Chapter 24
Chapter
Twenty-Four
Laird was sitting in the bus, half dozing and half listening to Nick go on about something he was making for the baby. He was taking this whole godfather thing very seriously.
When the phone rang, he grabbed it, surprised to see his dad’s name pop up.
“Hey, Pop, what’s up?”
“I don’t suppose you’ve gone to see Devon today?”
He frowned, shaking his head. “No, he’s at work. We’re supposed to meet for supper after my shift. He wanted pizza.”
“Well, I think you might ought to go check on him. I went to stop by, just to let him see the puppy and bring him a doughnut. He’s just about as gray as anything. He doesn’t look like he feels very good at all. You know he’s as big as a house. Maybe it’s time to start delegating? For both of you?”
“You think so?”
“Son? I did call you because I was worried. I have your dog, by the way.” Dad had been a trouper about the puppy. He had been doing potty training whenever they were at work.
Personally, Laird thought Dad was just practicing having another grandbaby.
Maybe it was just because D’Artagnan was the cutest damn puppy in the history of cute damn puppies.
“Okay, sure. We’re at a standstill right now. Nick and I will swing by and see him.” Didn’t really matter where in town they parked the bus. They could be anywhere in about five to ten.
“Thanks. Listen, I’m not trying to be a worrywart or one of those nosy parents. It’s just that he’s family now and—”
His phone started to ring again, and this time it was Raven.
“Dad, I’ve got to let you go. It’s Raven.” He didn’t stop to say goodbye. “Hey, what’s up?”
“All right, we have pretty high blood pressure, and I’m just not tickled with how he’s looking, so I’m going to send him home.
I don’t think he has to be on bed rest, but he does need to be off work and off his feet as much as possible and relaxing.
If it continues this way, he’s gonna end up in the hospital. ”
“Oh, that would break his heart.” Devon wanted Raven to deliver their son. “We don’t want that.”
“Oh God, no.”
“I’ll be right there.” He nodded to Nick. “You heard that?”
“I heard that. We’re on our way.” Nick didn’t use the siren because neither one of them wanted to upset Devon.
They arrived, and he hopped out of the bus to jog up to the front of the birthing center.
Naomi was wandering through, and she nodded when she saw him. “He’s in his office. I think we’re on family leave now.”
“On it. Got it.” He headed straight to his husband, finding Devon at his desk, phone in front of him, tears streaking down his cheeks. “Hey, babe.”
“Laird? I was about to call you. Raven says I need to start my leave. I—Can you please take me home?”
“Of course, baby. You mind riding in the bus? That’s what we’re in.
” He dropped a kiss on Devon’s head. Technically, he shouldn’t be transporting anyone on the ambulance who wasn’t going to a medical facility, but they had no calls, so it would take maybe three minutes to get Devon home, and then his dad could come over with D’Artagnan and sit with Devon for a bit.
He’d need to call Dad back, in fact.
They got hugs from Raven and Naomi, and promises to come see Devon on their downtime.
“Hey,” Nick said when they came out to head home. “How you feeling, Dev?”
“Like my head might just blow.” Devon chuckled. “Blood pressure spike. I just need to put my feet up.”
“Aw, man, that sucks, my dude.” Nick helped him get Devon up in the back of the bus. They settled him on the bench seat, leaving the gurney sterile, and Nick moved up to drive while Laird sat next to Devon, grabbing his hand.
“You okay, baby?” He didn’t like the look of Devon’s skin. It was just kind of pale and a little sweaty.
“I’m okay. I’m mostly just embarrassed that I didn’t listen to my body and stay home today, but I really wanted to see Marissa one last time before Raven took over her appointments.” Devon squeezed his hand and then leaned against him, taking strength from him, he hoped.
“I’m so proud of you, baby.” He raised Devon’s hand and kissed it. “I think you are amazing, but this is good timing for your family leave. How is Marissa, anyway?”
He knew he had to keep Devon from sinking down into his own thoughts, because if he let his husband do that, he could get into a weird headspace. Not that Laird didn’t understand. He was something of a workaholic himself.
“She’s okay. She’s having a little bit of the same problem I am, because she’s got a little bit of high blood pressure, and her feet are a little swollen. But really, I think she’s doing great.”
“That’s awesome. I know she was worried because she had such a hard time with her first one.
” He might not know all of Devon’s patients personally, but he felt like he knew them because he listened to their woes and their happy moments when Devon told him about them when he came home.
Then again, he’d met quite a few of those patients because he’d been in and out of a birth center, and Secret Springs was a small town.
“Yeah.” Devon leaned against him. “It’ll be okay. I’m just a little emotional and tired.” Devon shrugged, the look purely exhausted. “You know, I tell all of my clients they shouldn’t be embarrassed or angry if they have a cesarean, but I really want Raven to deliver Cameron.”
“One way or the other, it’s going to be exactly what it needs to be.” Maybe that was a non-answer, but it seemed like it would be the best option.
“Spoken like a true first responder. Don’t panic the pregnant person with high blood pressure.”
Laird chuckled softly. “Now once we get you home and settled with your feet up, I’ll panic you all you’d like. Dad said he’s gonna come and see you and bring D’Artagnan home.”
“Oh, I miss him.” Devon sniffled, and man, those hormones were swinging wildly.
They heard the call come in when they were about halfway home. Dispatch crackled right to life on the radio.
“110 Secret Springs, 65-2, please respond to 204 Maple Avenue, Secret Springs, for a pregnant female with severe abdominal pain, dizziness and nausea, and vaginal bleeding.”
“Oh my God. That’s Marissa! I just saw her.” Devon clutched his arm.
“Should we drop Devon off first?” Nick asked.
Devon shook his head. “No way. She’s my patient.”
Laird was torn. The birth center was on one side of the bridge, and Maple was on the other…
“Go. If we have to, we leave Devon at Tim and Lukas’s house. Same street.”
“65-2 responding. We’re on our way.”
Devon grabbed his phone.
“What are you doing?”
“My job. Raven, it’s me. Marissa is having an event. I need you to get her files to the hospital. I’m actually still in the ambulance. We didn’t make it home. I’m fine. But get that stuff to the hospital and let them know we’re going to be on our way. Okay.”
Devon listened, then shook his head. “No, she’s close enough. If we have to, I can deliver the baby in the bus, as long as they can stop the bleeding, we’ll be good. That little girl is just ready. I hope. Yeah, I love you too. Bye.”
He hung up and looked at Laird. “He’s going to be sending her files. Did somebody… I’m sure they’ll contact her wife.”
Laird offered Devon a quick smile. “You’re something special, baby.”
“I’m an accoucheur. That’s what I do, and I have ambulance clearance if it’s one of my patients.”
“Hallelujah,” Nick called. “Hang on.”
“We’re hanging, buddy.” Laird would not allow his husband to get tossed around in the bus. Period.
“Okay, let’s do this thing.” Devon was preternaturally calm along the way, eyes closed, hands on his belly.
“You okay, baby?” It might be wigging Laird out, just a little bit.
Devon nodded. “Meditating. No high blood pressure. High blood pressure leads to events, and we’re not having an event with this baby.
We’re going to deliver Marissa’s child, and then we’re going to go home.
You’re going to get off work. We’re going to sit on the couch with the dog and the cats. You’re going to order pizza.”
Laird loved it when Devon told him what he needed. “You got it.”
“Can I come too?” Nick called from the driver’s seat.
“Of course you can. Unless you can’t get off work, in which case then you have to wait until you’re off work, and then you’re welcome.”
“Fair enough.”
They whipped through town, lights and siren going, and they pulled up at Marissa’s in about three minutes. Not a lot of traffic in Secret Springs normally.
An older lady met them at the door, her expression worried. “I was next door with the windows open, and I heard her cry out, so I came over to make sure she was all right. That’s when I found her.”
“I’ll go to her; you get what you need.” Devon pushed right in without the slightest hesitation.
Laird nodded to Nick, and then followed Devon in to a clean, homey little condo, where a hugely pregnant, swollen woman was leaning against the arm of the sofa.
“Well, didn’t I just see you?” Marissa looked up, tears streaking her face. “Devon? Do you make house calls?”
“I do for you, honey. Let’s look at everything, huh? See how we’re doing.”
She nodded, even as she convulsed, curling over her belly. “I don’t feel so good. It hurts.”
“I’m sorry, lady. Let me see what I can do.” Devon glanced at him. “Can you lean her back a little bit on the sofa so I can see?”
There was a good amount of blood, but it didn’t look arterial, so Laird felt a little bit more confident at least.
Devon lifted her tunic, and then winced. “Well, I don’t know that we’re going to have time to get to the hospital. In fact, we have a head. Can someone get me some towels or clean sheets?”
“Nick! Grab me some sheets and chucks from the bus, man.”
“On it.”
“Is she okay?”
“As far as I can tell.” Devon eased himself down on the coffee table, then he met Laird’s eyes. “Let’s do this thing. We’re fixing to have a baby.”