Under The Alpha's Protection

Chapter 11: The Omega Giving Birth (Pt. 2)

The groans of pain coming from the woman laying on the bed welcomed Blue as she entered the isolation room.

The man standing next to Florence had his strong arms supporting his mate in a sitting position. Jones Ire heard the door open and was on alert immediately, without releasing his hold on Florence who was dealing with a contraction at the moment. "Who are you?"

"My name is Blue. I'm here to administer the epidural."

Blue saw the way Jones took a deep inhale, his brows crinkling as his nostrils twitched. "You're human." He paused in realization before his stare softened, barely. "You're Laia's human friend, the one she saved."

The pained grunts from Florence eased up just then. Her hair had been cut not much longer than her mate's, the ends of her black hair curling around her ears and her cheeks. As she caught her breath, her eyes widened, flying to where Blue was still hovering by the front door, realizing someone else was inside.

Blue waited for a reaction. She almost expected to be sent out right away.

But Florence Ire only continued to stare, narrowing her dark eyes in suspicion. Her small, oval face dripped with sweat, the collars of the hospital gown she was wearing also drenched in perspiration.

Jones whispered soothingly to his mate, and Blue could only make out how the alpha was asking if Florence was still doing alright. Florence nodded mindlessly without turning to her mate. She spoke to Blue, "Did Arlo send you in here?"

Blue nodded, taking a couple slow steps forward. "I'm Blue Emmetson. I'm a friend of Laia's. I was being treated by Doctor Arlo in one of the isolation rooms these past few days." On instinct, Blue took on her professional voice, the one she used when addressing patients in the clinic. "I work in a community clinic for werewolves back at Bracket Town. I don't have a medical license, but for four years I was mentored by Doctor Oswin Holloway and have assisted in treating his patients. Arlo sent me to administer your epidural. He's worried that the pain is causing you to panic, and that might make you pass out while giving birth." If they were in a big hospital with all kinds of medical equipment, that wouldn't be as big of an issue. But because they were in the Northern Territory, with limited resources, having a mother pass out while giving birth to triplets would only result in more complications.

"Holloway." That was recognition on Jones's equally sweaty face. All the windows were shut to keep out other scents, and the fans were only doing so much. "Unaffiliated wealthy family of werewolves who donate to different organizations? That Holloway?"

Blue nodded, "That's the doc's family." The nearest window was about an arm-length away from her side. Blue pulled the blinds open, as per Lucian's command. Instantly, she was met with Arlo's face on the other side of the glass. His smile was one of encouragement. Behind him was Carmine and Roderick, peeking over the physician's shoulders and waving at Florence.

Outside the other window stood the Steele siblings, their eyes the identical shade of cerulean immediately went past Blue, landing on the mated couple.

Now that the werewolves outside were less antsy about letting in a stranger with no medical license into the isolation room with a pregnant omega, Blue wasted no time in asking Florence, "Mrs. Ire, does my scent bother you?" she asked gently, taking a few more steps forward, getting closer to the foot of the bed.

Even before Florence could answer, Blue was already assessing the omega head to toe from the perspective of someone who's been working in a clinic for years, looking carefully to see if there was anything amiss, or if the patient was exhibiting a symptom resulting from something other than labor pains.

Omegas could give birth either in their human or werewolf form. Either form had pros and cons, and while shifting in the process of giving birth was physically possible, it was too risky to do so. Plus, most omegas were just in a lot of pain that shifting while giving birth to more than one baby was pretty much out of the picture.

Arlo informed Blue before she came in here that Florence had insisted on giving birth in human form, mostly because she wanted to carry her babies instantly and hold them against her skin.

To Blue's question, Florence took a few sniffs. The frown didn't leave her face, but fortunately, her claws didn't come out like when Arlo was too close.

Florence answered, "No. Your human scent... It's not... potent, or encompassing. Doesn't feel like an assault on my nostrils." Her eyes shifted to the window, a flicker of guilt in them as soon as she saw Arlo. "Is Arlo okay? I... I didn't–"

"He's okay," Blue told both Florence and Jones. "Arlo understands that you're in a difficult position right now, and you have no control over which scents bother you."

Florence took in a shaky breath. "I never heard of an omega who reacted like I do to other werewolf's scents during labor. I thought it would go away, but then Arlo was leaning close and mentally I knew he was just helping, but then his scent hit me like a freight train and I just lashed out–"

"Baby, she said that Arlo was okay," Jones was quick to comfort his mate when fresh tears began to pool in Florence's eyes. "You know how Arlo is. He's too understanding to hold this over your head. Your nose is extra sensitive right now, and the pain is making it hard for you to think straight."

Arlo had told Blue where he'd put his medical bag, which contained hopefully everything they'd need during the birth, including the anesthesia, syringes, and needles. Blue searched around the floor, spotted the red bag, and picked it up.

"The epidural will help rid you of the pain in the lower parts of your body," Blue told Florence, now standing to her right. "If you and your mate are okay with this, I'll be injecting the anesthesia into the epidural space of your spine, and it will block the pain signals."

Florence tilted her head to look at Jones in question.

"Your choice, baby," her mate told her, his large hands running through her hair.

The omega looked back at Blue. Then, with a quick huff followed by a pinched look, Florence said, "Make it quick, I feel my next contraction coming already."

-----

Lucian had many doubts about sending in a stranger—a human stranger—inside with an omega in labor and a protective alpha.

But Lucian’s first assumption—that Florence would put up a fuss and yell at Blue to leave—was quickly proven wrong. Blue Emmetson had not only managed to hold a steady conversation with Florence, but she was also allowed to come near the mated pair.

His second doubt was about what Blue told them. Lucian wasn’t sure that Blue had not been exaggerating her medical capabilities. Yes, Lucian believed the human worked in a clinic because Laia had told him so, but maybe Blue wasn't as qualified as she'd told Lucian earlier.

Lucian had been wrong about that too.

Not just wrong. He was majorly wrong, embarrassingly wrong.

Next to Laia, Lucian felt as if he was entranced, watching Blue Emmetson successfully handle the needle and syringe, injecting the anesthesia into Florence's spine in one go. Afterward, Blue retrieved towels from one of the cabinets inside plus a small bucket with water which she got from the bathroom sink.

She handed Jones one of the towels, then dunked the other into the bucket and wrung it out. The human ran the wet towel over Florence's face in gentle but thorough sweeps. Not even a drop of fear could be seen from Blue's petite body—even after she'd seen the injury Arlo was still nursing.

Blue’s mouth was moving. They couldn't hear her, being outside the soundproof walls of the isolation room, but it seemed that she was reassuring Florence given the gentleness in her hazel eyes.

The human then took a few seconds to tie her hair. If Lucian were to guess, he'd say Blue had done this hurried bun-tie more than a few times before. It was not a perfect hairstyle, but not a single strand had been left when she pulled her tresses up and away from her face.

The sight of Blue's exposed neck made Lucian blink.

Blue Emmetson was on the move again, taking something from the medical bag. She placed it on the bed at Florence's foot before wrapping the blood pressure cuff around Florence's arm. It had been done so smoothly that Lucian didn't know if Florence even felt it, the omega currently facing Jones who had taken over wiping her sweaty face with a wet towel.

Blue secured the cuff and then placed the earpieces of a stethoscope into her ears before her right hand began to press around the bulb, inflating the blood pressure cuff. Her eyes were focused on the gauge, but she still managed to answer whatever Florence had just said.

As soon as Blue's hand stilled around the bulb, the cuff slowly deflating, she placed the end piece of the stethoscope just below the cuff. She did this one more time before taking out a pad and paper that had been inside the medical bag as well. She removed the stethoscope, wrote down on the paper, then walked towards the window where Arlo was, showing him the page.

"Florence's blood pressure went down from when she was moved into the room," Arlo said in an exhale, relieved.

Lucian kept his mouth shut even as Laia muttered a thank Goddess next to him.

"She flipped the page," The physician said. Then, reading Blue's writing out loud for Lucian and Laia to hear, "Asked if it would be okay for you to come in. Florence said she still can't deal with other werewolves' scents nearby until the babies are here."

"Wait," Lucian heard Roderick say. "Does that mean that Blue's going to be the one to help my sister give birth?"

"Seems like it," Arlo mumbled, a little too calm for Lucian's liking.

But then they watched as Blue approached Florence again with confident strides. The foot of the bed was turned away from either window, so when Blue had asked Florence to lay back so she could check under the hospital gown how many centimeters dilated Florence was, none of them could see what Blue's hands were actually doing. But even then, all her movements were practiced and professional. She held up nine fingers to the window where Arlo was.

"Florence is already nine centimeters dilated!" Carmine gasped.

As Arlo discussed to Roderick and Carmine what would happen next and what Blue was supposed to do, Lucian turned his gaze towards his sister.

Laia had her arms crossed over her chest, a proud smile on her face while watching this side of her friend.

"Is that why you insisted on maintaining your friendship with her?" Lucian asked his sister, voice low so that the others peeking through the other window wouldn't hear. "Because she's a human who specialized in treating werewolves?"

Laia gave her brother a look that said many things, and yet she didn't voice out any of them.

-----

The dose of anesthesia Blue had given Florence helped, but not until the end.

Florence had been in agony while pushing out the last of her triplets, Jones a constant anchor at her side, letting her grip his hand as tightly as she needed to.

With each baby born, Blue clamped and cut each of their umbilical cords with gloved hands, telling Florence she was doing a great job. There was blood and placenta everywhere, Blue's arms covered in so much red and brown.

Her mind registered none of it as she used clean towels to clear the airways of each baby, rubbing at their chests to coax their loud cries which bounced off the walls of the isolation room. She gently placed the first two babies—both girls—into Florence's arms. The last one, a baby boy, Blue had put into Jones' hold.

There were tears in both parents' eyes as their babies wailed, little hands and feet sticking in every direction.

Florence looked at Blue with so much gratitude that Blue's breath caught in her throat. "Thank you so much," the omega said through a sob.

"Thank you," Jones repeated, his own eyes shimmering.

Blue returned their smiles. She was sweating a lot, her forearms and gloved hands were sticky with various liquids, the clothes she had borrowed from Laia were more than a little ruined now—but she'd done it. She had assisted an omega who gave birth to triplets.

"Your children are all so beautiful," Blue told the mated couple. She felt more of the tension release from her shoulders as she watched Jones bring their baby boy closer to Florence, the omega cooing at her son with tears pouring from her eyes.

Remembering that they had an audience, Blue faced towards the window.

Carmine and Roderick were also in tears, the siblings holding onto one another.

Arlo stared at Blue with something akin to approval.

The door opened. Florence's siblings moved slowly, testing to see if they were allowed in now or if their scents were still too much for Florence.

Upon seeing them, Florence burst out in a huge grin and laughed wetly. "Come meet your nieces and nephews."

The two were quick to sidle up to Florence's side, gasping and cooing at the triplets. "Oh, Florence, honey, congratulations!" Carmine said through her own tears, pressing a kiss to her sister's forehead, telling her and Jones, "I'm so happy for both of you."

Blue stood up to give the family some space at this moment, but that's when Roderick laid a gentle hand on her shoulder before she could take another step. "Thank you, Blue," he said, eyes glimmering with a fresh wave of unshed tears. "Thank you for helping my sister."

"I was happy to help." Blue meant that from the bottom of her heart.

Inside the bathroom of the isolation room, after discarding the gloves, Blue scrubbed at her arms and hands, getting in between her nails too. She wasn't done yet.

Once outside, Laia had attacked Blue immediately with a hug, even going as far as to lift Blue off the ground and spin around, not caring one bit that Blue's clothes—Laia's clothes—were still covered in blood and other bits and they were getting on Laia's outfit.

Blue yelped, hearing Laia say, "You're amazing, Blue-Pixie!"

"I was only–oof!–trying to help."

Blue's feet were both planted firmly on the ground again. She heard Laia sigh. "You did more than that. Seriously, thank you."

This amount of thanks in a short span made Blue a bit flustered, waving Laia's words away. "Go, I know Florence will be happy to see you."

Laia followed Carmine and Roderick inside. Meanwhile, Blue's attention shifted to the Pack's physician.

Arlo had taken a seat on a wooden bench that Blue hadn't noticed before. There's a makeshift cloth bandage over his arm, but the material was still getting soaked in blood coming from the gash. Next to Arlo was a bag that had first aid on the side.

Blue kneeled in front of the physician, unzipping the first aid kit.

"You did splendidly in there," Arlo murmured to Blue. Like this, she was eye-level with his face. He had sweat on his brows and his hand was pressing against the wound.

"How are you feeling?" Blue asked as she directed Arlo's hand away, undoing the makeshift wrap to see how bad the gash was.

It was hard to tell first with so much blood, but Arlo would definitely need stitches.

The physician sighed like he knew what was on Blue's mind. "Fine so far. No signs of infection just yet. I managed to slow down the bleeding." He raised his hand slightly. "You know how to stitch this up?"

"We'll need anesth–"

"No need," Arlo shook his head. "Wound's only about an inch-and-a-half long."

Blue frowned. "Are you sure, doc?"

"I can take a little pain," Arlo assured her.

Blue's hands were steady the whole time she disinfected the wound and passed the sterilized needle and suture through Arlo Daggersap's skin. She’s had many practices with these types of wounds, it's one of the most common reasons patients come in at the clinic. Her stitches were well-done in her standards, and Arlo echoed Blue's thoughts as she tied up the last stitch. "Nicely done. You've done well as Doctor Oswin's apprentice."

Feeling a swell of pride, Blue mumbled a quiet, "Thank you," as she tore a gauze pad open to place above the stitches.

Once that was done and Arlo nodded at the final work, he thanked Blue again and told her he should head inside to check on Florence's state and help with the rest of the aftermath.

That whole time Blue had done Arlo's stitches, she hadn't even noticed that not everyone had gone inside to be with Florence and Jones.

Lucian Steele was still there, leaning against the outside of the isolation room.

He had been watching Blue this whole time, without saying a word.

"Oh." Blue blinked, suddenly very aware of how she must look—haggard and stained. "I... didn't think you'd still be out here?"

It was hard to keep a straight face when Lucian's whole expression suddenly changed from blank and soulless to somewhat... saccharine.

Blue's jaw nearly dropped when Lucian, with a tender voice, told her, "I'm not usually wrong... but today, I'm glad I was wrong about you."

He was already inside with the rest of the group before Blue could muster up a reply.