Stevie ran her finger through the thin layer of dust on the desk, absentmindedly drawing a flying heart as she listened to her sister-in-law. She barely used her office, but made a mental note to ask Karen to find out why it hadn't been cleaned recently. Right now, though, it was the only place in the house she could make a phone call without Sheryl overhearing and getting upset.
Lori had sat in on the whole trial, and spoken to Stevie at the end of each day to tell her what had happened. The prosecution and defense had made their closing statements, and she was running through the main points.
"Their whole argument is that you hooking up with Lindsey is some kind of trigger for him. He thought taking you out -" Stevie winced slightly. Lori was never one to sugarcoat; "- would save Sheryl from getting hurt again. He thought in his warped mind he was doing it for her. From what he said on the stand...I guess it's a conversation you need to have Sheryl if you want to and find out what she said when they were together, but he really has a problem with you. How much of it is him genuinely believing he was saving Sheryl and how much is just him being a fucking psycho is up to the jury, I guess."
"So they're deciding now?"
"We'll probably get a verdict today or tomorrow. Stay near the phone. Are you ok?"
"Yeah."
That was a lie. The last few days had been hell, from the press caring more about her one night stand with Lindsey than the trial to Kristen showing up at the house and telling her through her tears she wished Brian had finished the job. She was relieved to have ended her obligation to Fleetwood Mac - the more she could stay away for now the better.
"Are you going to come in to do one of those statements?"
"No. Sheryl keeps having contractions. They're irregular but I don't want to be too far from her. I wrote something to -" It took a moment for her to realize what was happening as the things on her desk shook slightly. A photograph of her niece fell forward. By the time she figured out it was a tremor, it was over. "Shit! Did you feel that?"
"Yes. It said on the news we might feel them. Are you ok?"
"Yeah...I better check on Sheryl, speak later?"
"Ok, sugar."
She replaced the receiver and set the photo back upright before heading out the room.
"Babe?"
"Stevie? Could you come here? I'm...I'm in the bedroom."
She was standing at the foot of the bed, one hand clutching the sheets and the other wrapped around the bed post.
As Stevie moved to her, another tremor, stronger than the last, shook the house. Sheryl reached blindly towards her, and as she took her hand and reached her side, she saw real fear in her eyes.
"The baby. The baby's coming."
"Ok. It's ok. Deep breaths, ok? Look at me." She inhaled dramatically and motioned for Sheryl to copy her. "That's it, keep breathing. I'm gonna call the hospital."
She reluctantly prized her hand out of Sheryl's grip and reached for the phone by the bed. As she did so, a third tremor hit. She grabbed Sheryl and they sank to the floor as plaster dust fell from the ceiling. The quake was much longer this time. Stevie could hear car alarms in the street outside and the sounds of glass and china smashing to the floor around the house. She wrapped herself protectively around Sheryl as they waited for it to pass, Sheryl still sucking in deep, if shaking, breaths.
"What the fuck is going on, Stevie?! The Big One is seriously hitting right as I'm in labor?"
"It's not...it's fine. It's gonna be fine." She wasn't sure if she was convincing herself as much as anything else. She scrambled to the phone.
Sheryl clutched her stomach as another contraction built, strong enough this time to take her breath away. She could hear Stevie on the phone. She sounded anxious. Sheryl tried to concentrate on her breathing.
"Ok." Stevie knelt at her feet. "We can't go there. That last quake is causing absolute chaos already, they're getting calls about building collapses. They're sending someone here, soon as they can."
"What?" She gasped. "When is that?"
"I dunno, baby." She took her face in her hands. "It's going to be ok."
~
Sheryl closed her eyes and listened to the music Stevie was playing to drown out the sirens and alarms outside. The tremors seemed to have stopped - she wasn't sure of the time but it seemed to have been a couple of hours since the last one. As she felt her body start to tighten again she squeezed Stevie's hand.
"Agh."
"Breathe, just breathe." Her voice was gentle and lilting. Sheryl never imagined this would be how their baby would arrive into the world but she said a silent prayer of thanks that Stevie was the one she was here with. For all her chaos she had an otherworldly calm when it mattered most.
She'd swung into action as soon as the reality of their situation sank in, helping Sheryl onto the bed before finding and lighting candles and incense, closing the curtains, and playing the CDs Sheryl had bought to help her with breathing.
Sheryl's panic had quickly dissipated and she began to focus on what she had to do, breathing through the increasingly more powerful contractions and following her body's cues. As this latest surge of pain began to fade, she opened her eyes.
"I need to move."
"Ok, where do you want to be?"
Stevie helped her manoeuver onto her knees, and as she did so, a gush of clear fluid soaked the towels on the bed.
"Oh my god."
"It's ok! That's good, right?"
"I can't have this baby here, Stevie."
"Look at me. You absolutely can. This is the situation we're in. We're doing fine, ok? Just count to ten."
Sheryl smiled before her features contorted in a new kind of pain, a deep pressure in her lower back.
"I...push."
"Ok," Stevie tried to mask the nerves in her voice. "Do what your body is telling you."
Sheryl put her hands on Stevie's shoulders and began to bear down, holding the pressure for as long as she could before taking a huge breath and pushing again. As the contraction subsided, she sank against Stevie, who reached down and rubbed her back.
"It really hurts."
"You're doing so amazingly. I'm so proud of you. I wish I could do more."
Sheryl lifted her head and smiled.
"You're doing everything."
They rested their heads together as a strange serenity surrounded them. It occurred to Sheryl that actually, this was perfect. This was their journey and their baby. This was how it should be. She took another breath as a fresh wave of pressure built.
Stevie continued to rub her back, rocking her gently as she gave a deep, drawn out groan.
"Keep going, it will be over soon."
Sheryl suddenly yelped in a new kind of burning pain, pinching Stevie's shoulders as she arched her back.
"Ahhh! Ouch!"
"What's happening?"
"It's coming! Agh -"
Stevie looked down and gasped at the sight of their baby's head.
"Oh my god!" Tears sprung into her eyes. "Ok, keep going, you're doing so brilliantly -"
Sheryl gave one last primal cry as she pushed down with everything she had, and suddenly the burning was gone and her world seemed to clear. There was a second of quiet, the only sound the gentle music in the background, before a tiny, desperate cry pierced the air.
Stevie scooped the baby up with shaking hands.
"A girl! Our baby girl. She's here. Oh, I've waited so long to meet you."
She handed her to Sheryl and wrapped her arms around them both, and nothing else on Earth mattered anymore.