Her eyes go wide, and she glances up at her husband before looking back at me. “You’ve never done this?”
“Nope.”
Asher practically tosses my phone at me, and I instantly open my flashlight app and lean the phone against the wall, shining it right at November’s coochie. “You’ve had some kind of training, right?” Asher asks, the tone in his voice filled with concern. “You’ve read the textbooks and watched the training videos on this shit?”
I nod, biting down on my lip as I help November get her legs into position. “Maybe you should call Thorne,” November suggests to her husband. “I don’t know … maybe he can at least talk her through it.”
My eyes bug out of my head. “Thorne?” I question. “As in Dr. Thorne Mayson?”
“Yeah,” November grunts. “He’s Asher’s cousin and was scheduled to deliver this baby next Thursday, but apparently, that’s not going to happen.”
“Oh, okay. Ummm … yeah. That’s not a bad idea.”
Asher instantly starts searching through his phone, and within seconds, it’s on speakerphone, and I hear the call ringing through the small elevator. I try to calm myself. Dr. Thorne Mayson is the biggest name in obstetrics; he’s a total badass. Patients come to him from all over the country just to have him deliver their babies, and I’m about to have him talk me through an elevator floor delivery. This is not only the most terrifying thing I’ll ever do, but it’s also a dream come true.
He’s a beast in this world. He dominates every surgery he does and his work is outstanding. I wasn’t surprised when I first learned that he has the personality of an asshole—uptight and full of shit. Though, I guess when you’re Dr. Thorne Mayson, it doesn’t matter. A guy like that could get away with murder. He’s already on top, and with his skills, that’s exactly where he’ll stay.
The call answers just as November’s grip on her husband’s hand tightens, sending her knuckles a bright white and telling me that her contraction is coming. “Asher,” Dr. Mayson’s voice comes lazily through the phone. “What’s going on? Are you guys still down in the ER? The hospital is having issues with the back-up generator. They’re saying it could be another few minutes before we have power up and running.”
“We don’t have another few minutes,” Asher rushes out as November growls low and deep, a sound I wasn’t aware a woman could make. “We’re trapped in the elevator with one of your midwife students and November needs to push.”
“Fuck,” he curses. “Put me on speakerphone.”
“You are.”
“Right, who am I speaking with?” he says, instantly jumping into doctor mode like the professional that he is.
“My name is Autumn Mathers, sir,” I say, my voice coming in way too timid and immediately showing just how terrified I am. “Today’s my first day.”
There’s a silent curse that I can hardly make out before he takes a deep, frustrated breath. “Right, Autumn. Welcome to Nashville. It’s a pleasure to be working with you. Now, I’m going to be blunt with you. The baby you’re about to deliver is my family, my blood, which means that today just became the most important day of your career. When you are bringing babies into the world, there is no room for error. Is that understood?”
I swallow down the bile that threatens to rise in my throat. Just great. I’m experimenting on Dr. Thorne Mayson’s family. If I screw this up or even do a tiny thing wrong, I’m screwed. Hell, even if I give him a bad vibe, I could be done in this world. Who’s going to want to work with the chick who’s on Dr. Mayson’s shit list?
I let out a breath, hoping to all that’s holy above that I don't screw this up. “Yes. Sir. Understood.”
“Good. Now, is November lying down?”
“Yes.”
“How far apart are her contractions?”
I resist groaning. “Two and a half minutes.”
“How dilated is she?” he asks.
“Fully,” I rush out, frustrated with all of his questions despite not really knowing if this is fully dilated or not, but assuming the baby is right there, I think it’s safe to say that she is ready to go. I mean, I get it. I know he wants to make sure all the boxes are ticked, but there’s simply no time for this. “The baby is crowning, and if we wait any longer, it’s going to give birth to itself. I’ll be seeing its forehead soon,” I explain as November begins to groan and clench her eyes. “Now, I don’t mean to be insensitive or rude to your training, and I hope this doesn’t leave you with a bad impression but screw your goddamn questions. The contraction is here and she needs to push. Now.”
Asher’s eyes widened at the tone I used with his cousin, but I put it aside to pick apart at a later date. “Fuck. Alright. November, can you hear me?”
“YES.”
“Right, legs up. You’re going to take a deep breath and then push. Asher, slowly count to ten.”
They instantly jump into it, showing that they’re far more experienced in this than I am. With November's legs up, I move in, ready to catch the baby.
Her face turns red as she strains to push while the soft rhythmic sounds of Asher’s counting fill the elevator.
“6, 7, 8, 9, 10.”
“Right, deep breath,” Dr. Mayson says. “And push again until the contraction fades.”
November does just that and as the head slowly pushes through to the outside world, she lets out a pained scream. “HOLY FUCK. MY VAGINA BURNS.”
Asher is quick to soothe her. “You’re doing great, baby. You’re doing great.”
“You’re nearly there,” I tell her, staring down at the wonder of childbirth and realizing just how amazing this is. It’s one thing to see it on a screen, but right here in person … nothing can compare. It’s a thrill I wasn’t ready for and has me pumped to keep going. Though I’m not going to lie, I’m more than happy not to be in November’s position. That shit looks deadly. “The head is just about out.”
Dr. Mayson takes that little snippet of information and runs with it. “Okay, November. On the next contraction, you’re going to push until the head is out and then I want you to stop. Autumn, let her know once the baby’s head is out. You’ll need to hold the head, keep it protected.”
“Got it,” I say, a thrill rushing through me.
November hardly gets a chance to catch her breath before the next contraction is bearing down on her. She pushes again, and just when I think she’s about to run out of breath, the head comes out. She sucks in a deep, well-deserved breath, not needing me in the least to prompt her to stop.
I catch the baby’s head, cradling it in my hands. “Alright, Dr. Mayson, the head is out. What next?”
“Is she breathing?”
My eyes widen. Why haven’t I already thought of that? November and Asher both freeze. This is probably a part of the job that the doctor wouldn’t usually say out loud as to not frighten the parents, but this is certainly a unique situation.