As hard as she wanted to feel as upbeat as the nurse was, Nellie had waited
too
long. It wasn’t as safe to get an epidural this far along in her labor, and Nellie refused to take any chances. But she was paying the price in pain by going at this naturally. The contraction she was feeling now had her squeezing the bar on the side of her bed and her lower back felt like her spine was being ripped open. Unable to stand it anymore, she was done feeling sorry for Abel and let out an agonized moan through her clenched teeth.
~*~
The nurse made it sound as if they were so close, but the last couple of hours felt like an eternity. Abel wasn’t sure if it was because he had to see Nellie in so much pain or if it was because there were so many moments when she really looked like she wanted him dead, even when he was trying really hard to console her. His reassuring her that they were really close and that it would soon be over didn’t seem to help at all.
Noah had warned him about
how things could get ugly once it was down to the wire. But he really didn’t think his sweet little Nellie was capable of turning on him. She’d been a perfect sweetheart, and she was as nervously excited as he was on their first two trips to the maternity ward earlier that week. Then he went to turn on the video camera like he’d done the first two times they’d been there.
“
I swear to all that is holy, Abel Ayala,” she said through her teeth as she panted through another contraction, “if you turn that thing on, you will lose a hand.”
“
But, babe, I thought you wanted me to record you in labor?”
Aside from his mother
’s when he and Hector had been bad as a youngsters, he never thought a woman’s glare like the one Nellie gave him just then could be so dangerously vicious. He immediately put the camera down very cautiously and promised it wouldn’t get turned back on until the baby was born.
Remembering what his mother had warned him earlier that week on their first false alarm trip to the hospital, he bit his tongue and didn
’t remind that Nellie recording this whole thing had been her idea in the first place. She’d been the one who asked him to go buy a camera, a camera that had cost him a small fortune, but he figured it was worth every penny if he was going to film the birth of his baby with it. Before he was tempted to say something about it again, Nellie was hit with another contraction that had her crying out in pain.
Feeling completely helpless to do anything for her
, he leaned in and let her fist his sweatshirt as hard as she wanted. “Breathe, baby. Do the breathing exercises,” he reminded her then demonstrated for her very animatedly as if his own deep breathing might help her.
“
I don’t wanna do the fucking breathing exercises!” she spat out suddenly, stunning Abel. “I just want this baby out!”
As the contraction
s passed and she seemed to calm but still whimpered looking so completely spent, his mom’s words from earlier that week came to him.
“
Nellie has a free pass in that labor room. She can say or do whatever makes her feel better,
Mijo
. Don’t take it personally.”
Abel
wasn’t taking it personally, and so far, aside from that last outburst and when she threatened he’d lose a hand, she hadn’t said a whole lot. Mostly, she’d groaned, cried, and panted through the contractions. All Abel could do was pray that it would soon be over. She looked and sounded so tortured that he could almost feel her pain, though he knew better than to say that to her at the time.
He was only glad now that he
’d been paying such close attention during Lamaze classes, because he at least had a clue what to do. The nurse even said he was a
very
good coach. He’d started to smile about it, until he took one look at Nellie. Apparently, she wasn’t as impressed by his coaching skills as the nurse was.
Roni
, Nellie’s parents, and Courtney had arrived about an hour into the whole ordeal. Her parents and Courtney stayed out in the waiting room with Gus for the most part, coming in for a few minutes at a time. But Abel was once again eternally grateful for Roni. She was
so
much better than he was about saying the right things to Nellie.
Through it all
, even with her most lethal glares, Nellie never once let go of Abel’s hand. If she were any stronger and if his hands weren’t so much bigger than hers, she might’ve crushed his a few times. But Abel figured what little pain he’d endured when she’d buried her nails almost through his skin was nothing compared to what she was going through.
By the time
she was ready to push, Abel was feeling almost as tormented as he had when she’d been in a coma. Seeing her in so much pain was crushing his heart. As anxious as he was to meet his baby, he was more anxious to see Nellie out of pain.
T
he doctors announced that she could start to push as soon as the next contraction came.
“
Almost, baby. You got this,” he whispered, wiping her forehead with a towel then kissing it.
Nellie squeezed his hand tighter and tighter
, grunting with all her might as the contraction came. Just as the nurse had predicted, Nellie got through it like a champ, and in a matter of a few pushes, his baby girl was born.
The relief of seeing Nellie fall back completely
worn-out but finally out of the massive pain she’d just been through, mixed with the reality that he was now a father, was too overwhelming. Abel buried his face into Nellie’s neck and let out the emotion. “You did it, Nellie. I’m so proud of you, baby.”
“
Why isn’t she crying?” Nellie asked, anxiously.
“
She will in a second,” One of the nurses said in an assuring tone.
A few moments passed
, and there was still no sound from the baby. Nellie squeezed Abel’s hand as his heart once again began to speed up. He glanced over to see the doctor suctioning the baby’s nose and mouth and still nothing. Just as he started to feel dread, the squeaky almost meowing sounds came out of his baby’s mouth, overwhelming Abel all over again.
For as tiny as she was
, the meowing-like noises coming from her sweet little mouth were
loud
. “How does she look?” Nellie asked, stretching her head to see over the towels below her.
“
She’s beautiful,” Abel said, barely able to get the words out.
The doctor called Abel over to do the honors
, holding the surgical scissors at his baby’s umbilical cord. “Do we have a name yet?” He asked as Abel cut the cord and wiped his tears away.
“
Reina,” he smiled, looking down at the perfect baby girl that he and Nellie had created.
Abel had agreed early on
, that if they had a boy, they’d name him Abel after himself and his father. He didn’t remember a whole lot about his dad, but one thing he remembered fondly was hearing his dad often refer to his mom as
mi reina—
his queen. He always said it with so much affection—so much love. So when Abel started looking up baby girl names and saw it pop up several times as an actual name, the decision was instant. His baby girl would be his Reina.
Roni had walked out
, just before Nellie started pushing, and as tempted as he was to go out and tell her and everyone else that baby Reina was born, he couldn’t bring himself to leave Nellie’s side.
As soon as the
y placed the baby on Nellie’s chest, Abel’s mind was finally clear enough to remember to pull out the camera. He started filming as Nellie counted all the fingers and toes. He almost laughed at her thorough inspection of the baby.
The nurse noticed
, too, because she reassured her that the baby appeared to be perfectly healthy. “And she’s big,” the nurse added as she started to lift her away from Nellie.
She looked tiny to Abel
, but what did he know about baby sizes? The only thing that mattered now was that she was healthy.
The room was soon full with their friends and family. Nellie
’s family had excused themselves once Gus started getting fussy, saying they’d be by the house in a few days to see Nellie and the baby again. Abel had to get a grip. Every time he held his daughter, he felt choked up again. Then his mom got there, and he was at it again. He was only glad that he was able to suck it up. As far as he could tell, none of the guys had noticed.
After fussing over the baby for a while and giving her all the traditional blessings, h
is mom went back to the house where they still had a house full of guests. His family members weren’t going anywhere. There was still too much booze left, and now they had even more reason to celebrate.
“
I told you she’d be fine,” Roni gushed, holding the baby in her arms.
“
Why?” Abel glanced at Nellie curiously and squeezed her hand. “You were worried she wouldn’t be?”
Nellie nodded
, looking almost remorseful. “I just couldn’t stop thinking about what happened before I even knew I was pregnant. I couldn’t help worrying.”
“
She looks perfectly healthy to me,” Hector said then turned to Abel and laughed. “Figures you’d have a toddler-sized baby. Nine and a half pounds?” He turned to Roni. “That’s big for a newborn, isn’t it?”
Noah laughed
, nodding. “They said Jack was a big baby, and he was just shy of nine pounds.”
Hector wrapped his arms around Charlee from behind.
“You hear that? We 5th Street sluggers make big babies. You better be ready.”
Nellie smiled
, glancing at Charlee’s fire agate heart necklace as her eyes widened and her face went bright red.
“
Oh my God! Can you imagine?” Bianca said with a big smile. “You two might have a redheaded baby. How adorable would that be? A little redheaded Ayala.”
“
I don’t care whose hair color our babies get, mine or his,” Charlee said. “But I will be hoping for something more along the lines of seven pounds maybe? Gosh, Nellie, I can’t even imagine nine and a half pounds!”
“
But she did awesome,” Roni smiled at Nellie proudly.
“
Yeah, she did,” Abel leaned over and kissed Nellie’s forehead.
“
And I think it’s the perfect name,” Roni said, nuzzling and leaning over to touch the baby’s nose with her own. “Because this little queen is going to have all of you wrapped around her little finger. Aren’t you, you beautiful thing?” she asked, making baby noises.
“
Yep,” Noah agreed, smiling down at the baby. “That’s why we’re all here instead of partying at your mom’s. We
had
to come meet the new little queen. Not one of us was waiting until tomorrow.”
That reminded Abel of something.
“What about Felix? Did he ever show up?”
Noah frowned
, but Hector answered for him.” He’s fucking up,” he said then winced, glancing over at the baby as if she could understand him. He shook his head as Abel waited for him to explain what he meant. “He was supposed to come. He told me he would the other day, but he got into some brawl at a club last night and got arrested.”
“
Again,” Noah added with a frown. “He’s getting out of control.”
“
Again? He’s been in more than one brawl? What’s wrong with him?” Abel asked, feeling worried for his friend.
“
Well, not another brawl,” Noah clarified, “but arrested again. Last time it was for disorderly conduct or something equally stupid.”
“
Isn’t he supposed to be in training soon?” Abel asked.
“
Soon?” Gio said. “He should’ve been weeks ago. He’s been too busy doing crap like that celebrity dance show and partying like a rock star. He’s been all over the TV but for all the wrong reasons.”
Abel had missed it all
, and it was no surprise. He and Nellie had boycotted any and all tabloid stories or shows. But it was inescapable. Even after all this time, it still inevitably got back to him or Nellie that the stories of her and Sam were still out there.
“
I’m sure Andy’s eating it all up,” Abel said, walking over to Roni. “No publicity is bad publicity, according to that asshole, right?”
Abel outstretched
his arms, and Roni handed him his baby girl. Having her in his arms was enough to dispel the annoyance that had begun to build at the very thought of Andy. He was finally getting used to it, and holding her didn’t feel quite as terrifying as the first few times. He walked back toward Nellie, and she was already holding her hands out. “Give me a sec with her, will you?” he teased.
Hector and the rest of them hung out for a bit more before heading back to his
gathering. Abel and Nellie were finally alone with their baby girl. Sitting back in the recliner, Abel wouldn’t admit that he felt as drained as he was sure Nellie had every right to be. But his wasn’t just physical. Emotionally, he’d been put through the wringer ever since the horrific scare Nellie had given him months ago. After that, he’d had to deal with all the doctor visits, planning their intimate but still emotional wedding, and then the last few weeks leading up until today. But staring at his two girls now, as Nellie held his Reina in her arms, it’d been worth every second of the emotional ride.