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"Owwww!" howled Mandy, her red fox tail lashed frustratedly behind her as she leaned on the raised head of the bed, her large pregnant belly hung below her as she managed to suffer through another contraction. "How in the HELL did anyone talk me into this again? I've done this once..." she shook her head as she panted, before she continued, "...how did I forget that this fucking HURT so much!?"

Her husband, a quiet businessman by the name of Rudy, stood in disbelief at the transformation his normally calmed and reserved wife had made when labor had set in, and the images of an easily managed and controlled birth experience seemed to evaporate as easily as the sweat that now soaked her chest and back fur. Modest seemed to have also taken a vacation, as Mandy had shed every ounce of clothing hours before - as labor intensified and the birth drew nearer. Rudy mulled his words for a moment before he opened his mouth to speak - only for it to snap shut as his wife groaned loudly.

Kyle moved in slowly, positioning himself to look into her eyes at the head of the bed before he spoke with confidence, "You didn't forget... you just put it behind you....just as you will when this baby comes. Its so soon now, your doing very well" as he made eye contact with the tired, irritable laboring vixen. Although he had not attended her first delivery, he knew that she had had a hard time with pain relief - forcing her (her own words) to seek pharmacological pain relief. When she had spoken to him at the start of her second pregnancy - she expressed the desire to avoid interference of that sort, something she felt she could achieve at the birth center, away from an anesthesiologist and away from poking, prodding doctors and nurses.

"No! No, I can't do this... its too hard!" Mandy exclaimed in almost a grunt, blowing her red hair out of her face as she panted before groaning out in frustration, "....ooowwwww...no, it won't come out!"

Kyle didn't flinch as he listened completely before he said to her, "All of this is moving you forward, every pain comes and vanishes into the past, bringing that baby closer and closer to being here. I know you didn't want me to exam you internally unless it couldn't be avoided, but if you want me to - you can change your mind."

Mandy shook her head, "...no... feels like no room... no room for that... so much..." as she paused and grimaced, looking to bear down just barely before she panted, "...owww"

Kyle looked over at Rudy, who looked at his wife pensively. Kyle could see the reserved businessman clearly lost in this side of his wife - unsure how to react to her behavior, and being unsure was not something Rudy appeared to be comfortable or familiar with. So instead of trying to help, he withdrew himself to a corner to simply watch, and wait this storm out - like a fisherman waiting out a savage storm in an unfamiliar harbor. In a way, Kyle did feel bad for Mandy - she needed her husband, her lover, her partner to help her - and he seemed unable or unwilling to bridge the divide. "You know....Rudy, you could come over here - try that technique I showed you earlier, pressing on her back right at where her tail joins her back, just above the buttocks? It could provide a bit of relief now, given how close everything seems to be." Kyle heard himself suggesting.

"It...didn't work really well last time. I don't want to be in the way or make it hurt more" Rudy answered nervously. He clasped his hands in front of him, a look of fear briefly appearing on his face before disappearing behind a businessman-calm facade - his tail lashing behind him, ears twitching.

Mandy growled, rocking back and forth on her knees as she gripped the head of the bed with her paws - her claws digging into the bedding sharply - nothing short of a hurricane was going to dislodge the vixen's grip on the bed. Her tail straightened behind her as she stifled the urge to bear down.

Her instinctual efforts were not missed by Kyle's trained attentiveness. He knew that she had to be ready, or at least close enough that the urge to bear down was nearly unbearable - causing her to do so, even as she fought herself to prevent it. He had a few patients who refused internal examination - which did eliminate a line of information for him, but in a way; he could totally understand the request. 'If it were me, I totally wouldn't want someone putting their hand up in me either...' he thought to himself. It was one thing to learn about the art of midwifery in a text book, but it was another to learn little things no one taught by being with patients, seeing how they acted and how they coped (or didn't).

Kyle looked over at Rudy, "You know...if you wanted to play the catcher, I am sure Mandy here wouldn't mind so much" he joked with the gentleman, who blinked and moved toward the head of the bed slowly - he kept an eye on Mr. Waltman the entire time, as if their roles could be suddenly switched so easily. Only the groan of his wife distracted the nervous husband from the midwife's gaze.

Rudy rubbed Mandy's shoulders, as his ears splayed at his own private thoughts. The businessman looked out of his element, though they both had a wonderful son together - he saw his wife in this state, unable to help her beyond basic comfort - unable to read her body language, understand the forces involved in what he saw and heard. Mandy moaned under his touch, her shoulder arching as she rocked on her knees. Although her body language was a mystery to her husband, it spoke volumes to the male midwife.

Kyle looked over at Carla, who noticed his glance and smiled back in understanding. Working together with the raccoon for the past ten years afforded him some amount of unspoken understanding when they worked together, and it came in handy when the situation required discretion or when spoken words would disturb the dynamics or 'groove'. He was left to wonder how Carla now saw this aspect of her job, seeing that she was almost seven months pregnant herself now - her pink scrubs hugging her expanding middle. Carla tidied up around the baby warmer, making sure it was connected to the power outlet and that the supplies they'd need soon were resupplied - all with a tell-tale waddle walk.

Kyle leaned in close to Mandy, "This journey is just about done, your doing so well." he spoke quietly to her. His heart sunk a little when his words brought the tired vixen to tears - though he had heard the words before.

"No...can't...too tired...can't...I need help..." she sobbed a bit, tears running down her muzzle - splashing on the pillows at the head of the bed, tinged with a touch of eye shadow. She grunted, and shifted, before she choked back a sob, before she continued, "...can't... it won't come out."

"Mandy, you've traveled this entire way. You can finish this, the finish line is right there, you can call on us, just say what you need. Tell us what you need, Mandy" Kyle pleaded with her quietly, placing a gloved paw on her shoulder. He partly hoped that seeing him wearing gloves would give her some confidence - but knew it has been a hard trip for her. He paused, letting her have the opportunity to voice her needs before he volunteered at the lack of any from the heavily pregnant vixen, "You think standing up would help - get gravity on your side? On your knees maybe if your feeling a bit shaky?"

She merely shook her head, sobbing as she grunted - managing a rock rearward before lurching back toward the head of the bed, "Rudy, help..." which seemed to cause Rudy to back away, his eyes slowly widened.

Kyle looked over at Rudy for a moment before he returned his gaze to Mandy's face, "How can he help you, Mandy? Just tell us, we'll make it happen. Rudy, Carla, myself - how can we help you?"

"H...hold me... let me...lay on you?" she looked over at Rudy, who looked confused before his gaze shot over to Kyle. She rocked back and forth on her knees as another contraction set in; slipping into her well-established mechanism of coping with the pain.

"Ho...how can I do that... I mean, you don't want me in the way...when you...you know...have to..." Rudy stammered as held his hands out in a pantomimed version of catching a softball, or rather - a baby, as Kyle understood the visual expression to mean.

"You lay down on the bed, like you are just relaxing. She, then, lays on top of you so she's nested in your lap a bit. You'd be able to peer over her shoulder if you wanted and your view is going to be as obscured as hers would be. I'd recommend ditching the business suit and tie though - as its unlikely you'll get messy - but I can't guarantee it. We do have some scrub pants to change into - olive green or drab blue. You just keep your underwear on... and you can wear your tee-shirt if you really want, but a lot of men get too hot with their wife on their chest like that." Kyle explained, showing the fox todd the closet near the head of the bed where such laundry items were stored. He secretly hoped that Rudy would jump at the opportunity so that he could feel more involved - his expression over the past few hours spoke to Rudy's feelings of disconnection with the whole process.

Rudy looked over at Mandy, who looked up at him with a pleading silence before looking back toward the bed. The businessman then looked at the closet indicated by Kyle before he hesitantly opened it, retrieving a pair of light blue scrub trousers. He headed away from the bed a few steps before he blushed, looking over at Carla and then Kyle.

Carla smiled to him, "What's wrong?" as she straightened her maternity scrubs a bit.

"....ummm....did you want me to change right here... or can I use the bathroom....or am I not supposed to use that in case she needs it as I am not the patient just the husband..." he rambled before he caught himself. He paused, and stated his question again - more clearly, "...do you want me to change here or in the bathroom? I don't want to do something I shouldn't" as his blush continued.

Carla chuckled, her large belly bounced a little as she did, "Bathroom is fine, Rudy. We don't need you to strip yourself for our benefit in plain sight. If we need the restroom while your in there, we'll knock."

Rudy blinked, looked over to Kyle before he scurried into the bathroom - closing the door.

Kyle smiled to Carla, who stated, "Well, he probably shouldn't dally much - from my angle, it doesn't look like someone is going to wait that much longer" before she pointed at Mandy's posterior casually.

Mandy whimpered, "If he pukes on me... I'll kill him." as she panted, gripping the head of the bed firmly with her paws, rocking back and forth on her knees.

Kyle asked, "He's that squicked by blood and stuff? I can work to keep him from seeing a lot, but if he's over your shoulder, he'll see what you see if we show you with a mirror or something" He had seen husbands get ill at the sights, sounds and smells of birth. It wasn't an experience well designed for people with delicate constitutions to handle without serious preparation, and Rudy had been absent for most of Mandy's prenatal visits - though it didn't seem outright intentional. Rudy's schedule didn't lend itself well to free-time, and while being a good husband and adequate father - sometimes business matters got the best of his personal time, from what Mandy had mentioned to Kyle during one of their visits.

Mandy grunted, and managed, "During our first...he...looked pretty close to hurling. He did faint, though. Damn...." she paused, groaned through another contraction, then continued, "...damn maternity nurse caught him before he hit his head on the floor and the side stand."

After a few moments, Rudy emerged from the bathroom wearing the pair of blue scrub trousers and a white tee-shirt. He made his way over to the bed, where Mandy knelt and hung onto the head of it for what looked like dear life. He walked up to the side of the bed, and frowned at the state of the bed sheets. No one could ever state that childbirth was a clean event by any stretch of the imagination, and the bed under Mandy was no exception. Despite the hectic pace of labor, Mandy had worked hard to keep any such mess near the foot of the bed so that when the bed footer was broken down, the mess would be taken with it - off to the laundry. However, Rudy was not ready to deal with that kind of mess - at least if his expression was of any consequence.

Kyle saw his expression, then looked to the bed before he lookd back at Rudy, "You are going to be on the head end of the bed there Rudy. If anything, she will be seated in the mess... and your wearing scrubs. If you really must, we can change the linens but we'd have to have you help her up off the bed to do that." he explained, matter-of-factly.

Rudy's ears pinned back as he backed away, "...no one said anything about mess... blood and whatelse... I..." he started to explain before Mandy reached over and grasped his tee-shirt, yanking him back to the side of the bed.

"Get...your ass on the FUCKING....bed right NOW!" Mandy growled at Rudy, her lips curled and ears pinned back in irritation having pulled him close to her before she groaned, gripping his shoulder with her other paw.

Rudy stood board-stiff as his wife held onto him like the only rock in the raging overflowing river of labor. The small red fox woman looked more like a wild timber-wolf as she howled over his shoulder before she buried her head and face into the crux under his neck and sobbed a little as the moment passed. Once she released him, Rudy slipped onto the bed as Mandy maneuvered herself so that she was nestled between his outstretched legs, resting on his chest as if they were to enjoy a casual afternoon at a picnic or to watch a movie. Rudy simply looked at Kyle with a helplessly pinned expression as she got herself comfortable.

"Good boy... don't make momma hurt you" Mandy whispered as she rubbed her belly, snuggling up awkwardly to him. He slipped his paws around her to hug her, cautiously. Carla chuckled, her belly bouncing as Kyle looked to Rudy with a sympathetic look.

Kyle made sure he was all set, he changed his gloves quickly, before stating, "You know, we could see if this show is ready to get on the road if you want to wait until your good and ready, and push with the next contraction. You don't need to hold your breath or really draw up your legs - none of that really unnatural in posture stuff - just...listen to your body, push how it feels right?" with a soft smile, moving a bit closer to the foot of the bed before he paused about midway, looking at the raccoon midwife with a firm nod.

Rudy stammered, "...am...I where I am supposed to be?" from behind Mandy, his hands gently held her around her middle - his hands nowhere near able to touch one another. He waited for his answer as he nuzzled her shoulder and neck - the look of abject fear melting away slowly, slowly replaced with confident concern and caring.

"Your fine, Rudy. Just hold and support your wife, she needs you." Kyle answered the anxious todd. Probably the last place he ever thought he should be, but the very place she needed him to be, Kyle thought to himself.

Mandy breathed, then panted as her large cream-colored fur-clad belly bulged in a contraction before she grit her teeth, making a strong effort at bearing down - looking almost relieved to be able to finally do what she'd been wanting to do, and been fighting her own body not to do on pure reflex at this point. Rudy's eyes grew wide as he watched this commotion from behind her, his hands softly petted her middle.

Kyle watched as it was very evident that Mandy was ready to push, the signs of progress obvious to the two midwives before the vixen relaxed; she drew in a fresh breath and slowly exhaled before she found herself drawn to bear down again as her contractions drew closer together. Carla brought over an instrument tray from the nearby cabinet, still wrapped in its sterile plastic autoclave bag. Kyle smiled softly to Mandy, watching her work quietly as Rudy peered over her shoulder curiously. Carla opened the bag of items just as Kyle reached over without looking to grab a large sterile pad. He moved with calm precision as a small patch of wet red fur began to show, ushered forward slowly by Mandy's significant efforts. After a few moments, it slipped back out of sight again as Mandy relaxed. "Just see a little patch of fur... keep working at Mandy, your doing great!" Kyle encouraged her.

Mandy seemed encouraged as she threw herself fully into bearing down, drawing her legs up slightly as if to give herself a little more leverage at this incredibly difficult task. Once again, the small patch of wet fur surged forward, pressing against Kyle's gloved paw, which held a pad against Mandy's more intimate parts, applying support so that Mandy's baby didn't deliver too quickly. Even through a sturdy set of nitrile gloves, he could still feel the weave of the sterile pad and warm wetness of the amniotic fluid that had soaked through the pad as he pressed it gently against Mandy.

Rudy whispered to her, "Come on, your doing this.." as his trepidation seemed to disappear, replaced by a calm reassurance. Mandy relaxed, letting her legs down on the bed - Rudy stroked her hair in the brief moment before Mandy panted a few times and drew her legs up again to bear down. The patch of fur that showed surged forward again, pressing against Kyle's gloved paw as more of it became visible.

It didn't take too long of this back-and-forth dance before the patch of reddish fur, now about the size of tennis ball, remained firmly in the same place when Mandy relaxed - something that the vixen could definitely feel, even if she couldn't see it. "Owwwww" Mandy moaned, her ears splayed as she rocked herself back and forth in Rudy's lap. The curious tod looked over her shoulder, but unable to see much more than he did before.

Carla looked over from her task of recording items in the chart, "Not long now... someone is just right there..." she said with a sincere smile. Rudy looked up at Carla, then back at Mandy's imposing belly with a slightly frustrated expression. The raccoon said, "You have that look of someone who wants to see something but can't, Rudy"

Rudy didn't answer before Mandy slipped a hand down from the side of her belly, reaching down to touch herself - Kyle moving his gloved paws as the vixen felt the patch of fur stretching at her. He asked, "...is...it something I really shouldn't see?"

Kyle didn't think any aspect of Mandy's delivery was especially bloody or disgusting - but he did have to admit to himself that his nursing training and a decade of midwifery experience would jade his view on such matter. He answered, "Naw, everything is pretty clean...as far as a birth goes..." as he kept his hands away from Mandy's paw, which cupped the wet fur - her fingers spread apart over her distended skin. "Mandy, just move your paw when your ready, okay? I imagine its pretty intense right now..."

"Too big... won't fit... too big" Mandy panted, one paw resting on her belly, and the other stretched over her womanly parts, as if to hold her baby back. She looked at Kyle and shook her head, her expression showed her concern. Though not entirely common, Kyle could imagine that she felt that she had to hold her baby back, else she would be injured any minute should it surge out on a contraction.

"Just...relax... take the time you need, Mandy. Just breath through the contractions, just like treading water." Kyle offered quietly, speaking deliberately and slowly so Mandy didn't feel overwhelmed. Remembering back to previous prenatal visits, he remembered Mandy didn't want any direct interference with this part of things - no episiotomies, no manual stretching with fingers - and Kyle had no intention of doing any of these things. He was not a fan of the purported benefit of the former, and the latter felt a lot like physical assault unless his patients ask him directly to assist them with such an action.

Carla waddle-walked over to the nightstand on the right side of the bed, opening the drawer and retrieved a mirror. The raccoon midwife then moved to about the middle of the bed, placing the mirror and adjusting it until she could see Rudy's eyes widen - clearly giving the tod the view he was asking for. She fought back the urge to laugh, though she had seen that expression on a few husbands and fathers-to-be.

Mandy groaned as she held her intimates with her paw, a tear running down her cheek. Kyle didn't envy the painful or torturous parts of childbirth - but did admit the ways women went about coping with it, and Mandy was doing an excellent job. He sat on the side of the bed patiently, watching Mandy's labor and stood ready for the moment he would, once again, be useful. It was never easy to watch a patient endure pain, but Kyle knew that there was little alternative for this thankfully brief part of the entire experience.

Although it was only a few minutes in actuality, Mandy seemingly suffered for quite a while before she let out a squeaky cry, a baby fox's head slipping out under Mandy's paw. Rudy blinked as he watched this moment in the mirror held by Carla, the raccoon midwife. Rudy nuzzled under Mandy's chin comfortingly, a small smile slowly becoming a big grin. Mandy whimpered as she withdrew her paw, placing it on her belly.

Kyle reached over to the small kit open next to him, grabbed the bulb syringe and brought it to the baby's nose - carefully using it on each nostril. The baby's muzzle moved a little as Kyle used the syringe, its little nostrils attempted to close themselves against the onslaught brought on by the midwife's ministrations. After a few draws with the bulb syringe, Kyle slipped a finger into the baby's muzzle and then the tip of the syringe. As Kyle worked, he remarked that babies had a range of reactions to this part of things, from shell-shocked disinterest to fighting with all the fury a baby buried up to its neck in its mother could muster. Mandy's baby managed only a token effort of resistance, before letting the midwife clear its nose and mouth in preparation for its first breath.

Mandy looked at the mirror, murrbling, "Baby..." with a tired smile, her hands slipping down on either side of her belly, petting the baby's wet fur with her paws a brief moment before slipping them back to her hips to let Kyle access to the baby once again.

"Now Mandy, just gotta have the little one here rotate its shoulders but when I'm ready - you can reach on down and lift your little one up onto your belly - unless you want me to do it. Either way works for me" Kyle offered

Mandy nodded with a tired smile, "I...wanna do it."

Kyle smiled, "You got it." as he carefully checked around the baby's neck for any sign of the umbilical cord as it rotated a little toward her left thigh, which prompted Kyle to gently lift up on the baby's head, "...reach on down, mommy!" he exclaimed with a smile.

Mandy slipped her hands down and, with Kyle's help, gently grasped the baby as it slipped free of her and up onto her flattened belly with fan-fare of a wailing baby fox.

"Weeeyahh! Weeeyah!" the baby fox screamed as Mandy stroked him lovingly. The baby looked a touch like a drowned rat, fur wet and matted down in contrast with its mother's hands which were comparatively dry in comparison.

Rudy grinned, "Hello there little guy!" he exclaimed over her shoulder, looking at the wailing baby.

Mandy blinked a little, investigating briefly, before she smiled in silence for a moment. She stated, "Little girl... I'm not in the minority in this family anymore" with a proud smirk.

Rudy blinked, "I have a daughter. A little girl!" with a goofy grin that only a new father can have.