
“What
grieves you, Maria? Michael feels it, but he says for the first time you’re
keeping him out.”
Maria
sniffed. “Ah! So he did send you!
And he’s right. I am keeping him out. He can’t understand this. It’s my
own demons.”
“Maria?”
“It’s
Liz.” Maria broke down and wept, her hands covering her face. Amy went to her
quickly and held her tight. Maria cried for a long time, and Amy could feel it.
A sweep of feeling moved over her like a wave. The children were upset. They
could feel her emotions, and they were upset for her.
Amy
held her, and hoped that the flood of tears and emotion would subside, become
more manageable. A week. She had held it all in for the past week. Amy rocked
her in her arms, like she used to do when Maria was young, humming softly to her
in comfort. That helped. It helped the twins. Someone was there, comforting
their mother, so they too were comforted.
“Why
can’t Michael understand?”
Maria
sniffed and wiped her face. “Liz. He never really knew her - or liked her. The
only Liz he ever got to know wasn’t really her. It was Pierce. When he thinks
of Liz Parker, all he can see is Pierce.”
“That’s
understandable.”
“It
is.” Maria got up and went to find more tissues. She blew her nose and wiped
her eyes. “I barely knew Liz. Not really. We had just started to find a
friendship when she was gone.” Maria sniffed again trying to forestall another
bout of tears. “So who mourns Liz Parker? Her parents? They don’t even know
she’s gone.” Maria started crying again.
“Maria…”
Amy’s heart was heavy. How would she feel if her child was lost, and she never
knew how, when or why?
“They
lost their eldest daughter,
Amy
was quiet. She took Maria’s hand and led her to the sofa. Sitting down, she
waited until Maria laid down and rested with her head in Amy’s lap. Stroking
her hair, Amy frowned. Liz died because of Cassie Welch. No one knew that. No
burial. No remains. No honor. Liz Parker had lived as a ghost in the shadows,
fighting for a life and an identity of her own, and before she could discover
herself and love, she was gone. A ghost.
Amy
felt it. The sorrow. The horror. The wrongness. She could feel what Maria was
feeling, and it was overwhelming. Liz Parker had lived more in Torq’el’s
body than she ever lived in her own. Her spirit, that unconquerable spirit that
made her survive death at sixteen, fought to survive. It was this very spirit
that drove the Shapeshifter insane. Liz Parker had refused to remain contained.
Her personality kept rising to the top, asserting itself on Pierce, until Pierce
could barely hold on. Liz Parker had reached out from the grave, and she exacted
a sort of revenge on her murderer. She wasn’t only Cassie’s victim, she was
Pierce’s as well. Who was to say that her will to live wouldn’t have pulled
her through? No one would ever know for sure.
“I
talked to her. About life and love. It was her,
Mom. It was Liz. She was strong, stronger than anyone ever gave her credit for.
The part of her that was imprinted on Pierce was battling to find dominance. She
told me that she felt she was a prisoner, waiting for a savior, a hero. Prince
Charming. She was begging someone to free her.” Maria closed her eyes as new
tears moved down her face. “I wasn’t listening. I thought she meant from her
sixteen year old body. I told her to take up the sword, fight her way free,
become someone worthy of being loved and saved.”
“Maria,
you couldn’t have known. She was still Liz Parker trapped inside that
demon.”
Maria
nodded. Yes, she was.
“Your
advice to fight...” Amy sat back a little and stared at her daughter in shock.
“Maria, you ‘pushed’ her. You
pushed whatever there was left of Liz Parker to assert herself, to take over her
enslaver. You pushed her spirit to drive Pierce insane!”
“Split
personalities. When he was in Liz form, he really was her. She took over. Parts
of him bled out, but she held on.” Maria wiped the tears away. “I like to
think that Liz asserted herself outward so that when he was Pierce, Liz bled
through.”
“Poor
child.” Amy closed her eyes as tears threatened. Maria was right. This was
wrong. Who mourned Liz Parker?
Not
Michael. He really never knew her except for that short time, and all the ground
he made in friendship with her was with Pierce/Liz, not the real Liz. He would
never be able to see past it. Pierce/Liz had gotten too close to his family.
Closer than he could tolerate. Time and time again, he trusted her with
Maria’s care. Even though Pierce..., Nasedo..., Torq’el...., or whatever the
hell you called him, also wanted Maria to be safe, it didn’t change the fact
that Michael’s greatest Nemesis had walked in and out of their lives with the
greatest of ease. Michael would never see Liz as anything but Pierce. ‘
Isabel
had never even met the real Liz Parker and they had been roommates! Alex was the
same. Tess met Liz, but only in passing, and the only real Liz she knew was the
Shifter. Then there was Sean. Sean had met the real Liz Parker and he had liked
her, but for him there was too much baggage. He lived with and loved the
variance, Liz Parker, the Shifter. Whatever he knew of the real Liz Parker was
clouded by the fake one. The one that tried to kill him and his future - Julia.
And
Max. Max mourned Liz Parker. There was a time when he felt so much for her. It
had always confused him how one day he thought she was the most delicate
beautiful creature, lovely, and breathtaking. The next, she was practically a
stranger. He had wanted to date her, but back then there was too much going on.
Isabel was needing rehab, Michael was in the early turmoil of his relationship
with Maria, and Max was still wavering from intimacy. He knew instinctually that
Liz Parker wasn’t a woman he could date and discard. He couldn’t date her,
not until he understood himself completely. He never got that far, and by the
time he started working on himself, the real Liz Parker was gone. It would’ve
been an interesting double triangle, had Liz survived. He would have been torn
between Tess, once his Queen on another world, his human soulmate, Liz, and
alien soulmate, Jonathan. It was a real triangle. Three sides. Three
possibilities.
Max
had come to Maria after the truth of Liz/Pierce was known, and they had sat in
the dark talking quietly about Liz Parker. The real Liz Parker. Maria told Max
all that she knew of Liz, of her past, and who she had been. Who she wanted to
be.
“Maria,
I wish I had been there all those years ago,” Max said. “I wish I could’ve
healed her when she was sixteen.”
Maria
had cried at that. It would’ve been the turning point for Liz. That moment,
surviving alone, she had lost her sense of reality, of herself. It was the
moment in her life she had felt that her human spirit had fled, and she was left
a physical ghost. Had the hands of fate in the form of a healing alien, touched
her soul, Liz Parker would’ve had a different destiny.
Roads
of life travel to and fro. They wind along, and branch off into different
possibilities. The road that Liz would’ve taken had she known Max Evans at
sixteen, and he had healed her would have been a totally different story. A
different story for Max as well.
Who
could say which was the better one?
Max
had tried with Tess, but he learned one thing. Marriage to someone in another
lifetime meant little in this life. He loved Tess. He loved his son. The
important thing to know was that despite loving Tess, he didn’t love her like
that. Not in his soul. She was the mother of his son and a friend, but in both
lives, the one here and the one before, her heart had belonged to another. Now
she was completely Kyle’s. Kyle and Jack Hardy. Her human heart.
“Liz
was my human heart, wasn’t she, Maria?”
Maria
was shocked that Max could distinguish that much from a simple touch of knowing
Liz for such a short time. “I thought so. You both had that stunned look. Like
seeing into each other’s eyes, and knowing that you found your other half.
You, Max. You are both human and alien. Perhaps the genetics you gained from
your human donor were destined to love Liz Parker.”
“And
my alien genetics?”
“Always
loved Jonathan.”
“Then
what am I now, Maria?”
“The
best of both worlds. The best. Liz is beyond you, but Jonathan lives.”
Max
had been quiet after that. So much to think about. So much to mourn and
celebrate. If Liz Parker and the part of him that was meant to be her soulmate
existed, then in the next life, perhaps his soul would find hers, and unhindered
by alien destiny, they could be free to love for an eternity. He had to believe
that. He had to believe that he would find his Liz Parker in the hereafter. It
was the only way he could find peace in her loss.
“And
you, Maria?”
Maria
smiled through tears. “I believe that Liz Parker was destined to be my
greatest friend. In this life, in any life, she will always be the greatest part
of me. My soulmate. People are wrong to think that the term ‘soulmates’
indicates lovers only. It doesn’t. It is a person that completes you, a piece
that if lost, leaves you are only partially aware. Liz was mine, I believe. She
was like a piece of innocence. My youth. Lost. So in this lifetime, or in a
hundred, I will always be her friend.” Maria stared up into the night sky
through the windows of the loft. Stars. Twinkling parts of light of different
worlds so far away. Liz. She would always love and mourn Liz Parker.
Amy
stroked Maria’s hair and understood what words could never say. A pure spirit
had passed, and the silence of her passing was a disgrace. There had to be
someone who loved Liz enough to feel her loss deeply, and that seemed to be
Maria and Max.
~~~
Michael
stood over Amy, watching her gently stroking Maria’s hair as she slept.
Nothing could ever be more powerful than a mother’s love. Something he had
never felt. Amy looked up at him, and Michael’s breath caught in his throat.
Something he never felt, until Amy DeLuca.
“Is
she okay?”
Amy
shook her head. “No. Not really.” Amy reached down and kissed her
daughter’s head. “I love her so much, Michael. Seeing her in pain hurts and
disturbs me, but this is something we can’t fix. Time is the only healer here.
She’ll survive it. Life will ease the pain.” Amy’s hand slipped down to
rest on Maria’s pregnant stomach. “Mikey and Mandy, they will heal her.”
Michael
knelt down next to Amy, his eyes dark and solemn. “She’s barely spoken in
the last week. I hate it when she’s silent.” He frowned. He was so used to
her talking to him. Constantly. Telling him things. Stuff about indigenous
tribes, mating rituals, how they process materials, or butting into his many
cases. It never registered how much she was in his life until she was quiet.
“Let
her work through it, Michael. She’s sad for Liz, for Liz’s parents, and for
all of us who were denied Liz’s friendship. It is sad, but it’s also a good
thing. Liz Parker deserves someone to mourn her, and Maria is that person.”
Michael
was quiet, his jaw clenching. “Max does too. He goes to her office and lab.
She’s no longer there.”
Amy
nodded and pressed a hand to Michael’s cheek. “Time. It cures much. The
babies will help. Seeing birth, the opposite of death, will help. You’ll see.
Max is lucky. He has Zan to hold, and he knows that life goes on and endures.
Maria is waking up from a lifetime of loss and death. Once she births her
children, feels them in her arms, she’ll know that too.”
Michael
kissed Amy on the forehead and rested against her for a moment. “I love you,
Amy. Sometimes, I feel you as a quiet comfort that keeps me and Maria from
raging out of control, living on impulse.”
Amy
smiled through watery tears. Her boy, so beautiful a spirit, even if he was a
cop. “Such a compliment, boy. Do you know how often I’ve allowed myself the
comfort of living impulsively?”
“Not
impulsively? Only with great heart.”
Amy
laughed, happy with him. Her relationship with Michael was a gift. She knew
that. In so many ways, he had transferred all the love and respect he had held
for his father to her. She loved how easily he gave her his trust. He couldn’t
be more her son if she had been his birth mother. He was closer to her heart
than her own child, Frankie had been.
“You
need her to yourself, don’t you?” Amy didn’t know how she knew that, but
she did. He needed time alone with Maria. Just the two of them.
“Do
you mind?”
Amy
slipped out from under Maria, gently lying her head on the sofa, bending to kiss
her again. Letting Michael help her to her feet, she kissed his cheek. “Not at
all. You don’t have long for it just to be you and her. Soon, the sound of
crying babies and the pitterpatter of little feet will be your life.”
Michael
laughed. He and Maria alone. He couldn’t imagine it. Even when it was just
them, there was always Mr. Boo or someone else demanding their attention.
Selfish. At times, he needed to be that selfish, and lock the world away from
them.
After
Amy left, Michael picked Maria up from the sofa. Carrying her through the loft,
careful not to wake her, he took her into his den. Movie time. He put in a movie
and laid down on the sofa with Maria sleeping in his arms.
~~~
“I
love this movie.”
Michael
kissed the top of her head. “How long you been awake?”
“Not
long. Just for the good stuff.” Maria stretched; her back still hurt. It was
like a constant nagging pull deep in her lower back. “Can you rub my back? It
keeps hurting.”
Michael’s
hand went low. He rubbed as her head dropped on his chest, her low soft moan was
arousing.
“Don’t
even think about it, buddy!” Maria
looked over at the clock. “What are you doing home anyway?”
“Took
the day off. All the clean up, catching up on other cases. It was giving me an
ulcer.”
“Awwww,”
said Maria wisely. “Jim kicked you out because you were harassing the staff
again?”
Michael
laughed. Damn. She knew him too well. “Sort of.” Maria’s eyebrow went up.
“Okay, something like that. I don’t know why I have to deal with
incompetence. I’m sure as hell not going to reward it.”
“Uh
huh. Did Hanson get out of the hospital today?”
“Yeah,
he wandered into the bullpen around
Maria
laughed. “Did the special tray I ordered show up?”
Michael
nodded. “Yes. Leave it to you to order a tray of exotic cheeses and
sweetmeats. The man is now officially head over heels in love with you. He has
highly evolved taste.”
“Really?
Is he okay?”
Michael
shrugged. “He lost one kidney. Part of his spleen. Hopefully, he won’t have
any problems with his remaining kidney, otherwise he’ll have to have a
transplant sometime in the future. Right now, he looks stable.”
Maria
nodded. Hanson had looked bad. It took a lifesaving operation to remove a kidney
damaged beyond repair to stabilize his blood pressure and internal systems. His
liver had lacerations too, but he was slowly recovering.
“How
long until he returns to active duty?”
“A
couple more weeks. Cap decided to send him to another Police Convention. This
time in
“Hmm,
so no full competition this time, like before?”
Michael
shrugged. “Nope. Actually we were pulling straws to see who was gonna be
forced to go.
“Oh,
c’mon! I am sure there are plenty of women willing to wear grass skirts in
Michael
laughed. “In October?”
Maria
shrugged. So, it was perhaps a tad bit nippy. Where was the spirit of adventure?
“Tsk,
tsk, Detective. I’d have thought the opportunity of watching hockey live would
make your blood run faster.”
“Hockey?”
Michael
frowned. Well, damn! She was right. Season started, and…
Maria
laughed, and then groaned. Her back! Moving
to try to find a more comfortable position, Maria frowned. Gardening had been a
bad idea.
“Are
you okay?” asked Michael, sitting up quickly.
“Back.”
Maria sighed. Confession was rarely good for her soul. “I did a little
gardening today.”
“Kill
anything?”
“I
tried. I really tried hard, but the damn place looks like it’s on speed.”
Michael
relaxed again. “I think it’s the Granilith.”
The
Granilith? It affects plant growth? Maybe that was why her stomach felt so much
bigger and stretched. “Speaking of...it…what
are we going to do with the mysterious Granilith?”
“Us?
I don’t know. Why us?”
Maria
rolled her eyes. “Obviously us. Our
son, Rath will be the key. He sent it to the past. Therefore, you and I
exclusively, are the key right now, and at this time. So…” Maria slowly sat
up, not without great effort. “I believe it is up to us to decide where to put
it.”
“Maybe.”
Michael moved his hands down her back, rubbing the lower lumbar region. He could
feel her discomfort. He had felt it most of the day. She was getting more and
more uncomfortable, even with sleeping.
“Maybe?”
Michael
shrugged. “Rath determined where it went. He sent it in the past. But, we
don’t know where it went. Who’s to say we’re the ones who decide that?”
Maria
couldn’t sit any longer. She stood up and began to walk to alleviate the
strain. “I think we have to be. Or specifically, I think you have to be.
It’s your job, like it will be Rath’s.”
Rath.
Michael stared at Maria, his thoughts clouded. “You really want to name him Rath?”
Strange they should name their future child after a man who tried to kill
their children. A man who was a murderer and serial rapist. A man who was
insane.
“Yes,
I want to name him Rath. It feels right. It was once your name, and I like to
think we’ll preserve something of what you once were. After all,” Maria said
quickly before Michael could give other reasons, “Rath was once a great
warrior, destined to be the King of his mother’s world. By human standards, he
might have left much to be desired, but by alien standards he inspired great
loyalty. Your alien side helped to recreate you. It gave you to me. That’s
something.”
Michael
shrugged, but he was…flattered. Maria’s pacing had increased, and she was
rubbing her back even more. “Is it getting worse?”
“I
don’t know. Yeah, I think so. It was bad all day, but in the last hour, it’s
become almost intolerable.”
Getting
up, Michael went to Maria. Helping her, he walked a few paces with her. It was
hard. He could feel her pain. It was radiating in her back, and internally, like
a hard pull. “Maria, I think those are contractions. They feel like
contractions.”
“No.
Too soon. I’ve got another month. They’re probably the usual false
contractions.” Maria paused as a sudden push deep in her pelvis took her
breath away. She folded over in pain, as she felt a flood of liquid gushing.
“Maria!”
Michael held her up when she
would’ve fallen to her knees. “Baby?”
Maria
breathed hard, sweat beaded on her lip and forehead as she tried to find a
moment between the pain to talk. “Michael…..my water just broke.”
Maria
almost laughed as she listened to herself. She sounded so matter of fact.
‘Michael, my water just broke.’ Like it was an ordinary occurrence.
“Water…baby?
Delivery?” Michael seemed confused. “Now?”
“What?!
It’s not convenient?” Maria’s voice rose as another contraction made her
lose her feet. Michael quickly swept her up in his arms and put her on the
leather sofa.
“I’ll
call DocJim.” Michael reached for his cell phone. “Let me run and get your
things and we’ll leave for the hospital immediately.” Michael was talking
fast. Very fast. His hands were shaking.
Maria
rolled to her side, and the next contraction made her scream. Michael dropped
the phone. “Maria, honey….oh shit!”
Maria
panted through the contraction. “Michael, something’s wrong! I…it’s too
fast. Too close!”
“Hospital!
I’ll call dispatch, run the lights….” Michael started to pick Maria up
again and carry her to the car. Another contraction hit, and her scream of pain
hit him as well. They both were bent over in pain.
“Michael….I
don’t think we can make it.” Maria said between pants.
“Okay..okay,
calmness. Just stay calm!” Michael paced. “I’ll call for the an ambulance.
The EMT can assist on the way.”
Maria
had another contraction, and Michael dropped the phone going to her, holding her
against him, as she squeezed his hand.
“Maria,
I need to call and assess the situation.” Michael couldn’t think. This
wasn’t supposed to be happening! Not like this! Holding her, he quickly dialed
911. The phone seemed to ring forever, or perhaps it was the two contractions
they had to live through that made it seem such a long time.
Michael
swore a blue streak, so worried, and panicked, he almost didn’t hear the
operator. Quickly explaining their dilemma, the operator dispatched an
ambulance.
“Sir,
I need you to assess your wife’s condition.”
“She’s
having a baby!!!”
The
operator’s voice was calm and soothing. “I know, Sir. I need to know how far
she is along in labor. You said her water broke. Can you look and see if you can
see the baby’s head?”
“Baby?
There are two. We’re having twins.” Michael’s voice was hollow, almost in
shock as Maria had another contraction, and she squeezed his hand hard.
“Sir….sir,
are you there?”
“Yeah,
yeah, just a second.” Michael quickly removed Maria’s panties and checked.
Oh shit! “Maria….honey, how long
have you had the backache today?”
Maria
was breathing hard. She could feel another contraction. “All day. And
indigestion.”
Michael
swore. “I think you were in labor.”
“What?”
Maria tried to sit up a little, but the pain put her back down as the next
contraction hit. They weathered it together. “Michael?”
“A
head. I see a head.” Michael picked up the phone. “I see the baby’s
head.”
The
operator suddenly wasn’t so calm. “How much? Is it just crowning, or can you
see more than a crown?”
Michael
looked again. A crown? What the hell was that? The top of the head? “I can see
quite a bit. I think the head is pushing through.”
“Okay…”
The operator seemed to be talking to someone else. “Sir….um, what is your
name?”
“Michael!!
Can we cut the chitchat? My wife is having a fucking baby!”
“Yes,
Michael. The next contraction will more than likely deliver the head. I need you
to quickly find sheets or towels - something to tie off the cord, a sharp knife,
some water, and wash your hands. The contractions are coming quickly, so
hurry!”
Michael
dropped the phone. He rushed out of the room.
“Michael!
Damn you, don’t leave me!” Maria could feel the next contraction coming.
Breathing, trying to remember her Lamaze training, she huffed and hee-d her way
through it. Michael yelled at her that he would be back.
Michael
rushed as fast as he could. He turned on the kitchen sink. Hot water. Grabbed
bottled water from the storage bin, string from the utility drawer and his
pocket knife. Rushing upstairs, he took sheets from the linen closet and a
handful of towels. Rushing down the stairs, he almost fell. He quickly washed
his hands in the hot water and took everything to the den. Stopping to turn off
the alarm and open the front door, he rushed back to Maria.
She
was in another contraction. Swearing. Calling him a nice plethora of colorful
names. Michael ignored the phone. He didn’t have time to talk to whoever was
on the other end. Sliding a sheet under Maria, he checked. The head was out even
more. Wetting a towel, he quickly wiped the sweat from Maria’s face.
“Honey,
I think our kids are ready to be born. Can you help me?”
“I’m
busy delivering a cow, Detective! Fucking busy
here!”
“Have
you ever seen this done?” Michael was hoping that in her vast archaeological
experience and travels, she witnessed birthing.
“
“Okay,
okay. It’s okay. Stay calm!” Michael never got to finish his locker room
speech when another contraction hit. This was a big one. “A head! I’ve got a
head!”
Maria
was resting, breathing hard. Her hands were gripping the sides of the sofa,
white with strain. The last contraction almost made her faint. She noticed that
Michael wasn’t looking too good. He was pale. “Don’t you dare faint on
me!”
Michael
shook himself. “I don’t faint!” Normally. He was holding his child’s
head. Michael reached down and grabbed the phone with his free hand. “Head!
The head is out.”
“Don’t
push! Tell your wife not to push!”
“Maria,
honey, resist the urge to push!” Michael put the phone on his shoulder between
his ear and chin. Where the hell was that damn ambulance?
“Michael,
tell your wife…..um, her name? What’s her name?”
“Maria.”
“Tell
Maria to resist pushing.”
“I
did!”
“Good.
Now you need slide your hand behind the baby’s neck, inside. You need to find
the shoulder, and pull one shoulder out, then in a fast push, Maria can deliver
the rest of the baby.”
“Excuse
me?” Slide his hand in? Did this imbecile know how frickin’ big his hands
were? Michael shook his head. He couldn’t do that.
“Michael,
she can’t push out two shoulders at once. One at a time. You need to help her!
One shoulder. Find one shoulder, and help to bring it out first. Then rotate the
baby, so Maria can easily deliver the second shoulder. The rest of the baby will
deliver much easier!”
Michael
swore. “Maria, honey, don’t push until I tell you.”
“I
can’t! It hurts! I need to bear down!”
“Maria,
wait! You wait for me!” Michael looked at her. “Wait. I won’t leave you!
Just you and me. We can do this!”
Maria
nodded, groaning in pain as the need to push increased.
Michael
worked quickly, not thinking, not letting himself really think about the whole
situation. He found the shoulder. It seemed impossible to move through such a
small space. Finding the shoulder, he rotated it until he could feel one
shoulder slide through. “Maria, push. Honey, push now!”
Maria
pushed, her breathing ragged as she cried. Michael couldn’t look at her. She
was so pale, covered in sweat, and he could feel her pain. He couldn’t look.
If he looked, he couldn’t do what needed to be done. The operator on the phone
was right. The baby practically slid out once the shoulder was freed.
He
quickly wrapped the baby in a sheet. A boy. Mikey. He was blue. Not breathing.
“Michael?”
Maria tried to raise herself. “Michael, why isn’t he crying??? Michael?”
Michael
took a wet towel. He quickly wiped off his son, and turning the baby slightly,
he cleared his mouth and nose. The baby seemed to cough, and suddenly he was
crying. Michael laughed through tears and he looked up at Maria. He could see
the relief in her face as her hands reached out for the baby. He nodded. Wiping
off more mucus and blood, he finished wrapping the baby.
“It’s
Mikey.” Michael placed the baby on Maria’s stomach as he quickly looked at
his watch. Picking up the phone he waited for more instructions. Five minutes.
All of that took just five minutes. It felt like a lifetime, as if he had run a
marathon.
“Michael,
I recorded the time when I heard the baby’s first cry. I need you to tie off
the umbilical cord. You can tie it long. They’ll fix it at the hospital. Along
the cord, you need to find two places. Tie off in two places about an inch
apart. Make sure the tie is very tight and firm. If you have alcohol, clean the
area.”
“I
have water.”
“Water
is fine. Tie, clean with water. Then with a sharp knife, cut the cord.”
Michael
didn’t want to hurt Maria. “Can’t I leave it?”
“No.
Twins. She’ll expel the placenta if the twins are fraternal. You need to free
the baby from the placenta. Quickly. The other baby might be in a hurry, or as
big of a hurry as this one.”
Michael
quickly did as instructed while Maria quietly spoke to Mikey. Michael looked up
to see her checking his toes and fingers, using the sheet to wipe him clean.
Michael had no clue what the operator was talking about, but he followed
instructions. It sounded like sirens in the background.
“Michael?”
Maria’s voice rose in fear. “Michael, I feel the need to push!”
“Can
you wait? I think I hear the ambulance!” Maria shook her head. Baby? Placenta?
Baby? Damn. “Then push. We have impatient kids. They can’t wait for some
slow ass EMT.”
“Your
language!” Maria admonished, holding Mikey close.
“Want
me to take him?”
Maria
shook her head. She would hold him.
“Maria,
he’ll be safe on the floor for a few moments.”
“No.”
Maria’s voice had a bite as a
contraction hit. It didn’t last long. There were three fast and hard
contractions. She delivered the placenta.
Michael
quickly picked up the phone. “Um, she….we, um, there is this mass of bloody
material….um, that’s not our daughter?”
“No.
That’s the placenta. Place that in something. A towel or bag. Whatever is
handy. You need to bring that to the hospital as well.”
Michael
made a face. Great. As long as it wasn’t Amanda, he could deal.
“Michael,
was that the placenta?” asked Maria weakly. “Save me some. I want to make a
medicine pouch. The Zuni Indians….”
“Maria,
I’m not saving your placenta! Talk
to the doctor later at the hospital.” Geez!
Wiping his face with the side of his arm, Michael wrapped the prized
placenta in a towel. He sat back, breathing hard. Maria seemed to be resting. He
could hear the ambulance sirens closer now.
“Professor,
you okay if I leave you to get the professionals?”
Maria
nodded. “Michael?” He paused at the door. “Thank you. Thank you for…”
She smiled. “Thank you.”
Michael
smiled. He had a son.
The
EMT beat him to the door. He waved him through, but Maria’s voice called for
him.
“Maria!”
Rushing back, the EMT followed him to the den. Michael immediately went to her,
taking Mikey from her as a full contraction hit. The EMT immediately began to
assess the situation.
“No
time to transport. The other baby is ready to be born.” He looked at Maria and
smiled kindly. “You’re a pro now. Just like before. This one should be
faster. When you feel the urge to push, bear down for a count of ten, then
relax.”
Michael
lifted Maria up a little and slid in under her, to hold her against him. He was
still holding Mikey, but the other EMT reached for the baby.
“I’ll
take him. Make sure he’s okay.”
Michael
handed him his son. He had to concentrate on Maria. Amanda actually took longer.
The contractions went on and on, and Maria was exhausted. Holding her, Michael
wiped her face, and held her hand as the next contraction came in a wave.
“I’ve
got a head!” Michael waited as the EMT moved the baby to deliver the shoulder.
Then it was over. Two more contractions, and their daughter was born. Amanda.
Mandy.
It
took almost another half an hour before Maria and the babies were loaded into
the ambulance to be transferred to the hospital. With sirens came Alex, Isabel
and Zeke. Michael left them to clean up the place and start making the phone
calls. He easily climbed into the ambulance with Maria without a backwards
glance. His family was in the ambulance. It was where he belonged.
“You
did good, Professor.”
Maria
was holding Amanda while Michael held Mikey. “You think so, Detective?”
“Next
time, let’s try to do this in the hospital, ok? I don’t think my heart can
take this again,” Michael said. For a moment, he had been afraid, that brief
second before Mikey started breathing on his own.
“You
know I like to be difficult.”
Michael
gave a snorting laugh at that. Indeed. “You want to switch?” He asked. Maria
nodded. She wouldn’t mind holding her son. Her mother had been right. Her
sadness of the day was dissolved by the wonder of see her children. Holding
them. Mikey was sucking on his fist.
“Honey,
we’re going to need a new sofa in my den.”
Maria
groaned. “That was a Henridon.” Maria sighed. “You didn’t even get to
christen it with spilt beer.”
“Actually,
we spilt beer on it two days ago.”
“Oh,
well then it’s okay.” Maria said sarcastically. Looking at her son, she
decided it was worth the expense. He was worth the expense. Him and his tiny
sister.
When
they entered the ER, Michael groaned. Jackie. Of course it would be Jackie. She
looked at them and shook her head.
“They
need to make special insurance for you two.”
Michael
looked around his voice rising in grievance. “Can I get a real doctor?”
Maria
rolled her eyes. “Hi, Jackie! Come look at my babies!” Thus started a new
era in Michael’s life. He called it the ‘excessive cooing stage.’ The
entire ER staff. All of them cooing and admiring his newborn son and daughter.
Of course, they were pretty excellent,
so he forgave them.
Maria
laughed as he made the puffin face at Mikey. “He can’t see you,
Detective.”
“Sure
he can!”
Their
children were stolen by the pediatrician on call,
who checked them over. It didn’t take too long, but Michael paced the
floor anyway. That was how DocJim found him.
“Michael.”
Jim smiled at Maria, kissing her cheek. “So I see your control freak nature
demanded to deliver your own children. I should’ve known it would come to
this.”
Michael
made a face. “I really would’ve preferred you to do the honors. I was a
pinch hitter at best.”
Jim
smiled. “I stopped and saw the babies. They both checked out healthy. The
maternity ward is putting them into incubation beds for the night, but I saw
their checkup sheets. They’re perfect. Very healthy.”
Maria
sighed a breath of relief. It had been a long haul, so much of it touch and go.
“When can we see them again?”
“Soon.
I’m getting you signed in, and we’ll have you upstairs within the hour. The
babies were crying. They were hungry, so I’ll get them to rush it along.”
Michael’s
eyebrow went up at that. Why wasn’t he surprised to know his children were
hungry and crying for their first meal? After all, it was his and Maria’s
genes there.