Anaya woke up, feeling this tearing pain hit her lower abdomen. She gasped, as she sat up straight. She looked at the clock at it hit 3:15 AM. She felt the pressure building up in her pelvis, so she quickly got up and walked to the bathroom, her hand under her 39-week pregnant stomach. The pressure began to release and she felt liquid come down her legs, she took off her shorts and quickly stood in the shower. As she watched liquid burst down her legs so quick, and for so long, she began to panic.

Her water broke.

"Ali!" She called.

"Ali! Please wake up!" She screamed again,

"Anaya? Anaya!" Ali said, bursting through the bathroom door, looking at Anaya's state.

"My water just broke!" She cried

"It's okay, It's okay. Let's get you ready for the hospital. It'll be okay baby," He said, quickly going in the shower and holding her hands, leading her back to the bench of the shower.

Ali went back to the closet, getting some new pants and a Hijab for Anaya. He went back to her side, and she rinsed herself, her hands shaking. Ali grabbed a towel drying her and then helping her wear the loose pants, and then wrapping the Hijab around her head so they can go to the hospital.

"Let's go," He said, picking her up.

Ali very carefully walked down the stairs with her, she was breathing very heavily and he could see the tears in her eyes. He got to the end of the stairs and set her down on the couch for a minute.

"Anaya, sweetheart. It's okay, I'm right here. Just bear with me," Ali, said taking out his phone, calling his night shift chauffer. In the ninth month of Anaya's pregnancy, he had prepared a driver just for this occasion- so he could attend to her, instead of driving.

"Come on," He said, as he heard the horn from outside.

Ali took Anaya and walked out to the car sitting her down on the backseat, as the driver immediately rushed them to the hospital.

Anaya let out a yelp, as she felt a contraction. It was a cramp, but it felt as if it was tearing apart her pelvis, which it was. Ali grabbed her hand, his other hand rubbing her shoulder. Since the minute he opened the cute white box that held the positive pregnancy test- he had begun to dread this moment. He was over the moon happy, but he knew how much pain she would be in- and the mere thought of her pain made him go into a frenzy.

Surprisingly, at the moment Ali was calm. Of course, he was worried and his heart was racing fast enough to just pop out right then and there, but he was calm so she wouldn't be more anxious.

"Anaya, try sitting with your legs crossed and back up. Your doctor said it'll help," He reminded.

Anaya listened, and she brought her legs in a criss-cross position, straightening her back against the car seat. At that moment, she felt more contractions, she winced and squeezed Ali's hand.

"Breathe, breathe. We're almost there," Ali said

Anaya held onto her stomach, her back beginning to hurt.

"Ya hayyu ya Qayyum birahmatika astaghees, ('O Living, O Self-Sustaining Sustainer! In Your Mercy do I seek relief)," She repeated, over and over.

"Please!" She screamed her head falling back.

"We're here," Ali said, as the car stopped.

Ali got out of the car, calling for nurses as they all came rushing to the car with a stretcher.

Ali opened Anaya's door, and she put her arm over his shoulder, as he picked her up. He set her on the stretcher bed, as they asked him questions.

"Anaya Abdul Ali, she is 39 weeks pregnant. Her doctor is Dr. Charlotte Hager, she has no allergic reactions to any medications, she is twenty-five years old-" He said, very fast as they quickly pulled up her charts.

"Thank you, sir, Dr. Hager is on her way down. We're going to bring her into a private labor and delivery room right away, okay? And Mrs. Ali, it's going to be okay." The nurse said as they began to move Anaya into the elevator.

Anaya let out another shriek, her back arching as she screamed out of pain.

"Please!" Anaya cried

"We're almost there, breath for me Mrs. Anaya," The nurse said.

The elevator door opened, and Ali moved at the pace of the nurses as they rushed Anaya into a prepared room. They slid the door, and they brought her transportable bed to the new one. Anaya sat up straight, to be transferred over. She moved to the new bed, as Ali had to stand back and let the nurses do their job.

"Would you like to change here, or do you want us to take you to the bathroom?" One of the nurses asked holding the hospital gown.

"I can't move," Anaya groaned.

"Okay, we're going to change you okay?" The nurse said.

Ali turned his back towards them, as they heard Anaya moan out of discomfort, then he heard a knock at the door, as the doctor walked in.

"Hello, Anaya!" She said.

"I'm going to personally check you up," Dr. Hager said, pulling her stool to the end of Anaya's bed, the nurses lifted Anaya's knees, as the doctor checked her cervix.

"Anaya, you're already at three centimeters darling! This is outstanding, for your first time. We're going to get you some pain meds, and the nurses will walk you through some exercises, I'll be here if anything changes, okay?" She reassured.

Anaya nodded at her, as one of the nurses that had left earlier walked back in holding an exercise ball. They showed Anaya exercises she can do to escalate the dilation and assisted Anaya with doing them properly when Anaya understood. After plugging in all the monitors and meds for Anaya and the baby, the nurses left one by one.

Ali and Anaya didn't know the gender, they decided to keep it a secret until birth, they set the nursery to be classy white and lights tones and got all gender-neutral clothes.

"Ali," Anaya yelled, as she moved on the exercise ball stretching out her pelvis area. Ali holding her hands as she did so.

"ALI!!!" She screamed in pain.

"My love, I'm right here. I am so sorry," He said, his eyebrows furrowed out of tension.

"MAKE IT STOP, PLEASE!" She cried.

"Baby, there's no stopping now. We're about to meet them, our sweet little kid. And you're going to be one bringing them here because you're the strongest woman I have ever seen. You can do this Anaya," He said, trying his best to encourage her.

Anaya breathed very heavily in and out, as she walked around the room, stretched herself out by using the exercise ball, laying down, doing squats, and laying down more. Anaya's eyes were red and stained with dried tears, her face turning blue from the immense pain as she couldn't help but scream. Ali caressed her hair and patted her back, walking back and forth with her.

It was now 6:27 AM. Anaya had been in pain for around five hours now, she was only dilated to five in a half. Six centimeters was supposed to be the peak of the pain, Anaya was trembling. She hadn't bled yet, she had the obligation to pray. She sat down on the edge of the bed, her legs covered with the blanket, and her arms and hair with the long scarf, Ali was on the side of the room, almost done with his prayer.

She offered two raqat for fajr, as quickly as she could, afraid the pain was going to begin again. She brought her quivering hands up and cried hard.

"Ya Allah! Please! Please! Help me! I don't want an epidural, but the pain is too much to bear. Ya Allah please, forgive me and relieve me of some pain!" She said, silently to her Lord.

Her hands dropped to her lap, as the pain took over her body. Anaya let out a blood-curdling scream, the pain shooting up her legs to her spine. Ali ran to her side, as he fell to his knees in front of her, holding on to her by placing his hands on her side.

Anaya pressed the call button for her nurses, the pain not stopping, even for the usual minute intervals.

"HELP ME! HELP ME!" She screamed.

Three nurses rushed inside, as Anaya laid down so they can check.

"I can't do it! I CAN'T DO IT!" Anaya screamed, the pain still not stopping.

"Oh my god, she's at a 9!" The nurse said, looking at the other nurse in shock. She pulled out her pager quickly and then both of them ran to prepare the room for delivery.

"ALI, WHAT DO I DO!" Anaya sobbed.

"Anaya, you're almost there. You're almost done, baby." He said, holding her face.

"Are you ready Anaya?" Dr. Hager walked in, sitting in front of Anaya at the edge of the bed.

"No epidural?" Dr. Hager asked the nurse

"No," She replied, as she held up Anaya's leg.

Anaya cried and screamed as another contraction took over her.

"Start pushing Anaya, you're at 10." Dr. Hager said.

The contraction stopped, as Anaya fell to her bed. The seconds of painless rest feeling like heaven for her, however, that never lasted long, as the next contraction took over her.

Anaya gathered herself as she sat up again groaning, as she tried to push.

"Push! Push! Push!" Dr. Hager said.

"Anaya, I can see the head. Push with all your might," Dr. Hager affirmed.

"You can do it, baby. I love you so much Anaya, this is it. You can do it," Ali said, wiping the sweat off her forehead with his left hand, holding her hand with his right.

The contraction started again, as Anaya shot up in pain.

"ALI!" She screamed as she pushed. Her eyes clenched so hard, her grasp on his hand tight, her toes curling, her spine aching to no end, and her face covered in sweat.

Until there it was.

Anaya could feel it.

Ali could see it.

Anaya's mouth was open, but no sound came out. Fresh tears falling out of her eyes, as she opened them. Her eyes landing, on the baby in the Doctor's hands.

"It's a boy!" Dr. Hager cheered, tapping his stomach until he let out a loud cry.

"Would you like to cut the cord?" She asked Ali, but Ali was so flabbergasted it took him a second.

"Y-yeah," He remembered to reply. He walked towards him, as the doctor handed him the scissors. He cut the cord off, taking a close look at his son.

Anaya gaped at the big red baby, her eyes wide- not wanting to blink, silent tears falling down her face. As she followed him to the nurse's arm where he was getting wiped before they brought him to her. Undoing her gown a little the nurse placed him on her chest.

Anaya choked out a sob, as she held him close. Forgetting the pain, she held him in a tight embrace as if he could run away. His cries stopped as he nestled into her chest.

"Aayan," She cried.

"Aayan," Ali confirmed as well, sitting by her side. Both giving their undivided attention to their son, just like it would be for the rest of Aayan's life. She held him for a good 10 minutes, not wanting to let go.

"Congratulations! We're just going to do a quick checkup on the baby, and then he can be with his mommy." The nurse said, taking Aayan so he can be looked at.

Anaya cried looking at him, as Aayan cried fighting the doctor to not touch him. She felt Ali hug her by the side of her shoulder before he fell into the chair.

Anaya fell back on her bed as well, letting her backrest. The pain was still there, but it was better than what she had endured for the past five hours. Her labor was faster than what it's supposed to be, she knew. Five hours was usual for the second labor. She was so thankful, and tired. Her eyes were so droopy, she felt as if she hasn't slept in days.

"Would you like us to bathe him right away?" The nurse asked Anaya.

"Yeah, that is fine," Anaya said

A nurse came to Anaya's side and fixed her drip, and checked her vitals, she then massaged Anaya's stomach downwards, a couple of times. Anaya moaned at the discomfort and pain.

"I'll have to do this a couple of times," The nurse advised, as Anaya nodded.

She stopped and they had dressed Anaya back up in underpants and she wiped Anaya's chest with a wipe before covering her with a blanket.

Anaya rested, feeling a lot better. She looked at Ali, who was standing right by the bathroom door, supervising the nurses who were washing up Aayan. Anaya smiled, he was still in his black shirt and loose grey sweatpants from last night, he hadn't gotten a blink of sleep, he was there by her side the entire time. She couldn't have asked for a better husband, or now,

dad.

The nurses finally brought Aayan back out all clean and wrapped up, as he wailed. She offered him to Ali, and Ali took him, cradling him tight and swaying him. Aayan's cries died down, as he rested on Ali's chest.

"We'll be back in 10 minutes, so you can start feeding. We're going to get you some food as well," The nurse said

Ali brought him over to Anaya. Ali brought over the single couch next to Anaya's bedside with one hand, sitting down as they both looked at Aayan.

They could see his face much clearer now. He had a lot of dark brown hair on his head, his face was milky white, his lips plump and pink. He was so perfect.

Anaya reached out her hand to hold the hand Ali was holding him with, she couldn't help but close her eyes. The fatigue faking over her, but of course, the bliss was disrupted by the nurse who came in.

"We're going to start feeding," She said, pressing the button to lift the bed Anaya can sit up.

Ali handed Anaya the baby, as the nurse opened Anaya's robe, she took a pillow to place it on Anaya's lap showing Anaya how to hold him.

The nurse helped him latch on, as Aayan immediately began to suck. Anaya let out a wince, at the unusual feeling. She could feel her chest become heavy. The nurse showed Anaya how to feed him, and supervised for a while helping her switch to both sides before Anaya understood and nodded. Soon enough Aayan stopped, as the nurse advised he was already full.

"Would you like to send him to the nursery?" She asked

"No, I want him to stay here," Anaya said

The nurse put Aayan in his heated crib, next to Anaya. Anaya laid down, finally being done for a while.

"I'm going to go downstairs, so I can bring up Jameela and Martha. They made you some food," He said, standing up.

Anaya held his hand, stopping him.

"You should go home, your eyes are red." She said

"I am not going anywhere, without you two," He smiled, as he walked out of the ward.

Anaya felt dizzy, so she closed her eyes and she couldn't feel her body anymore. She was so exhausted until finally, everything was blank as she fell into a deep sleep. Ali had walked in with Martha and Anaya behind them, and they both saw Anaya sound asleep.

Martha and Jameela gathered around the crib, looking at the sleeping baby.

"Oh Mashallah, he is so beautiful," Jameela said.

"Hard to tell who he looks like, he's just very handsome," Martha said

They stood around watching him, not holding him as he was sleeping at the moment. Nurses came in and out checking on the baby and Anaya's vitals. Around forty minutes later, Aaayan woke up. He began to move around and then began to cry.

Anaya heard his voice almost instantly, waking from her nap. She looked at him, and then at Martha and her Amee.

"Amee," She called

The nurse walked in again, picking up Aayan to give to Anaya. So they can supervise Anaya's feeding. Anaya didn't get to finish her sentence as she had to feed him. Fifteen minutes later, the nurse finally left, and Jameela came to sit by Anaya on the bed. She kissed Anaya on the forehead and caressed her hair

"My girl is all grown up. She's a mother now," Jameela said, emotionally. As Anaya smiled at her, looking down at Aayan in his arms tracing his temple with her index finger. He was done feeding when he fell asleep, so Anaya handed him to Jameela as she cradled him walking around.

Martha came forward, setting down a bowl of chicken soup for Anaya.

"Here, quickly. You need all the strength you can get," She advised.

"Thank you, Martha," Anaya said.

Anaya tried to drink it, bring her face down towards it but her hands were very shaky. Ali quickly came to her side, sitting in front of her. He took the spoon and blew on it before bringing it to Anaya's mouth, his left hand under her chin. Anaya took some of the bread, and brought it to Ali's mouth, as he ate it.

"I'll get myself food, you finish all this," Ali said, feeding her.

"Go get it quickly, you haven't eaten anything since last night," She said, as he nodded.

She finished the soup with all the vegetables and ate the bread as well. Ali also got himself a sandwich. Anaya tried to convince him to go home, for a while since they'd be here until tomorrow, but he didn't listen. John had taken Martha and Jameela home after a few hours.

"Then take a nap, at least," Anaya said

"No," He said, sitting on the bed, Aayan in his arms.

"The doctor is going to take him for his vaccines, and final checkup in a while. Then you can sleep," Anaya said.

"I'm okay," Ali reassured her.

Ali stayed like that until the nurses came to take him. When he was gone, Ali stood up and sat on the right side of Anaya, she scooted to her left to make space for him.

"Are you feeling okay?" He asked

"As good as I can be for a post-partum mom," She said.

He put his arm around her shoulder, resting his head back on the pillow. Anaya looked up at him not even two seconds later, and he was knocked out. She laughed, as rested her head as well. The hospital stay was one and a half-day, they had finished all procedures for Aayan and Anaya without complications, and Anaya was free to go.

The nurse escorted her out in a wheelchair, while Ali held Aayan in his car seat. John brought over the car to the curb, parking it. As Anaya sat down, and Ali came the other way around to fix the car seat. The nurse checked their safety, and bid her goodbyes.

Anaya was so happy to finally be home. So thankful that time had passed so quickly, and she was free of any tension about labor pain now. It was over, and she and her little boy were headed home, together.

Anaya shifted to her right, slowly waking up but still mostly asleep. Until she heard whispers outside of the door. She smiled, looking at the time. It was Sunday morning, and the clock had passed 10 PM. The kids were at home, and they were awake. She knew they were planning to come inside and mess with them in some way. She looked to her left, and Ali was sound asleep. She removed his arm from her waist and put on her silk robe.

She opened the door very slowly and immediately shushed the kids, bending down to their height.

"Let's get your dad today," She said, mischievously. As Aayan and Ameerah's eyes lit up in playfulness, just like their mother.

"Come on," She said, the both of them following her like ducklings follow the mother duck. She went into the kitchen and got the can of whipped cream from the fridge, showing it to them.

The three of them went back into the room, on their tip-toes. She slowly took Ali's hand and squirted the whipped cream on it, not letting the can touch him so he doesn't wake up.

"Hurry, take this and tickle his nose. VERY GENTLY AND SILENTLY," She whispered, handing Aayan her feathery make-up brush. Ameerah stood behind her brother, trying to hold in her laugh. Aayan brought down the tip of the brush to Ali's nostril, tickling it. Ali flinched before he brought his whip cream hand to swat his nose.

Whip cream covered his face, as all three of them broke into a fit of laughter. Ali slowly got up, rolling his tongue in his mouth, as if already plotting his revenge.

"Aayan..." He warned.