March'20 - Peak Hour (Patreon)

sorry this took so long! i wanted to have this done last week but i kept going back and rewriting big chunks of it and then a lot of things happening with life right now (we in that isolation life now, and i dont have a job anymore) made it hard to focus enough to write something! its been a while and i feel rusty, but i hope this is still enjoyable!

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You said to your boss that you were taking time off. That there was no way in hell you would be coming into work, so don’t even bother calling. So, when he’d called you early that morning, begging for a last minute cover today, and that you were the only person available, you knew in your heart you should have said no. You really, really should have said no.

Instead, you said yes. To an eight hour long shift. You dragged yourself out of bed early in the morning, waddled into the shower and admired your many new stretch marks as you scrubbed yourself clean, then dried yourself off before tugging on your way-too-tight uniform. Honestly, it was so ill-fitting over your nine-month pregnant stomach it should have been the first sign for you to turn around and go right back to bed. 

You went to work and spent the day slowly completing tasks. You tried to help out as best as you could, but lifting heavy stock was out of the question, and most customers seemed more curious about your swollen state than purchasing anything when you tried to help. So, you gave up and sat behind the register for most of the day, complaining about your swollen ankles and throbbing back to any co-worker within earshot. 

Which should have been the second sign of turning around and going home. The continuous stabs of pain in your lower back persisted all day long no matter how much you pressed and prodded at the suspicious knots in your muscles, and the baby was sitting uncomfortably low today as well. The combination made your already slow gait even worse, and it was a sight to see you amble your way through the aisles, both hands pressed to your back to help with the pain. 

Finally, the day was over. The eight hour shift that felt like it dragged on forever was done and you were heading home. You waited at the platform idly, scrolling on your phone and simply trying to pass the time waiting for your train while your free hand rubbed deep circles into the side of your stomach. It still hurt, and you couldn’t help but worry that maybe it was something to get checked out, but the pain in your ankles from standing all day was enough motivation to make it tomorrow's problem. 

The train arrived with a gush of wind and the gathering of passengers, and you looked up only to be filled with dread. You had completely forgotten that your shift ended in the middle of peak hour. The train was completely packed. There was barely enough room to squeeze inside, but you didn’t feel like waiting another ten minutes for the next train, and you already knew it’d be just as bad. With a deep sigh you force your way onto the train, a few people stepping inside to make room, but you still end up squished in a crowd of strangers. 

It’s wildly uncomfortable, and you try to put your hands over your belly to stop it from pressing directly into whoever is in front of you, but there’s not much you can do in this tin can of a train. It’s definitely a moment where you’d have taken full advantage of requesting a seat from someone, but you can’t even move where you’re currently standing, and none of the people around you seem particularly bothered in trying to rescue a seat in your honor.

So, instead you stand and wait, hoping your hour long train ride goes by quickly so you can go home already. You manage to make it to the next station, and then have to suffer slightly more as a few more people force their way onto the train. You’re squished up even closer than you were ever comfortable being, and the sudden sharp pain that rockets through your back and into your stomach is enough to make you jump. You try and stifle the groan of pain you feel as your stomach muscles tense harshly.

You try to give the skin a small rub as best you can in the small space you have. You just try to hold on for the next few stops, but the pain continues to grow worse, and it seems to be happening more frequently as well. Your face is already flushed and sweaty in the cramped space, and the constant cramping of your stomach is making you nauseous. You try to keep as composed as possible, but you feel like you might die any second now. You’re just counting each stop desperately as time ticks on. 

You feel like you’re dying, your stomach cramps like someone is twisting a knife in your gut and it takes all of your willpower to not openly sob. You bite on your lip hard enough to taste blood in your mouth and dig your nails into the palms of your hands as you feel the waves of pain crash over you as the train speeds along it's tracks. You don’t know what the people around you must think, you can only barely take in their faces in the short moments you blink your tear-filled eyes open to glance around the train carriage before another contraction hits. 

You’ve resigned yourself to knowing they are contractions now, unless you truly are dying, there is no other explanation for the level of pain you feel around your womb and the growing pressure against it. When the train slows to a stop at the next station, you blearily peak up to find you’re only halfway home, but you can feel so much pressure in your hips, you don’t know how far you’ll make it there. It’s barely moments later with the next contraction that the urge to bear down hits you so suddenly a choked little gasp escapes your throat that you try to stifle quickly. 

You can feel the muscles around your womb contracted tightly, making the hard mound of your belly somehow even harder as it implores you to push down. You don’t want to, you’re surrounded by strangers, pressed against your body at all angles. The train speeds on towards the next station, and you vaguely wonder if you should try to get off, to find help there instead of being trapped on this train instead. It sounds like the only option you have as the pain makes it harder to not give in to your body’s whims and you catch yourself spreading your legs before you even realise. 

Your knees give a little, and your face scrunches in a silent groan as your push with the contraction that squeezes you, and it's only after the contraction passes that you come to your sense and realise what you’re doing. You can’t help it though, and even though you try to stop yourself as another contraction begins, you find yourself once again straining silently, willing your baby lower with every push.

Suddenly, the train screeches to a stop, fast enough to jostle everyone around you, startling you enough out of your concentration and you begin to look around in confusion along with everyone else. The speaker crackles to life before a gruff voice drowned in static mutters, “Uhh, there appears to be an accident down the line, so we’re going to be stuck here for a little while until we get the okay to move again. Sit tight folks.”

There’s an audible groan throughout the train as people already uncomfortable and tired are told they’ll be stuck like that for longer. You feel a deep sense of dread sink deep into your stomach at the announcement. Your plan was very quickly thwarted before you even had the chance, and now you were stuck on a crowded train trying to pretend you weren’t in labor. A contraction hits you and you’re so distracted by your mind trying to process what the hell you were going to do now that you fail to stop yourself from letting out the loud moan that drowns out the quiet mumbling of annoyed passengers. This contraction feels somehow infinitely worse than the previous ones, and you squeeze your eyes shut and just breathe for several minutes as the pain grows steadily worse before finally ending.

You finally open your eyes, heavily panting as you look up to find several sets of eyes staring at you. You wince as you try to catch your breath, God, now everyone is staring at you and there’s nowhere to hide. You fidget uncomfortably where you stand, your hand roaming over your heavy stomach automatically as you try to act as normal as possible. Another pain hits you almost moments later, and your face screws up again as you suck in air and hold it waiting for the sharp stabbing in your back and stomach to stop. You’re already pushing before you realise it again, and you can feel your body working so hard to push the baby out.

You can practically feel everyone’s eyes still on you as you finally come down from the pain again, but this time there’s more concern than shock to be seen. A hand touches your shoulder and you hear someone ask ‘are you okay?’ and a few other things are mumbled in the crowd. You just try to breathe and nod, not wanting to draw anymore attention to yourself right now than you already had, but it seems your baby had other plans.

A few people yelp in shock, stepping back from you as far as they could in the crowded train when the sudden rush of warm amniotic fluid gushes through your pants. Your whole body shivers as the water gushes from your lips and soaks your thighs, trickling down your legs into a puddle on the floor. You’ve never felt so mortified in your whole life than standing in the middle of a crowd, damp with your own fluids and knowing your face is flushed and red. There’s shifting in the crowd as people start moving around, but you can only stand there breathing heavily and listening to more chatter in the crowds.

“What’s happening?” someone further back says loudly.

“Someone’s in labor!” another shouts back.

“Call an ambulance!” one more shouts.

You’re already in the middle of a contraction when you feel more hands on you, some patting your back gently, some holding your hands that you grip on instinct alone, but all you can do is tense up and groan as the pain takes you. It’s in the middle of that contraction as well, that you can feel something sitting heavy and low inside you, threatening to come out and begging your body to push desperately. You try to hold back the urge, too horrified that this is happening so suddenly, right here of all places, but your body is already giving into the urge. You start to push just barely beginning to feel the baby’s head shift lower when someone distracts you. 

“How long have you been in labor?” a voice asks.

“I don’t know…” You manage to croak out, labor pains still wracking your body.

“How close are your contractions?” it says again.

“I don’t know” You grit out again.

“Do you need to push?” the voice asks.

“Yes!” you cry, unable and unwilling to hold back as another contraction forces you to push down. You feel very suddenly as your lips twitch and swell as the baby’s head is forced through your cervix and begins to stretch you wide. Your mouth is hanging open in a silent sob as you crumple into the many arms supporting you right now. You keep pushing as you feel the baby’s head stretch you wider and wider as it keeps moving down, making your lips bulge as it parts them open and begins to slip through. 

Only it’s descent is quickly halted as your pants are still fastened tightly over your hips, you struggle to keep yourself from pushing as the baby’s head presses against the seat of your pants. Your breath shudders with your body as you try to stay calm, but you can feel the whole baby’s head right inside you, stretching you so wide. You can feel it in your hips, splitting you open and it’s making you lose grip on reality as the pain takes hold of you. You let out a broken sob as you desperately keep pushing, the baby still remaining trapped by your own pants. 

You no longer have the self control to speak or stop pushing, your body has taken over now and it seems impossible to stop pushing the baby forward with each sharp contraction that never seems to end. You begin to push again, groaning loudly and squeezing your eyes shut as you do, feeling your body force the baby out more only for it to press harder into the fabric of your pants, blocking it’s freedom. 

It finally seems someone noticed your predicament, quickly asking if they could take your pants off for you, to which you promptly yelled “Fuck, do it already!!” before screaming as you pushed again. You can feel that they fumble to remove your pants, hands nervously grasping for the closures and trying to unfasten them quickly as you squirm and wail and push. They finally unfasten them and then struggle to pull them down your wet thighs as the fabric sticks and pulls painfully as they get it around your knees. You’re still straining, the baby has more room to move with only the thin fabric of your underwear holding it back and you push until you feel the tight ring of your hole burn as the widest part of the baby’s head breeches you. You cry out, head thrown back against the shoulder of a stranger behind you as your knees bend and you fall deeper into the next push. 

Hands tug at your underwear swiftly and just in time for you to push the rest of the baby’s head out with an obscene moan as some relief washes over you. You feel someone's hands between your thighs, supporting the baby that is still coming out of you as you finally try to catch your breath a little, but it doesn't last long. You’re pushing again in moments, whining as you feel the shoulders jutting against your lips as they force them to spread wide again as the baby turns and it's first shoulder presents. You sucked on your bottom lip and moaned as you pushed, feeling the shoulders stretch you wide once more as they made their way out of you.

You only managed to push for so long before the contraction slipped away and you stopped to breath again. The baby still waiting half inside you, shoulders partially out as you tried to catch your breath once more before suddenly the contraction was picking up again. You cried out as it started, pushing down quickly in time with your body’s instincts to get the baby out of you as quickly as possible. Your head twists and your back arches as you finally feel the shoulders slip free. You can feel how close the baby is to being born now, and you take one final shuddering breath before squeezing down, finally feeling the baby’s body slide free of you and into waiting hands.

Your body goes completely limp in the arms of the strangers holding you, but suddenly you were overwhelmed with the sounds of a baby crying as the stranger in front of you brought your baby to lay against your chest. Your hands automatically came up to support it, it’s small body warm and wet as it squirmed against you. 

You held your baby close to your body, hearing a lot of talk around you and filling the air. You're pretty sure someone was calling an ambulance and notifying the train driver, but you were so exhausted at that stage you just let the many hands of strangers allow you to lean against them as you held your newborn to your body and watched them, still feeling the umbilical cord attaching you together. You can still feel dull cramps roll through your belly, but it’s all secondary now as you stare down at your child. 

Red and blue lights flash through the train window moments later, and there’s a sigh of relief through the carriage as paramedics make their way onto the train. You ease back and allow them to take care of you, too tired to do anything else.