CHAPTER THIRTY-THREENiamh
“I THINK IT’S TIME,” Niamh said as she stood clutching the kitchen counter.
“Time for what?” Olcan said absently, going over some sort of documents he’d been studying at the kitchen table.
“Time!” she exclaimed, drawing in her breath as a contraction hit her hard.
Olcan looked up at her, still seeming confused for a moment, but then catching on to what was happening. He jumped up from the table so fast, he sent the chair skidding sideways toward the counter. It clattered noisily across the floor and he left it there, instead making a beeline to her and placing his arm around her waist to steady her.
“Oh, time!” he repeated. “Come on, I’ll help you to the car.”
“Don’t forget my bag. Get that while I catch my breath,” she replied.
“Right. Bag,” he told her, taking off running toward their bedroom.
She could hear him in there rummaging around as if she hadn’t shown him where it was several times. He finally emerged with it in his hands and sat it atop the marble counter between them, looking at her expectantly for his next order.
It wasn’t often that Olcan McNally had to be pushed along. He normally was in charge, the driving force, but now he looked lost and confused. If she didn’t know better, she’d say that he might even look scared. Terrified, actually.
“What now?” he asked, but she was temporarily unable to answer.
She continued to clutch the counter, powering through the wave of pain that violated her body. It was hard to believe she was already in labor. It seemed like they’d only gotten married a few weeks ago, and yet it was more than three months instead. She was both terrified and relieved.
What sort of mother would she be? How could she protect three babies? What if they were all Omegas? Would they have better chances here than she had been afforded in Ireland? Olcan had promised her that any daughters of his would never be exchanged like property. She trusted him to keep his word on that, but that didn’t mean they would make good choices themselves either.
“I think we need to get going,” she finally managed from between clenched teeth.
“Okay, I’ve got it. Come on, let’s get you going,” he said.
Niamh had been having contractions for a while but had waited until she was sure they were legitimate and not just cramps or false labor. As they grew closer together, she’d become surer, but they still had plenty of time to get there. She didn’t want to take any chances of waiting any longer with it being triplets, as Doctor Kelly said they could come quickly once they were in place due to the extra wait on her cervix.
Olcan helped her down the steps to the underground parking where the car was parked, taking slow steps to allow her to move at her own pace until they could reach their destination. He put her in the passenger side and threw the bag over his shoulder in the back seat before jumping behind the wheel and starting it up, nervously pushing the garage door button and shooting up out onto the upper driveway before closing it behind him.
Olcan made it to the clinic in record time, pulling up to the door and running around to help her out and inside. She could already feel the waves of another contraction. They were coming hard and fast now with the increased movement. She stopped, digging her nails into his arm hard enough to make him wince. She gasped and began trying to breathe through the pain until it passed, and he let her, but as soon as she showed signs of it letting up, he swept her into his arms and carried her inside.
“I could have walked,” she protested with a pained laugh.
“I was afraid one of them might just fall out and bounce off the sidewalk with the horrible faces you were making,” he teased.
The midwife, an older woman named Amanda, was already there waiting. Niamh had called her on the way. She, the doctor, and a handful of nurses would handle the delivery and care of the babies while she recovered. Though she thought she’d have more time, things began to move quickly once they had her up in stirrups and ready for birth. In less than thirty minutes, the midwife was saying she was fully dilated and getting her set to push.
These kids weren’t wasting time getting out into the world. They were lining up and ready to make an entrance. While she was glad to finally be able to see their little faces and begin her life as their mother, she was also somewhat terrified of what was coming.
“All right, let’s do this thing, Mommy. You ready?” Amanda asked.
Niamh nodded, breathing through another contraction and holding onto Olcan’s hand so tightly, she thought it might snap in her grip. He didn’t seem bothered by it as he focused on helping her breathe and cast anxious glances down toward the midwife.