Prese sentation on by fully_d _dialated B rian stifled a grin - - PDF document

Prese sentation

• n

by

fully_d _dialated

rian stifled a grin as Mandy's swollen belly entered the room, followed several moments later by Mandy herself. He felt a little guilty about the joke, but he'd heard her make it herself, which helped. Her dark hair was done up in a neat French twist, and she was wearing a red dress that clung to her abdomen, revealing the full curve of her massive belly. Glancing down at the planner in front of him, he counted the days that had passed since January thirteenth, her due date. Today was February second, so that made her twenty days overdue, nearly three weeks late. Poor girl.

B

She flashed him a smile as she crossed to the laptop set up in the front of the room, her normal confident walk having degenerated into a slow, awkward waddle over the past two months. He gave her all the credit in the world though; when she announced her preg- nancy, she’d told everyone that she had no intentions of using it as an excuse to not do her job. Even now, overdue to the point of burst- ing, she was still the hard-working overachiever she’d always been. She never called attention to her pregnancy, not that she needed to, her massive girth made it ridiculously obvious that she was in a del- icate condition. She was almost too dedicated. She’d confessed to the team that her doctor had wanted her to stop working on her due date, but she’d been determined to work up until delivery or until their final client presentation, whichever came first. Today was the long-awaited presentation, and everyone grew quiet and attentive as she switched on the projector, walking their clients through the proposed advertising campaign. He’d seen the clients shoot concerned looks at each other when she waddled to the front of the room, her size making them clearly uncomfortable. However, looking at them now, he saw them completely captured by her speaking skills, her advanced pregnancy forgotten. Laura, a fellow team member caught his eye and shot him a clandestine thumbs-up to indicate that they’d won the clients over. He returned the signal and looked again at Mandy, his brow furrow- ing in concern when he looked at her face. She was flushed, beads of perspiration breaking out along her hairline. As he watched, she tugged at the neckline of her dress, apparently trying to cool herself

• ff. As she went on to the next slide, he saw her wince and brace her

hands against her lower back. Glancing around the room, he saw that no one else seemed to have noticed Mandy’s distress. Her voice was a bit breathless, but she continued the presentation without missing a beat. Shaking his head, he forced himself to relax, telling himself that he was seeing

• things. Still, he found himself watching Mandy far more than the

carefully-designed presentation, noticing how the flicker of light made her belly look like it was warping underneath her snug dress. 1

Mandy pointed at the screen, her hand trembling a bit. “And during stage two of the roll-out...” Her voice trailed off as a strange look crossed her face. She shook her head and adjusted her stance, parting her feet a bit more to give herself a more stable base as she rubbed her belly. “During stage two,” she attempted again, “We— “ She froze, her eyes going wide for a moment before she suddenly doubled over with a loud groan, catching herself on the side of the table as a pop- ping sound was heard in the room. Using one hand to brace herself, Mandy clutched her huge belly with the other, groaning wildly as Brian saw a wet patch appear on her dress, spreading rapidly. “Her water broke!” Laura shouted, leaping to her feet as Mike, the final member of the team spoke quickly to their clients, leading them out of the room and shutting the door behind him. Brian slowly approached the two women. Laura was standing beside Mandy, a hand on her shoulder as she spoke quietly to the hugely-pregnant woman. Mandy was still hunched over, moaning continually, her face contorted with pain. “How long have you been having contractions?” Laura asked. Mandy shook her head, gritting out, “Don’t know! Ohhhhhhhhh!” Her eyes were wide with shock as she cried out. “Have you been having cramps or backache?” Laura pressed, rubbing her back gently, and Mandy nodded. “For how long?” “Yesterday... lunch... ohhhhhhh shit!” Mandy grunted, her knees buckling. Hastily, Laura and Brian guided her to sit in one of the confer- ence room chairs. Laura looked up at him, “She’s been in labor since yesterday! Call 911.” Brian whipped out his phone, quickly dialing the dispatcher as Laura tried to soothe Mandy, “Stay calm, honey. Just hold on. Women have babies every day.” Mandy’s lips drew back in a snarl as she clawed at the armrests,

• shrieking. Beneath her thin dress, he could see her belly heave,

“Uuuuuuuhhhhhhh GOD! It’s time! I want my epidural!” “Real soon, Mandy,” Laura assured her, placing her hand on her

• belly. Looking up at him, she mouthed, “Hurry!”

At what seemed like an eternity, the dispatcher picked up. Brian explained their situation. “I’ve got a woman in labor. Her water just

• broke. She’s really overdue. You have to send an ambulance!”

He had to move away, speaking loudly to be heard over Mandy’s desperate moans and yells. After getting the relevant information, the dispatcher assured him that an ambulance was on the way. He hung up, telling the women in relief. “They’ll be here in a few minutes.” 2

“Aaauuuggghhhhh! The baby’s coming! Oh my God, the baby’s coming! Hhhhuuunnngggghhhh!” Mandy bellowed, spreading her legs wide in the chair. Laura blanched. “I’m not sure we have a few minutes!” Taking Mandy’s hands, Laura tried to get her attention, “Mandy, you have to breathe, okay?

• Breathe. Nice and slow. Come on, take a deep breath. Breathe!”

Desperate for something to do, Brian grabbed a water bottle, pouring half its contents over his handkerchief, he pressed it to Mandy’s face, blotting away the sweat. Her head rolled back, lying against the back of the chair as she breathed hard, her face flushed a deep red. “Hhhhhuuuuuhhhhh! Hhhhrrrrfffff! Uuuuffffhhhh!” “Good girl, Mandy. You’re doing great. The ambulance will be here any minute. You want some water?” At her nod, Brian picked up the bottle, carefully pouring a bit of liquid between her panting

• lips. She drank thirstily, then turned her head away with another

scream of pain as her belly jumped beneath her dress. “Here we go... Breathe, Mandy!” Mandy huffed and puffed and screamed, thrashing her head back and forth like a woman possessed. Sometimes she tried to stand up, bracing herself on the arm rests and pushing herself halfway out of the seat only to fall back down when her belly heaved. Brian took her hand, wincing as she squeezed his fingers in a death grip, hard enough to shatter his bones. Taking one look at her face, he realized there was no point in trying to get her to ease up. His cool, collected co-worker was gone, and in her place was a woman in the throes of unbearable agony. After what seemed like hours of holding Mandy’s hand while she writhed and howled, the conference room door swung open, admit- ting a pair of EMT’s, a man and a woman, toting a gurney. Looking beyond them, Brian saw that a crowd had gathered outside the con- ference room, twenty-five people watching the proceedings through the floor to ceiling windows. “So which one of you is our mom-to-be Mandy?” The male EMT joked as he approached the trio. At the look on their faces, he tried again, “How far apart are her contractions? How long has she been having them?” “They’re right on top of each other!” Laura answered over Mandy’s anguished cries. “She’s been having them since lunchtime yesterday.” “Her water break?” Brain looked down at his watch. “About forty-five minutes ago.” The longest forty-five minutes of his entire life. “When’s she due?” “January thirteenth,” both he and Laura answered in unison, seeing the EMT flinch. 3

“She’s three weeks overdue? Shit....” he breathed, crouching down in front of Mandy. “All right, let’s see where we are. How are you doing, Mandy?” Mandy jerked her head forward, her hair falling out of its careful bun to stick to her sweaty face. “Uuuuuunnnnhhhhh! Help me!” she begged, “I want my epidural!” “Let’s see how far along you are,” the EMT said, sliding up her dress to reveal the curve of her belly and tugging off her sodden black panties. “I’m going to check your dilation.” Without another word, he snapped on a latex glove and inserted two fingers between her legs, his free hand on top of her belly. Mandy grunted and shifted in the chair. Blushing, Brian looked away, fastening his gaze on her swollen belly. The blood drained out of his face as he took in her massive size, her skin tightly stretched and thin, a dark brown line leading down from her poked-out navel. She looked like she’d swal- lowed an over-inflated beach ball. If he didn’t know better, he’d think she was having twins, maybe even triplets. “Do you know how big your baby is?” the EMT asked her as he explored her cervix. “Ten- uuuugggggghhhhh!- pounds last- ohhhhhhhhhhhhh god!- appointment- Hhhhhhuuuuunnhhhhhh!” Mandy grunted out, her head thrown back, as she twisted with pain. “When was that?” “Three- Nnnnnnuuuuuuuhhhhhhh!- weeks ago! Whhhooaaaa!” she doubled forward, bracing her arms on the chair and trying to stand up as she grunted. “Ohhhhhhh shit! OHHHHHHHH SHIT!” She fell back into the chair with a guttural grunt, spreading her legs wider as the EMT withdrew his fingers. “UUUUGGGGHHHHHH! PRESSURE!” “You’re at ten, Mandy, we don’t have time to move you. You’re about to deliver. The head’s right there,” the EMT explained, ex- changed his gloves for fresh ones, “This baby’s coming now. You’re going to have to do this the old-fashioned way.” “You can’t take her to the hospital?” Laura asked in horror. The EMT shook his head. “There’s no time. She’s going to deliver any second. This baby’s coming fast.” Mandy was grunting so loudly, Brian doubted she could hear

• them. She hunched over her massive belly, clutching it with both

hands as she continued to grunt and groan. “PRESSURE! NNNNNUU- GGGHHHHHH! I FEEL PRESSURE!” “That’s your baby coming,” Laura told her, reaching around to unzip her dress and pull it off, leaving Mandy sitting in the office chair, clad only in a lacy black bra that barely contained her swollen

• breasts. Her belly was heavy in her lap as she shifted and grunted,

4

shouting that she felt pressure, that she needed an epidural, that she was going to die. “You’re not dying, Mandy,” the EMT assured her, “You’re giving

• birth. You’re having your baby. Did you take lamaze?”

“No time!” Mandy wailed. Suddenly her eyes snapped open and her body went rigid with shock, “I have to push!” “I bet you do,” the EMT told her, settling himself more comfort- ably between her legs as the female EMT took Mandy’s free hand. “All right. Take a deep breath and give me a big push.” The female EMT showed him how to use his grasp on Mandy’s hand to pull her forward, forcing her to lean into the push. Laura rested her hands on Mandy’s bare belly, telling her how well she was

• doing. At the EMT’s suggestion, she placed her hand on the back of

Mandy’s head, coaxing her to curl around her massive belly. “Good job, good push,” The EMT said, “Keep it coming, Mandy. Push!” “Yyyyyyaaaahhhhhhh!” Mandy bellowed, her eyes wild as she bore down. “That’s what we want, nice hard pushes. Come on, Mandy, push your baby down.” Mandy’s face was completely feral as she howled and pushed, her entire body shaking with effort. His fingers were going numb from the force she was using to squeeze, and if she was putting half this much effort into delivering her baby, Brian expected it to come shooting out like a rocket any second. Yet for thirty minutes, the pat- tern continued. Mandy would grunt and howl and push, the EMT would say something about needing her to push harder, and the baby remained stuck where it was. “Come on,” the female EMT told him, showing him that she wanted him to kneel down in front and slightly to the side of Mandy and get her to brace her bare foot against his thigh. He did as com- manded, pulling hard on her hand as she bore down again, forcing her to curl in a tight ball around her massive belly. “Push, Mandy!” the other EMT ordered, shaking his head as Mandy shrieked, “This baby isn’t dropping. You need to work harder. We’re going to count for you and you push the whole time we count. Ready? Deep breath and- Push! One. Two. Three. Four.” The entire room picked up the chant, counting slowly to ten as Mandy’s face turned purple with effort as she strained to birth her

• baby. The EMT gave her only a moment’s rest when they got to ten

before saying, “Deep breath and again! One. Two.” “Three! Four!” everyone shouted. “Aaaaauuuuuuggghhhhh!” Mandy bellowed, and Brian could see her belly quivering. “Eight! Nine! Ten!” 5

She collapsed back in the chair, breathing like a freight train, still moaning. “Again! Push!” the EMT demanded, and they pulled her forward again, forcing her into another hard push. “Nooooooooooo!” she wailed, but her protest was drowned out by their counting. “Four! Five! Six!” “Count faster!” she screamed, and the EMT’s chuckled, maintain- ing their slow rhythm. “Seven! Eight! Come on, Mandy! Nine! Ten!” When they let go, she fell back, her belly heaving as she tried to catch her breath. Laura’s face was white as she looked at Mandy, blotting her flushed face and telling her that it would be over soon. Brian listened to the EMT’s talking quietly, “We’re going to have to get her pushing harder. It’s just too big.” “She said it was ten pounds at her forty week appointment. At a pound a week...” the female EMT’s voice trailed off. “Oh, I know. We could be trying to pop out a thirteen pound baby.” The female EMT shook her head with a faint laugh, “Better her than me.” “Let’s give her another few pushes like this, then try another po- sition if the baby doesn’t drop.” Mandy was starting to stir, shifting uncomfortably in her chair, her breath catching, her panting breath interspersed with little moans. “All right, Mandy, you ready for an-

• ther one?”

“Noooooooo...” she moaned faintly as they carefully arranged her, spreading her wide. The EMT put his hand on her belly, feeling the contraction develop. “Big hard contractions, that’s what we want. You’re doing great. Now take a deep breath and push!” He kept his hands on her belly, feeling her effort as Mandy grunted and strained. “One. Two. Push harder, Mandy! Three. Four.” Brian watched her belly bulge out enormously, looking like it was about to burst. “Five. Six. Hard push! Seven. Eight.” “I caaannnnn’ttttt!” Mandy wailed, sweat pouring down her face. “Yes, you can, you have to. Now, push! Push!” “One! Two! Three!” Mandy thrashed, pulling against his grasp and Brian held her tighter, keeping her doubled over, forcing her to curl around her massive baby. “Push hard, Mandy, push hard!” he snapped, “Push your baby out!” “Nine! Ten! Again! One! Two!” Mandy was wailing, her voice rising in a series of endless screams of agony. Through it all, Brian watched her belly quiver 6

with her hard pushes. “Let me stop! I wanna stop!” she begged between contractions. “Too late, Mandy, your baby is coming,” Laura told her, wiping

• ff her sweaty face. “You can do this.”

“Nooooooooo!” she groaned, and they pulled her forward again, shouting at her to push more, harder, again. It seemed to go on for hours. Finally the EMT’s looked at each

• ther and shook their heads. “Mandy, your baby isn’t dropping. It’s

barely moved since you started pushing.” Brian’s mouth opened in horror as he realized all of her desperate struggles so far had been for nothing. “We’re going to help you change positions but you need to push hard. You’re carrying a big baby, and it’s not going to come

• ut easily.”

Without another word, they slid their arms under hers and lif- ted her out of the chair, Mandy hanging limply between them. Carry- ing almost her entire weight, they helped her walk a few feet for-

• ward. As they did so, Mandy started to moan, her voice low and
• shaky. “Contraction?”

“Nooooo...” she whimpered, and the female EMT put her hand

• n Mandy’s belly, pressing hard in several areas.

“You feel movement?” she asked, and Mandy nodded, breathing hard. “Might be oblique,” she suggested to her partner, “Could be why she’s having such a hard time. Other than the size.” “Let’s keep her walking then. Maybe it’ll get itself straightened

• ut.” Brian and Laura stepped aside, watching as the EMT’s paced

Mandy up and down the conference room, her belly hanging low in front of her, her legs seeming to barely hold her weight. Every few minutes, Mandy would tense and howl and they would stop, leaning down to let her drop into a half-squat, her face screwing up with ef- fort as she grunted and pushed. Brian blanched as he saw no one was making any effort to see if the baby was on its way and realized that the medical professionals must know that it must be nowhere near being born. Beside him, Laura was crying quietly as they watched Mandy waddle and grunt and bear down. “I feel so bad for her,” she said softly, “I had an epi- dural and wanted to die. I can’t imagine...” He patted her shoulder. “Mandy’s tough. She’ll get it out.” After what seemed like hours, Mandy dropped into the half- squat, her head hanging low as she pushed and grunted. Suddenly she tensed, and threw her head back with a primal scream he hadn’t heard before. “AAAAIIIIIIIEEEEEEE!” The female EMT released her quickly, letting her partner kneel behind Mandy, sliding his arms be- neath hers, locking his hands together just above her belly to hold her up as he let her sink into a deep squat. 7

The other EMT looked between her legs. “That’s the baby’s head coming through your cervix, Mandy. You’re starting to make some progress.” “Get it out of me!” she bellowed, her face contorted with an- guish. “It’s coming, Mandy. You’re doing great. Just keep pushing. Push!” “Noooooooo! NOOOOOOOO! Ohhhhhhhhh GOD!” she screamed. Laura hurried to her side, taking her hand and Brian followed her, letting Mandy crush his fingers once again as she started to push. “Uuuuunnnggghhhhh!” “That’s it, Mandy!” the EMT praised, putting her hand on Mandy’s heaving belly, “Now push all of that down! Come on! Push down!” “Aaaauuuugghhhhh!” Mandy leaned into a hard push, her legs quivering with effort. “Pushpushpushpushpush!” The EMT shouted. “Harder, Mandy!” As Brian watched, the other EMT adjusted his hold on Mandy so that his hands were pressed against the top of her belly. He leaned forward a little, manipulating her so that she was doubled over, his hands pushing down on her swollen stomach. Mandy howled, strug- gling in his arms but was unable to escape as everyone shouted at her to push. “Push, Mandy! One! Two! Three!” “AAAAAUUUUGGGHHHHH!” Brian had never heard noises like the ones Mandy was making come from the human throat. She was screaming so loudly he was willing to bet the entire floor- hell, prob- ably the entire building- could hear her. “Eight! Nine! Push it out! Bear down!” For endless contractions, Mandy screamed and bore down, the EMT shoving on her belly hard enough to leave white fingerprints in her taut flesh. Yet, no matter how hard she strained, no visible pro- gress was made. “It’s too big!” she howled after one mighty push, throwing her head back, her eyes rolling wildly, “I can’t move it!” The EMT’s shared a look and shook their heads. “Get her up on the table.” Mandy cried out as they lifted her to her feet, wavering unstead- ily for long moments before Brian saw her belly jump and warp. “Oh- hhhhhhhhh nooooooooo!” she cried out, doubling over. The EMT’s held onto her, forcing her to walk the few steps to the

• table. Brian saw she was walking bow-legged, as though there was

something enormous wedged between her legs. He blanched when he realized what that massive thing was. Mandy staggered to the table, grunting the entire time. The two EMT’s helped to lifted her onto the table as she struggled and cried 8

• ut when her behind came into contact with the wide office table.

“Hurry!” she bellowed as they tried to get her centered on the table and lying down, “Hurry! I gotta push!” Finally they lowered her so that she was lying on the table, her knees widely spread. Following directions, Brian and Laura got on either side of her, each of them grabbing a foot and pushing her legs back towards her chest, spreading her wide open. “Push, Mandy!” the female EMT shouted as her partner got behind Mandy, support- ing her back as she leaned into another hard push. “That’s it! That’s it! Push hard! Push!” “I am pushing!” Mandy shouted, sweat pouring down her face as she strained around the baby. “Push harder!” the EMT snapped, once again starting the count, “One! Two!” Brian adjusted his grip on her foot, pushing her knee back farther as Mandy shoved against him, trying to straighten her leg. Her face was contorted with agony as she pushed, her noises loud and primal as she sought to expel the infant from her body. “AAAA- UUUUGGGHHHHH!” “Come on, Mandy, open wide,” the EMT scolded, motioning him and Laura to spread her legs even wider, until she was completely spread-eagle, her feet pushing against his grasp, “Make room for baby.” “I caaaaannnnn’ttt!” Mandy wailed, her head falling back as she screamed in pain. “It’s too big! Ohhhhhhh my GOD! It feels like a bowling ball!” “You didn’t grow a baby you can’t deliver,” the EMT told her confidently, but Brian could see the worry in her face. “Now, push it

• ut!”

“NNNNNAAAAHHHH!” Mandy shouted, tears streaming down her sweaty face. The male EMT sat her up a little more, forcing her to curl in a tight ball around her massive belly. The female EMT sat back a little, shaking her head. “Mandy, this baby isn’t coming. Do you want some help?” “YES!” she shrieked, her eyes wild, “Get it out of me!” “This may hurt,” the EMT cautioned as she started to dig through her supplies, coming up with something that looked a bit like a pair of tongs. Brian exchanged a quick look with Laura who had gone pale at the sight of the instrument. “I don’t care! Just get it out! GET IT OUT!” The male EMT lowered her to the table, putting his hands on her shoulders to hold her down. Brian watched in fascinated horror as the other EMT carefully inserted one side, then the other between Mandy’s legs, pushing the instrument deep inside of her. On the 9

table, Mandy shrieked and flailed her arms, trying to escape, but she was being held down too tightly to move. “All right, Mandy, I’ve got the head,” the EMT said at last, “Now you push and I’ll pull, and we’ll pop this kid right out of you. Ready? Push!” Again, Mandy leaned into a hard push, her face turning bright red as she bore down, trying to force the baby out. As Brian watched, the EMT gritted her teeth, her arms shaking as she pulled on the for- ceps. “UUUUURRRRGGGHHHHHH!” Mandy’s desperate howls echoed through the room as she struggled to deliver her baby. “Harder, Mandy!” the EMT gritted out, still tugging, “Harder!” Mandy grunted and yelled, her face slowly turning purple from her intense efforts. The male EMT got on his knees beside her, pla- cing both hands on her huge belly and pushing down with his full

• weight. Mandy thrashed and cursed, screaming obscenities as the fe-

male EMT braced her foot against the table for added leverage as she pulled on the forceps, sweat breaking out on her face. “Come on, Mandy!” she groaned, sounding like she was in pain herself, “PUSH!” Brian looked between her legs, wincing at the metal instruments thrust deeply into her, seeing fluid pooling on the table beneath her, dripping from her irritated slit. He shook his head, fighting the urge to vomit, unable to understand how Mandy was withstanding it. He glanced at Laura again, and saw her eyes glaze over, her face nearly gray with shock. “YYYYYYAAAAAAAARRRRGGGGGGGGG!” He looked down quickly, seeing Mandy’s belly jump and suddenly the EMT lurched back, the forceps emerging from Mandy’s body with another rush of

• fluid. She looked closely between Mandy’s legs, then looked up at the

desperately laboring woman. “I can see the head, Mandy,” she said. “It’s coming down.” Brian looked again, but could still see no hint of the baby’s head between her legs. He looked closer, peering at her neatly groomed

• area. Was that the slightest hint of a bulge?

“Should I go in again?” the EMT asked her partner who shook his head, cautioning her to give Mandy a little time to do it herself. “We don’t want her to tear,” he reminded her. He helped Mandy to sit up again, forcing her into another big push as she howled, her entire body shaking. “Good girl, Mandy. Big hard pushes, just like that.” He watched her face, seeing it contort with strain when sud- denly her eyes popped open in shock and she shouted, “Holy shit!” “That’s it! It’s coming!” 10

He looked down again, shocked to see her demure area bulging

• utward horribly, her lips red and pulsing, forced out by a huge

mass right between her legs. “There it is!” he blurted in amazement. Mandy threw her head back with a loud grunt, “UUURRRRGGH- HHH!” and her vagina bulged out more, looking ready to burst apart. He felt his jaw drop in disbelief that her body was capable of with- standing such incredible force. “It’s almost here, Mandy, keep pushing!” the EMT encouraged

• her. Mandy grabbed the backs of her legs, sitting up a little farther,

her teeth gritted in a grimace of effort. This time when she pushed he found his eyes focusing between her legs and saw her nether lips part a little, revealing a dark spot. “YYYYYAAAAHHHHH!” The dark spot grew larger as Mandy pushed and screamed. Then she collapsed backwards, gasping, and her lips folded, hiding the head from his view. “Oh god, oh my god...” she whimpered, her belly heaving as she struggled to catch her breath. “You’re doing great, Mandy,” the EMT reassured her, reaching up to rub her belly, “We’re really getting close now.” “Get it out of me!” she begged, her voice cracking with exhaus- tion. “It’s coming out,” she promised. “You just have to keep pushing, and it will be here soon.” “I’m so tired...” she moaned. Suddenly she gasped, her arms flail- ing, “Ohhhhhh noooooo!” The EMT pressed on her belly and nodded her head. “Here we

• go. Push, Mandy! Push hard!”

The other EMT pulled her into a sitting position as Brian and Laura forced her legs back towards her chest. Once again, his gaze strayed between her legs, and once again he saw a dark spot appear as she bellowed in agony. “You can do it, Mandy!” Laura shouted as the dark spot grew a little larger, “I can see the head!” “I can’t! I CAAANNNN’TTT!” she shrieked, her face turning red as she strained. “Yes, you can!” Laura retorted, “You’re tough, Mandy. You can do this! Push! PUSH!” “HHHHUUUUNNNHHHH!” The noises she was making shocked him to the core. He couldn’t believe his cool, competent colleague was reduced to this primal state. Even as he had the thought, she grew louder and he could see the dark spot between her legs be- come a teardrop, her vaginal lips spread open by the force of her baby’s head. “It’s coming!” he told her, and she grunted, her body shaking with effort as she strained harder, trickles of sweat running down her immensely-swollen belly. She paused for a moment, gasping for 11

breath and he heard her cry out as the head once again disappeared inside of her. “Nooooooo!” “That’s normal, Mandy,” the EMT assured her. “Give me another push, and it will come back out.” She sucked in a deep breath and leaned into a massive push with a deep groan, her eyes going crossed as she bore down. “MM- MMMMMMMMMMM!” Between her legs, her lips parted again, re- vealing the top of her baby’s head. With another huge push the teardrop widened into a circle about three inches in diameter. “You’re doing it!” Laura shouted, “I see a lot of hair!” “AAAAUUUUUUGGGHHHH!” Mandy’s labia were dark red as they slowly stretched open, allowing a bit more of the head to be

• seen. “EEEERUUUUUGGHHH!”

Three inches became four as more of the head appeared. Her la- bia slowly turned from deep red to a bloodless white, stretched to their limits around the dome of skull starting to emerge from her

• body. “AAAAHHHHHHH! I’M TEARING!”

He flinched at her agonized shout, looking back down, expecting to see her tender flesh split open any moment. Her entire area was bulging dangerously, looking like it was on the verge of bursting. He could see the head outlined inside of her. as big and hard and round as a cannonball wedged between her thighs. “Stop pushing, Mandy,” the EMT commanded, “Give yourself a chance to stretch.” Mandy writhed, grunting as she thrashed her head from side to side, “I can’t! Uggghhh! I can’t! I gotta push! Oh god, I gotta push! I gotta push! The EMT pressed her hand to Mandy’s heaving belly. “Just blow. Blow it out. You don’t want to tear.” “I don’t care!” Mandy wailed, her head falling back as her belly jumped under the EMT’s hand. “Uuuunnggghhhh! Fuck! I gotta push! I gotta get it out!” “Blow, Mandy!” the EMT said firmly, and Mandy hunched for- ward, her hands splayed against her huge belly as she pursed her lips and blew desperately, her eyes wild with the effort of holding back. “Hoooooo! HOOOOOO! Hrrrrfff! Uuurrrrfffff!” Hooohooohooo- hooohooo!” Her belly quivered with her forceful breath, and he haz- arded a look down, seeing her labia starting to regain some of their color. “UUURRRRRGGGHHH!” Her guttural groan made him look up again, and he saw her face contort with effort as she pushed again, unable to withstand the pressure for another second. 12

“Slowly, Mandy!” the EMT shouted, but Mandy gave no sign of hearing her. She was lost in her intense efforts, sweat pouring off her body as she grunted and strained. He glanced down, seeing more of the head bulge out of her, four inches becoming five and her labia were once again paper-white, stretched to their limits. “Slow down, Mandy!” the EMT shouted as Mandy howled, “I’m gonna burst!” Her vagina looked like it was ready to rip apart, but Mandy kept pushing and the head kept coming. He heard Laura moan as the five inches widened to six, an impossible breadth of skull slowly bulging

• ut of her.

“YYYYYYAAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!” she screamed, the head wedged firmly between her legs, dark hair plastered wetly to the bony skull. “TEARING! OHHHHHHHHHH the PAAAINNNNNNN! Can’t take the PPPPAAAINNNNN!” Her body convulsed, the pain of childbirth far beyond anything she’d ever experienced. “Push, Mandy! Come on! Push your baby

• ut!” the EMT shouted at her. He watched her run her fingers around

the huge dome of the child’s head. “PUSH!” “UUUUNNNNNGGGHHH!” she bellowed, her hips bucking wildly as an expanse of forehead became visible, the baby emerging to its eyebrows, looking impossibly big sticking out of her. “Posterior,” the EMT muttered to her partner. “Figures.” “The head’s almost out, Mandy,” he told her, trying to be heard

• ver her cries of agony. “Keep pushing.”

She nodded tightly, then went up on her elbows, her face twis- ted with pain as she found the strength for another brutal push. She clawed at the table as she roared, her belly quivering for long mo- ments before the head suddenly burst out of her with an audible pop in a gush of fluid. “RRRRRRAAAAAAAUUUUUUUGGGGHHHHH! “Oh my God!” he gasped in wonder as the whole head suddenly popped out of her, fluid pouring over the table in a rush. The EMT cupped the head in her heads, and he stared at it in disbelief as Mandy collapsed back onto the table, moaning. “Ohhhhhhh.... Ahhhh- hhh....” It was simultaneously the most revolting and the most beau- tiful thing he’d ever seen. “The head’s out!” Laura shouted, tears coursing down her face. The head looked like it was the size of a cataloupe, and he couldn’t believe it had just come through her passage. Yet it had, and there was more to come. “Good, Mandy, good,” the EMT praised. “Catch your breath, while we wait for your baby to turn its head.” “It turns its head?” Brian asked curiously, looking down at the enormous head cradled in her hands. 13

“It’ll turn to look at her thigh so the shoulders can fit through,” she told him, watching as well. The little mouth moved in the flushed face, but the head remained still. “Uh-oh,” she muttered, looking down at the head. Glancing up, she asked, “Okay, Mandy, you ready to push again?” Mandy moaned in denial, but the male EMT was already lifting her up, his hands splayed over her belly as he forced her to lean for-

• ward. With a grunt she bore down again, “Uuuuggggghhhhh!”

“Hard pushes, Mandy. Get this baby out. Push!” He watched as the EMT manipulated the head, trying to get it to

• turn. No matter what she did, it remained firmly turtlenecked inside

Mandy’s tight canal. By this time, another contraction had seized Mandy and she was grunting and yelling as she bore down, trying hard to deliver her baby. “It’s stuck!” she screamed, her head falling back. “I know!” the EMT snapped in frustration, “Push again! Harder!” “Uuuuugggghhhhh!” she groaned, straining around the baby’s

• body. “Shoulders!”

“Wide shoulders,” the EMT agreed, tugging on the head which remained firmly wedged where it was. The male EMT pushed Mandy flat on the table, indicating that he and Laura should spread her legs wider. He pushed back hard, doing as commanded to help open up her pelvis. Mandy clawed at the table as she continued to scream and push, her cries growing panicked when the baby didn’t move. “One more big push!” the EMT shouted. “AAAAAAUUUUGGGGHHHH!” She arched her back, nearly levit- ating off the table as she pushed, but the head still didn’t move. “Gaskin maneuver,” the EMT said finally, “It’s not budging.” “What?!” Laura asked, her eyes wide. “We’re going to get her on all-fours,” the EMT explained. “Mandy, can you roll over?” Still visibly contracting, Mandy tried to roll onto her side as he carefully held her leg back, making sure she didn’t put any pressure

• n the baby’s head. Bwtween her hugely-swollen belly and the head

sticking out between her legs, she was awkward, barely able to

• move. He indicated Laura should take his place holding her leg, and

he then joined the male EMT on the table, getting behind Mandy and attempting to roll her over and lift her heavy body to her hands and knees. “My baby... my baby!” Mandy groaned deliriously as he strained to lift her, grinding his teeth to help leverage her off the table. “We’re going to get your baby out,” he promised her, as they fi- nally got her turned over, her elbows pressed against the table, her 14

hips high in the air, the half-born infant sticking out of her ob- scenely. “Push, Mandy!” the EMT commanded, and Mandy howled, her face turning red as she pushed hard. The EMT shook her head. “I’m going in after it.” He watched in horror as she reached around the baby’s head and thrust her gloved fingers into Mandy. On the table, the laboring woman shrieked, her hips bucking at this intrusion into her already-

• vertaxed canal. “Pushpushpushpushpush!” the EMT shouted, her

face tight with concentration as she felt around inside Mandy’s tor- tured body. “Almost... got... it...” she gritted out, then withdrew her fingers, gasping, as Mandy shrieked. “AAAAAAUUUUUGGGGGHHHHH!” “That’s it!” he shouted as he saw the baby turn its head towards Mandy’s sweaty thigh. Her entire body flushed a deep red as she strained to birth her baby. Finally, he saw the edge of one shoulder appear as she beat her fists against the table and scream, “AAAAIIIIIIEEEEEE! BURNS!” “That’s your baby coming out!” Laura told her, her voice shak- ing. “HHHUUUUUNNNGGGHHH!” With another hard push, the shoulder became fully visible, and as he watched in disbelief, a chubby arm suddenly emerged from her body, flopping in the open air. “You’re doing great, Mandy! Push!” “NNNNUUUUGGGHHHHH!” Her belly heaved, pushing against the table as the second shoulder started to emerge. “Baby coming

• ut!”

“It’s almost here!” The second arm slithered out in a rush of fluid, and Mandy gasped wildly as the baby slid out to its hips. “Baby! Baby’s coming

• ut! It’s coming out!”

“That’s right, Mandy. You’re doing great. One more push and the baby will be here. Bear down!” “Push!” he gasped, hearing her grunt explosively as she strained. The hips remained wedged in her opening for long moments before she threw her head back with a feral roar, “YYYYYYAAAAAAARRR- RUUUGGGHHHH!” The baby strained against her and suddenly pushed free, sliding

• ut of her body with a gush of fluid that covered the table, dripping
• ver the sides as the EMT caught it, lifting it high in the air. He gaped

at its size as Mandy collapsed onto her side, moaning uncontrollably. “It’s a girl!” the EMT announced as Laura sobbed loudly. The EMT handed the baby, still connected by its cord to a panting Mandy who looked down at it in shock. 15

“Here’s your daughter, Mandy!” she announced, briskly remov- ing Mandy’s bra and showing her how to lift the infant to her en- gorged breast. Mandy stared down at her baby in disbelief as it began to nurse and Brian looked up, dazed, to the sound of cheers. Outside the room, twenty-five people, their new clients among them, burst into applause at the sight of Mandy and her new daugh-

• ter. The EMT’s looked up in surprise, apparently noticing their audi-

ence for the first time. With a smile, the female half of the partner- ship left the room to announce, “It’s a girl. Twelve pounds, eight

• unces, at my best guess.”

A murmur of disbelief swept the crowd as Brian checked his watch, noticing that a mere six hours had passed since Mandy’s wa- ter broke. It seemed like another lifetime. “We’re going to take you to the hospital to get checked out,” the EMT told Mandy as she came back into the room. Mandy finally man- aged to tear her eyes away from her new daughter long enough to look up. “Hospital?” she asked blankly, “But I have a presentation to fin- ish.” 16