[Tags: Original characters, pregnancy, pregnant, rabbit (F), comfort, encouragement, love, middle-aged, single mother but she has great support, labor, in labor, home labor, solo labor, early labor]



Maki looked at the graph on her phone again, her brow furrowed with concern as she tried to stay calm. Not that she had to keep track on an app to know by now, but her studious nature made her review the facts.

To think, today had started off so nice, so relaxing.

She finished the school year yesterday, a mark of pride for her that she’d put in the work despite how demanding pregnancy and baby prep could be, and finally clocked out to start maternity leave. After so much pestering from family, friends, and coworkers to take it easy while she still had the chance, she promised that starting at 5 PM yesterday, she would do just that until she went into labor. As much as she liked to have something to do, she still remembered how good it felt when she got home and knew there was nothing she had to do for now but be good to herself and stay ready for when Hana came. What followed was a long soak in the tub (with her favorite lavender oil), an evening of chatting and watching videos online with her friends (while wearing nothing but a bathrobe and underwear, the very idea of her being so lazy!) and tinkering with her latest video project (a compilation of her pregnancy highlights) before going to bed. Hana even let her sleep better than usual, even though an unbroken night’s sleep was something she hadn’t had in a long time and didn’t expect to have again for quite a while yet.

The morning had started similarly calmly. Muttering a “good morning” to her child before making her latest trip to the bathroom, she returned to bed and just lay there for a long while, stroking her belly while listening to the music on the radio and the bits of song sung by the birds coming and going. For the moment, she was at peace.

Of course, as is always the case when babies are involved, the peace didn’t last forever as a cramp in her belly rippled through the tranquil pond that was her state of being. It figured there’d be more Braxton Hicks contractions to keep her from feeling [i]too[/i] comfortable. Such as “comfortable” was at 39 weeks pregnant, anyway.

Oh well. She got up and shuffled off to make breakfast. Morning stretches could wait, she was starving. She wasn’t much of an oatmeal fan, but over the last week, she’d gotten into the habit of eating it for breakfast with some chopped-up bits of apple mixed in for flavor and more nutrition and energy. Just in case it ended up being the day she needed that extra energy.

With no commitments to keep, Maki wasn’t sure what to do after that. After keeping things simple by throwing on a comfy pink and white sundress, she settled on some light cleaning, starting with dusting. Her apartment may not have been big, but that made it all the easier to keep tidy, even though she certainly fit the definition of “big” now, and the little extra challenge of cleaning with a full-term baby bump suited her fine. As she putzed around her apartment, she kept checking and re-checking her work, making sure she’d dusted every spot. When her thoughts turned to her clothes and how she could busy herself further by unfolding and refolding them, she realized she could easily get her laundry done. Sure, why not? It was a bit of an extra chore to get her basket of dirty clothes to the laundry room, but it felt like the right thing to do, and she could dust some more while waiting for the washer and dryer.

That was when she broke out of her restless drive to clean and laughed at herself. The nesting instinct, that’s what this was. She’d always thought it was exaggerated in the stories she’d heard, but here she was in the swing of it and enjoying it. This wasn’t even the first time she’d been struck by the urge to tidy up, get everything at her home arranged, and be super critical about her work. Well, better to do something than do nothing, right? Especially when doing something useful.

At least, that’s what she thought until she finished loading her clothes in the washer and she felt another brief but noticeable belly cramp. She hadn’t really noticed it when she was in bed, but while it didn’t hurt, she could feel it spread through more of her belly than usual, plus a bit of her lower back. That gave her a moment of worry before she shook it off. She’d just been a little too active, especially from bringing a basket full of dirty clothes to the laundry room. If she eased up on her cleaning but kept it up, they’d go away, just like all those other Braxton Hicks. Moving around without overdoing it always got rid of them before.

The next couple hours passed in a similar fashion. Dusting, scrubbing the stovetop and microwave and sinks, finishing her laundry, taking out the trash, vacuuming, even checking all her food’s freshness with both a sight and sniff test (which led to her taking a break to scarf down the rest of the takeout she bought on a craving-induced whim). She tried to keep her pace slow but steady, telling herself she had all day to get this done even though she had a nagging feeling it needed to get done now.

During those hours, the cramps hadn’t gone away. They still didn’t hurt very much, and they were still a long time apart, but she had been very mindful of the fact they hadn’t stopped. She kept a mental tally of the times they happened, and by the time she ran out of things to clean, the time between “a long time apart” had gotten a little narrower.

But...that was just silly, right? Hana wasn’t due until a week from today, and given her conception could have only possibly happened on one specific day, she knew exactly when her due date was. Still...everyone had told her to be ready for labor at any moment after she hit 38 weeks, and the closer her due date got, the more likely it was that moment could happen.

Maybe things would fizzle out...but maybe it was also time to save her strength. Either way, Maki felt how tense she was getting, and she could use some calm. Focusing on something else for now would help with that while she let her body do whatever it was doing.

She spent about another hour and a half watching episodes of the latest shows she’d adopted as her current Saturday morning cartoons. She had many fond memories of the tradition of spending her Saturday mornings glued to the TV and spending the days in between letting the tension build for the next episodes, and that was many years before people could go online to binge watch whatever they wanted whenever they wanted. Even as an adult, she kept that tradition alive and liked to savor things like this over time and make them last. She hoped she could pass some of that patience to Hana and teach her that instant gratification was often overrated. It was a happy thought, the idea that the two of them could find shows they would like and watch together.

Of course, she had enough experience dealing with kids and remembering her own childhood to know that teaching kids to be patient, especially over something like cartoons and TV shows, was pretty wishful thinking, let alone in the days when she could watch them on a phone. But she was a vice principal, and when it came to teaching, she couldn’t wait to be Hana’s mentor; this was just one thing on the agenda.

For now, the distraction worked...mostly. When she wasn’t adjusting how she was sitting in a chair or lying on the couch from how uncomfortable she was (it was just like Mom warned her: When Hana dropped into her pelvis last week, Maki didn’t just sit down anymore, Hana sat with her and boy could she feel it), she was focusing on the shows instead of the ache in her belly and back when it returned. She still felt that nagging anxiety that got stronger every time the pain came back, but in between those times, she could enjoy her shows...mostly.

They stopped relaxing her when she was getting to the credits of an episode and the latest cramp hit her. This time it hurt enough that, while it wasn’t enough to catch her off guard, when she compared this one to the ones she’d felt a few hours ago, they weren’t just inching closer together, they were getting more painful.

Still mentally pleading for them to stop, she was realistic enough to get her phone and open the contraction timer app she’d downloaded. She put in her best guesses of the times and lengths of the cramps she’d felt so far into the manual entry fields, then plotted them out on the graph function.

That brought Maki to the present, where she was looking at the data.

The graph had a few options for what to highlight, such as average times between (what she really hoped weren’t) contractions, how long they lasted, and how much those numbers changed over time. However they felt when she woke up, they didn’t feel like Braxton Hicks anymore.

She looked down at her belly and ran her palm over it. “Okay, Hana, this isn’t funny anymore,” she said calmly but firmly. “You’re not ready to be born yet. You still have another week to go. I can’t wait to meet you either, but you need to stay in Mommy for now.” When Hana kicked her hand, she added, “[i]I[/i] need you to be ready to be born, too.”

Forget what everyone said about how she’d been in “any day now” territory for the last week, Hana was [i]not[/i] coming before she was ready. Not after the scare she had in her 35th week. Yeah, that turned out to be a completely false alarm and rarely in her life had she been so relieved to be wrong, but she wasn’t taking any chances with her kit’s health.

But what if Hana was going to be early? Maki wouldn’t be helping her by being careless until it was too late, and as she promised herself, she was never failing her child by being in denial again.

After a few hasty online searches for “difference between braxton hicks and real contractions” and skimming some similarly tagged parts of the notes she’d taken from her classes, she felt worry bubbling up when everything suggested Hana’s birthday was going to be today.

She knew there was just one last thing to try before she was sure of it.

Taking off the sundress for the moment and changing into a sports bra and yoga pants, a rare time she left her belly completely bare even at home, she waited until the next pain came and went before she spread her yoga mat across the floor, set her glasses aside, and pulled up her yoga playlist on her phone to do her morning stretches. Every time she’d had Braxton Hicks contractions before, a little yoga made them go away for a while. Besides, whether she was in labor or not, being physically and mentally ready for the day was never a bad idea.

As she moved from pose to pose in time with the instructions playing on her phone, she consciously focused on her breathing, on her muscles, on her center of gravity, on how she felt. As she did, she affirmed herself out loud, “I am connected to my body, to my emotions, to my child. I am calm. I am ready. I am taking care of myself, and in doing so, taking care of my child.” It wasn’t a full-on class, just a session meant to be done before work to limber up the body and mind for the day ahead, and that was all she needed...besides a final test of how real these contractions were.

She continued her stretches until the session ended, closing it with a few deep, controlled breaths while she sat on the mat with her hands affectionately cupped the underside of her belly. Yoga sure hadn’t gotten any easier to do as her pregnancy progressed, but it was still worth the effort. She resisted looking down at her belly in anticipation. If anything was coming, it would come on its own, and if it didn’t, there was no sense in wasting time wondering if-

“Mm,” she hummed as the pain came back. “Pleasegoaway, pleasegoaway,” she hurriedly whispered. Nothing doing: It stayed, and as it built, it hit a small but well-defined peak that marked the first time it got a hiss of “ow!” from her. Now they were strong and rhythmic enough that she could tell the difference between their highs and lows.

She stayed still until it was gone, then took another deep breath and nodded as she accepted the truth.

“You’re really ready today.”

She felt Hana squirm a bit, as if agreeing with her. Or protesting how her home just got a bit smaller for a little while. Or both.

Maki needed a minute to handle it, glad she had the benefit of just finishing a yoga session. After waiting for so long, she’d carried her kit for nine months, and now it was time to close that chapter and begin the next. Those memories rushed through her head...it was like everything she’d been feeling through her pregnancy was coming back at her at once now that it was coming to an end, and she had to shut her eyes and focus on her breathing again. After a few deep breaths in through her nose and out through her mouth, she stroked her hands over the swell of her midsection and opened her eyes to smile warmly at it.

“Okay, Hana. If you’re ready, you do whatever you need to do. You know the way out. Mommy’s right here for you and I’m going to do whatever it takes to help you get here.” Hana kicked her again, making her smile widen. “Just like I always have.”

Giving her kit a few pats, she put her glasses back on as she got to her feet with a huff, then headed to the kitchen with her phone in hand to grab a water bottle and open that box of granola bars she got last week for just this moment, which was a replacement for the box she’d gotten the week before that she couldn’t stop munching on. With a handful of bars in one hand, her phone in the other, and the top of a bottle of water held between her teeth, she returned to the bedroom. After setting her stuff on the bed, putting in the latest contraction data, and changing back into her softer underwear and sundress, she sat on the bed, went to her contacts, and tapped one of the speed dials.

“Hey, Maki,” came a woman’s voice at the other end.

“Hi, Laura. You busy?” Maki asked as she sat down on the bed.

“Not really, I’m just doing a couple errands. Why?”

“I need you on standby.”

A pause, and then, “It’s today? Already?”

“I’ve been having pains for,” she looked at the clock, “some three and a half hours now. Not bad, but compared to when I woke up, they’re getting closer together, getting more painful, and...the short of it is all signs point to yes.”

“Oh my god! Do you need me, like, right now?”

“No no no, I think I got a while before it’s hospital time. I just need to know if you’ll be ready if I need you.”

“Yeahyeah, no problem, I can finish and get home quick. You just call me the minute you’re ready and I’m there.”

“Thanks. Just don’t go so fast that you get in an accident or get a ticket, okay? I’d rather give birth in a hospital than have to do it at home because my ride didn’t show up from being more panicky than the woman in labor she’s supposed to be picking up,” she said, getting a laugh out of both of them.

“Okay. I’ll get there in a flash...with all due caution,” her friend agreed.

“Oh, and one other thing? I’d appreciate it if you kept this to yourself for now. I promise I’ll tell everyone everything when it’s all done, but...I really don’t like thinking everyone’s wondering about me, and I don’t want them calling or texting me to get updates or anything. I just want to be...focused on me and Hana, nobody else, please,” she said.

“All right. I’m here when you need me.”

“I know you are. Thanks.”

After hanging up, there was another important person to talk to. Despite the mixed anticipation and anxiety she had about labor, she’d been looking forward to making this call for a while. One ring later...

“Good morning, Maki!” the old bear at the other end greeted her.

“Good morning, Greta,” the rabbit greeted her back. “Is-”

“And how are you on this beautiful first day of summer break?” she asked.

“I’m fine, thank you. But-”

“How’s Hana-”

“[i]We’re fine, thank you,[/i]“ Maki had to cut in, “but may I [i]please[/i] talk to Sara?”

“Oh, sorry, Sara’s with another patient at the moment,” she felt a moment of panic that someone else’s baby had beaten her to the punch, “but it’s for an exam.” Whew. “If it’s an emergency, I can get her right now.”

“...How long will she be?”

“From when they went in, and from what I know of her? Five minutes, ten at most.”

That wasn’t so bad. She could wait. “Okay. Please have her call me when she’s done.”

“Sure. You’ve still got her number too, right?”

“Yes, thank you. Now, I don’t mean to cut the call short,” even though she did, “but I have another call I need to make while I’m waiting.”

“Okay. Talk to you later.”

Maki hung up, shaking her head with a smile. Greta’s chipper friendliness could get annoying at times, but she’d gotten used to it. At least she felt like the bear was honestly friendly, never faking it just to be polite. But she’d learned that if she gave Greta any conversation material, she’d be happy to try bending Maki’s ear, and while her reserves of patience were deep, she had to budget her patience enough as it was.

She could still get things done in the meantime.

Another call later...

“Hello, this is Edwards-Rose OB/GYN, how may I help you?” the receptionist asked.

“Hi, this is Miyako Morita. I’m one of Dr. Brown’s patients, and I’m pretty sure I’m in early labor. I’m not going to the hospital yet but want to make sure he knows I’m probably going in today. If he’s available, can I talk to him or leave a message?”

“Ah, okay, just a moment.” A bit of quiet typing, and then, “Well, I’m very sorry, but Dr. Brown isn’t in today.”

Her nerves tensed again. “What?”

“There was a family emergency and he had to be out to handle it. But I can still let his backup Dr. Jennings know and return your call.”

Darn it. That was already the second thing that wasn’t a disaster but was still throwing off her plans. She knew labor could be chaotic, but this was the last time she needed things going off the rails. “Yes, please. I’m still registered at Riverwatch General, right?”

“Yes, I’m showing you are.”

“Good, and my doula?”

“I’m sorry?”

“My doula. My support person who’s going to be there with me at the hospital.”

“Let me see...” Another pause, making Maki worry that something else had gone wrong, before, “I show we have a Sara registered with you.”

Whew, again. “Yes, that’s her. Okay...I guess I’ll...talk to Dr. Jennings later, thank you.”

After hanging up, she sighed and took stock of her situation. Fine, so things weren’t going as they were supposed to. She had a lot of experience not just in maintaining order but also establishing it.

Hana was coming a week early? Okay, she was ahead of schedule but not so much that she was in danger. Besides, while Maki hoped she’d get some downtime before Hana was born, if she was going to come early, way better for her to do it the first day of maternity leave than when she was still working. At least she could rest and be at home for a while first: That was still going as planned.

Her OB wasn’t going to be there to deliver her kit? Again, not ideal but she could work with it. She mainly wanted her OB there so that if someone was going to be seeing her in a pained, raw, maybe nasty state, or have their hands on her body, especially between her legs, at least it was someone she knew and who knew her, not a stranger she’d never even met. Sure, there’d be hospital staff there, but they’d be coming and going, and she didn’t expect to connect with them very much. She’d just have to work with this Dr. Jennings as best she could, and that’s part of why she had a birth plan: So the hospital knew what she wanted. Now she could give it to this new doctor, too.

She couldn’t control those things, but she could still control herself, even if the best she could do was stay calm and wait until labor got in gear. She would handle the rest as it came, and by then, she would have Sara there with her.

Speaking of whom, her phone rang, and she felt some welcome relief when she saw Sara on the ID.

“Good morning, Sara,” she greeted her newest friend.

“Good morning, Maki,” Sara’s kind voice greeted her back. “Greta says you gave me a ring. How’s it going?”

“I’m glad you asked. I know from going through school in more than one way that the last day of school is usually full of pranks, jokes, and other rabble-rousing.” She patted her belly as she explained, “But Hana saved that trickster energy for the day after to throw off my plans.”

“Ahhh, has she decided she can’t wait to start her summer vacation?” she asked. Maki could practically hear her smile, knowing Sara was truly happy at the thought of being there to welcome Hana into the world.

“That’s how it looks. I’ve been having pains for some three and a half hours, and they’re not so close or bad yet that I need labor breathing to get through them, but they’re getting closer and hurting more. I just tried yoga as a last resort to see if they’d stop and when even that didn’t work,” she pat-patted her bump, “she’s not even letting me get one full day of maternity leave.”

“And this is certainly going to be an eventful day in some years to come, her birthday being right around, or right on, the last day of school!” Sara remarked, lifting Maki’s spirit more to feel her positive attitude even over the phone.

“Oh, yeah...hadn’t thought about that yet...ohhh my god, school gets out different days in different schools, but her birthdays are going to be [i]crazy[/i],” she groaned, rubbing her eyes. “This must be karma: I was a week overdue, and Mom had to deal with my birthdays being a big end-of-summer party. I was a week late just before the start of the school year, Hana’s born a week early just after the end...we’re the same coin, if not always the same side.”

After they both laughed at each other’s jokes, Sara asked directly but calmly, “Okay, Maki, I’m ready when you two are, but how are you doing? I know you wanted to labor at home at first. Are you still gonna be okay with that?”

Glad the midwife still knew her wishes so well, Maki answered, “Yeah. I have Laura on standby to come pick me up. I’m just going to relax and...come to terms with everything. You know, think, reflect, take in these last hours before Hana’s finally here.”

“You got it. You want your space; I’ll wait for you to let me know when it’s hospital o’clock. Would you rather I leave you be for now?”

“Mm hm. I’m going to see if I can take a nap while I can still try to get some sleep. I’ve still got you on speed dial. I’ll be okay for now.”

“Gotcha. You’re the star of this show, I’m here to follow your lead.”

She almost blushed at that compliment. “C’mon, Sara, give yourself more credit. I’ve been looking to you for guidance, and I’m going to trust you to help me have my baby. If I weren’t so ‘go to the hospital,’ I’d want you to deliver Hana. I still would, if it comes to it.”

“Thank you, Maki,” was her warm answer. “Then rest well, and I’ll see you soon.”

“I’ve been looking forward to it. Good- mmf!” she grunted as Hana kicked her hard.

“Hm? Are you all right?”

“Hah, yeah, it’s just, Hana says goodbye,” Maki said, chuckling.

“Haha, tell the little bean I’ll see her soon, too, for me.”

“Gladly.”

Ending the call, Maki nodded, still smiling as she rubbed her tummy. This was going to be fine. It was going to be great, even, with Sara there to help her.

That fresh dose of good feelings coincided nicely with the next contraction. As she started the contraction timer, now that she’d accepted this was labor, she figured that even though it didn’t hurt so bad that she needed labor breathing, maybe it was time to give it a field test.

She took slow, steady, deep breaths in and out. She let the air fill her lungs, imagining them expanding further to get her body and her kit the energy they needed. Everything was okay: Her body was doing what it needed to do, she just had to stay calm. It was pretty similar to yoga breathing, really, something she had years of experience practicing. As the pain peaked, she kept herself relaxed and, instead of resisting it with a grunt like “mmm,” she let her jaw stay open and just exhaled a gentle, tension-free “ahhh.”

Yeah...she could handle this. She was ready for when this turned into [i]real[/i] labor.

Once it was gone, she stopped the timer and glanced at the data. Contractions were between 10 and 12 minutes apart. At this rate, she had hours to go before she hit the magic number of 5 minutes apart. Then it was hospital time.

Maybe a true nap wasn’t going to happen, but she’d settle for drifting in and out of sleep. After a bathroom break, she lay back down, steadied her breathing, pushed all her worry about what was waiting in the coming hours out of her head, and closed her eyes.

As Maki expected, she didn’t really nap per se, but there were a few times she tiptoed over the edge of sleep and was woken by a contraction or by Hana showing her displeasure at being scrunched up even more than she already was. She occasionally glanced at the time on her phone and was surprised at it being later than she expected. Her sense of time stayed fuzzy as her thoughts were mostly cleared, only having enough presence of mind to clock the start and stop of contractions on her phone, practice her labor breathing, and readjust how she was lying. She mixed in nibbles on the granola bars and swallows of water, reminding herself that she was going to need all that good energy.

For now, the only thing she allowed herself to focus on was how this would end, when Hana was in her arms at last. She’d imagined that perfect moment so often. After many years of wondering when she’d have a baby before having to accept she’d missed her chance, then nine months of a very unexpected, and certainly not always easy, pregnancy, then finally the ordeal of childbirth...and then her baby wouldn’t just be a wish or a kicky, squirmy baby in progress, she’d really be here. What would she look like? What would her voice sound like? What kind of personality would she have? What would she get from Mommy, and what little quirks would make her unique?

Would she break the four-generation firstborn girl streak?

Those daydreams always warmed her heart, and now was no exception. It wasn’t for nothing she listed, “Wants baby placed on chest immediately after birth,” on her birth plan. She’d have to thank Sara for suggesting that while she was drafting her plan.

While her mind was calm, her body kept up its slow but steady work. Contractions came and went, falling into a relatively predictable rhythm. She did her best to keep her body as relaxed as her mind...belly tension, backache and/or kicking baby notwithstanding. Each one brought Hana just a little bit closer, she reminded herself.

She found herself trying to find a comfortable position more often as time passed. “Comfortable” was naturally elusive in full-term pregnancy, but labor (even early labor) didn’t make it any easier. But after she’d been resting for a good hour and a half, she couldn’t deny that this was hurting more compared to when she’d first lain down, especially now that her hips were starting to hurt during the contractions along with her belly and back.

Checking her contraction timer, she quirked her lips at seeing they were now averaging between 9 and 10 minutes apart. Down a couple minutes. That was progress. But now she felt like just lying down and breathing wasn’t enough. They definitely weren’t overwhelmingly painful; it was just that she needed...something else. Something was telling her to get a little more physically involved, she just wasn’t sure what to do.

Looking at the time since the last contraction, she was due to have another shortly. She still wanted to save her strength for when things really got in gear, so she didn’t want to get up and walk around, but...what about a change in position?

She took her pillows, made a pile at the head of her bed, then sat up against them, taking a deep breath to prepare herself. As soon as she exhaled, she felt the contraction start. She tapped the start button, then breathed steadily, dividing her attention between breathing and how this felt.

And...it didn’t feel better.

“Hmmmm,” she hummed in discomfort, her brow furrowing as her belly squeezed tighter. She reminded herself that closing her throat was bad, she needed to be open. Her exhales changed to soft “aaah”s, but it was getting harder to keep them steady as the pain rose. Now her back hurt worse despite the layers of pillows beneath it and there was aching pressure in her hips, which gave her a moment of fear at the thought that Hana was settling lower in her pelvis, maybe too low too fast.

It was enough that, when the contraction reached its peak, she couldn’t take it anymore and pushed herself to sit on her shins, reaching back and using one arm to push on the headboard to keep herself upright while the other one went to the small of her back, right around her tail. She let out a pained “haah!” before she was able to control her breathing again. 

When it was over, she needed a couple of deep breaths to calm down before stopping the timer.

Okay, so maybe this wasn’t hard labor yet, but maybe she was also past the phase where she could carry on normally or rest. But...that was good. It meant labor was definitely progressing. And finding a new position to handle it, that was part of how it worked, just like they said in all her reading and childbirth classes: When one thing didn’t work anymore, she should try something else, and she did, just like she was supposed to.

Munching the last granola bar, Maki asked herself what she needed to do now. She was a smart, scholarly woman who’d been practicing for this day. She could find the answer. If lying down didn’t feel right and sitting against her pillows was worse, what else could she try that was a low energy position? Her bed was her natural choice for a place to rest, but if she couldn’t exactly rest through it anymore, maybe softness wasn’t what she needed.

“Gravity,” the word naturally rolled off her tongue. Yes, that word that came up so much in her studies. Just get in a position to let gravity pull her kit down to where she needed to go. [i]Maki[/i] didn’t have to do it, she just had to let it happen.

Since her mattress didn’t give a good foundation to plant her feet on, she eased off it, did a quick bathroom break, and sat on the floor, staying upright with her back against the bed, and waited for the next contraction to test her theory.

Over the next few contractions, she tried different positions. This was better than lying down or leaning against pillows, but when she tried sitting on her shins, then squatting, then sitting cross-legged and none of them worked, she wondered if she was on the wrong track. Finally, she tried kneeling on one leg and planting the other foot away from her torso in sort of a very wide-legged kneeling position, and...that felt better. She still couldn’t just breathe through the contractions, she had to vocalize (if gently), but it made the pain in her hips much more bearable. They felt less cramped, more open, and that made her feel like she’d found an answer that was working for now.

Despite being alone, she blushed a little at how unashamed she was now that she thought about it. Not that she’d ever seen a birth outside of videos before, but she’d accepted (if not at all liked) the fact that labor and birth was going to put her in a very undignified state. Yet here she was, working with her body but nonetheless trying to balance that with surrendering control and trusting that her body knew how to bring her kit into the world. Feeling okay with being in an awkward position and not trying to hide her discomfort...it was...surprisingly liberating.

“Hah, we’ll see if I’m still so calm when I’m pushing you out,” she remarked to Hana.

She stayed there for a while, sitting between contractions and getting back into a wide-legged kneel when they came. She alternated between which leg she knelt on, imagining it was helping Hana open her cervix evenly. When she breathed, she kept her throat open, sometimes gently rocking her hips side to side or back and forth if the feeling struck her. She played some calming sound effects (waves on the beach, wind rustling through leaves, a steady but not booming thunderstorm) on her phone to stay in the zone.

She reminded herself to stay loose and stay open. Open mouth, open throat, open lungs, open hips, open cervix.

Everything was still okay.

She didn’t let herself look at what time it was, not wanting to worry about things going too fast or too slow and just trying to let them happen at their own pace. Things were moving along just fine. At least, they were until she found herself needing to focus more and breathe harder through the contractions. And this position helped a lot with the pain in her hips, but she wished she could do something about the pain in her back.

After a look at the big duffel bag that had been packed and ready to go for weeks, she left her bedside and dug through it, pulling out a tennis ball. These were supposed to be great for back pain, she remembered with a smile. Her smile faded when she also remembered she packed this for Sara to use, while she was currently alone. Well...maybe she could still make it work.

Once she was back at her bed, she turned around, held the ball against her back, and leaned against it. It was a little awkward and she had to keep her hand on it to move it around her tail, but it was better than nothing as she rocked against it to roll it around her muscles.

Her relief was short-lived, though, as she felt another contraction starting. She got into the kneeling position and started the timer again. She resumed her labor breathing, spreading her legs and rocking her hips just like before.

“Ahhh...haaahhh...aaah...” she hummed out loud as the pain built. When it reached its expected height, she leaned back and allowed the tension to escape through her voice by groaning out, “HaaaAAH!” Her groan became a brief yelp as the peak went a little higher than expected before starting to dwindle down, making her jerk her hips and throwing off her breath pattern for a moment before she got it back in control. When it was done, she lifted her dress to look down at her belly, panting softly.

“Hooh...okay...that one kinda hurt,” she admitted to herself as she tapped the timer and looked at how she was doing.

Average time: 8.5 to 9 minutes apart, and she’d been doing the bedside kneel for some 45 minutes.

That was starting to worry her. She wasn’t supposed to go to the hospital until they were 5 minutes apart. That was how it was supposed to go, like they said in the classes: Labor at home to be somewhere she felt familiar and comfortable before going where she would actually have the baby. All the better to decrease the chances of interventions she didn’t need, just like she planned.

Never mind that Sara said Maki could call her whenever she felt like it was time to go and not be so wrapped up in what’s “supposed” to happen. She was already giving her body enough free reign. She couldn’t be ready to go when she was so far from the 5-minute mark.

But while she never in her lifetime wanted to give birth alone, she was starting to feel in need of some reassurance. Maybe she could just call Sara and tell her how things were going or have her listen to how she was breathing and tell her if she was doing it right. Wasn’t that what she wanted Sara to do in the first place: Be there when Maki needed her? She closed the timer and went to her contacts, letting her thumb hover over Sara’s name.

She stopped herself and shook her head. Not yet. Not until she was ready to firmly say it was time to go have the baby.

Her resolve to keep that commitment, though, was wearing down after only a few more contractions. She was more ready for unexpected peaks in their pain, but the fact that they were lasting longer and building up higher was not lost on her.

It wasn’t time to go yet, but maybe it was time to get ready to go.

After finishing the latest contraction, she crawled over to her hospital bag and returned the tennis ball before looking through it. Despite Hana not being due until a week from today, Maki had kept it packed for weeks just in case. For her own peace of mind, which was something that she was trying to keep as much of as she could right now, she went through its contents. Insurance stuff, pre-filled hospital paperwork, copies of her birth plan, that hospital gown she got at her baby shower, a couple outfits for Hana, grip-bottomed socks to wear at the hospital, a change of clothes she would wear when she left, a nursing bra and breast pads, a couple extra hair ties, some toiletries and other hygiene stuff, her spare glasses, one of her baby care books...the list went on, and while she pushed the bag to its limit, it was a wonder she fit it all in.

Sara was right: These bags might not be fancy, but how much they could hold was like magic. No wonder the midwife used them.

Satisfied this was still in good shape until she threw in her final things, she got to her feet...and let out a huff, shivering a little at the extra pressure in her hips. She’d noticed it before when she was at her bedside, but when she was standing, [i]wow[/i], could she feel the difference as she pressed her hands around her hips, back and lower belly. Hana had settled into her pelvis for almost a week, and she was definitely settling even lower now; she could feel the change that had changed over this morning alone.

Forget “maybe it was time to get ready to go,” it was definitely time to get ready.

“Hooolyyy crap...” she muttered, rocking her hips around to try, and fail, to relieve the feeling, “and I thought I was feeling you down there [i]before[/i].”

She took her bag to the front door and left it there to grab on her way out, then returned to the bedroom to take off her dress, underwear, and glasses before heading to the bathroom. She knew she was going to get messy, and she just took a bath last night, but she at least wanted to grab a shower to go to the hospital in as fresh of a state as it got for a woman in labor. Besides, maybe taking a shower could help her relax, and she very much welcomed any chance to relax she could get.

After downing a cupful of water, turning on the shower and stepping in, she let out a pleased “oooh” as the warm water washed over her. She slowly turned around to rinse herself all over before leaning forward and sticking her head under the stream. As Hana often did when she showered, she felt the kit’s movements pick up, making her belly bounce slightly from how strong they were. She smiled as she rested her palms on her bump, wanting to enjoy this last day she would feel Hana move inside her. She felt a pang of nostalgia as she remembered that she was in the shower when she first felt Hana move, but it was so faint at the time that she wasn’t sure if it was just water hitting her belly. Now Hana was so big her movements could clearly be both seen and felt. Where had the time gone?

Her eyelids fluttered, less to keep the water out and more from how good the water felt while she took a moment to just enjoy being pregnant while she still had the chance. Her ears relaxed and lay back against her head. It was like the tension and worry were washing down the drain.

As the rabbit felt another contraction start, she met it with a deep breath, lifting her head to let the water splash on her chest and belly. It distracted her from the pain, and it worked well, but she couldn’t help but notice the pressure in her hips grew along with the pain. Hana was a big kit, not so much that Maki’s OB or Sara were worried, but she was in a higher percentile for a rabbit, maybe getting it from her coyote side, and Maki was feeling that weight even more now. She tried moving her hips in a slow, controlled circle, not letting herself give in to the instinct to fitfully jerk them around. It didn’t help much with the pressure, but much like with the shower water, it gave her a sense of participation and control without feeling like she had to stop her body from laboring.

“Haaah...haaah...hoookay...” she sighed as she set her hands on her hips and pressed into them as she continued the motions. “I’m...okay...I’m open...open hips...open, ssss, open cervixsss,” she hissed as the wave crested. It took discipline to keep up the hip rolls, and she shut her eyes as her belly squeezed Hana’s head down against her eventual exit. As good as this was for the pain in her belly and pelvis, now there wasn’t a way to relieve the pain in her back. Not by herself, anyway.

“Okay...oookaaayyy...” she moaned as the grip released again. She turned around to let the water hit her back and ease the dulling ache she felt there, keeping her hands on her hips and looking down at her belly just in time for a hard thump of Hana’s feet to make a bump rise on the dome. “Hrf...hey, this isn’t fun for me either, sweetie,” she said, poking where the bump had been. “You want out? You can come out. I never said you’d enjoy the ‘getting here’ part either,” she added with a laugh, “but Mommy meant what she said: I’m gonna get you here and I’ll pull my weight and yours too.”

Maki allowed herself to be a little lazy and let the shower keep running, feeling her muscles loosen and become a bit more limber all over. To save some energy while still letting the water relax her, she returned to the kneeling position that had worked so well. There wasn’t much room to spread her legs in the shower, but even a regular kneel did fine to get her through a couple more contractions. After that, she stood back up and cleaned herself off with soap and shampoo, then waited out one last contraction before shutting off the water. This was nice, but she couldn’t forget that she had to be ready to leave and she wasn’t sure how soon that time might come.

After she got out of the shower and dried off, she grabbed her brushes, returned to the bedroom, and tossed the brushes on her bed before going to her mirror. She wanted to get one last good look at herself to take in how much she’d changed. While she had her days when she just felt fat and heavy and gross, she’d gained a new level of respect and appreciation for pregnancy now that she’d gone through it herself. She thought back on all those days of taking her measurements with both a tape measure and scale and watching the numbers tick up. Sometimes she felt threatened by the inevitability of the changes and other times she felt grateful and amazed that her body adapted so quickly to accommodate her baby, especially considering she’d never done this before at her age.

She turned from side to side to examine her much fuller curves from every angle. She’d gone from “trim” to “soft,” but it helped ease her self-image issues when she got reassurance from her friends (especially the ones who had children) that she was doing a great job of taking care of herself and staying in shape. Didn’t stop some parts of her from filling out. Her breasts and hips had gotten what could be kindly called a “motherly boost,” a difference she easily noticed even when everyone’s eyes were naturally drawn to her belly.

She rubbed the swell lovingly as she thought back on the days when she obsessively watched it for changes. Early on, when she was still in denial, once she started feeling a bit swollen and bloated, she needed to adjust her skirts and pants to put less pressure on her stomach. Once she confirmed (or rather, grew up and accepted the truth of) her pregnancy, she remembered when she started trying to feel her uterus beneath her skin. She didn’t dare try that until she’d peppered her doctor with questions on how dangerous it was, and after he’d reassured her that there was nothing to fear as long as she was appropriately gentle, she had ever-so-delicately prodded her stomach between her belly button and her pubic area on a nightly basis.

Maki never forgot how she was brought to tears the first time she just barely felt her fingertips meet the faint but unmistakable resistance of her hardened, expanded womb. Not from pain, she’d been pressing into her belly even more gently than her doctor did, but from being overwhelmed by emotion at feeling how it had changed because her baby was growing inside it.

And now...well. Look at her belly now. Full to the brim with a happy, healthy, and kicky kit, even if this was her last day in there. She patted her belly and nodded.

“Good job, uterus, wasn’t sure you had it in ya. Now just get her here. I’ll take over from there,” she said with a chuckle.

As she turned away to look at herself from the back, her eyes were drawn to one last feature. Her smile became more sardonic as she looked at her backside, her tail twitching. No denying it: From every angle, she’d gotten what she had to admit was a mom bod, and even from behind (speaking of “behind”) was no exception. But so help her, if there was one set of curves she was going to work off, it was that one.

Her mixed admiration and pouting at her body ended when she felt another pain starting. She hurried to her bed, opened the contraction timer on her phone and started it before she rested her palms on the mattress and started her breathing. Her voice and breath rose along with the contraction, and she rocked her hips from side to side. This was already harder without the shower to ease her tension.

“Hooh...haah...c’mooon...I can do this...” she coached herself, spreading her legs a little to try to relieve the tension and pressure in her pelvis. She kept her breaths deep and full in her chest but couldn’t help but breathe faster as the pain grew. Her head bowed forward and she let out a low, throaty groan of “oooowwww” to work through the worst of it. She switched to faster, if steady, panting as the wave died down.

Once she stopped the timer and had enough presence of mind back to look at what she was doing, she gave herself a brief mental reprimand as she noticed her shoulders had been bunched up instead of relaxed. But there was no question about it, the pain was getting hard to get through alone. She could still work through the contractions, but that’s what it was becoming: Work, not just something she could ease through.

It sure would be nice for a certain someone with big, strong, gentle hands and a calming, friendly voice to be there to rub her back and hips. Or hold her hands. Or coach her. Or even just be around and know she could be completely trusted to look out for Maki and Hana’s comfort and safety.

Letting out a sigh, she put her best guesses of the shower contraction times in the app and gave her hair and fur a quick brushing while she still could, settling for putting her hair in a ponytail for now. Once she finished her quick freshening up and dressed again, she tried to think of anything else she could do to convince herself she was still too early in labor to go to the hospital. But there was a nagging instinct that was telling her otherwise. She didn’t feel like she was getting so close to delivering that she was risking giving birth here, she just...felt like she needed to be where she planned to be.

Not much came to mind in terms of distractions, so she settled for waiting for the next contraction to come and go before she finished getting ready to leave. She threw a few final things in the hospital bag, refilled her water bottle, and went to the living room.

She stood by the stacked-up baby stuff in one corner of the living room, smiling at it all. Things she bought herself were mixed with gifts from her baby shower and presents from friends and family. She only kept what she could in her apartment, most of it was in the house and waiting to be set up before they moved in once Hana was born. These were just the necessities during the short time she would stay here with the kit, so she’d be able to take care of her. It was still a reminder of the good people she had who cared about her and her baby.

After running her fingers across it all, she sat on the couch to either think of something else to do or wait out the rest of laboring at home.

Speaking of good people, she was feeling kind of anxious to connect with her friends, though, but didn’t feel like talking in case she contracted mid-conversation. She wanted to save her lung strength for breathing and vocalizing, so she opened her text messages, starting with Laura as she had a drink.

[i]Laura, you there[/i]

[b]I’m right here, phone hasn’t left my side. How u doin, Mom[/b]

[i]Short of divine intervention stopping her, she’s coming TODAY.[/i]

[b]You need me now[/b]

[i]Not yet but getting close.[/i]

[b]Countdown has started, got it. I’m locked and loaded.[/b]

Then she opened another contact.

[i]Hi Sara, it’s Maki, you still available[/i]

[u]I’m still here, yes. How you holding up, honey?[/u]

[i]Getting close to hospital time.[/i]

[i]Wait no[/i]

[i]I’m not leaving[/i]

[i]I mean as in labor’s movin along[/i]

[u]Got it. Are you still doing okay?[/u]

[i]For now. In an hour, who knows.[/i]

[u]Okay. You need me to head to the hospital or to come to you, just say the word and I’m wherever you need me, dear.[/u]

[i]I know. You’ve always been here for me.[/i]

[u]What I do best. Just remember: Relax, breathe, and think open thoughts.[/u]

[i]Just like you helped teach me.[/i]

As comforted as Maki was to know they were both ready to help her, she thumbed back to the contraction app just in time for one to start, making her glad she didn’t try calling them. She eased off the couch to get on all fours, a position she hadn’t tried yet. She reminded herself to relax her shoulders and neck, letting her head bow forward and her ponytailed hair hang beside her face as she slowly rocked her hips. Steady, even moans from deep in her chest rose from her throat as she worked through it.

Her belly felt even heavier in this position, but it helped a little with her back and hips, downgrading “painful” to “uncomfortable.” It made breathing easier, which made handling the contraction easier. “Easier” was a relative term, though, and she felt her face scrunching up and her hips freezing as the ache in her belly hit its high point, letting out a moan of “ohmygaaaaahd” before going back to wordless breathing. After ending it with a cleansing breath, she hit the timer again and looked at where she stood.

7.75-to-8-minute average now.

“...How’m I gonna do this?” she asked herself. She had time to recover between contractions, but if it still wasn’t hospital time, would she be able to handle it when they were so close together that she barely got time to rest? Especially if they were only going to get harder to work through?

She swallowed as she sat up, wanting to face her fears and stop them head-on. She’d spent way too much time studying and practicing for this very event to think she couldn’t do it. She knew this wouldn’t be easy and she still welcomed it, whatever it threw at her. She would have her baby and be proud of herself for doing it.

Besides, that’s why she had Sara. Sara would know what to do if Maki didn’t. From their first meeting, the mastiff had made Maki feel like everything would be okay and she was going to make sure it stayed that way. Just the thought of having her to hold onto and talk to made Maki feel like things would get better as soon as they were at the hospital.

Just...not yet. Her plans were already getting thrown off by going into labor a week early and her doctor not going to be there. She wasn’t ready to make another change.

She endured this for another half hour, sticking with the all-fours position while it still worked for her and trying to ignore the faint but growing urge to get out of here. It was a battle she was slowly losing, and having to spend any mental energy on anything other than getting through contractions was causing her to slip towards changing her mind all the more.

But one thing was about to really drain her mental reserves.

When her phone rang, she glanced at the ID, hoping it was Sara or Laura checking in on her. But nope, it was the first person she would call after Hana was born and the last person she really wanted to talk to right now.

“Mom,” the ID read.

She suddenly had a new decision to make. Mom had been very persistent about being updated on how her daughter was doing now that her first and only grandchild’s birth was right around the corner. If Maki ignored this call, Mom was just going to call again, and the more she ignored the calls, the more Mom was going to think something was wrong. She told Mom that, as much as she loved her, she didn’t want her in the same room while she was giving birth: She was just really going to need to focus on what she was doing and not care how her mother was seeing her. That took a lot of negotiating, ultimately leading to her promising Mom that she’d be the first person she called after the birth.

Now that she was getting a firsthand sample of what labor was like and had an idea of what was in store for her in the coming hours, she wasn’t sure she wanted Mom to know she was in labor either. Mom would just want to know how she was doing all the time, and Maki wouldn’t put it past her to either push her way past hospital staff to get to her room or have to be kicked out of the building, and she wanted Mom to look back fondly on this day too, not as the day she was blocked from the hospital.

Bottom line: She had about ten seconds to get ready to act naturally while in labor. If she could force it for this phone call, she would have a chance of keeping Mom happily ignorant.

“Hiii, Mom!” she greeted cheerfully.

“Hi, Maki!” her mother answered. “Sooo, how’s it going now that you’re officially on maternity leave?”

“It’s going great, Mom! I’ve just been, y’know, just...relaxing, taking it easy, saving my strength,” she answered somewhat honestly.

“Great! I kept saying, if you don’t start your leave soon, you’re gonna go into labor at work, and you don’t wanna start labor at anything less than your best.”

“I know, and lucky us, that didn’t happen,” she agreed, thinking that instead, she went into labor the morning after, now wasn’t that just great? “You’re still good to fly in tomorrow?”

“Well...you see...I had this weird dream last night, and I...got a little impatient.”

Maki’s smile suddenly got more strained. “What,” she said flatly.

“It’s just the craziest thing, but I had this [i]vivid[/i] dream that you needed my help because you’d gone into labor and you weren’t going to make it to the hospital and we ended up delivering Hana right there in your apartment.”

The rational side of Maki’s mind could understand how Mom would be so focused on Hana’s birth that she’d think about it even in her sleep. The irrational side found it very off-putting that Mom had a dream about it the night before Maki went into labor a week early. She did [i]not[/i] need more reasons to worry about what could happen, like, say, giving birth at home.

She sighed. “Mom, we have a plan. I’m a woman of plans. You come here tomorrow, you stay with me a night or two, you work with the movers to get enough stuff moved into the house that you can stay there until Hana’s born and we’re ready to move everything else.”

“I [i]haven’t forgotten[/i],” her mom said firmly, “but babies make their own plans. [i]You[/i] certainly did.”

Like mothers, like daughters...

“I know we’re gonna be living together again and I’m gonna lose most of my privacy for a very long time,” Maki said, rubbing her temple, “so I’d really like to enjoy what I have left, and-”

“[b]Attention: Dominique Parker, report to Security Station B to reclaim a forgotten item,[/b]” Maki heard on Mom’s end, which sounded like a loudspeaker, “[b]Dominique Parker to Security Station B.[/b]”

Maki blinked, raising an eyebrow. “...Where are you?”

“If you must know, I’m at the airport now.”

She felt a pang of dread hit her. “What did you do?”

“I booked a flight to come out tonight and cancelled my flight tomorrow. It’s not that much more expensive in the long run.”

Oh god, and Hana was coming today...how was she going to talk her way out of this... “Did you consider I might have plans?” she asked impatiently.

“Oh would you relax? I’ll stay somewhere else if you can’t put me up tonight. That’s part of why I was calling, anyway,” Mom argued back. “Really, just take a deep breath, it’ll be fine.”

“Why don’t you-” Maki started to say before she felt exactly what she hoped wouldn’t happen, causing her ears to stand upright from the tension. Speaking of breathing deeply, another contraction was starting. Oh, please, no.

“...Why don’t I what?”

“Forget it, we’ll, we’ll talk about it later,” she said a bit hurriedly, her mind racing to think of what to do as she set her phone on the couch and slid off to get back on all fours, “but what I meant was, yeah, book a room somewhere or something.” That was as much as she could say before she covered the speaker with her palm and started breathing deeply to try to stay in control. She couldn’t meet the start of this contraction with her labor breathing, so her rhythm was already a little thrown off, and now she had to improvise carrying on a phone call while contracting.

“Fine. Good, even. I was going to say I was getting in late anyway.”

She had time for a few more words before this was going to hurt too much for her to fake it anymore, so she took her palm off the phone to say, “Okay, great, I’ll see you tomorrow then,” and covered it again. She couldn’t risk Mom hearing her moan, so she focused on trying to just breathe, but the lack of release only made the tension build.

“What are you doing?”

A deep breath in, she moved her hand, “Hmmm?” she exhaled to make it sound like a question, she covered the phone again to resume her breathing.

“It sounded like you were talking into the phone and now it’s harder to hear you.”

Damn it.

“And you sound a little out of breath.”

She couldn’t think of anything better than, “InthemiddleofyogaMom! Doin’atoughpose!” Not a complete lie.

“Oh, okay. Well, that’s all I really wanted to talk about, so I’ll let you get back to relaxing.”

Just one more sentence, she could force it for just a second longer. “Okaythankyou- [i]hnnngh[/i]!” That grunt of pain leapt from her throat as the contraction peaked and hit a new height, even if just a little bit higher than before.

“Honey?” her mom asked, starting to sound concerned.

She moved her hand from the phone to clamp it over her mouth, looking at her phone in mild panic as she tried to ride out the worst of the contraction and stifle any more sound, which also stifled her breathing.

“...Miyako, are you sure you’re okay? I know you know what you’re doing,” Mom said, and Maki’s racing thoughts wanted to answer that she wasn’t so sure of that anymore, “but save the hard stuff for when you don’t have a baby to bend around.”

She had to stay quiet and squeeze her eyes shut for a few more seconds until she felt the pain start to recede, then she allowed herself to take a few deep breaths and answer, “Hahhh, sorry...just overdid it...hoooh...and Hana kicked me when I was...trying to breathe.”

Mom sighed. “Maybe it’s time for you to take a break and enjoy your maternity leave. Compared to pregnancy, giving birth is the easy part, and I don’t have to tell you that being a mom is the real-”

“The real hard part, I know!” Maki cut her off, opening her eyes and scowling at her phone impatiently. “Sorry, but we’ve...we’ve covered that,” she said before Mom could ask why she was suddenly so annoyed, “so how about I...haaah...take your advice and relax...please?”

“Yes, it sounds like you could use some.” Mom had no idea how right she was, and boy was Maki glad for that. “Can I just give a quick hi to Hana?” she asked hopefully.

“Just...lemme finish this pose,” Maki answered. A few quiet breaths later to breathe out the rest of the pain and Maki grabbed the phone, sat on the floor, turned on the speakerphone, and lifted her dress to press it against her bare belly. “You’re on.”

“Hiii, Hanaaa!” Mom chirped. “It’s Grandma! How’s my favoritest widdle grandkit?”

No response from the grandkit in question, so Maki humored her and answered, “She says, ‘I’m very squeezed in here, when are you gonna make Mommy let me out?’”

“Aww, honey, you can come out anytime you’re ready now!” No kidding. “Your mommy and grandma are ready for you! And we want to see you and talk to you and hug and kiss you from this side!” she cooed.

Again, no response, so Maki faked a grunt and said, “Oof...she says, ‘Can’t wait, Grandma,’ if that’s what a punch to my guts means.”

“Now you play nice with Mommy, Hana, she’s done a great job taking care of you already and...” Mom trailed off before her tone changed and it sounded like she’d turned her head away from the phone. “What’re you looking at?” she asked more pointedly. A pause, then she went on, “I’m gonna be a grandmother any day now, I’m talking to my soon-to-be grandchild.” Another pause, causing Maki to sigh at where this was probably going. “Yeah, ‘whatever’ for you, and you better keep it that way so I don’t see you shaking your head at me again, young lady!”

Maki stepped in, “Okay, Mom, I don’t know what’s going on on your end, but that’s enough. We don’t need another grocery store incident.”

“Hey now,” Mom answered back into the phone, “I was completely justified in that. No one talks about my daughters like that when I’m around, and when they call my grandkit a mistake too, Hell follows in my footsteps.”

“And you already got yourself banned from one grocery store here for a full year, drama queen,” Maki groaned. “I appreciate you looking out for our honor. But I’m a grown woman who can decide when I’m offended and when I’m not, and who also knows how to talk to people and tell them exactly why I’m not happy with them, thank you very much.”

“Worth it.”

“Look...let’s just take a deep breath, get on with our days, and focus on what makes us happy.” She forced a smile. “Okay?”

“...Yes. Let’s.”

“Good. Now, give Hana a goodbye kiss, because Mommy needs to get back to her yoga.”

“Okay.” After an exaggerated “mmmwah!” from Mom, she sang, “Grandma loves you, Hana!” Then ended with, “And I love you too, Maki. Take care of yourself.”

“Love you too, Mom.”

After hanging up, Maki sat back on the couch and buried her face in her hands. Mom was going to be an awesome grandmother; she had no doubt about that. But living with her again was going to take some getting used to. Then she groaned as she realized she could have just let the phone ring and called Mom back after a contraction and told her she was in the bathroom or something.

Oh well. This was going to make for a funny story later.

More importantly, she thought about how she lost it for a second during that contraction. Sure, she wasn’t in an ideal situation in a few ways, but even taking that into account, that one hurt more. The pain ceiling was only going to get higher until Hana was out, but was it approaching her limit of how much she could handle by herself?

She knew she’d get her answer soon enough.

With the next contraction, her breathing and rocking got her through the buildup just like before, but her breath was again caught in a gasp at how high it went. “Aaah! Ohh!” she grunted, taking a few hissing breaths through clenched teeth before she could let her jaw relax again and open her throat. Her hands still reflexively clenched the carpet beneath her, and she had to stop her rocking until the squeeze of her belly started to release.

The contractions were starting to get some edge, some bite to them now.

After it was done, she checked the times on her phone again and saw they were only down to 7.5 to 8 minutes apart. Now she was getting nervous again. They were that far apart, and she was having trouble getting through them herself? She should be further into labor before she needed help. She wasn’t completely “natural or bust” but she meant it when she said that she wanted to experience childbirth for herself from beginning to end. Plus, what if the hospital sent her home because she wasn’t far enough in?

She only thought about it for a minute before she accepted the truth with a nod. Regardless of her plan, she wasn’t doing okay like this anymore. She didn’t want to be here, and most of all, she didn’t want to be alone.

It was time to go to the hospital.

Sitting on the couch again, she speed-dialed her first contact.

“Yo, what’s the word?” Laura asked.

“It’s time. She’s coming. I need you here,” Maki confirmed.

“Ohmygod, are you having her right now?!” her friend asked nervously.

“No, I mean, I need you to pick me up.”

“Oh...gave me a scare there. Okay, I’ll be there in two minutes tops.”

Maki sighed. “I told you, [i]don’t rush[/i]. We’ve been practicing this for a reason, and I don’t need-”

“Maki, I’m two blocks away,” she interrupted.

“You’re what?”

“Yeah, after your text, I figured I’d just wait by the park until you gave me the signal.”

“...Oh. Well, thank you. You’ll get here before I’m down there, just gimme a little time to finish getting ready.”

“Don’t mention it. I’m on my way.”

That was done. Now for another call she’d been looking forward to even more than her first call with Sara today.

“Hello, Maki,” Sara answered.

“Hello, Sara. Are you still ready to do what you do best?” Maki asked with a smile.

“I’m always ready, and it sounds like you both are too.”

“We are. Contractions are, like, 7 and a half to 8 minutes apart, and I know what I planned, but it just...it doesn’t feel right to be here alone. I need you with me, and I need to be where I know Hana’s going to be born.”

“Anything you need. If you say it’s time to go, we’re going. You need me to call your OB and tell him to oil up his catcher’s mitt?”

“Heh,” Maki snickered, “I wasn’t gonna ask, but that’d be great, thanks. Just, when you call, they’re putting a substitute in, just so you know.” She played with the hem of her dress as she asked, “Um, say, if they say it’s too early and send me home...I um, I really don’t mean to impose, but...is there room at the birth center? Even just until we can go try to stay in the hospital again?”

“Oh, Maki, you’re never imposing on me. If you don’t feel like you should be at home, you’re welcome here anytime. You want to wait here until we can go back, or if you change your mind and have the baby here? I’m gonna make it happen. That’s completely your shot to call,” Sara said gently.

That gave Maki some relief that if things kept going wrong, there was insurance that it would still work out all right. There was just one other thing she was concerned about. “Thank you. And...I know this is probably a stupid question, but...you’re [i]sure[/i] there’s nothing to worry about, with her being a week early?”

“Yes I am. I’ve delivered quite a few babies who decided they weren’t gonna wait. Some of them were earlier than 39 weeks and were totally fine. You could’ve popped a week earlier, and I wouldn’t have been worried at all. I’m not gonna panic you if there’s something to be concerned about, but I know how much you appreciate honesty. I’m gonna take care of you, but I’d never lie to you to make you feel better.”

Yeah...from their first meeting, Maki could tell Sara was an honest, trustworthy person who took her seriously enough to know she could handle both good and bad news. And if there was something wrong, Sara would know what to do. “Okay. Good,” she answered simply.

“Here’s another way to think about it. We both know the old ‘bun in the oven’ saying. Well, even when you follow the recipe, your bun’s not going to be 100% perfect. And the important part? It’s okay to not be perfect because nothing is, and it’s not even a problem, either. Your bun’s been baking long enough that she’s done. If she came out a little earlier or a little later? If we hadn’t been there to see it for ourselves, there’d be no way we’d have even known about it,” she explained.

Maki nodded slowly, her smile widening. “Wow...that’s...a really good metaphor. Mind if I pass that knowledge along?” she asked.

“Mind? I’d be flattered if you did.”

“Thanks.” Then she added, “It works even better for us, ‘cause we’re both bun-nies,” to their shared laughter.

Amazing. She was in labor that had gotten to the point of needing help to get through it, and Sara couldn’t just make her feel safe and comforted, she could even laugh with her.

“Thanks, Sara,” she repeated. “I’ll see you soon.”

After that, she took a bit of time to soak in the good feelings. There were just a couple things she needed to do before leaving.

She rocked, panted, and huffed through the next pain before she got up and grabbed her tape measure on the way to the bathroom. She took one last set of measurements along with her weight before putting that into her phone to enter into her pregnancy notes later, then went to the bedroom and started recording on her computer’s camera.

“Hello, sweetheart,” she said to her baby. “It’s the afternoon of June 2nd, and I have been pregnant with you for 39 weeks. It hasn’t always been easy, but it’s always been worth it, and I’ve been looking forward to it being just you and me, like this,” she turned to the side and rested her hands on the top and bottom of her belly, “for a while longer.” She stroked her bump and added, “Buuut...nope. You want out today. You’re not gonna let Mommy have one day to just relax.” She giggled, wagging her finger at the camera in a “no no” gesture. “This better not be your first step on the road to being a little troublemaker. Mommy works with a lot of kids, and she knows how to handle troublemakers.”

She flinched and let out a huff as Hana kicked the top of her belly and felt like she was trying to resettle her head in Maki’s pelvis, which felt even more uncomfortable than when Hana had ever done that before.

“Hoo...yeah, you’re not even born and you’re already backtalking me,” she playfully lamented. “But...yep. Today’s the day I finally meet you. I finally hold you. I finally...” she trailed off, taking a deep breath to try to steady herself, “[i]we’re[/i] finally...together.”

Another deep breath, and another, though gentler, kick from Hana.

“39 weeks ago...you were nothing more than a figment of my imagination. A daydream of what I wanted most. A wish...that came true. You became real, right here in my body,” she patted her belly, feeling her composure breaking. “Now, you’re about to start your life in the world outside of me. You’re ready to show the world...who you are.” She sniffed. “You’ve come...so far...in so little time...”

That was as far as she could get before she started crying.

“Mmm, I’m sorry, honey, I’m crying because I’m happy.” She let out a slightly choked laugh to make sure her future child had no doubt she meant it as she wiped her eyes. “So...this is the end of Mommy being pregnant with you, and the start of her being Mommy to you on this side of the world. I’m going to the hospital now. I’ll see you soon.” She blinked out another tear as she pulled up her dress, kissed her palm, and rested her palm on the bottom of her belly, as close as she could get to where she felt Hana’s head. “I love you.”

At that, she ended the recording.

She knew that one was going to be a tearjerker for years to come.

As expected, Maki had another contraction not long after the recording finished, wanting this to be the last one she had at home. She got through it with her spirit renewed, knowing she was about to go where she was meant to be to finish this part of her journey and start the next part, the part that would go on for the rest of her life.

Once it was done, she stood in front of the bedroom mirror to look herself in the eyes. She’d done a lot to keep herself motivated during her pregnancy, and now that her pregnancy was at its end, she had one last affirmation specifically for labor. She’d never said it out loud before, only thought or written it, wanting the only time she said it to be when she went to have her kit. Now was the time.

“I may be in pain, but I’m not hurt. I may feel bad, but I’m not sick. I’m going to the hospital, but I’m not in danger,” she told herself with a voice full of confidence.

Looking down at her belly, she held it in her hands. “And neither, are, you,” she went on before meeting her own gaze again and finishing her long-awaited promise.

“Time to have the best day of my life.”

-----

[u]Never Too Late[/u]
[u]The Longest-Awaited Day[/u]
Prologue/Chapter 1: Early Labor of Love

In this chapter: Maki’s just started her maternity leave at the 39-week mark. She’s looking forward to the time she has left before her kit is born when it’s just the two of them, her kit in her belly, as close as can be. Her bags are packed, her birth plan is finalized, and she’s committed to finally relax for the rest of her pregnancy before it’s time to see her labor and birth goals through. But her baby has a plan, too, and Maki’s going to come to terms with it as she takes in the morning of this longest-awaited day.

Maki’s big day has come. She’s planned, researched, and most of all looked forward to the labor and birth of her child, and this will test her like nothing else ever has, in ways she both planned for and not. This is going to be a team effort, and while she’s got the best team she can have, she’s going to need them. Today, she’ll be pushed to new limits, she’ll hit those limits more than once, and she’ll break them as she learns just how exhausting and empowering, how humbling and triumphant, how self-affirming and team-focused, and, despite all the imperfections, how completely perfect having a baby can be.

[b]A/N[/b]
Despite having been fascinated with pregnancy and childbirth for a long time, I’ve almost never written a labor scene on my own, so this was a challenge. A delightful challenge. Pulling from my well of inspiration and being determined to keep going when my contributions to the story had already become much longer than I ever expected, without feeling like I was dragging things on for the sake of being long, really felt like it tested me. Maki continued to be so incredibly fun to write about for many reasons that I couldn’t stop myself, especially since by now, I knew full well that I was onto something special with this story.

In particular, it was a lot of fun to write the part where Maki’s trying to talk to her mom while hiding she’s in the middle of a contraction. The last part of the scene, with Maki recording her last pregnancy video with a message to her baby (and, really, to herself) and then her self-affirmation, have made me feel good to read ever since I wrote them.

A final note, one of great personal pride: I wrote this chapter and the two chapters of Maki’s Story in only 38 days. Basically, I commissioned the story, wrote up a bunch of notes, was a ways down in the queue, and then got so antsy that I decided to end my self-imposed break from writing and write the intro and a couple of scenes myself. In several ways, I exceeded my expectations by a crazy amount. I don't know if it’s more appropriate to say, “Oops, I meant to write the intro but I ended up writing a ~8k word story in 10 days.” Or, “Oops, I meant to just write something skimming over just one scene but I ended up writing a 13k story.” Or maybe, “Oops, I meant to write just these three scenes building up to the real story but ended up writing something that’s ~25k words long...in only 38 days.” But...personal records were thoroughly broken by this point.

And then they were broken again, and it continued to be so validating for my cowriter, whose own work I admire, to have enjoyed my contributions so much :)

[u]Credits[/u]
This chapter was written by Evertide with approval from GimmeABigPush https://www.tumblr.com/gimmeabigpush , without whose encouragement, the story would never have been what it is.
Sara is Gimmeabigpush’s character and is used with permission.
Other characters are from Evertide.

[b][u]Never Too Late[/b][/u]
[u]Maki's Story[/u]
Chapter 1 - Maki, Hana, and New Friend Sara: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/55863819/
Chapter 2 - The Second Half(ish) of Pregnancy: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/55941864/

[u]The Longest-Awaited Day[/u]
Chapter 2 - The Team Gathers: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/56112354/
Chapter 3 - No Plan Survives...: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/56198207/
Chapter 4 - Banana Fucking Tree: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/56282691/
Chapter 5 - Plan VS Reality: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/56367037/
Chapter 6 - The Team Rallies: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/56451471/
Chapter 7 - A Heaving, Sweaty, Painful Puzzle: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/56534075/
Chapter 8 - Comeback Queen: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/56616678/
Chapter 9 - The Flame that Never Stops Burning: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/56700617/
Epilogue/Chapter 10 - The Wish that Came True: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/56783696/