Chapter 18 Birthing a baby
Aiden
She wasn't saying anything anymore, her entire attention was fixed on her food, while I just stared at her.
Long before she got here, Dr. Lane told me about her, and that she's going to be working here so she would need the most conducive environment.
At first I was pretty skeptical.
Of everyone else, why was she telling me that?
Then Liana resumed. From the description Dr. Lane gave to me, I knew it was her when I saw her walk in through the reception.
But then again, there was nothing genuinely special or appealing about her, she had a rather bad dress sense. However, I didn't spend so much time seeing her in that light before she changed my perspective.
The report.
She was bold, really smart, articulate and very intentional. The kind of vibe she was passing off was the kind that strongly believed that whatever is worth doing is wort doing well.
Now that mindset…
Was everything to me.
“...Thank you” I heard her say, and it was then I realized that she had been talking the whole time, while I remained in my head. “My baby is also grateful.”
“Oh come on, it's nothing.” I winked, watching her wrap her hands protectively around her stomach.
“When is your due date?” I asked, leaning back into my chair.
“Two weeks from today.” She replied, her gaze growing distant. I wanted to ask what the problem was, but then I didn't have to, because she continued. “Honestly, I don't know how to feel about it.”
I was intrigued. “You want to talk about it?”
She looked at me fir a moment, as if trying to decide whether or not to tell me, then she sighed and nodded. “What if things don't go so well?” She paused and inhaled. “now I'm not just talking about the labor room, but in my baby's life. What if I fail as a mother, what if…”
“You're not going to fail as a mother." I said before she could go any further.
In the last few months, all I've seen is a resilient woman, not just a competent doctor, but an exceptional one. I've spent a lot of time in this space to know exceptional when I see one.
And she's nothing below that.
If she can be this exceptional here, I wonder how beautifully she's going to handle motherhood.
She looked at me, slightly startled by the sudden interruption, but I kept going. “Things will go well,”
“I'm not overthinking.” She replied, her voice slightly on an edge that told me she'd heard that word too many times already, and now she thinks it's the same thing I'm trying to tell her. “It's just the thoughts. They won't leave, no matter how hard I try.”
I placed my hand over hers on the table briefly, then moved it back. “I know, and I'm not calling it overthinking.” I paused. “I'm just saying that the thoughts aren't facts.”
“You've been doing everything right,” I continued, with no intentions to flatter her, “every adjustment, consultation, reviews… nothing about how you handled the last few months suggest someone who is going to fail at anything.” I paused, looking straight into her already teary eyes.
“Least of all, at the thing she clearly cares most about.”
She looked away immediately, back at her food.
“Fear never suggests that you'll fail, we usually fear what we have no control over.” I paused. “But look around, you've got it all under control.”
“No,” she shook her head. “I don't have it under control.”
“Liana, breath.” I whispered. “You've got this, okay?”
She didn't respond immediately, and that told me that she was actually considering it, rather than dismissing it.
In the last few months with her, I've learned that she has a particular kind of silence for dismissal, and another for consideration.
They weren't the same.
Her hands stopped moving, then she looked at me again. “What do I tell him?” She asked.
It didn't take me a long time or too much thinking to understand what she was talking about. “You'll tell him the truth.”
“When he's ready for it you tell him.” I continued. “But before he is ready, you're free to tell him whatever version of the truth he needs to know.”
She looked up at me finally. “What if they try to take him away from me?”
“Huh?” I raised an eyebrow. “Who?”
“The D’Arden’s” she mumbled. “What if they take up the matter and decide to use all their influence and wealth to take my baby away from me?”
“They're not going to.” I said, pretty sure of what I was saying.
“You don't know those people.” Her hands trembled against the table where they rested. “They'd go any length to get whatever it is they want.”
I shook my head. “Not in this case, Liana. Although I don't know the details of what happened, I'm pretty sure the law wouldn't be on their side.”
She looked at me, without saying anything, but the look alone exposed me to a lot of unspoken words.
“Even if they eventually decide to make trouble, you have me, you have Dr. Lane, we've got your back.”
There was something in her expression that I didn't try to name, because I didn't want to over step, or have her feeling like I'm butting my face in her business, so I just held her gaze for a moment before slowly looking away.
“So … two weeks,” I mumbled, returning to neutral ground.
“Two weeks” she echoed, and something in her voice was steadier than it was before the conversation.
Like she was willing to face motherhood without fear.
“Now that's the energy.” I grinned, and she chuckled.
“Any predicted complications?” I asked again, before it could skip my mind.
She froze, her gaze growing distant.
That simple gesture told me all I needed to know, and caused a heavy sigh to escape my lips.
In the silence of the room, I made a promise to myself.
I'd do everything within my power to make sure she births her baby and comes out of it alive, and for the rest, I'd figure out later…