Although she made an absurd request, Marcella herself was not in the space to realize it. She was in so much pain, most of it psychological as she learned that her husband was lagging in the counts.
She had hoped that he would win and it was a big blow for her psyche and the epidural couldn't give the relief she believed it would.
She thought she would faint but the gentle voice of her husband beside her kept her sanity. As the contractions got closer and it was time to have the baby, she thought she wouldn't hold on anymore.
She didn't have any concept of time by then. The counting probably was over. It was dark outside as she glanced at the window. She couldn't believe she was at it for almost a day, or it was hours, she didn't know. She didn't care to know.
Each second felt like an eternity and she felt like she was torn apart from the inside out. Oddly, bearing that ungodly pain, she didn't find the need to curse.
