"Child! Okay. Okay. This is fine. Everything is fine. We prepared for this. Everything is fine. Stay calm. Everything's fine. I'm going to, uh... get the doctor. Okay? The doctor. This is fine."
“Are you hurting already?! Oh, wow. Okay. You’re going to be so good, okay? Don’t panic. Stop panicking.”
He paused for a moment before nodding. "Yeah. that was kind of a stupid comment to make. Okay. Okay. Panic if you'd like but keep taking deep breaths, okay? I'll be back with stuff. Okay? I'll be back."
He returned several minutes later with arms full of supplies. "The doctor's on his way," he told her, brushing her hair out of her face nervously. "Everything's going to be okay, alright? Everything's going to be okay."
He squeezed her hand tightly, brushing her hair. "You're okay. Everything's okay. Just breathe, okay?"
Her hand squeezed his back, and she rested her head back, staring at the ceiling. "I'm breathing. I'm breathing."
The baby cooed in Avice's arms, her arms flailing. It was hard to tell through her fluttering lashes, but she seemed to have the same color eyes as her mother.
Jack's quiet voice came in from the front room as he let the doctor out. The door closed and he returned a moment later, his head tilted before sitting on the bed. "You were so good, you know," he told her quietly, brushing her hair off her forehead.
