CHAPTER TEN
"Jessa?" Lily scrambled to get off the bed and around to the other side so she could see her sister's face. "What's wrong?"
Jessa panted for a few seconds before managing to say, "That one took my breath away."
Lily laid her hand on Jessa's stomach and felt the hardness there. It didn't ease away like the last one she'd felt. Her gaze met Jessa's, and she could see the fear there. "This is different."
Jessa nodded. "And I think my water just broke."
Lily jumped to her feet. "I'll be right back."
Yesterday Cami had stayed to make sure she and Jessa were okay even though Lily had insisted she could handle things.
Now she desperately wished Cami or Amy—anyone—was still there at the manor.
But she’d assured them she’d stick close to Jessa and they’d be fine while they took the kids to Laurel’s.
Out in the upper hallway she glanced around. Noticing Nate's door was closed, she took a chance that he was still home.
She ran to his door and pounded on it with her fist. "Nate! Nate!"
Relief flooded her when she heard a muffled, "Hang on. I'm coming."
The door jerked open, and Nate stood there, concern written all over his face. "What's wrong?"
"Jessa said her water just broke. I think she needs to go to the hospital. I’m still not sure I should drive after my latest flare up, and no one else is here."
"Let me get changed," he said, motioning to the long, athletic shorts and muscle shirt he wore. "I'll be right there."
Lily nodded and raced back to Jessa's room. Her sister sat on the edge of the bed, her body bent forward. "Nate's still here. He'll take us to the hospital."
"Call Lance." The two words were edged in pain.
"Another one?"
Jessa nodded.
Sticking close to her, Lily pulled her cell phone from her pocket and quickly dialed Lance's number.
"Hello?"
Realizing that Lance probably didn't recognize her number, she said, "It's Lily. Jessa's water broke and we're taking her to the hospital."
There was silence on his end for what seemed like forever before he said, "I'm at a site about half an hour south of town. I'll meet you at the hospital as soon as I can."
After ending the call, Lily helped Jessa to the bathroom where she changed out of her wet clothes and into the dry ones Lily found for her. When they came back into the bedroom, Nate was standing in the doorway. "Ready to go?"
"Grab my bag, please, Lil," Jessa said, pointing to the closet doors. She held out her phone. "And put this in the pocket."
Lily hurried to the closet and found the bag sitting on the floor just inside the door.
She picked it up and joined Nate, who had slipped his arm around Jessa's waist. Jessa leaned on him as they made their way to the stairs, pausing briefly so Lily could grab her purse.
Halfway down, Jessa let out a groan, and Nate immediately stopped.
Lily moved around in front of Jessa and together she and Nate held her as she breathed through the contraction.
Lily's gaze met Nate's as they waited for the tension to leave Jessa's body. She could see the concern there that was no doubt reflective of what was in hers.
Jessa took a deep breath and blew it out as she straightened. "Now I remember the pain."
Lily found her legs shaking as they continued down the rest of the steps.
Please, God, don't let my body fail me now.
But she knew that the stress of the situation combined with the exertion she'd already expended were not a good combination.
They helped Jessa to the rear door of Nate's truck. Jessa balked momentarily. "We should have grabbed a towel. I don't want anything to mess up your seats."
"Well, as long as you don't actually deliver, I think we'll be fine," Nate assured her.
Once Jessa was settled, Lily followed Nate around to the other side. "I want to get in back with her."
Nate nodded as he opened the door and then, just like he had so many times in the past, he reached for her.
His strong hands gripped her waist as he lifted her into the truck.
Though at any other time she might have protested the action, right then Lily was just grateful that she hadn't had to try to lift her legs high enough to get into his big truck.
"Why don't you call Dean and make sure his guys know not to pull us over on our way in. I'm going to come in from the west to avoid the traffic down Main Street."
"I don't have his number, but since I have to call Violet anyway, I'll tell her to pass the message on to Dean." After a glance at Jessa to make sure she was okay, she phoned Violet. "Vi, Jessa's gone into labor."
As with Lance there were a couple of seconds of silence before Violet said, "Okay, I'll line up babysitting with Laurel and Amy, and we'll be there as soon as we can."
"Do you want me to call Laurel?"
"No, I can call her. Why don't you call Will?"
"Okay." Then Lily passed on Nate's message. "We don't want to get stopped on our way to the hospital."
After calling Will with the news, Lily slid her phone into her purse and turned to Jessa. "The troops are all rallying."
Jessa gave a weak smile. "It's been a while since we rallied for this purpose."
"Well, I'm just glad you waited until I got home."
Tension tightened Jessa's features as her gaze lost focus. Lily moved closer to her and held out her hand for Jessa to hold. She tried not to wince at the strength in her sister's grasp. When the pain passed and Jessa's body relaxed, Lily asked, "Should I be timing something?"
"No, don't bother. With my water broken, they're not going to send me home. And once I get there, they're going to hook me up to everything that will tell them what’s going on." Jessa gestured to her bag. "Actually, I forgot. I'm supposed to call my doctor."
Lily fished the phone out of the bag on the floor and handed it to Jessa.
"Hopefully, I can get through this before the next contraction," Jessa said as she touched the screen of the phone. "Hello. This is Jessa Collingsworth-Evanston. I'm on my way to the hospital. My water broke."
Apparently, whoever answered her call had been prepared for it because Jessa didn't have to say any more. She touched the screen again and then held the phone out to Lily.
"Are they able to handle an early birth?" Lily asked.
Jessa nodded. "The hospital has been working over the past few years to bring the NICU up to current standards. He'll be fine."
Lily was glad that Jessa wasn't going to have to stay in one hospital while her baby was whisked away to another. She knew it happened far too often.
As they got closer to Collingsworth, Nate said, "We've got company."
Lily glanced out the back window to see a cop car behind them. She met Nate's gaze in the rear view mirror.
"In the front, too," he said.
Lily looked between the front seats to see that another car led them, its lights flashing. "Guess we've got an escort to the hospital."
Jessa gave a soft chuckle. "Pays to be related to the sheriff."
"Or a member of the founding family," Lily added.
As they neared the city limits, another car joined the one in front of them and in addition to the lights came the sirens. Cars pulled over to allow them through, no doubt wondering who rated the special escort.
The cop cars continued on past the hospital, but Nate turned into the emergency entrance.
He pulled to a stop where a small group of people waited with a wheelchair.
One of them opened the back door even before Nate could get out.
As they helped her sister from the back seat, Nate opened her door and held out a hand to help Lily.
He continued to hold her hand even after she was steady on her feet. The warmth of his touch spread up her arm and into her heart.
I’ve missed this.
"Are you okay? I'm just going to park the truck, and I'll be back."
Lily nodded, hoping that she really would be okay, but not one hundred percent sure what her body might do.
She rounded the back of the truck, willing her body to cooperate with the demands she would continue to put on it for the next little while.
The group had already begun to move toward the automatic doors, and she followed as quickly as she could.
“Wait for my sister,” she heard Jessa say.
One of the nurses moved to her side. "We're going to take her right up to labor and delivery."
Lily nodded and then followed them to the nearest bank of elevators.
Jessa had another contraction as the elevator rose, and she reached out toward Lily.
Grateful to still be of use to her sister, Lily stepped close to enfold Jessa's hand in hers.
The doors slid open but since she was still in the midst of the contraction, one of the nurses held the doors open until it passed.
Since they skipped registration and headed straight into a large birthing room, Lily assumed that all the paperwork had been dealt with well in advance of this day.
"We're going to need to hook you up to some monitors," one of the nurses said as they helped Jessa onto the hospital bed. "Did the fluid appear clear when your water broke?"
"I think so," Jessa said. "I didn't notice any kind of staining on the bed or my clothes."
She glanced at Lily, who shook her head. "I didn't see anything like that either."
"Okay, good."
It wasn't long before the Violet, Laurel and Will showed up, but it was Lance's arrival that finally eased some of the tension from Jessa's expression.
"Babe," Lance said as he rushed to Jessa's side. He took one of her hands in his and brushed a strand of auburn hair from her face. He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Everything is going to be okay."
Lily saw their gazes lock and Jessa nodded. "Yes. Everything is going to be fine."
She swallowed hard as she watched their united front. It was as if in coming together they had just become a force to be reckoned with. They were going to face this side by side and would be together regardless of the outcome.