Gift of Sound

When school finally ended that day, Andy used the gazelle legs the guys were always teasing him about to get out of the room and to the junior parking lot before the halls got really crowded. He even beat Jake out there, who was gonna help Jinxx get his mother, Sammi, and the kids to his and Sammi’s apartment while CC was taking him to the hospital to be with his sweetheart.

He’d been texting Ash periodically since finding out he was in labor and had been kept up to date. So far his contractions were eight minutes apart, so they were closer than before, and he was four centimeters dilated and fifty percent effaced, according to Dr. Hicks. Their daughter was doing just fine, although apparently she was giving her “mommy” Hell for his cries of pain, which he couldn’t hold back, even if he’d wanted to, and because of the fact that her “daddy” wasn’t there. He couldn’t help but smile at the thought that their daughter was likely to be a troublemaker as she aged, but at least she’d have a spirited personality.

Upon arriving at his house with Jake, Andy ran inside to say hi to his mother, grab a change of clothes for himself since he wasn’t planning on leaving that night, and grab CC. He was anxious to get to the hospital and felt guilty since he should’ve been there hours ago; Hell, he should’ve been the one to take his sweetheart there in the first place. Unfortunately, the Hell known as high school had gotten in the way of that, but at least he was going now that he’d been released from the torture chamber.

“You heard from Ash since he got there?” CC asked, backing his car out of the Biersacks’ driveway.

“Yeah, I’ve been texting him periodically,” he answered, tapping his fingers on his thigh. “Unless things have changed, his contractions are eight minutes apart, and he’s four centimeters dilated and fifty percent effaced.”

“So he’s still got a while to go, huh?” the drummer asked, smiling.

“Oh, yeah. Unless his labor suddenly gets a rocket booster, it’s gonna be a while,” Andy confirmed, still anxious.

“Dude, crack the window and light up,” he told him. It was a known fact that CC hated people smoking in his car, but he was willing to be nice this time. “You need to calm yourself down before you see him.”

“Thanks, Ceece. I know you hate people smoking in your car,” he said, lighting a cigarette before cracking the window.

“Only because I don’t know how it’ll effect Casey’s health, and you know she’s in here quite often,” he told him. “But I know you need it right now and likely won’t be able to smoke once we get on hospital grounds. But seriously, you need to calm down. We don’t need you passing out from a panic attack while he’s in labor or, all deities forbid, actually delivering.”

“What do you think I’ve been trying to do since he told me his water broke?”

“Well, calm down isn’t the first thing to come to mind.”

“And how would you feel if the love of your life told you their water broke and couldn’t get in touch with a friend to take them to the hospital?” He exhaled a drag as he spoke.

“Worried about them and the baby, and anxious that the big day had finally arrived,” CC answered.

“All right then. That’s why I’m so wound up right now,” Andy told him. “That, and I feel guilty since I should’ve been the one to take him to the hospital in the first place.”

“Yeah, sorry about not getting in touch with either of you before he had to drive himself.” The drummer looked sheepish. “I was driving, and you know I don’t mess with my phone while I’m driving.”

“It’s okay, Ceece. Don’t beat yourself up about it.”

“I still feel bad that Ash had to drive himself to the hospital while in labor because I didn’t answer.”

“Again, it’s fine. We’d both rather you not mess with your phone while you’re driving. Besides, he took it slow and got there in one piece. That’s all that matters.”

Nodding, his friend turned his attention back to the road, effectively leaving him alone with his thoughts as he finished a second cigarette. It wasn’t long afterward before they arrived at the hospital, and thankfully, it wasn’t hard for CC to find where Ash’d parked their ’68 Shelby Mustang. Before going into the hospital, Andy paused long enough to check that the doors were locked, thankful that they were, and that he hadn’t dropped the keys on the floorboard and accidentally locked them in it. Thankfully, the keys were nowhere in sight, so he figured that he must have them in his bag or pocket.

Assured that their car was locked up and safe in the parking lot, he grabbed the gym bag he’d thrown his change of clothes, shampoo, and body wash into, then headed off toward the hospital. CC was hot on his heels, also worried about how his sweetheart and their daughter was doing. Like Andy, he felt guilty for being unable to help him during his time of need and, if nothing else, felt the need to apologize for it.

When they got up to the maternity ward, the nurse sitting behind the nurse’s station gave them both nasty looks for showing up in all black, wearing makeup, and letting their hair make them look like they’d been electrocuted. She had a bit of a pissy tone to her voice when she asked how she could help them, and although he wondered who’d pissed in her cornflakes that morning, he back-burnered that thought as he asked to see his sweetheart. She quickly looked up Ash’s room number and told them they could go on back, that he was being attended by a nurse named Sierra, which made him feel even better. Andy and CC both thanked her and headed down the hall, quickly but quietly looking for his room number.

He hoped and prayed with every fiber of his being that everything would continue to go smoothly, and that he wouldn’t need a C-section to deliver. He wouldn’t forgive himself if something happened to either one of them if he could prevent it, especially if it was because he hadn’t been there the second he went into labor this morning. With a deep, calming breath, he put those worries aside as he knocked on his sweetheart’s door when they found it, pausing for a moment until he told them to come in.


Yet another contraction was ending as Ash heard a knock at the door to the room he’d been put in shortly after Trooper Kovac effectively dropped him off. He called out for whoever it was to enter since he could actually speak, somewhat lost in the back rub Sierra was giving him and the racing beat of his daughter’s heart that he could hear through the monitor. He was standing by the edge of the bed, leaning over on it so he rested on his forearms, as that was the most comfortable position he’d found since going into labor, and the easiest for the short nurse to rub his back in.

“Hey, babe. How’re ya feeling?” He’d recognize that basement-deep voice he loved as much as its owner anywhere.

“All right, all things considered,” he panted, lowering his head again after looking up for a quick kiss. “I think she’s trying to break my ribs because of me screaming.”

“Surely that little princess can’t kick that hard,” Andy chuckled, moving behind him to take over the back rub, which earned a sigh of relief from Sierra.

“She’s stronger than you’d think,” he told him, groaning in relief. “Godsmack, this fucking hurts.”

“Have you thought about an epidural, mio deviante?” he asked.

“Even if I had, they said I’m not dilated enough for one,” Ash answered. “I have to be at least five centimeters for that.”

“So are you gonna get one when you reach that point?”

“I might. Depends on how bad the pain is.”

“Well, do whatever you feel like you need to do. You know I hate seeing you in pain.”

“I know that. But I’ve heard that getting an epidural can slow labor down, and I’d rather just go ahead and get it over with, even if it means I’m in agony the entire time.”

Before Andy could say anything in response, he groaned as his entire body stiffened with the next contraction. It’d only been five minutes since the last one, so he knew his labor was moving pretty fast. Hell, it’d only been about three or four hours since his water broke and the contractions were fifteen minutes apart; now they were five, and the pain was much worse than before.

His sweetheart continued rubbing his back, paying no attention to his rear brushing up against his crotch and rubbing back and forth as his shifted his weight from one foot to the other as he breathed. Moments later, he felt a hand grab hold of his, and he raised his head enough to see CC standing on the other side of the bed, bent down so that his weight rested on his forearms, as well, so that they were at face level. He grabbed his hand and squeezed with enough force that he heard something crack or pop, but was in so much pain that he wasn’t sure whose hand it’d come from.

When the contraction ended, he allowed his body to relax as much as it could, only to be told by Sierra that he needed to climb back on the bed so she could check him. This was the one part of labor so far that he despised worse than the pain since he couldn’t stand for anyone’s finger except Andy’s to prod him like that. She apologized once again and lubed up the latex glove she’d put on, sitting on the edge of the bed as he pressed his feet together and drew them up as close to his hips as he possibly could.

Ash gasped loudly as she gently pushed her finger against his opening, which seemed to be more elastic than it’d ever been before, so she could check him. After a moment of prodding, she managed to get a second finger in without hurting him and felt around, then removed her hand. She told him that he’d moved up to six centimeters and was seventy percent effaced, which was apparently a good thing. He sighed as he thought that maybe he wouldn’t be in labor as long as he’d previously thought before their daughter could be welcomed into the world. Once she’d moved and given him permission to, he had his sweetheart and friend help him out of the bed so he could resume his previous position by it.

“Seems to me like your labor’s moving a helluva lot faster than we thought it would,” Andy chuckled, continuing to rub his back as he bent over the bed.

“Yeah, it definitely seems so,” he agreed, breathing deeply as another contraction started.

“Just breathe, Ash,” CC said softly, once again grabbing his hand.

They both knew that Andy wanted to be the one holding his hand, but nobody gave better massages than he did, something else they knew, so they were okay with the drummer taking over that role.

“It fucking…hurts!” he cried, grinding his teeth in pain.

“Oh, I don’t doubt it,” their friend chuckled. “Miscarriages aren’t anything to play around with, either.”

“Wouldn’t…know,” he ground out as the contraction started to ebb.

“Well, if you recall the time I told you my dad raped and impregnated me…” he started.

“Yeah, we both remember,” Andy said, speaking for them both.

“It wasn’t long after I found out I was pregnant with my own brother or sister that I had a miscarriage. It was so painful that I don’t know how I walked to school and back, on top of walking around campus all day, without blacking out,” CC told them. “From the looks of it, that pain was nearly as bad as what Ash’s going through right now.”

“Wait, who are you again?” Sierra piped up, having been listening to their conversation.

“Their friend, Christian Mora,” CC answered. “Everybody knows me as CC because of a nickname I got back during freshman year.”

“You said you once had a miscarriage because of your father raping and impregnating you, correct?” she asked.

“Yeah. It’s not something I’m proud of by any means.” He hissed softly as Ash gripped his hand in a vice-like grip again.

“I’m assuming you have the same…condition…as Ashley?”

“Yeah, I do.”

She looked thoughtful.

“Andy’s mom made an off-handed comment about wishing she could have grandkids when they told everybody about their relationship, which caused him to have a panic attack. Having the same ‘condition’, as you called it, I figured out what was wrong first and had to explain things to the rest of the guys that make up our little biker gang,” CC explained.

“All right, that makes sense then. It’s just very rare for a male to be born with both sets of reproductive organs, and so far, Ashley’s case is the only one I’ve heard of in Ohio,” she told him.

“Most guys won’t know it unless given a reason to find out, like I was,” he said. “I mean, yeah, random bleeding is strange, but I’d have thought it was from some kind of gastrointestinal cancer before I would’ve thought I was literally having a man-period, so to speak.”

“Touché, Mr. Mora.”

Things really seemed to pick up speed at that point, and Sierra left the room to go find Dr. Hicks from wherever he’d disappeared to before Andy’s and CC’s arrival. They were left there to comfort him as he labored, his cries almost deafening, even with his face buried in a pillow. It’d only been an hour or so since they’d arrived and he’d already gotten to seven centimeters, as well as a hundred percent effacement. As long as he kept dilating as quickly as he was, it wouldn’t be long before they got to meet their daughter.

By the time Sierra returned with Dr. Hicks, Andy was pressing himself against his sweetheart’s back side as he fought off the urge to push with every contraction that hit. The contractions were only a minute or so apart now, so that urge came quite frequently, but without either of the medical professionals in there to tell them what to do, he’d had to improvise.

Dr. Hicks had him step around to the other side of the bed, as they’d already planned on him delivering this way when they told him that he seemed looser when more or less face-down like he was. He immediately grabbed his sweetheart’s other hand, something that Ash was eternally grateful for, and started whispering to him in Italian to calm him down a bit. Once he was properly covered, the perinatologist gave him the green light to push so they could see if he’d even be able to deliver naturally. He took a deep breath, scrunched his eyes shut, and ducked his head down to his chest as he bore down.

It took a couple of pushes before any results were reaped, but soon enough, the doctor was telling them that he could see the baby’s head beginning to crown. Sierra immediately began prepping the warming table across from the foot of the bed and handed Dr. Hicks a blanket to wrap the baby in as soon as she was delivered. Ash took another deep breath and pushed with the contraction he was in the middle of, his hands gripping those of his lover and friend so tight that theirs were turning blue, hoping she was born soon. He was sick and tired of being in pain, and he was so close to his figurative finish line that he just wanted to get it over with so that he and Andy could meet their baby.

“All right, Ashley, stop pushing for a minute,” Dr. Hicks said. “I need to check for a cord so we know it’s not wrapped around her neck.”

Ash groaned in pain, feeling as if his ass was on fire from how much it was stretching.

“No cord, good. Go ahead and give me a gentle push,” the doctor said. “Don’t bear down too hard; we don’t want you ripping as her shoulders emerge.”

He tried not to bear down quite as hard as he had been, as he’d been instructed, but it was hard.

“Good job, mio deviante. You’re doing so good,” Andy said softly, a soothing tone to his voice.

“Fuck!” he cried, letting out the breath he’d been holding. “It fuckin’ hurts! Andy, you shit-sucking rotten son of a still-fucking whore!”

“She’s out to her waist now,” the doctor announced, supporting the baby’s torso with his hands.

“One or two more pushes and you’ll be a mama, Ash,” CC said quietly. He had a loving tone to his voice as he spoke to his friend.

“Argh!” he groaned, bearing down again.

“And she’s out!” Dr. Hicks put the baby in Sierra’s blanket-covered arms, then moved to suction her nose and mouth so she could breathe. “She’s definitely a little girl, guys. Congratulations.”

Although Andy thanked him, Ash held his breath until he heard the one thing all new parents wanted to hear: his baby’s first loud scream as she took her first breath.

“You wanna cut the cord, Daddy?” the doctor asked, looking at Andy.

“Sure,” he answered. He let go of his sweetheart’s hand and walked around the bed.

While Andy cut their daughter’s cord, he felt several more contractions, although they weren’t nearly as intense or painful as the ones he’d suffered from for the last few hours. CC continued holding his hand as the doctor made him stand still for the delivery of the placenta, and his lover walked back around to kiss his forehead. He held his other hand as he’d been doing before, his attention turned to the warming table, where Sierra was assessing their daughter’s health. They could still hear her screaming at the top of her lungs, which was a good sign, as far as they were concerned.

Once the placenta had been delivered and disposed of, Dr. Hicks ripped off the gown, gloves, and mask he’d been using and threw them away. It took the three men in the room to help the now-weak Ash into the bed, where he could finally relax for the first time since before he went into labor. His sweetheart helped him get a pair of boxers on, then out of the gown, which was how he was most comfortable.

As the doctor told them he’d be back to check on them in a few hours and bid them adieu, the nurse walked over with a little pink bundle in her arms. He knew his eyes lit up in joy as he laid eyes on his precious daughter, as well as that tears welled up in them as the nurse he considered a friend gently placed her in his arms. He let those tears fall when he realized how much like his lover she looked, although she had his tan skin and chocolate-brown eyes, reveling in her newborn beauty.

“She’s beautiful, Ashes,” Andy whispered, gently kissing his temple as he sat on the edge of the bed beside them. “You did so good. I’m so proud of you.”

“She looks like a little feminine replica of you,” he returned softly, turning his head for a kiss.

“Have you guys thought about names yet?” Sierra asked softly, standing on the other side of the bed with a clipboard. They knew it had their daughter’s birth certificate on it.

“Yeah, we have,” Ash answered, too weak to speak now. He just glanced at his sweetheart, who knew the agreed-upon name.

“Auroralyn Maci-Ashley Biersack,” he told her, spelling out the baby’s surname letter-by-letter.

“That’s such a beautiful name,” she said, smiling as she wrote it down.

“So what are you guys gonna use as a nickname?” CC asked curiously.

“Probably Rori or Maci,” Andy answered. “I mean, they’re both pretty good nicknames.”

“I think Rori suits her,” Ash said softly as Sierra left the room. “Maci’s a bit too feminine.”

“Yeah, and I think she’s gonna be a troublemaking-badass as she grows up.”

“You just remember, Rori, that whether what Uncle CC says is true or not, Mommy and Daddy will always love you,” his lover said, gently kissing her head. “Absolutely nothing will stop that.”

Grinning at his lover’s sincere words, he gently pressed their lips together, and couldn’t help but think that his life couldn’t possibly get any better than it was at this moment. He had the love of his life by his side, his beautiful, perfectly healthy daughter in his arms, and his health was still intact. Yeah, he’d known pain and sorrow in the past, but now was all about the future, and the love and happiness it brought with it.

Notes