Wang Bao’s scream lasted until he had no air left in him, the pain was different to anything else he had ever experienced and his body was covered in a cold sweat. Animal-like sounds mixed with grunting and groaning came out of Wang Bao as he felt the baby move down his intestines, There was almost no need to push since the long contractions did all the work. Nakai did his best to comfort Wang Bao as he saw the crown of the first baby slowly present itself.
“It’ll be okay, you need to start pushing though.”
“I can’t~ It hurts~”
Wang Bao was in hysterics as he felt his insides tearing apart, behind him, Wang Xei started pressing into different pressure points in his back. Although it wasn’t enough to get rid of the pain fully, Wang Bao was able to feel a decrease in the pain running all over his body. Unfortunately the relaxation of Wang Bao’s pressure points quickened the pace of the labour, making Wang Bao’s pain free seconds turn into an excruciating feeling. Nakai could see a lot of the head of the first baby through the now open hole and his hand over Wang Bao’s thigh squeezed firmly.
“Nera, get a towel ready. Wang Bao, start pushing.”
Nakai kept his eyes on Wang Bao’s hole while he felt his hand being crushed by Wang Bao, a loud scream erupted from Wang Bao as he tried to push. The baby moved a little but not nearly enough to get them free of the canal. Nakai encouraged Wang Bao to push more but all that came was another loud scream of pain. The contraction quickly ended and Wang Bao took in a deep breath, his hair and body was covered in sweat from the experience and he didn’t want to think about doing this for two babies. Nakai clicked his tongue as he saw the little distance covered within the contraction time and before another contraction could start, he looked up at Wang Bao’s tired face.
“You need to push harder, try using all the pain and screaming as energy instead.”
“I can’t~”
Wang Bao shook his head as fresh tears streamed down his red cheeks. Wang Bao’s crying was quickly cut short as another contraction hit, Nakai could see it and he knelt in front of Wang Bao, one hand holding the back of Wang Bao’s head while the other was positioned at the base of his hole. Nakai’s voice was authoritative as he pressed his forehead against Wang Bao’s.
“Push now!”
Nakai could feel Wang Bao’s hands clinging to his shirt tightly while he pushed as hard as he could, as soon as Nakai felt the head of the baby come out, he slipped his hand inside Wang Bao. Wang Bao screamed in pain but Nakai ordered him to keep pushing. While Wang Bao pushed, Nakai helped slide the rest of the baby's body out and the loud screams of a baby replaced Wang Bao’s. Nera caught the baby with the fresh towel and wrapped the screaming baby before handing them to Wang Bao. While Wang Bao rested against Wang Xei, Nera and Nakai worked together to peg the throbbing umbilical cord before cutting it.
Neither one of them knew how long it would be before the second baby came out but Nakai knew Wang Bao didn’t have a lot of energy left. Before anything could happen, he got up from the ground and headed to the kitchen to bring back water for Wang Bao. Nakai held the bottle up for Wang Bao since his hands were shaking and once the bottle was empty, more contractions started. While Wang Bao was trying to not scream because of the pain, Nakai went back to kneeling in front of him and looked at the birthing canal.
“I’m going to check again, it might be more tender than last time.”
Wang Bao nodded slightly before Nakai pushed his hand inside, Wang Bao groaned from pain as Nakai went deeper, finding his cervix again. When Nakai found the opening again he pushed his hand inside the soft entrance but paused. Nera could see the change in Nakai’s face when they made eye contact before Nakai whispered under his breath.
“The baby’s breech.”
Wang Xei heard it too, leaving Wang Bao the only one out of the loop. When Wang Bao felt the change of the room, he looked at Nakai with concern.
“What’s wrong?”
Nakai slowly pulled his arm out of Wang Bao before looking at him seriously.
“The baby is breech….Get onto all fours.”
Wang Bao couldn’t say anything as he was helped to roll over, Wang Xei held the now sleeping baby while still facing Wang Bao. In the back, Nera was pushing against Wang Bao’s stomach while Nakai repositined his hand at Wang Bao’s hole, his free hand ran along Wang Bao’s back in an attempt to soothe him during the tough situation. While Nakai re-entered Wang Bao, he explained what he was doing.
“I’m going to attempt to flip the baby.”
Immense pressure was all Wang Bao could feel as Nakai reached the deepest part of his insides, Nera worked on massaging the baby from the outside, in hopes of helping flip the baby around too. The pressure kept building inside Wang Bao as he groaned deeply before the pressure stopped and Nakai pulled out of him, his voice a little breathless.
“It’s done.”
Wang Bao leaned into his arms to catch his breath and relax before the contractions started again, Wang Bao’s body was exhausted after giving birth to one child but now that he had to do it all again, he felt there was no way he could. Nakai kissed the base of Wang Bao’s back while rubbing it, he could see Wang Bao was tired but they couldn't stop now.
“Push when you’re ready, we can take this one slower.”
“I’m tired, Nakai~”
En. Nakai hummed as he gave Wang Bao’s back another kiss, it wasn’t long before he could feel Wang Bao tense up as he started pushing lightly. Since the baby wasn’t crowned yet, they didn’t need to rush and it helped Wang Bao regain some energy. When Nakai saw the baby finally start to crown, he helped Wang Bao get back onto his hands and knees, this position wasn't so straining on Wang Bao as he started pushing. However, like before, the amount of power behind Wang Bao’s pushing wasn’t enough to get the baby out, Nakai rubbed one hand along Wang Bao’s back and guided him with pushing before pushing his hand back inside.
Wang Bao cried out from pain and Nakai told him to push again, with his entire body trembling, Wang Bao grit his teeth and pushed one last time. When Nakai felt Wang Bao push, he pulled the baby's head free before the rest of its body followed. Wang Bao collapsed to the ground in exhaustion while Nera wrapped the baby in a towel, leaving a small opening for the cord to be cut. Once the cord was cut by Nakai, Nera held onto the second baby while Nakai helped Wang Bao up. He could feel Wang Bao’s body was trembling from both exhaustion and cold so he wrapped Wang Bao in a towel and blanket too. From outside, Nakai could hear Raia mewling as she tried to pop her head inside through the door. Along with the sounds coming from Raia, Nakai could hear the sound of motorbikes. At first the noise was distant but soon they were roaring loudly outside.
Both babies started screaming from the loud noise before they heard a knock. Nakai shouted for them to come in and he was met with a large group of gruff Dwarves. They stormed into the cramped space before acknowledging Nakai and Wang Xei. The head Dwarf took one look at the situation before he pushed the other Dwarves out of the room and knelt beside Nakai.
“My team doesn’t have the equipment to treat them here, we can use the trailer outside to carry the babies and Father though. This means your group will need to make your own way.”
Nakai wanted to decline right away but when he felt Wang Bao shiver in his arms he bit his tongue and nodded sternly. The Dwarf wasted no time and Wang Bao was taken outside after being wrapped in more blankets, the babies were also wrapped up thickly before being laid down beside Wang Bao. The trailer looked to be custom built for Wang Bao since it was just long enough for him while only slightly wider than his pregnant frame. To ensure Wang Bao and the babies weren’t harmed on the journey back, a Dwarf joined the three, holding everyone in place. Before the Dwarves set off, Nakai crouched down beside Wang Bao, wiping the sweat from his brow.
“I’m right behind you, okay?”
Wang Bao’s voice was hoarse and tired as he ordered Nakai,
“You better be.”
WIth no more time being wasted, the hoard of Dwarves rode back to Dwarf Country. Nakai watched until he could no longer see anything but trees then turned to Wang Xei.
“How far is Dwarf country?”
“For us, about two days. These men are exhausted after running almost 70 kilometers. Let’s rest for the evening then leave before sunrise.”
Nera could see Nakai was tempted to make the trek with Raia but he caught Nakai’s shoulder before he could do anything.
“Come on, let’s clean up inside then eat. Bao is in good hands and Raia looks exhausted and hungry.”
Nakai looked back in the direction of where Wang Bao had left before walking back into the cabin. While he and his crew cleaned up the entire cabin, Nera cooked a simple but large meal and Wang Xei was on the phone with Old Liu. When he came back inside he announced to Nera and Nakai.
“Karo is no longer in a coma. He’s still in hospital but is fine. Once we reach Dwarf country, there will be transport waiting for us. I’ll head back to the palace with the troops while you two stay.”
Nakai could see all Nera wanted to do was go see Karo but the man didn’t say anything and neither did Nakai.
. . . . . . . .
In the morning, before the sun had risen, Nakai’s group set off. They didn’t sprint like the previous couple days but Nakai didn’t go easy on them either. When they finally made it out of the extensive forest, everyone only wanted to sleep, as well as never see a single tree for the rest of the month. Waiting for them in the clearing were three helicopters. Old Liu was waiting patiently and escorted the tired troops to their vessels. When it came time for Wang Xei, Nakai clapped him on his back.
“Is there space for one more?”
“Your car is over there.”
Wang Xei gave Nakai an odd look before his eyes shifted to Nera and he understood. Nera looked beside him at Nakai, wanting to refuse the ride back to the palace. Before Nera could decline though, Nakai pushed him forward.
“Go, I can take care of myself.”
“....Make sure you and Wang Bao return quickly. Karo will be missing the two of you too.”
Nakai and Nera gave a quick but firm hug to one another before Nera and Wang Xei left in their own helicopter. Nakai didn’t bother watching the helicopters fly off as he walked to the car waiting for him. Driving off to the hospital where Wang Bao was waiting for him.
