Chapter 46
Chapter Forty-Six
Grayson
Two hours had passed, and the ambulance still wasn’t here. Harper’s contractions were coming closer together, and as much as I wanted to panic, I couldn’t. I needed to be strong for her. All I could see was the fear in her eyes. She was scared shitless, and so was I. I placed a blanket on the floor with a bunch of pillows and held her from behind as she sat between my legs. Her contractions were now four minutes apart, and she let out a howling scream with each one.
My phone rang. I quickly answered it and put it on speaker.
“Hello.”
“This is Dr. Graham. Whom am I speaking with?”
“Grayson Rhodes. I’m with Harper Holland, and we’re in Montauk. Her water broke, and she’s in labor.”
“You need to get her to a hospital immediately.”
“I would if I could, but we’re in the middle of a horrific storm, and the roads are washed out. I called 911, and they’re sending an ambulance, but that was two hours ago, and they’re still not here.”
“Harper, can you hear me?”
“Yes. Dr. Graham. Oh God,” she screamed.
“Mr. Rhodes, how far apart are her contractions?”
“About three to four minutes apart.”
“Okay. Mr. Rhodes, you’re going to have to deliver this baby. Harper, I want you to listen to me, and I want you to remain as calm as possible. Your body knows exactly what to do.”
“Dr. Graham, it’s too early to have her.”
“Harper, everything is going to be okay. Mr. Rhodes, I want you to go get some towels, a blanket, and a cool cloth for Harper’s head.”
“No. Don’t leave me,” she begged as she grabbed my arm.
“I’ll be right back. You have my word.”
I got up and quickly grabbed a blanket, some towels, and a cool cloth, as Dr. Graham said. Harper screamed out in pain.
“I have to push.”
“Not yet, Harper,” Dr. Graham said. “Practice your breathing.”
“Oh God!” she screamed.
“Dr. Graham, her contractions are two minutes apart now.”
“Okay. Let’s do this. Harper, I want you to push with the next contraction. Mr. Rhodes, you need to tell me when you start to see the baby’s head.”
I held Harper’s hand as the next few contractions hit, and she pushed as she screamed in pain.
“I see it, Dr. Graham. I see her head.”
“Okay. I want the next push to be even bigger, Harper.”
She pushed as hard as she could and then stopped.
“I can’t. I can’t do this anymore. She fell back onto the pillows.”
I placed my hand on her forehead and stared into her beautiful blue and tired eyes.
“Sweetheart, you have no choice. Our daughter is ready to meet you, but she can’t do it alone. She needs you to help her along. Okay?”
“Okay.” She nodded as she pushed as hard as she could.
“Dr. Graham, her head is out.”
“Excellent. Hold onto her. One final push, Harper. That’s all it’s going to take.”
Suddenly, she was out and in my hands, screaming at the top of her lungs.
I’d never felt so much joy in my entire life as my eyes filled with tears. Looking up, I could see the flashing lights of the ambulance outside.
“The paramedics are here.”
“Mr. Rhodes. Place the baby on Harper’s chest. The paramedics will cut the cord and deliver the placenta. Congratulations, you two.”
The front door opened, and the paramedics ran in with the stretcher and their medical bags. I moved out of the way and sat next to Harper, who looked at me with tears in her eyes.
“She’s beautiful, Grayson.”
“She looks just like her mother.” I smiled as I kissed her forehead with tears in my eyes.
The paramedics took the baby, cleaned her up, wrapped her tightly in a blanket, and handed her back to Harper.
“We need to get the two of you to the hospital,” one of the paramedics spoke.
They placed her and the baby on the stretcher, and I climbed into the ambulance with them. The baby was resting peacefully against Harper.
“Have you thought of a name for her yet?” I asked as I softly stroked her forehead.
“Ellie Rae. After my parents. Ellie was my mom’s name, and Ray was my dad’s. But I’m going to spell it Rae.”
“It’s a beautiful name.” I smiled.
When we arrived at the hospital, they took Ellie to the NICU and put Harper in a room. I stayed by her side the entire time, refusing to leave her.
“Thank you, Grayson.” She held her hand out to me. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”
I smiled at her as I gently squeezed her hand.
“Harper,” An older man in a long white coat walked into the room. “Your daughter is doing fine. She’s a little jaundice which is normal, so we’re keeping her under the heat lamps overnight and monitoring her. Otherwise, she’s healthy.”
Both Harper and I let out a sigh of relief.
“I’m staying here with you, whether you want me to or not,” I said to her.
“I was hoping you’d stay.”
After Harper fell asleep, I lay down on the couch in the room. It wasn’t the most comfortable couch, but I was exhausted and had no trouble falling asleep.