Chapter 10: Birthing Season

As summer wore on, Lena started to show, her belly starting to expand and make its presence known. She switched away from her two piece bathing suits to a different two piece one with a loose and flowing cover that hung down from her top, that always seemed to have a hard time containing her ever growing breasts.

As fall arrived and the impending arrival of the birthing season, Lena started to meet with her doctors about her delivery plans. She was taking her mother to the appointments and when they started to talk about how it is going to happen, she decided to have a home birth with Helen as her midwife.

The doctors were happy about that and fully supported her decision. Helen was happy to assist and when Kara was asked to be there as well, she couldn’t say no.

A few days before her impending delivery date, Kara got a small package in the mail.

“Dear Kara,

This is a microcamera that I would love for you to wear when Lena delivers her baby. Attach it to your shirt like a pendant and it will record everything. We are also going to send over some cameras that will arrive at Lena’s home before you all arrive for her delivery. You will never notice them and they shouldn’t be intrusive during this special time.

Your Friend,

Dr Grimling”

She read the letting several times amazed that he was able to write it so clearly and even get into the mail like he did. Incredible, she thought.

She picked up the pendant and held it in front of her face and looked it over. A small red light blinked several times at her as she was holding it. She just smiled and waved at the camera, then put it back in the box to wait until Lena delivered.

Dr Grimling sat in his control chair and watched the feed from the pendant camera. When the box was opened, it started up and switched from what he was doing to it. He watched Kara’s ceiling while she read the letter then watched her hold the camera as it moved around in her hands. When she smiled at it, waved at it, and then put it back in the box, Dr Grimling was overjoyed. She was going to do it and he was thrilled.

This series had taken far longer than he had expected so now that he was getting to see one of his subjects finish the circle of life, he had his closing and the series could come to an end on this planet. He was going to suggest adding them to the alliance this people was part of just because they are so honest and open. They seemed to be willing to believe that life on other planets exists, who why not have them join their alliance?

Dr Grimling and his team had spent the rather dull summer investigating other parts of the planet, filming from the deep sea as well as from the polar regions of the planet.

What he found out there was fascinating. There was life even in the deepest parts of the ocean, but it was not people he found, but animals that had adapted to the crushing pressures of the deep. He didn’t find people in the polar regions either even though her people could easily build structures that would survive the cold temps, there were no people there.

Kara’s people remained in the lower temperate zones with only a few communities above that. Those that did choose to live further north or south had built buildings for the mating season. Large communal buildings were built for the mating season since it would be too cold to be outside even in the spring.

Birthing season arrived and so did the busy season for Helen. She had been hired by many women of the community since she was available, several other midwives had conceived last season and were unavailable for this birthing season.

“Kara, wake up honey, Lena has gone into labor. We have to go!” Helen said, shaking her daughter from her slumber.

“Wha?” she said, sleepily.

“Get up, we have to go. Lena has gone into labor.”

“OH SHIT!” Kara said, then jumped up from her bed, ran to the relief room, then back to her bedroom to throw on some clothing and run out the door with her mother.

Helen drove quickly to Lena’s house and the two were quickly let into the house. Helen was carrying her doula bag and found Lena breathing hard while walking around the house. She had on a loose fitting dress while holding her belly.

“Lena!” Kara cried and rushed to hug her friend. They both bounced with joy at the impending birth, until a contraction hit Lena and she froze and started to pant as the pain of birth passed through her young body.

“NNNNNNN.” she groaned, teeth gritted tightly closed, groaning through the pain.

Kara hugged her friend, supporting her as she breathed heavily. “You’re doing so good Lena. You can do this.” Kara said to her, her arms around her friend, supporting her.

When the contraction ended, Helen moved Lena to the big resting bench and had her open her legs so that her progress could be checked.

Helen puts on gloves and slides a finger into Lena’s vagina to inspect her progress. “Oh Lena, you are doing great. I have you about 3miks right now. You need to get to 10 before we can deliver this little bundle of joy.” Helen said, taking the glove off and throwing it away.

“So what do I need to do now?” she asked.

“Just what you were doing when we arrived. Get up, walk around, have some of these bars that Kara and I made for you. They will keep up your energy so that you don’t get tired and worn out.” Helen said, moving to her doula bag and pulled out a long plastic box and took the lid off. Inside were narrow protein bars, made with honey, chopped nuts, oats and dried fruit all formed into the bar and nibbled on to keep up a woman’s energy while she labored.

“Hmm, these are good.” Lena said, nibbling at the bar.

“Ya, mom and I made them for you.” Kara said happily. “I added extra honey since I know you have a sweet tooth.” Kara said, picking up one and taking a bite of it as the two girls giggled and laughed between contractions.

As the day wore on, Helen had another woman go into labor. “OH yes, I know you did, but I’m with another woman right now ... yes I know ... Then why don’t you come over here and you can join the birthing party ... Good, here is the address.” Helen said, reading off Lena’s address and then helping Lena’s mom get some more towels and plastic sheets out for Lena and another woman who was coming over to have Helen deliver her baby.

Kara was with Lena as they walked around her house letting her body naturally progress through labor.

The other woman who hired Helen to help her with delivery arrived, also dressed in a loose fitting dress and was shown to the living room where everything had been set up for them both.

“Mrs holt. Welcome to our birthing party.” Helen said, greeting the woman with a hug.

“Oh Helen. I was so worried I was going to do this with my husband only. Thank you for letting us come over.” Mara Holt said as she and her husband came into the house.

“Mara, this is not my house, this is Iris Wren’s house. Iris, this is Mara Holt, one of my clients and I thank you for letting her come over as well.”

Mara and Iris hug in greeting then Mara has a contraction and her husband moves quickly to hold her while she breathes heavily through it.

Helen moves Mara to the padded seating bench and puts on a glove to check her progress. “Well Mara, you are there. It is time to push this baby out.” Helen announced.

“Let’s do this honey.” Mara’s husband said, encouraging her.

He moved to sit on the padded bench, then Mara took her dress off and moved to kneel in front of him. She rested her arms against his chest while he held her and rubbed her back. He was whispering gentle words of encouragement to her while Helen moved behind Mara with a drape over her lap as well as gloves on her hands and moved behind Mara.

Mara bore down during the next contraction and Helen saw the baby move into her pelvis opening up her vagina and showing the baby’s head.

“One more Mara. Your baby is just right there.”

Mara bore down, once more, and groaned as she pushed with all her might.

“Here he comes, Mara.” Helen announced, as the baby slid out of Mara and right into the hands of Helen who held the precious baby in her hands before cleaning out his little mouth and nose. “Oh Mara, the baby is beautiful. A little boy this time!!” Helen announced.

Mara was crying, her husband was crying tears of joy, then she pushed again and expelled the afterbirth. The cord was cut, and the baby was wrapped in a cloth as Mara was moved to sit down and hold her baby.

Kara and Lena had stood by and watched Mara deliver her baby. Kara was amazed by it and Lena felt so much better about giving birth. She had been worried about it, but when she saw Mara do it, she felt 100 times better about it.

Mara, her baby and husband all relaxed on the sitting bench marveling at the baby that she delivered. It was healthy, pink and simply perfect.

Lena groaned as another contraction hit her and Helen brought her over to the seating so that she could be checked again.

Helen reached in and found that Lena was now fully ready to deliver her baby.

“Kara honey, Lena is ready. You know what to do.” Helen said to her daughter, who quickly moved to sit down, help Lena off with her dress, then hold her while knelt in front of her. Kara wrapped her arms around her friend and spoke gentle words of encouragement as her mom sat behind her with another clean drape over her lap and fresh gloves on her hands.

“Ok Lena, when the next contraction hits, push like you’re trying to poop.” Helen said.

Lena buried her head in Kara’s chest, and breathed, trying to relax, until the next contraction hit and then she bore down and pushed. Kara and Helen both counted as Lena pushed. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and relax and breathe, Helen instructed her young patient. She counted again to five, and by the time she had done this three times, her baby slid out of her body and into the hands of Helen. She cleaned the baby’s face off and made sure that it was breathing on its own. She then helped the afterbirth to pass, and wrapped the baby up and handed it to Lena. Lena’s mom and dad were right there for the whole thing and were crying happy tears as their first grandbaby was handed to them.

Lena relaxed and recovered right next to Mara who was feeding her baby at her breast. As Lena recovered, tears falling freely from her eyes, she held her baby to her breast and the little boy nursed her breast.

Helen double checked her patients after a while and when she saw them recovering normally, she packed up her things and got ready to leave.

“You coming Kara?” Helen asked her daughter.

“No mom. I’m going to hang here for a while longer. Mr Wren can take me home.” Kara said, still holding her best friend as they both relaxed on the padded seating bench. Lena was nursing her baby while partially sleeping on Kara.

Just as Helen was getting in her car, her phone rang. “Hello ... Yes Mr Kitt ... she is? ... good. I’ll be right over... 15 minutes until I arrive ... That far apart? Well I had better hurry.” Helen said, then started her vehicle and drove quickly to Mrs Kitt’s house and helped Mrs Kitt deliver her little girl.

Dr. Grimling sat in his chair before the big screen, watching the video replay unfold. He observed the woman’s body positioning during delivery, the ease with which the baby emerged, and the communal presence surrounding the birth. It was surreal. When his own mate had given birth, she’d been with a midwife alone, while he waited in another room. But with Kara’s people, it was entirely different—everyone was there. The mother, a close friend or mate, the midwife, her own parents, even a stranger laboring nearby to bring her own child into the world. This level of openness and communal involvement, from conception through birth, left him astonished.

Dr. Grimling leaned back heavily, rubbing his chin as he collected his thoughts. After a moment, he signaled to wrap up the recording and began preparations to lead his team off the planet, still absorbing the depth of this society’s approach to life and reproduction.

Dr Grimling pulled out paper and pen and wrote a note to Kara and Kyle and even included a small device to charge the battery for the pendant camera.

Dear Kara and Kyle,

As my time here draws to a close, I wanted to leave you with a few parting thoughts. Observing your people has been one of the most profound experiences of my life, and I leave with immense respect for the strength of your bonds and the openness you show one another. Hold tight to these connections, for they are the heart of your community and the source of your resilience.

Remember to always stay curious. The world is full of mysteries waiting to be discovered, and I have no doubt that each of you has the heart and mind to uncover them. Seek knowledge wherever you go, and never shy away from asking questions, even when the answers seem just out of reach.

In every society, there’s a delicate balance between honoring the past and embracing the future. As you both continue to grow, I encourage you to cherish your traditions and the wisdom of your elders while also keeping an open heart and mind for new ideas and change.

Know that I believe in you and your potential to shape a bright future. My time here has been a reminder of the power of connection and the beauty of a life lived in harmony with others. Thank you for letting me be a part of it.

Warmly,
Dr. Kaelon Grimling

P.S. I am including a charger for the pendant, along with a satellite in orbit that will record whenever the pendant is active. This way, I’ll be able to keep an eye on your progress. I hope to see you again in a few years, and I hope by then you’ll have a big, healthy family.

Epilogue

Static

The picture shifts around randomly, then Kara’s face shows up in the picture.

“Dr Grimling. I hope that this works and that you see this video. I am very thankful that Kyle, Lake and I got to meet you. I would like to meet you again before I die, but based upon how time and space travel works, I may not. So, I am sending this out to you in hopes that it finds you well.” Kara said, looking into the camera she had mounted on her dressing table, doing a VLOG for her friend.