autumn mpreg challenge: Of natural disasters and miracles
Written for the autumn challenge at mpregwinchester
Title: Of Natural Disasters and Miracles
Pairing: None
Characters: Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki
Warnings: PG-13 for mpreg and graphic birth -and I'm not kidding here. Mentions of fluids and blood, a birth canal, a tore of the skin and male -well, sort of- lactating. Plus language. If it's not your thing, skip this story.
Word count:8600
Summary:AU. Jared Padalecki takes a couple of days away at his parent's cabin to enjoy some calm and peace. He finds himself trapped there with Jensen Ackles, a childhood friend, when the road gets overflowed. It wouldn't be that bad if Jensen wasn't so close to term and going into labor...
Disclaimer: None of this is true.
Thanks to : disneymagics my friend and wonderful beta reader and tsubasalove87 for the cheers and hand holding, since it was my first challenge. She'd been of a great help to me.
Banner by me ;)
When Jared was young, he used to spend his summers and most of the weekends with his family at a cabin they own in the Catskills. The only other cabin near Bear Lake belonged to the Ackles. Jared would often babysit their kid for them. Jensen, an only child, was five years younger than him, a shy little boy with blond hair and a face full of freckles. As they grew, Jensen didn’t need a babysitter anymore and upon reaching his teenage years, he stayed away from Jared any time they happened to be at Bear Lake at the same time. Jared’s mom told him not to take it personally. Jensen was like that with everybody. Time had passed since the scientists had discovered the genetic mutation which had shaken up everything humanity had learned to believe and live by. The third sex, as it was commonly called, was still considered a curiosity -a menace to some women, a poor substitute for men to whom the androgynes had much more in common. As Jensen’s puberty hit, he got more conscious of his difference and became even more withdrawn than he used to be.
Time passed, something strange known as adulthood happened to the both of them and they became less and less inclined to go to the lake with their parents. On the cold autumn day that would change both of their lives, they were seeing each other again for the first time in four years.
::: :::
Jared Padalecki is twenty-five years old and loves his life. He loves his job as an elementary teacher, loves his apartment facing the Hudson River, loves his friends, beer, and listening to music while taking his bath. He’s a simple kind of guy, easily satisfied, and he has a talent for finding happiness.
The first weekend of October, he climbs in his little jeep and heads to the Catskills with the intention of spending two quiet days reconnecting with nature. He’d made sure his parents weren’t planning to be there and that Megan and Jeff had other plans. Jared’s a people’s person, he is, and he loves his family. However, sometimes, he needs some silence and peace.
When he arrives, he’s surprised to see a car parked near the Ackles’ cottage on the other side of the lake but hey, the woods are big enough to accommodate a few people.
It starts raining a bit after eight that night, contrary to what the weather forecast had announced. Jared falls asleep to the sound of the rain hitting the roof over him and startles awake the next morning to the same dull noise. Looking outside, shivering in his boxers, he realises it has probably rained all night judging by the color of the lake and the drenched landscape. He falls back in bed, burrowing under the covers, and sleeps for two more hours.
When the rain still doesn’t show any sign of stopping by noon, Jared begins to worry. The mountain road is the only access to Bear Lake and after a land slide had changed the landscape a couple of years ago, it has had a tendency to overflow easily.
At two in the afternoon, Jared’s cellphone rings. At this point, he has already started to pack his bags, giving up all hope of being able to hike on the mountain without drowning in mud. It’s his mother on the line.
She speaks nervously, telling him that a ranger has just called to ask if there is anyone at the lake because the mountain road is now washed out. The rain is supposed to stop in the evening and a ranger will get through to Jared as soon as he can. And is Jared alright? It should be okay tomorrow, but does he have enough to eat? And does the level of the lake seem to be rising?
Jared reassures his mother, doesn’t feel worried at all, until he remembers the car at the Ackles’ cabin.
“It’s most probably Alan’s brother, but I’ll call Donna just to be sure. Well, it’s nice to know you won’t be stuck there alone.”
Jared’s mother doesn’t call him back and he stops thinking about it, telling himself that if that unknown Ackles’ relative needs him, he can very well follow the path around the lake.
He lights a fire in the fireplace, makes himself some coffee and settles in the living room with one of those English mystery novels his father keeps bringing to the cabin but never reads. It isn't so bad. Even though Jared’s stuck inside, he still gets to enjoy the quiet and stillness of the woods.
Someone knocks at his door around four in the afternoon and he grunts, not particularly enthusiastic about the idea of meeting uncle Ackles. However, his mouth gapes in surprise when he finds himself face to face with a tall and slim man, green eyes wide with fear. He has changed a lot in four years but Jared would recognise those freckles anywhere.
“Jensen?”
“Jared,” Jensen shivers and clears his throat. He’s dripping wet, hair plastered on his head, an old wool sweater barely covering his swollen belly.
Wait.
Jared blinks stupidly, takes a step back. Jensen is lean and tall… just, not between his hips and chest.
“I need your help,” Jensen says, teeth chattering as a deep blush creeps up his pale face. “Can I come in?”
“Yes. Yeah! Of course, you can come in. Sorry.”
“I…” Jensen starts as soon as the door closes behind him. He stops, looking at Jared from under his lashes. “I’m…” He waves his hand toward his belly.
“You’re pregnant, Jensen,” Jared states like he’s the one bearing the news. Androgyne pregnancy remains a rare phenomenon since Andros are, like the two other sexes, mostly heterosexual and their reproductive system is not as efficient as a woman’s is.
“Huh… Yeah I’m… You gotta get me out of here.”
“The road should be clear by tomorrow.”
Jared gets it. He does. He wouldn’t feel comfortable being stuck somewhere if he were so advanced in his pregnancy -which is a ridiculous idea, since Jared is… well, Jared is a man. Not a man with a working reproductive system, delicate features and the hormones of both sexes.
“No. I need to get out now. Maybe if we took your jeep we-”
“Why take the risk of getting stuck somewhere on the washed out road? We’re better off staying here and waiting until morning. Hey, do you want to stay for dinner? I could grill us some steaks.”
“You don’t get it,” Jensen insists, and he looks suddenly short of breath, one hand leaning heavily against the wall and the other supporting his belly.
(Belly. As in: with a baby inside. Little Jensen with his cute freckles and his scraped knees is pregnant. God, time just flies by, does it?)
“What’s going on?”
“I…” Jensen pants. “Need to go to the hospital right freaking now.”
“Why? Did you hurt yourself?”
“I’m having contractions!” Jensen all but yells.
“Oh.”
“I can’t… I still have one month to go and I can’t go into labor now and-”
“You’re having contractions,” Jared repeats. Then, suddenly, it’s like the thick fog covering his brain lifts and he realizes what Jensen is saying.
He takes him by the arm and drags him to the living room. “Oh shit. We’ve got to get out of here,” he says, sitting Jensen on the couch. Without thinking, he bends down, unties the younger man’s wet sneakers and pulls them off.
“Jared?”
“I’m gonna call 9-1-1. They’ll find a way, don’t worry,” Jared babbles, starting to tug Jensen’s sweater over his head.
“Hey, I can do it, it’s okay,” Jensen stops him and pulls the sweater off himself. He’s only wearing a white tee underneath and Jared finds himself face to face with the round, firm swell of Jensen’s stomach.
“Oh. My. God. You’re pregnant. Like… very, very pregnant.”
Jensen actually snorts at that and then winces.
“Is it a contraction?”
“Yeah,” Jensen snarls, his whole body tensing.
“Oh god, I’m calling 9-1-1. I’m calling them right now.”
“Okay.”
Jared is totally not freaking out when he explains the situation to the 9-1-1 operator. She asks some questions about Jensen’s condition. From the kitchen, Jared goes back running to the living room.
“When did it start?”
“Couple of hours ago.”
“Did your water break yet?”
“No.”
“And huh… How far apart… The contractions, how far apart are they?”
“Ten minutes.”
The 9-1-1 operator tells Jared to keep Jensen as calm and relaxed as possible, lying on his left side. She adds in a reassuring voice, that she’ll do everything to send rescue to them and to try not to worry, then she places Jared on hold. He puts the cell on the speaker and sets it on the coffee table.
“She’s going to get back to me.”
“Ok.”
“We need to… do some stuff.”
Five minutes later, Jensen is lying awkwardly on his left side on the couch, covered with a wool blanket and with a pillow under his head. Jared is pacing in the living room with the cell phone plastered to his hand, waiting for the operator to get back to him with some good news.
“They’re gonna find a way, don’t you worry,” Jared repeats for the tenth time.
“Ow, fuck,” Jensen moans, curling in on himself.
“What? Another one?”
The younger man nods.
Jared takes a sheet of paper and the pencil from the coffee table. The 9-1-1 operator has asked him to time the contractions. He looks at his watch and frowns. “Hey, it’s only been seven minutes since the last one.”
Jensen doesn’t answer. A film of sweat is covering his face and his jaw is clenched; he breathes hard through his nose, nostrils flaring. Jared stays immobile, holding his breath as if he’s having some kind of empathic response. When Jensen finally relaxes, he pushes up on his elbow, looking slightly panicked.
“It’s going too fast. Lying on the left side isn’t doing shit. It’s supposed to stop the contractions when the labor false-starts.”
“Guess it’s not a false start, then, but the real deal,” Jared replies nervously.
Jensen’s eyes widen. “No. I can’t… It’s too early. My due date is November fifth. The baby is not ready to come out, it…”
“Hey, calm down,” Jared soothes, which is a funny thing to say, considering he’s on the verge of hysteria himself.
He kneels next to Jensen and smiles as wide as he can. “The baby’s gonna be okay. Someone will be here soon to get us out.”
“What are you, a freaking psychic?” Jensen says sharply before blushing. “Jesus, I’m sorry.”
“Not, it’s okay.”
“Don’t wanna deliver the baby here.”
“You won’t.”
“Mr. Padalecki, are you still there?”
Jared almost drops the phone in his haste to answer.
The 9-1-1 operator doesn’t have good news. It’ still raining and the road has now overflowed at two different places. They’re trying to organize a helicopter rescue, but there’s no way it can fly for now. The wind and rain pose too much of a danger.
“Are you kidding me?” Jared yells into the phone. “What are we supposed to do? He’s in labor, the contractions are getting closer and he’s freaking one month early!”
Jared’s anger doesn’t do anything to calm Jensen down. He’s suddenly standing up, snatching the phone away from him.
“I need to get out of here,” he says firmly, like the operator will somehow take the matter more seriously if it’s him talking. He stops and listens, running his fingers through his still wet strands of hair. Jared hovers over him as he nods almost silently, face getting paler by the second. Then his face contorts in a grimace of pain.
“Shit,” he whispers, handing the phone to Jared.
He bends in half, swaying on his feet. Jared catches him just in time before he can collapse to the floor.
“I’m putting you on hold,” Jared tells the operator. He lets the phone drop on the couch and keeps a firm hold of Jensen’s tense, hot body. When the contraction starts to subside, Jared helps him sit down and settles next to him.
“Are you alright?”
“Hell no,” Jensen murmurs on the verge of tears. “She told me they’ll try to find an obstetrician to guide us through the labor. I can’t… I can’t have the baby here.”
“I bet the helicopter will be able to fly in soon,” Jared says just as a loud peal of thunder growls all around them.
“This is so messed up. This whole thing, from the beginning.” Jensen wipes his eyes furiously.
“You mean the pregnancy?”
“Yeah.”
“Jense? Why did you come here all alone this close to term?” Jared asks as gently as he can.
“There was still one month left. Mom and dad were supposed to join me here today. Wouldn’t have been alone.”
The young man sounds so lost and desperate Jared can’t help but put a hand on his back, stroking it gently. Jensen doesn’t seem to mind.
“And your… the father… I mean your boyfriend?”
“There is no fucking father,” Jensen mumbles before breaking into sobs, head buried in his hand.
“I’m sorry. Didn’t mean to upset you.”
“T’s’not like I did it on purpose,” Jensen hiccups harshly. “I’m only twenty. I’m so not ready for this. It’s difficult enough to be a fucking andro as it is. The looks people give me, you wouldn’t believe. And my parents… I know, I know I disappointed them even if they won’t say it.”
“Jensen…”
“Couldn’t get rid of the baby. Had an appointment scheduled but I just couldn’t. Talk about a fucked-up dad. I don’t even know the last name of the guy who got me pregnant in the first place.”
“Hey, don’t think about that right now. Just… focus on the baby, okay? Everything will be fine. I bet you’ll be a great dad.”
The last sentence only makes Jensen cry harder. “I won’t be a dad at all. I already found a couple for the adoption. All the papers are ready.”
“Oh.”
“God, I’m scared,” Jensen stutters. “Here’s -fuck… here’s another one. Oh, shit…”
Jensen stands up in a hurry, but the pain gets the best of him and he grabs Jared’s shoulders, hissing between his teeth. “Think my water broke.”
Jared looks down at Jensen’s paternity jeans to see a dark spot growing quickly. We’re so screwed, he thinks and at that moment, he begins to realise there is a strong possibility he’s going to have to deliver this baby himself. Outside, the rain falls harder, as if to mock him.
::: :::
Jared fumbles a little before he finally finds some sweatpants in his father’s drawers and runs back to the bathroom.
“Jensen? Found something for you to wear.” He knocks, but the only response he gets is a long whimpering groan.
“Hey, you okay?”
“I don’t know.”
“I’m coming in, Jense.”
The door is unlocked. Jared finds Jensen bend over the sink, leaning heavily on it. He still hasn’t pulled off his wet jeans and there’s a small puddle between his feet.
“Hurts,” Jensen hisses. His legs are shaking badly. Jared grabs him by the waist and helps him sit down on the closed toilet lid. Jensen’s body relaxes after a few seconds. He wraps his arms around his thickened waist, shivering.
“I’ll help you change, what do you say?”
“I don’t feel good,” Jensen mumbles.
“Yeah, I know. Raise your hips just a little. Don’t try to stand up.”
Jensen blushes but obeys, helping himself with his hands to get some leverage. Jared makes quick work of pulling off the jeans and briefs while the flush on Jensen’s face darkens. He finally covers his eyes with one arm while trying to hide his exposed body with the other.
“Hey,” Jared says softly, taking him by the shoulders. “Don’t be upset, it’s just you and me here. Besides, it’s not the first time I’ve seen you naked. Remember when you got stung by a wasp on the butt?”
Jensen actually lets out a small laugh, which is exactly what Jared was going for.
“I was four.”
“Yeah, so?”
Jared slides Jensen’s feet into the sweatpants. “There. Now, hold on to me. We’re gonna stand up while I’ll pull them up.
Jensen nods, then tenses and grabs blindingly at Jared’s arm. “Wait.”
“Okay.” Jared hasn’t timed the last contractions, but they’re getting closer, that much he can guess. He feels a strange, calm sensation washing over him. He knows, knows the helicopter isn’t going to make it in time. Not when the rain hasn’t showed the slightest sign of slowing down. He’s going to have to deliver Jensen’s baby.
He thinks about the shy, skinny kid who used to follow him everywhere and who looked at him with adoration in his eyes, everything Jared did filling them with awe, whether it was teaching him how to make a bow with a tree branch or showing him the best way to catch tadpoles.
Jared remembers how protective he had felt of the little andro, how close to him, more than he’d ever been with his own siblings. All of this is coming back to him and hitting him like a slap in the face, like a revelation.
“You’re doing good,” He tells Jensen, than adds, because he’s heard it so many times on TV and in movies, “breath through it.”
Jensen nods stiffly and lets out a throaty moan. A tear slides quickly down his cheek. Jared wipes it away. “That’s it. That’s perfect. Is it over?”
“Y-yeah.”
“Okay. Let’s pull these pants up, then what do you say we get you to lie down in my room?”
“Lying down sounds like a damn genius idea.”
Jared guides Jensen to his own bedroom and sits him down before getting back to the 9-1-1 operator. The flying conditions have yet to improve, she tells him before putting another woman on the phone. Dr. Norton, a gynecologist obstetrician, introduces herself in a reassuring voice and tells Jared she specialises in androgynous pregnancies. She asks lots of questions to which Jared answers the best he can, then asks him to gather some stuff needed if the baby comes before the rescue team can get there. “Now, is Mr. Ackles in any state to talk?”
Jared takes a look at Jensen who’s just finishing another contraction and is still holding the comforter in a death grip.
“I… think so.”
“Good. Pass him the phone and find everything we’ve talked about, okay?”
“Okay.”
“You can do this, Mr. Padalecki.”
“Jared.”
“Okay. Jared. Come on. There’s no time to waste.”
Jared accomplishes his assigned task quickly. He finds everything, including a very well-sharpened knife that he puts in a pot of water to boil with a pair of scissors.
Dr. Norton was worried about the possibility of a power outage but the Padaleckis have a generator that Jerry maintains scrupulously. After gathering the towels and sheets from the linen closet, Jared leaves everything in the room, taking a quick look at Jensen who is now lying on his side, one hand wrapped around his belly, still listening to the phone.
Jared makes a quick run outside to check the generator behind the cottage. The fuel tank is full, all the wires are connected. Jared tries to start it, succeeds on the first try and shuts it down, satisfied. The rain is cold on his neck and bare arms. He wipes his damp hair away from his forehead and rushes back inside.
The water has almost reached boiling point. Jared sets the oven’s timer to ten minutes and goes back into his room, feeling like he’s actually accomplish something useful for the first time since Jensen knocked on his door. He looks at his watch: it’s only been an hour, but already, all the events prior to that seem far away and elusive like a dream.
Jensen isn’t on the phone anymore. The young man has his eyes closed and is breathing deeply through his nose. Jared kneels next to him.
“Hey Jen, how are you holding up?”
“Okay, I guess.” There’s a glimpse of green as Jensen opens his eyes to slits. “I put her back on hold. She says to tell her if the contractions get stronger or… you know, I feel this burning sensation down there, or the urge to push.” He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand and shakes his head gently. “I’m so sorry, Jared.”
“For what?”
“Well, for this. Damn it. There were still four weeks. I wouldn’t have come here if I’d known. It seemed like a good idea at the time. I was tired and mom insisted and yeah. Here we are.”
“Well, yeah, here we are. We’re going to get through this just fine.”
Jared can’t help but push a soft strand of hair away from Jensen’s pale forehead. The young man bites his lip and leans into the caress.
“Another one’s coming.” He whispers.
He reaches instinctively for Jared’s hand and squeezes it, hard, reminding Jared of that time when they had celebrated the fourth of July at Bear Lake and Jeff had set off some fireworks. Jensen, who’d been six, had sat next to Jared on the grass, holding his hand as tightly as he could, head turned up to the sky, laughing each time another firework exploded over him. He’d been missing both of his front teeth and had refused to speak much that summer -well, even less than usual, ashamed of the way it made him lisp.
“The last one was at ten past five,” Jensen pants, slowly relaxing and letting go of Jared’s hand. “Now it’s…”
“Five minutes later.”
“Oh god,” Jensen moans. “The baby’s coming. It’s coming soon. Do you think he’ll be alright? I mean I know one month early isn’t that big of a deal but he’ll still be a preemie.”
“I’m sure he’s going to be fine. Is… is it a boy, a girl or an andro?”
“Don’t know,” Jensen turns onto his back and sighs, looking pensively at the ceiling. “He wouldn’t show himself on the ultrasound. Anyway, it doesn’t change a thing since I’m giving it up for adoption.”
Another tear slides down Jensen’s cheek.
“Well, you’re doing what you think is best for the baby.”
“Yeah, I am, right?” Jensen turns his head toward Jared, eyes full of a desperate hope. “I mean, I’m in college and I live hours away from my family and I don’t have a job.”
“It’s pretty courageous, doing that.”
“Don’t say that. I’m a coward. I don’t know what I’m doing, I-“
“Hey. Jensen. Stop it. The baby needs you now. Don’t waste your strength on anything other than this, what we’re doing together.”
Jensen nods obediently and closes his eyes. He turns back on his side, face inches away from Jared’s. “Wish everything was different.”
“I know.”
Another contraction comes and Jensen can barely hold back the long moan trapped in his throat. Jared looks at his watch. It’s only been four minutes, and he’s being generous. He thinks about getting back to the doctor but is scared it’ll upset Jensen, so he opts for letting him use his hand as an anchor.
“Back hurts so much,” Jensen whispers between clenched teeth.
Jared rises on his knees and uses his other non-crushed hand to rub at the small of Jensen’s back until the end of the contraction. It’s barely over when the oven timer starts to beep.
“I’ll be right back.”
“Can you… can you bring me some water?” Jensen asks in a fading, rasping voice.
“You got it.”
In the kitchen, Jared pulls the knife and scissors out of the boiling water and places them in a clean towel, then he takes the cooking pot off the burner to let it cool down on the counter. The water might be needed to clean the baby and Jensen after the birth. Jared, who’s always wondered why in the movies and on TV when facing an emergency delivery someone always ask for towels and boiled water at some point, is kind of amazed to finally understand.
He’s filling a glass with cold water when the landline phone rings suddenly. The connection is not too good, there’s some crackling and his mother’s voice comes across sounding far away.
“Hey, honey. Just got a call from Donna Ackles. That’s Jensen’s car at their cabin. She has tried to reach him several times after she told him what was going on but he isn’t answering the phone. He wouldn’t be with you, would he?”
“Yeah, but mom, I really don’t have time to talk right now and-“
“Good. Can you ask him to call Donna? She seemed pretty upset about the road being closed.”
“Mom! He can’t talk right now!”
“Jared? Honey, what’s going on?”
“She told you he was pregnant, didn’t she?”
“Yeah, poor baby. He’s-“
“In labor.”
“What?”
A loud moaning cry comes from the bedroom and Jared doesn’t try and spare Sherry the gravity of the situation.
“I need to go back to him. 9-1-1 is on the phone with us. They’re trying to get us out by helicopter but the baby’s coming and… Don’t tell his mom, she’ll freak out.”
Turns out, Sherry Padalecki can freak out perfectly well on Donna Ackles’ behalf. “Oh my god, Jared how are you boys-“
He doesn’t listen to the rest, just hangs up and goes back into the room as quickly as he can.
Jensen’s head is buried in the pillow, his legs pulled up against his body as close as they can go. The contraction hasn’t stopped yet if the way all of his muscles are strained is any indication. There’s a dark spot growing rapidly around his crotch. Jared puts the glass of water on the nightstand and grabs the cell abandoned on the bed. He doesn’t need to ask to know the labor is picking up speed, just opens his phone, relieved to hear Dr. Norton’s voice.
“How’s he doing?”
“He’s… wait.”
Jared puts the phone on speaker and puts it on the nightstand. He presses his hand gently on Jensen’s straining back.
“Hey, Jensen? How are you holding up?”
“Fucking hurts,” Jensen pants.
“Do you feel the need to push or-”
“No!” Jensen breathes through the end of the contraction. “M’cold,” he whispers afterwards.
“Yeah, let me…”
Jared takes the end of the comforter and pulls it over Jensen’s quivering body.
“The contractions are four minutes apart,” He says loudly. “They seem very painful.”
“Okay. Listen. From now on, Jared, we’re going to stay in touch. No more putting me on hold for any reason.”
“Okay.”
“Feel sick,” Jensen announces, and his face turns from pink and flushed to a greenish white almost instantly. Jared has nothing if not excellent reflexes. He grabs the wastebasket on the floor and helps Jensen sit at the same time, pulling him to the edge of the mattress and supporting him when his chest start to heave and he vomits violently, tears of pain sliding down his cheeks. It seems like it’ll never stop. Jared is vaguely aware of Dr. Norton speaking to him but can’t quite make out the words, all of his attention dedicated to Jensen. “It’s alright, it’s okay, man. Just try to relax,” he sooths as Jensen dry heaves one last time before falling back on the bed, shaking with exhaustion.
“I’m sorry,” he says in an almost inaudible voice.
“Hey, nothing to be sorry for. I’ll be right back.”
Jared gets rid of the basket, leaving it on the porch, and runs back to the room. Dr. Norton is speaking, telling Jensen not to worry, that sometimes pain can trigger nausea and sickness. Jensen hums low in his throat, as if he can’t find the strength to talk. Jared helps him into a semi sitting position and gets him to drink a couple mouthfuls of water just before the next contraction hits. Jensen’s eyes widen in panic and he grabs at Jared shoulder. “Oh no, not again.”
“Hey, I got you.”
“Oh. Shit. God. Jared…” Jensen wails and tries to catch his breath, his upper body slumping against Jared’s chest.
“Hey, Dr. Norton. It hasn’t been four minutes yet!” Jared says out loud to be sure the woman hears him. There’s this slight note of hysteria in his voice, which he hopes Jensen hasn’t noticed. By the way Jensen groans, eyes closed shut, he doesn’t give a damn about what Jared is saying right now.
“Yeah, I get it, Jared,” He hears over Jensen’s pained grunts. The young man’s body is hot and damp with sweat against him. Jared puts a hand on his belly, surprised by its hardness. Dr. Norton says something about breathing through it, and Jared repeats it in Jensen’s ear, voice as gentle as he can manage.
“Ow fuuuuck,” Jensen screams, still holding his breath.
“Jensen. Breath. Come on.”
Jensen’s body becomes an inert mass in Jared’s arms. “God,” he cries, teeth chattering.
“Hey, the pain seems pretty bad,” Jared tells Dr. Norton.
“Given the advance stage of the labor, it’s only normal. Sounds easy for me to say but there’s nothing to worry about there. Jensen? Can you hear me?”
Jensen nods, showing no sign of moving out of Jared’s awkward embrace.
“Yes, he can.”
“Jensen, feel the urge to push yet?
“No. I don’t,” he snaps, voice rough and low.
“Oh hey, we’ve just got news that the helicopter should be able to take off in ten to twenty minutes, so you guys hang in there, okay?”
“S’gonna be too late,” Jensen slurs. “Oh. Shit. Jared…”
He grabs Jared’s forearm, fingernails digging into the skin. Two minutes, Jared thinks. Can’t have been more than two minutes since the last contraction. He needs to get the stuff from the kitchen, to place the towels just as Dr. Norton told him. Needs to…
Jensen’s hoarse scream cuts his thoughts short. The younger man’s back is bowed from tension and his legs jerk helplessly from the pain shooting through him.
“Hey, take it easy,” Jared says and feels stupid as soon as the words leave his lips. “I’m here. I got you.”
Jensen’s scream turns into an agonising sob and he turns his head to bury it in Jared’s chest. “Jared,” he hiccups between two shuddering breathes.
“It’s okay, you’re alright,” Jared whispers, and again, he’s taken back some many years before, to one hot afternoon when he had been babysitting Jensen, who couldn’t have been more than seven. He had stepped on a rotten wood plank, lodging a long splinter into the side of his big toe. The little boy had stayed completely immobile, eyes wide with unshed tears and biting hard on his lower lip while Jared worked the splinter out with a needle.
“There, all set,” Jared had said, sticking a Band-Aid on the small wound.
Jensen had nodded quickly and swallowed so hard it must have hurt.
“Hey, it’s alright to cry, man. That was one heck of a splinter.”
Only then, with Jared’s permission, Jensen’s chin had started to wobble and two of the biggest tears Jared had ever seen (this stayed true to this day) had slid down his cheeks. “M’okay,” he had whimpered, wiping hard at his eyes with the palms of his little hands.
The kid had always had a way of getting to him.
“Jensen?” Jared asks when he feels the young man’s body relax once more. “I need to go get some stuff. I’ll be right back.”
Jared starts to rise off the bed, but Jensen won’t have any of it. He grabs his arms and doesn’t look that much different from the seven year old he’d once been. “No. No please. Please don’t leave me, Jared…”
“Hey, just for one minute, I swear. You can count if you want.”
Jensen seems to come back to his senses and lets go of Jared, slumping back in the bed. Dr. Norton is talking to him again, but Jared’s already out and running, almost tripping over his own feet as he grabs the cooled down instruments in their towel. Jensen’s next contraction is already starting when he gets back. The man is back on his side, moaning long and low, and Dr. Norton is calling Jared’s name from the phone on the nightstand.
“I’m here.” He pants, breathless.
“Listen, Jared, you have to check him.”
“What?”
“By the way things seem to be progressing, Jensen can’t be far from the expulsion phase.”
“But… What the hell am I looking for?”
“Just get Jensen settled and when you’re there, I’ll guide you.”
“Oh.”
“Wha’s going on?” Jensen asks, still panting.
“Nothing. Everything is good.”
Jared sits on the bed. “I gotta have a look, Jensen. To see how things are going d-down there.”
“Oh god,” Jensen murmurs, hiding his face behind his arm.
“I’m sorry.”
Jared tugs on Jensen’s soiled sweatpants and is kind of taken aback by the amount of blood and fluid staining Jensen’s thighs.
“Can you lift your legs?”
“Don’t,” Jensen mumbles. “No time,” he adds, panting.
He turns on his side, letting out a desperate whimper as another contraction washes over him.
“Oh fuck, this is going quick,” Jared mumbles, standing from his place to take the phone between his shoulder and ear, turning the speaker off.
“Tell me what to do.”
“Your hands are clean?”
“Are my hands… No! I mean, I don’t…”
“Okay, forget it Jared. Tell me what you see.”
“Nothing because he’s having another contraction and… Jesus, there’s a lot of blood dripping…”
“Red?”
“Yeah, what do you think!” Jared yells, but his scream is easily surpassed by Jensen’s.
“I mean, is it dark red or more brownish or like… almost pink; clearer?”
“Pink. It’s… it’s pink.”
“Help me,” Jensen rasps, trying to sit.
“No, Jensen, wait…”
“Pink is good. It’s what-“
“Jensen!”
Jared drops the phone and stops Jensen who seems to be trying to get up, face scrunched up in pain and thighs shaking.
“Can’t keep lying down. Hurts too much,” Jensen is almost pleading now. He’s shivering and sweating, his eyelids are puffy and purple. He looks on the verge of passing out and/or go into full panic mode.
“Listen to me,” Jared grabs Jensen’s face between his hands. “Listen, Jen. Trust me. I’ll get you through this.”
“I can’t do this.”
“Of course you can. Look at you, you’re doing it.”
“Jay-”
“You have to lie back down. I know you don’t wanna, I know it hurts like hell, but I have to check you, okay? Let me take the lead.”
Jensen looks at him for a long second before nodding frantically. He barely has the time to lie back down with Jared’s help. Another contraction is already coming and hitting him hard.
Jensen’s reflex is to turn on his side again but Jared can’t have that and he tugs hard at Jensen’s ankles.
“No Jen, I’m sorry. Gotta look.”
Jensen stops fighting him but keeps on groaning so hoarsely the noise seems almost animalistic. Jared bends his naked legs and looks. He can see the birth canal under his swollen sac and penis, a soft red muscle gaping open as fluid drips from it at a steady pace.
“It’s… I guess it’s looser than what it’s supposed to look like but…”
Jared shuts up when he realises the phone is lost somewhere on the floor and he’s basically talking to no one. Jensen tries to catch his breath, lying flat on his back, legs still bent and open. He’s too far gone to be self-conscious any more.
The phone, Jared thinks, snapping out of his sudden stupor. He should get it.
“Fuck!” Jensen suddenly screams, and Jared is surprised at the amount of energy he manages to put into that word.
“What?”
“Oh god. Oh shit. Gotta push, Jared,” Jensen wheezes, rising on his elbows. His lower body is already straining as he grimaces and gives a long, groaning push.
And god, the small canal suddenly expands, letting out more fluids and blood, and something else, something-
“Ja-red!” Jensen yells and stops all of sudden. He’s breathing way too fast and deep for Jared’s liking so he stands up from the bottom of the bed to have a better look at his friend’s condition.
“Okay. Jensen. Okay. You have to push the baby out, now. No choice. Your body knows what to do. Just go with the flow.”
“Fuck I want my mom,” Jensen moans.
“Well too bad, I’m the only one you’ve got.”
Jared takes a towel from the nightstand and wipes the sweat drenching Jensen’s face and hair. That gets his attention. He licks his lips and tries to calm down, like he’s having a moment of lucidity in a bout of madness.
“Gonna do it,” He says. “Gonna deliver my baby.”
“That’s right.” Jared smiles.
“It’s starting again.” Jensen warns, gripping at the sheets.
“Hold it. Let me settle you in another-“
“Can’t, god can’t huuuuh… hold it…”
Jared doesn’t listen to him. No time for that. He grabs the pillows discarded on the floor and lifts Jensen’s upper body, fighting the strain he’s surrendered to until Jensen is more or less installed in a semi-sitting position.
“Better,” Jensen wheezes. “Can I push now? I can’t hold it. Can’t…”
And Jensen is pushing, hard and long, face beet red and contorted, mouth frozen in a tight grimace of pain. He uses his hands to keep his body upright and get some leverage. Jared gets back into action and succeeds in settling some towels and an old sheet under Jensen’s hips, can’t help but be fascinated by the way the birth canal opens up once again and this time, Jared can almost touch something that looks like puckered blue skin, just before the contraction ends and what must be the baby’s head is pulled back inside.
“That was great, Jensen,” he rasps in an uneasy, high-pitched voice. “That was fucking great, man. The head is coming out.”
“Can… can feel it,” Jensen says, short of breath. “It burns, Jared, hurts so bad.”
“I know, but you’re there. I’m sure a couple of more push and-”
“Oh. Oww… Jay I…” Jensen warns, rising back on his hands, already taking a long intake of breath.
“Yes, that’s it. Do it. Push the baby out,” Jared coaches, and vaguely thinks he should find the cell on the floor and call the doctor back. But he can’t. Can’t move from his spot. This time, the birth canal opens a little bit more, and when the head starts to press more firmly around the ridges, Jensen stops, screaming, “Stuck-it-burns-get it-out-help-me-I-can’t!”
He falls back into the pillows.
“That’s the head. It’s right there. You gotta push it out. Only way to get the pain to go away.”
“It’s splitting me in two,” Jensen protests almost childishly.
“I know it hurts. Come on, Jensen.”
“No!” Jensen shakes his head rapidly, tears and clear snot wetting his reddened face. His thighs shake so badly Jared’s scared he won’t be able to hold the position much longer. The next contraction is already starting; Jared can see Jensen’s half uncovered belly hardening, skin flushing red as it does. An idea flashes through his mind and he takes Jensen’s cold feet into his hands, rearranging himself on the bed to have a better grip.
“Jensen. Push against my hands. Do it, come on, it’ll be easier.”
Jared starts pushing on Jensen’s feet, forcing his knees to bend and his thighs to press against his belly. Jensen is bearing down already, his body’s instincts stronger than his will. He raises his arms over his head and grabs at the bed post, yelling without restraint as he pushes. And, that’s it, the head is coming, quicker this time. “Keep going, keep going…” Jared coaches. He gasps in surprise when finally the birth canal expands to the point of splitting the skin on its lower ridge in a fine, almost clear narrow wound. And the rest of the head is out. Almost immediately, Jensen’s body goes lax as he starts sobbing again, letting out soft, broken noises.
“The head is out!” Jared yells enthusiastically, letting go of Jensen’s legs. He grabs a towel and kneels as close as he can, looking at the small, scrunched up face surrounded by blood and secretion.
There it is. A small, perfect human being. Jared starts clearing his face. He hears Jensen’s respiration picking up and raises his head.
“Ready to go again?”
Jensen nods, grabbing the bedposts, and Jared immediately takes his previous position, pulling up his legs and pushing against them. “Fuuuuck”, Jensen groans as the push takes over him and results in one tiny elbow popping out, quickly followed by another. The birth canal wound expands to twice its previous size. Jensen yelps in pain but keeps going until both of the baby’s arms are free, swinging in the air like they’re made out of rubber. Jared lets go of Jensen’s legs and grabs the baby with a towel.
“You’re almost there, you’re doing so good, Jen,” Jared says in awe.
“Gotta push again,” Jensen warns and braces himself. He barely has time to start pushing before the baby’s lower body is gliding smoothly out of the birth canal, umbilical cord the only thing still attaching him to Jensen’s body.
“Oh god, Jensen, there he is,” Jared says around the lump in his throat, wrapping the tiny baby in the towel and raising it over Jensen’s belly.
“He isn’t crying,” Jensen declares in a strange detached voice. He’s raised upon his elbows, still hiccupping, tears flowing from his swollen eyes.
“He…wait…”
The baby is lax in Jared’s hands. Isn’t crying, isn’t moving. His skin is still blue, his features stuck in a static grimace. He looks anything but alive. “Come on!” Jared says, pressing his gigantic hands against the soft body.
“He isn’t breathing! Jared, do something!” Jensen yells in a hoarse, panicked voice. “Oh god, please…”
Jared puts the baby on the mattress between Jensen’s stained thighs and starts rubbing the skin vigorously with a towel, especially on his face, trying to clear the amniotic fluid dripping out of the small nostrils and pouted mouth. “Come on… Come on,” he whispers, pleads. Then it happens. The baby’s arms jerk and his mouth opens wide. His whole body seems to come to life suddenly and Jared can see the tiny belly expanding and then…
There. Jared bursts into a hysterical laugh as the baby starts crying furiously, tiny wail filling the air.
“It’s alright, it’s okay, you’re okay,” Jared coos, taking the baby back in his arms. He looks at Jensen who’s perfectly still except for his chest heaving rapidly.
“He’s alright,” Jared repeats.
“He’s crying,” Jensen whispers. He tries to hold back another sob but can’t quite manage it. “He’s okay,” he adds, falling back on the pillow. “Can you…please…”
He holds out shaking hands and Jared nods, letting the baby rest on Jensen’s chest as the other man wraps his arms around him, sighing. Jared adds another thick towel to cover the still crying baby, feeling his body squirm under his hands.
“He’s… he’s here,” Jensen murmurs in awe, cocking his head to have a better look at his baby. “What is it, Jared?”
“Oh… Forgot to look,” Jared laughs nervously and rises from his spot on the bed. He sits next to Jensen and uncovers the baby’s lower body, trying to have a peek between his legs.
Or, you know, her legs.
“It’s a girl, Jensen,” he says, smiling brightly.
“It is? It’s a girl?” Jensen laughs, surprised. “I thought it would be an andro. But a girl is fine, you know. Perfect.” He adds, pressing the baby closer to him. He’s about to add something when he winces suddenly.
“Oh.”
“What?”
“Another contraction.”
“What? But…” In his mind, Jared already sees himself delivering a second, surprise-baby.
“Placenta.”
“Oh. Right.”
“Need to push again.”
Jared gets back into place just in time to see the placenta being expelled from Jensen’s body. It’s impressively massive and pulsing with blood. Jared examines it, looks at the umbilical cord attached to it and suddenly remembers the phone on the floor and Dr. Norton somewhere in a 9-1-1 call center probably half crazy with worried right now. He finds his cell almost immediately, and presses it to his hear, surprised to see that the call hasn’t ended.
“Huh… Dr. Norton?”
“Everything okay over there?” She snaps immediately, sounding slightly hysterical.
“Yes! Sorry I didn’t… Did you hear?”
“Yes. How’re Jensen and the baby?”
“They seem fine… Well, as fine as they can be, given the circumstances,” Jared adds, looking at Jensen’s swollen face and exhausted eyes. His hair sticks up on his head in wet strands and he can barely hold the baby because his arms are shaking so badly.
“The placenta is out too. What do I do now?”
“Well, the helicopter left five minutes ago and should reach you in ten to fifteen minutes. So you just leave the placenta alone, maybe wrap it in a towel. There’s a doctor on board, he’ll cut the umbilical cord himself.”
“Okay.”
“Make sure the baby is well covered so he won’t get cold.”
“She.”
“What?”
“She’s a girl.”
“Yeah, sorry.” There’s a smile in Dr. Norton’s voice. “Make sure she won’t get cold. Is Jensen still bleeding?”
Jared takes a quick look. “No, it’s… only leaking a little, but there’s a tearing in the skin at the back of the birth’s canal. It isn’t bleeding much though.”
“That kind of tearing happens all the time, especially with androgynous deliveries. Okay, just settle a folded towel firmly against the birth canal, and make sure Jensen is warm as well.”
Jared is already in motion, working as best he can between Jensen’s legs, then lowering them to drape him with a wool blanket.
“Done,” he says.
“The helicopter will be there soon. Hold on until then. You did a very good job, Jared.”
Jared hangs up and finishes settling Jensen as comfortably as he can. Even with the comforter, Jensen’s teeth keep chattering. The baby has stopped crying and only lets out small whimpers from time to time.
“Rescue is gonna be here soon.” Jared says, sitting next to him. “How are you holding up?”
“Okay, I guess,” Jensen rasps, caressing his daughter’s head.
“She’s so pretty,” Jared declares tenderly.
“Yeah, she is.” Jensen sniffs and kisses the baby’s frowning forehead. “Think I’m gonna let you go after what we’ve been through?” He murmurs, looking at his daughter with pain filled eyes. “No way, sweetheart. You’re stuck with me now.”
“Jensen-“
“I’m not giving her up,” Jensen states louder.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to.”
“She’s mine, my daughter,” Jensen adds slowly, as if he needs to confirm it out loud.
“Yes, she is. As pretty as her daddy.”
“Shut up.”
“She looks like she’s trying to bury her head in your chest.”
“It’s… instinct, you know. She’s hungry.”
“Oh.” Jared scratches his chin. “Are you andros capable of-“
Jensen blushes. “Hum. Yeah.” He lowers his eyes down to his tee, Jared following his gaze to see a quickly growing dark, wet spot on the left of his chest.
“Oh.”
“Err…”
“Maybe you should… you know, feed her.”
“I… don’t know how. I mean, I didn’t read lots of books, since I wasn’t supposed to keep her.” Jensen’s looking expectantly at Jared, like he’s waiting for his permission or something.
“Well, like you said, it’s instinct. Can’t be that difficult.”
Jensen bites his lower lip and squirms a little, then seems to make a decision all of sudden and cants his baby in the crook of his arm while raising his tee-shirt with the other hand. His chest is almost as flat as Jared’s, except for a swollen zone around his nipples that are larger and darker. They’re both wet, drops of an almost transparent thick fluid forming on both tips.
Jensen looks at Jared with uncertainty from under his long lashes.
“Oh. Would you like some privacy?”
Jared is already starting to stand up but Jensen shakes his head softly. “Nah… It’s not like you didn’t just pull a baby out of me.” His eyes crinkle as he smiles. With hesitant motions, he raises his baby to his chest until her small round mouth suddenly latches on the nipple and she start sucking like a pro. Jensen laughs again. “God… Feels strange.”
“Oh, she’s opening her eyes, Jensen.”
She is, blinking under the light, mouth firmly attached to Jensen’s nipple, a dark and almost serious look, with the frown going with it.
“Hey there, pretty,” Jensen murmurs. Then he turns toward Jared, repeating. “I’m not giving her up for adoption.”
“I know. It’s okay.”
“No it’s not,” Jensen says, holding back new tears. “I had it all planed, you know, and now… What if I can’t take care of her?”
“You will, Jensen, come on. Look at you, just gave birth in my freaking bed and already feeding her.”
“Sorry about your bed.”
“Who cares about the bed? But I think you just ruined my dad’s favorite pair of sweats.”
Jensen tilts his head back, laughing, and Jared is suddenly fascinated by the movement of his Adam’s apple.
“I don’t even know what I’ll call her. Never allowed myself to think about a name.”
“Well, you should name her in my honor, since I helped you give birth.”
“What? M’not gonna call her Jared!”
“Jaredina?”
“Shut up!” Jensen laughs again and Jared thinks he never wants see another expression on his gorgeous face. What? He is gorgeous.
“Sophie,” Jensen adds when his laughter has died down. “Sophie’s a pretty name.”
“Hey, wasn’t that the name of the imaginary friend you had?”
“Yeah, from the book granny used to read to me. Sophie’s misfortunes. And I remember you promising to never mention it out loud.”
“Sophie is a cute name.”
“Yeah,” Jensen agrees, looking fondly at his daughter. “Hey, Sophie.”
“Sophie Ackles. Love the sound of that.”
The little girl’s eyes are already closing and although she keeps feeding, her cadence has slowed down considerably. Jensen yawns and shivers, trying to settle down more deeply under the comforter.
“How’re you feeling?”
“It aches everywhere. But just… you know, the absence of pain? That’s awesome.”
“You did so good.”
“Because you were here.”
“Come on… Hey, do you hear that?”
The unmistakable noise of a helicopter is getting closer by the second. Jared gets another sheet over Jensen and the baby. “I’m going outside. Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Yeah, I’m alright.”
Jensen smiles almost shyly. Just before Jared steps out of the room, he calls him back.
“What is it?”
“I… I called for my mom, didn’t I?”
Jared smiles mischievously. “Yeah, man, you totally did.”
“It never happened.”
“I won’t say a word.”
“Yeah, right.”
Jared is still smiling when he runs outside as the helicopter descends slowly toward the ground between the two cabins in the early night that still smells strongly of ozone and humidity. The rain has stopped and the wind is barely a breeze now. It’s October 5, a good day to start a life, Jared thinks, the image of Sophie squirming and crying still vivid in his mind.
So is Jensen, smile bright and eyes shining with pride, even after the ordeal he’s been through, holding her so closely to himself.
This may be a good day for all sorts of things to start.
Fin
Sequel: How to survive a disaster