Epilogue One
EPILOGUE ONE
ATLAS
“ A tlas,” Nora calls from a few yards away.
“Almost done!” I holler back, assuming lunch is ready.
“Just gotta tighten these straps.”
Nora's due in two weeks, so I figure now's as good a time as any to get the car seat installed.
“Tighten them quickly.”
The strain in her voice has me whipping around to face her.
She has one hand on the top of her belly and the other cradling it from below.
Her shoulders are tense, her eyes are pinched shut, and her lips are pursed.
Something's wrong.
“What's going on, Pip?” I ask, giving the strap one last tug before closing the car door.
“James—he's—now.”
“What about James?”
“It's time,” she says through clenched teeth.
“Time... time like?—”
“We need to head to the hospital, Atlas.” She sucks in a deep breath and then lets it out slowly. “Now.”
“Fuck, now. Okay. Bags! We need your bags.” I rush toward the house, but stop at the threshold. “Where are they again?”
“Our closet.”
“Okay. Got it. You wait here. I'll grab everything and then help you into the truck.”
She nods, and I take off like a shot, hollering Ellis's name as I rush down the hall.
“Yeah?” he calls back, poking his head out of his door.
“It's baby time.”
“For real?” Leave it to him to somehow sound more nervous than me.
“Yeah. We're headed to the hospital. Do me a favor and let Scarlet know.”
“You're lucky I love y'all, man.” Maybe Nora's right and there is something there, because God knows, they fight like an old married couple. “Let me know when my nephew is born. I call dibs on holding him first.”
“Yeah, yeah. You two better be on your best behavior or I swear to God, I'll kick you out of Nora's hospital room.”
“It's not my fault you and your girl befriended Satan.” Ellis mimes a halo over his head. “I'm a perfect angel.”
I try not to grin at his antics, but it's a losing battle. “I don't have time for this. Text Scar and keep your phone nearby. I've gotta go.”
He tips his head my way in acknowledgment, and then I'm on my way. I make quick work of grabbing Nora's bag, pillow, and the gift I picked out for her, especially for this occasion—a push present, Scarlet called it.
I race back to the truck like I'm trying for Olympic gold, throw the bag in the back seat, and then help Nora into the cab.
“You ready, Pip?” I ask, stepping onto the running board to buckle her in.
She looks back at me with wide eyes. “What if I'm a bad mom?”
I rear back. “Not possible.”
“Atlas, I mean it.”
“Nora Morgan, you are everything good in this world, and there's absolutely zero possibility of that not carrying over to motherhood. I guarantee it.”
She gasps and grabs my hand, squeezing it with a strength I didn't know she was capable of. “Okay.”
“How far apart are your contractions?” I ask, because they seem to be coming pretty quickly.
“Um, like two or three minutes apart.”
My eyes widen to the point where I'm sure I look like a cartoon character. “Okay.” I suck in a deep breath of my own. “Okay, yup. Let's go.”
I step down and race around the front of the truck before hopping behind the wheel and hitting the ignition. I'd like to say I drive calmly and follow all of the traffic laws, but that'd be a damn lie. I drive like a bat out of hell, bobbing and weaving between cars, my eyes anxiously flitting between the road and Nora.
In fact, the only other time I've ever driven anywhere near like this was the day Nora was taken, and coincidentally, both of those days ended up with us in the hospital. At least this visit is planned—mostly.
“How you doing over there?” I ask as I merge onto the highway.
“Peachy,” Nora replies through gritted teeth. “Just freaking peachy.”
I reach over and take her hand in mine, knowing damn well she's about to use it like a stress ball. “We're not too far out now.”
She nods in my peripheral, too focused on her breathing to reply.
Please let us make it in time. Please don't let my son be born in my truck…
“Um, Atlas,” Nora whispers as she grabs my hand, clutching it tight. “You m-might wanna hurry.”
“Going as fast as I can, Pip.” I rub the back of her hand with my thumb. “Traffic's?—”
“You don't understand.” She's nearly panting. “My wa-water just broke.”
“Shit!” Every single part of me wants to panic, but I can't. Nora needs me to keep my cool. “Okay. Um. Fuck.”
“Sums it up,” she groans, her entire body tensing yet again. “I... I don't think we're gonna make it.”
“Just breathe through it, Pip. I'll get us there, I promise.”
If I could, I’d take every ounce of pain and worry she's feeling and pull it into my body so she wouldn't have to suffer, but life unfortunately doesn't work like that.
I spot a break in traffic and flick on my blinker before merging into the outside lane. “You're doing so good, Nora. We're almost there.”
“Atlas... I'm not... oh, God.”
“What?” I ask, panic clawing up the back of my throat. “What is it?”
“There's so much pressure. It... I don't know. I think I need to...”
Horror dawns as her words truly sink in. “Push... you need to push.”
She nods. “I think so. It's... oh, God. Pull over! Please, Atlas, pull over!”
Once again, I pop my blinker on, this time pulling onto the shoulder, where I throw it into park and flip on my hazards.
“Tell me what you need.”
“To get this baby out of me!” she wails. She's a mess with glassy eyes, rosy cheeks, and wild hair—and yet, she's never looked more perfect to me. “What do we do, Atlas?”
“I'm gonna help you into the back seat and see if we can't get you at least somewhat comfortable. Then I'm going to call 911, okay?”
She sniffles and nods as she unbuckles her seat belt.
“Stay here and let me come around to help you.”
It takes a second for a break in the relentless line of cars rushing past before I can safely hop out and make my way around to her side of the truck.
When I open her door, Nora practically throws herself into my arms. “I'm scared,” she whispers, as I guide her to the back seat.
“I know you are, but I've got you. I won't let anything happen to you.”
“You can't say that,” she objects, but I silence her with a soft kiss.
“I can and I will. Now, I want you to prop your pillow against the door and try to get comfy. Can you do that for me?”
She nods and positions her pillow just so before reclining back against it.
“You good?”
She tenses as yet another contraction works its way through her. “Not really.”
“I think I have a blanket in the bed from our last bonfire. I'm gonna run and check, okay?”
Nora nods and I take off toward the tailgate, sliding my phone from my pocket and firing off a text to Ellis as I go.
Me
It’s GO time. Didn’t make it to the hospital. On 27 just past mile marker 15.
Sure enough, there's a soft flannel blanket in the back of my truck, along with two bottles of water. I repocket my phone and grab my found supplies before rushing back to Nora.
My phone buzzes and I quickly scan Ellis’s reply as I rush back to Nora.
Ellis
10-4.
By the time I make it back to Nora, she's kicked off her leggings and is on her knees in the back seat, bracing herself on the center console, as she pants.
“How you doing, pretty girl?” I ask, keeping my voice low.
She glares in reply as a bead of sweat rolls down her temple, despite the frigid air.
“Got a blanket and some water,” I offer lamely, setting my bundle down on the seat beside her. “Gonna call us some backup now, okay?”
Nora huffs and nods, a pained cry escaping her lips. “I need to push, Atlas. Oh, God.”
I hit dial, put the call on speaker, and climb into the back seat with her.
“911. What's your emergency?”
“My wife is in labor. We're on the side of 27 and not going to make it to the hospital.”
“How many weeks pregnant is she?”
“Thirty-eight.”
“How far apart are her contractions?”
“It seems like they’re relentless.”
“Okay, sir. Has her water broken?”
“Yes. She’s… she’s pushing.” A thread of panic bleeds into my voice as I think of all the ways this could go wrong.
“Stay calm for me, paramedics will be there soon. Do you have a blanket or anything?—”
“Yes, I do.”
“Good. If the baby’s born before the ambulance gets there, I want you to wrap the baby in the blanket, okay? Then you’ll need to wipe the baby’s face. You may also need to clear the airway.”
“I… how the fuck do I do that?”
The dispatcher rattles off instructions, and then says, “I'm going to stay on the phone with you until paramedics arrive.”
I leave the call on speaker and drop my phone down onto the floorboard before I turn all of my focus to Nora, rubbing her lower back as I try to soothe her. “You're doing great, Pip. Deep breaths.”
“Atlas,” she growls my name in a tone I’ve never heard her use before. “I swear to God, if you tell me to breathe again I am going to lose my mind.”
“Okay, okay.” Shit, man, get it together. Nora needs you to be strong for her. “How can I help?”
“I-I don't know. It hurts. There’s so much pressure. It... it feels like he's?—”
Her words cut off mid-sentence as her entire body tenses.I swear, I can see her pulse pounding in her neck.
“Are you...” I force myself to swallow back my fear. “Do you need to push?”
“Already there,” she clips out, her face as red as a tomato as she digs her fingers into the soft leather of my seat.
I watch on helplessly as the love of my life pushes and grunts and groans and wails, until finally—even though it's actually only been moments—she brings our son into this world all on her own.
“His head, Atlas. Get his?—”
I fling myself out of the truck and lean in as far as I can, prepared to help guide him earthside.
His ear-piercing cry fills the truck cab in time with sirens in the distance, as I bundle him in the blanket.
“That's... that's our baby, Pip,” I murmur, totally and completely awestruck. I use the tail of the blanket to wipe away the gunk smeared across his chubby little cheeks. “He's perfect.”
She collapses back against the seat, bloody and exhausted— oh, God, is that much blood normal? Fuck!Get. It. Together.
“Lemme hold him, baby hog,” she mutters, her eyelids drooping even as she holds out her arms.
I slide onto the seat next to her and place him on her chest. “James Wilder Morgan,” she coos. “You're absolutely...” She looks up at me, and her eyes may as well be hearts.
“Perfect.”
The sound of a vehicle pulling up behind draws my attention momentarily away from Nora.
“It’s just Ellis,” I murmur softly.
“Look at my guy,” he crows, crowding me at the back door. “He has all ten fingers and all ten toes?”
Nora rolls her eyes and then kisses his wrinkly forehead. “We’d love him even if he didn’t.”
“That’s a good mama.” He leans around me to get a better look at him, only to immediately blanch and back away.
“Do you get gifts when a baby’s born?” he asks, looking a little green around the gills. “I mean, it is his birthday, right?”
“What are you even talking about, man?”
“Doesn’t matter. Gonna get you a gift certificate to get your damn truck detailed. Looks like a crime scene in here.”
Nora cuts her eyes at him, and I worry for a split second he’s offended her, but then she laughs and calls him an idiot.
“I’d say takes one to know one, but you might just be the smartest person I know.”
She scoffs. “Whatever.”
“Well, you are with this guy.” He nods his head toward me. “So maybe I’m onto something.”
“Swear to God,” I mutter under my breath, sounding put out even though I’m smiling. How could I not be? Nora’s okay. Our son is here and seems healthy. Hell, today just might be the best day of my life.