Milly: Divided By Five

TW: Milly’s Story contains Coercive Behaviour

Milly woke to a gushing between her legs. Her waters had broken, and she was completely soaked. A dull ache in her lower back could be the sofa, but Milly knew better. A foul taste in her mouth reminded her how Hunter celebrated. His voice beckoned upstairs, a groaning painful sound as the hangover took hold. Milly allowed herself a moment to smile, to take some satisfaction in his suffering. James and Selena bumped down the stairs. They were ready for breakfast and cartoons. Hunter’s wailing woke them first. His cries grew louder, but Milly blamed her pregnancy for the slow reaction. She would pay for the delay. He would dismiss her abilities as a human. Her body was nothing more than a vessel to carry their children.

The joy at his discomfort would be temporary. Milly’s body returned the favour, delivering contractions every fifteen minutes. Her menstrual cycle may enjoy being irregular, but her previous pregnancy was textbook. She froze as the pain squeezed, spreading across her lower back and hugging her stomach. Clenching the tea towel and taking slow breaths brought her through. In the time it took to shower and prepare breakfast, the contractions came at ten-minute intervals.

Hunter groaned, clutching his head and cursing his late-night antics. She placed the paracetamol on the table and helped him sit. His stomach churned, releasing a foul-smelling burp. Rotting food and stomach acid did nothing to quell Milly’s queasiness. He popped both pills in, and Milly helped him sip the water. The babysitter agreed to take in the twins. She would drop them off on the way to the hospital. Hunter seemed to relax as he patted her stomach.

Milly realised he was unaware that the baby was preterm. The delay in going to the hospital was risky. She did it for him. Doing what he told her, what he asked. Milly read all the leaflets. The sensation of the baby pushing down. The stomach cramps, backache and bloody discharge. Everything started the previous night. She stroked her stomach as she waited for the doctor. The midwife had scanned the bump and retreated without a word. Milly cried, hoping her decision had not harmed the unborn child. The doctor came in, giving her a reassuring smile and scanned the bump. A strong heartbeat thumped, and a second, weaker than the first.

Milly’s jaw dropped at the notion she was about to deliver twins. The smaller twin was struggling. They strapped a CTG monitor around the bump, registering both babies. The midwife held Milly’s hand, telling her to breathe and remain strong. She was in good hands. All Milly wanted was to get them out, to ensure they kept fighting. Aiden arrived, screaming his way into the world. Powerful lungs commanded attention. Milly tried to see him, but all attention was on the weakening baby inside her. She squeezed the bed, willing her child to come into the world.

She heard the slop, the wetness of a baby entering, but silence came with her. The midwife took the child, suctioning off the fluid and rubbing her back. Sixty seconds is a long time in the life of a newborn who has not taken their first breath. Milly held hers. Aiden was out of reach, already enclosed in the plastic box that would keep him safe. As the seconds ticked, the room grew quiet. The beeps tracked the passage of time until Nadia opened her mouth. A feeble cry broke through. It echoed in the room as relief swept over Milly. The midwife placed Nadia in the incubator beside Aiden. Milly reached in and put a finger in the palm of each child in turn. Tears choked as she watched the staff rush the babies to the neonatal ward.

Milly: https://www.patreon.com/posts/simmerianne93-03-81899132

Hunter and Milly: https://www.mediafire.com/file/zq77b9t7cof0wwf/Waiting_For_Baby.rar

Milly, Doctor and Nurse: https://conceptdesign97sims.tumblr.com/post/148405216038/ts4delivery-pose-set-1-2-trio-pose-1-pose

If you are affected by Milly’s story, help is available: https://refuge.org.uk/