Beth was like an angel sent from above. As each day crawled on, Doris could move less and less without wanting to complain. Even a venture to the bathroom was enough to make her sob and want to throw things at the nearest victim. But Beth had been right there at her side when William was busy. She was there to remind her that it would pass. The pain, the emotions, all of it would pass and soon a baby would be in her arms.
So far, neither Doris or William had seen Sir Antony since they arrived but she knew he wasn't far. Doris tried to erase the stress from her mind but she couldn't help that it still crawled in even when she tried to forget it.
"Are you hungry?" Beth asked cheerfully. She helped Doris stand and was currently taking her on a walk around the room. "I can order an early lunch for us-"
"Oh!" Doris folded over, Beth instantly made sure she didn't fall to the ground as water started to drench the floor at her feet. "Beth-" Doris whimpered.
"Penelope!" Beth screamed. The maid burst through the door and instantly her eyes grew wide at the sight of her. "Have someone get William! We need to move her to the birthing chamber!"
Penelope stumbled over her words before she hurried out of the room. For all Doris knew, William could be miles away from her. A painful ache pierced her back, Beth held her firm and soon a maid was on her other side to help her out of the room.
Every lady had a birthing chamber prepared for them before they gave birth. Doris's was luckily right next door when they usually would be near the medical chamber. William insisted she was stationed closer with everything ready to go inside it.
She was overwhelmingly grateful in this moment.
They helped her lay in bed just as another contraction rocked through her body in the worst possible way. It almost made her want to fall to the floor and beg for relief.
"How long does this last?" Doris groaned to the doctor. She looked over Doris with concern.
"I will have to time your contractions-"
Doris groaned as another one came on. She gripped the bed so tight, she wanted to rip a hole through it. Her back ached, her sides and thighs were in so much pain. Every inch of her was hurting ask she didn't know how to stop it.
"They shouldn't be happening this close together." The doctor observed. She instructed a maid to wipe Doris's brow. "That baby might be ready to get out now."
Beth winced when Doris squeezed her hand. "She doesn't look well, she looks very pale."
Doris groaned and closed her eyes as tightly as possible. She was convinced her body wouldn't be able to handle it, she wouldn't be able to survive this.
The door burst open and a wild William entered the room. He looked out of breath and as if he had just ran across the entire palace just to reach her. In a few long strides, he was at her side as he kneeled next to the bed and took her hand.
"I should have been with you." He said almost softly. His blue eyes were worried storms as he took in the sight of her. She knew she must have looked like a sweaty mess but she didn't care.
"You didn't miss a thing." Doris breathed. She tried to smile at him but another contraction felt as if it was stabbing her from the inside. She squeezed his hand so tightly and he only squeezed back to let her know he was there with her.
The doctor removed her undergarments and checked between her legs for progress.
"This baby might be ready to come out any second. Her contractions are too close together." The doctor said. Doris winced and wanted to curl into herself.
Her entire body felt as if it was drenched. Her hair and clothes were soaked through, she would give anything to rip them off but a part of her still had half a mind to know better. Doris screamed loud enough to make people around her flinch back as if she was about to rip their heads off.
"I want this out of me now!" Doris roared. William made sure she stayed back against her pillows even when her body wanted to thrash around. "Get it out of me!"
"It's coming, Doris." The doctor said calmly. She turned to speak quietly to the other nurses and Doris suddenly felt angry. She felt so enraged, she wanted to throw all of them out and far away from her.
"I said I want it out!" Doris screamed just as her back pain shot through the roof. Doris felt as if her entire body was weak and tired from all the pain it was receiving and nothing would ever recover her.
"It will come out soon, Doris." William said gently. He was only ever gentle with her and she didn't know why she was so angry at him.
"It's going to kill me, I can feel it." Doris said. She glared at him. "It's not fair."
"What's not fair?" He asked as he brushed her sweaty hair from her face.
"You should feel this sort of pain, you did this to me." She grumbled and then bit her lip hard enough to keep in her next scream that wanted to tear through her.
"I think it's ready to come out. Prepare yourselves." The doctor warned. She stationed herself in front of Doris's legs while the other nurses stood close by. "Start to push, Doris. I know it will hurt but if you want the baby out, this is the only way."
Doris fought the urge to kick the woman in front of her. She knew her body wasn't strong enough for this-why couldn't they understand that?
Doris gripped William's hand and started to push. The feeling was indescribable. Every inch of her begged her not to push again. Every inch of her wanted her to go back in time and undo everything that had led her to this.
"I can't! It hurts!" Doris cried. Tears blurred her vision and made her entire life flash before her eyes as if it was the end. She pushed again, harder this time even when her body felt as if it was at the end of the line.
"You can do this, Doris. You're stronger than you think." William said sternly, as if there was no room to be questioned. "Push for me, Doris. Come on."
Doris clenched her eyes tightly and pushed again. A roar ripped from her throat each time she pushed. Slowly, she felt the baby make its way out of her and she felt like eternity passed in pure pain before it was all the way out.
"You did it!" People shouted around her. Doris couldn't tell who, her vision wasn't right and everything looked as if it was far away from her.
"...What is it?" She heard William say as if he was drifting away.
"She won't stop bleeding."