It took several more minutes of hard pushing and trying not to pass out, but just as Ivy felt like she was about to give up, there was a sudden give, another small splash for fluids, and a piercing wale from right in front of her. Her eyes snapped open, and she craned her neck to peek above her now deformed stomach to see a teary-eyed Bailey and a little puppy in his arms, squirming and crying with life.

"Ivy.." he said in a choked voice, his tail wagging behind him. "H-He's here...you did it!" Hearing those words, "Here's here." It was enough to send a wave of emotion through Ivy, and she struggled to sit up. "L-Lemme see him," she said, tears flowing freely and her voice a blubbery stutter as she got the towel out from beneath her.

After everything settled, with the placenta out, the cord cut, and the baby wrapped up and given his first meal, the two continued the drive to the hospital, no longer in a panic. Ivy stared down at the little pup swaddled in her arms, who had quieted down and was letting out soft whines as he snuggled up to his mother. A warm smile creeped up on her muzzle, and she gently stroked the damp fur in his cheek.

Little Mason Lambert.