Chapter 156: Chapter one-hundred and fifty six

"wifey. Wifey love. I am here." Jace said, panting.

"What took you so long?" Eliana screamed. Her face was covered with sweat.

"I - I had to change into this and scrub my hand before they allowed me into the labor room. I am sorry. Aww." Jace let out a sound when Eliana squeezed his fingers. He could swear one or two of them are broken. He tried to hold it in but Eliana is still squeezing his fingers. The pain was becoming unbearable. Jace began to sweat as well.

Eliana's water broke in the morning. She was still in bed when she felt wet. She sat up trying to understand whether she wet the bed. Since she could not hold the contents of her bladder for a reasonable amount of time anymore.

When she felt her back felt like it was about to break, she then realized it was her water that broke. Which means her baby is coming a week earlier than the expected date of delivery.

Eliana woke Jace up, who was still sleeping and they rushed to the hospital, leaving Amelia with her nanny.

When Eliana was In the 9th month of her pregnancy, They decided for the nanny to move in with them for Amelia's sake. They would not know what to do if the labor would start in the middle of the night.

Eliana was already in the full face of labor. A nurse had checked and announced that Eliana was already 10 cm. That was when Jace was also dressed to go into the room.

"Arghh. Jace, It hurts so much.. arrrgh." Eliana let out a cry and heavy breathing as well.

"It will be alright love. It will be over soon. I love you so much. You are so brave. You can do this" Jace said. He had read a lot about delivery in an attempt to prepare himself for this day. So far, apart from his two fingers that were still in excruciating pain, there was no much damage done.

"The baby is crowning. It's time to push." A nurse, who was by Eliana's legs, announced. There were two other nurses, all attending to Eliana. One of the nurses stood by the opposite side of Jace.

The pain she was feeling at first has now subsided but not completely gone.

Eliana noticed how Jace was sweating. She then realized how she was squeezing his hand too firmly. But she couldn't let go. It gave her a certain feel of relief.

"Come one. One more push." The nurse said.

Eliana did as she was told. With gritted teeth, she pushed again.

"I love you so much. You are a brave woman. You can do this." Jace said, close to Eliana's ear. He kept encouraging her and wiping her sweat with a cloth at first, but later, he couldn't find the cloth. He used his hand instead.

"Take your time to breathe. The baby is almost her. When you feel the urge to push then you do it, ok?" The nurse standing beside Eliana encouraged.

With Jace's encouragement, Eliana kept breathing in and out through her mouth. When she felt the urge to push, she did.

"I am so sorry you have to go through this." Jace said with watery eyes. He has been preparing himself for this. He thought he had it in him to withstand the delivery process, but it turned out he wasn't up for it. Seeing his wife in a state that he could not do anything about, broke him into tears. I Hope it will be over already.

"Why are you crying - Arrrgh." Eliana tried asking Jace. But the fill she felt between her legs cut her off.

"No. No. Don't stop. Push. You are almost there." The nurse said.

Eliana did just that. She let go of Jace's hand and held the sides of the bed very tight.

"The baby's head is out now." The nurses announced. "You push one last time and that is it." The nurse encouraged Eliana .

"You hear that, wifey? On the last push and it will all be over." Jace encouraged her.

Eliana, who is already becoming weaker by the minute, used all the energy she could and gave a long push. After that, she slumped back on the bed with her eyes closed.

"Wahh wahh wahh" the baby said.

The healthy baby's cry filled the room. Eliana smiled at the sound of her baby cry.

"Congratulations, Mr and Mrs Bratkowski. You baby boy is here." The nurse announced, after the baby pope's out.

"You are the bravest person I know. I love you. I am so sorry you had to go through that to give more blessings to us." Jace kept speaking and kissing his wife's face all over.

"Mr Bratkowski, would you like to cut the cord?" The head nurse asked.

Jace nodded and accepted the scissors.

'Don't look down.'

'Don't look down.'

'Don't look down, Jace. You can do this. Your wife went through the delivery process without fainting. The least you can do is to cut the cord without fainting.'

Jace kept reminding and encouraging himself. From the research he did about delivery, he learnt that some men faint in the delivery room. Eighty percent of them fainted because they looked at the process of the delivery. What they see is what made them collapse.

He was directed nowhere to cut and he did. He let out a breath of relief and ahandes the equipment back to the nurse.

He quickly went back to his wife and kissed her face again.

Heartbeats later, the mother and child were all cleaned and transferred to a room.

The baby was the first to be cleaned and had skin to skin contact with the mother and then the mother was cleaned up too.

Jace gave the baby another skin contact while Eliana was being cleaned up. They then brought her to the room Jace and the baby were in already.

"There she is. Our hero." Jace said to the baby.

Eliana smiled their way. She was gradually helped from the wheelchair to the bed. Then the baby was handed to her. When the nurses made sure everything was in place, they excused themselves and left.

Jace buttoned his shirt and walked to the bed. He gave her a peck on the forehead before sitting next to his wife.

"You are not only beautiful, wifey, but you are amazing as well." Jace said. "Thank you so much for going through this to give us this handsome blessing. I love you so much." He added, turning his attention to the little sleeping figure.

"Thank you for being with me every step of the journey and I love you more." Eliana said, leaning on Jace's shoulder. They were both looking at the baby and smiling.

"We love you, little one." Jace said. He gently caressed the baby's cheek with a finger.

"Have you now decided on the name?" Jace asked, his attention on his little man.

They talked about different names after they found out the gender of the baby. They had a list and gradually brought it down to two names: Lucas or Liam. They decided to wait for the baby to arrive before they will make the final decision on the name. They agreed on whichever name they see fits the baby's face best, will be the one they are going with.

"I have decided." Eliana said with a smile. She looked at the father, then back at the baby.