Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
Nigel
Thanksgiving might be an American celebration, but it was one that many countries had adapted, at least in some extent, for their own holiday.
It was a time to reflect on the bounty the earth provided, and the blessings around us.
As people ate and chatted, I looked around what had to be the largest dining table I’d ever seen.
I’d have guessed it could seat three dozen people but had been informed it could be extended even further.
It just went to show that this group of friends wasn’t some small, exclusive clique, it was constantly expanding.
Which had my attention returning to what I’d been thinking about earlier.
It was Wes’ statement that had alerted my radar, but it was seeing his and Mira’s hand rubbing across her belly that had made that radar ping.
It wasn’t the fact of what they’d been doing, but rather the location.
The last time Mira had been examined, her belly had been higher.
Today, it had dropped significantly. Though she wasn’t due for another three weeks, if you had bet on one of those later dates, I was pretty sure you wouldn’t be winning the baby birthday’s pool.
“It’s your turn,” Hazel said softly from beside me.
“Huh?” I asked, then shook my head. “Oh, right. My answer is easy. Women.”
“Obvious much?” Lawson quipped, then added, “Though I think you might want to change that to one woman?”
I shook my head. “Now, that would be obvious as everyone knows I love that one woman.” I bent to kiss Hazel’s cheek.
“But think about it. Without women none of us would be here. They are the ones who not only put up with us, a woman was responsible for birthing each of us. So, yes, I’m thankful for all women and especially those in this room who are going to soon be bringing the next generation of babies—”
“Ohhhh—”
Every head turned to where one of those women had just groaned. Mira’s eyes were huge as she found her husband’s and then she looked across the expanse to where I was sitting. “I-I think I’m—”
Her groan had me pushing back my chair and her next cry of pain had Wes rising so quickly, his chair fell over to crash to the floor.
A single glance at his face told me my radar had been both right and wrong.
Right in that Mira wasn’t going to reach her due date and wrong in that my estimate she might be just a week early.
If the pool of liquid around her chair was any indication, her water had broken and if the tinge of color in that pool was accurate, she was in trouble.
Wes swept her up in his arms. “I’ve got you, baby,” he said, though with her next cry his eyes telegraphed the fact that while he was a doctor, he was a husband and expectant father first.
“Is there a bedroom?” Erika asked as she and Jared stepped forward.
“Yes!” Sadie said, rushing forward.
“No time,” I said, having reached Mira, my fingers on her pulse.
Quincy’s voice broke over the concerned rumble of others. “The clinic?”
I was once again calculating and shook my head.
“No. Call for an ambulance. Tell them we’ll meet them on the highway.
” Before stepping outside, I turned and found Beverly MacIntosh standing, ready to help.
“Bev, call the hospital and inform them we’re on our way”—I dropped my voice—“tell them to have an operating room and neonatal team ready.”
Wes sat in the backseat with Mira spread across his and Hazel’s laps.
Wes was constantly assuring her that he had her, that everything was going to be fine, just hold on.
Hazel sat and held Mira’s hand, not even flinching as Mira’s fingers squeezed hers with every contraction that was coming far too close together.
Quincy had the bubble light on the roof already revolving as the Range Rover pulled out ahead of us.
Derek had called ahead and the gates were already wide open, allowing us to proceed without pause.
Lawson drove with complete concentration, though I knew part of him was thinking of his own impending fatherhood.
“Everything is going to be fine,” I reassured him, earning a curt nod. Leaving my brother to drive, and Wes to reassure his wife, I concentrated on the situation as a whole. “Pulse?”
“It’s thready so I can’t get a true reading,” Hazel said, looking up to meet my eyes. “But it’s rapid.”
I nodded, willing the truck to go faster.
This was one of my biggest fears. Though babies had been born in caves, in fields, in millions of bedrooms in millions of homes with no issues, when it came to that birth that wasn’t following the rules, every cell in my body wished the hospital wasn’t fifty miles away.
Still, I didn’t let my worry show. I reached over the seat to cover the women’s joined hands with my own.
“We’ve all got you, Mira.”
Her eyes opened, her fear obvious in her expression, but she nodded. “I-I know, but if something—” A moan cut her off, which Hazel immediately took advantage of.
“The only thing that is going to happen is that your baby will be in your arms a little earlier than expected,” she said with conviction.
I gave Hazel a nod. She might not yet have her nursing degree, but she already possessed the bed-side manner every future patient of hers would be grateful for.
Flashing lights alerted us to the ambulance’s presence before we even saw it.
Topping a rise, we drew up next to it. Within moments, and despite Wes’ protests, I had Mira transferred from his arms to a gurney.
When he tried to climb into the ambulance after the attendants slid her inside, I pulled him back.
“I’m sorry, but there’s no room.”
“There sure as fuck is!”
“Wes, I need to be with her,” I said, as gently as I could while remaining firm.
His attempt to push past me was thwarted not by me, but by Hazel. She reached out and laid her hand on his arm. “Wes, let Nigel do his job. We’ll be right behind them, I promise.”
His growl was almost feral, but Hazel didn’t flinch. “Please, you know he’s right. Mira needs him.”
The sound my friend made had my heart clench but he nodded and allowed Hazel to pull him away.
I climbed into the back and he met my eyes as I was pulling the door closed. “She’s my entire life,” he said, the fear in his voice tangible.
“I know.”
He began to slam the door and before it was completely closed, the ambulance was already pulling away, its siren now blaring.
All thoughts of the distance, the time, even Wes disappeared as I concentrated on Mira.
The attendants were professional, following every order without question and relaying the information to the waiting team we’d find at the hospital.
It was with great relief when a cry filled the ambulance, as this one came from the new life that joined us.
I gave the infant a quick check and then handed the baby to Henrietta who had a blanket waiting.
“Her BP is dropping,” Aaron, the second EMT informed me.
Mira’s voice was so low I had to bend forward to hear her. I thought she was asking if she’d had a boy or a girl, but her plea of, “Please, don’t let me die,” surprised and scared the fuck out of me.
“No one’s dying. Not on my watch!” I said, my growl as feral as Wes’ had been.
Her eyes closed, her hair stuck to her face with sweat and fear as I threw the pad I’d used on the floor only to grab another out of Aaron’s hand. A third followed, each one pristine white before becoming crimson with Mira’s blood.
At a second cry from her baby, Mira’s eyes fluttered open to find mine. “Tell Wes… tell them both I’m sor-sorry.”
“Fuck that! Don’t you dare give up, Mira. Do you hear me? You fight, Mira, you fight like hell! You’re stronger than you think. We’re almost there, just hang on a few minutes longer.”
I wasn’t aware when the ambulance stopped.
I wasn’t aware when the doors opened or when the others joined us.
All I was conscious of was Mira as I straddled her body atop the gurney while the transfer from ambulance to the hospital proper was made.
When there were no more pads to use, I’d pushed half my arm up inside her.
My hand continued to massage her uterus in an attempt to encourage it to begin contracting, to stop the hemorrhage that threatened to end her life after she’d given life to another.