Ashton
A sh couldn’t seem to drive fast enough to the hospital. He ran two red lights, and it still felt like the drive took forever. Jamison met them at the entrance to the emergency room and took Regan from him.
“What the fuck happened, Ash?” Jamison looked mad enough to punch him.
“I went over to apologize for not showing up this morning and her asshole stepfather was there. He was threatening Regan and roughed up Mrs. Lucas but she’s fine. Everything is under control over there, the police are on their way. Regan passed out on the drive here.” Regan had her eyes closed and her head resting on Jamison’s chest. They rushed through the doors and to the registration desk. Ash explained what happened to the nurse on duty and within minutes, they had Regan on a journey and were rushing her back to a room.
A doctor stopped to talk to them, questioning how far along she was in her pregnancy. “She’s about fourteen weeks,” Jamison barked.
“I take it you’re the father?” The doctor questioned and Ash cringed. This was exactly what Regan was afraid of, and he was thankful that she wasn’t there for all the doctor’s questions.
“We both are,” Jamison grunted. “We should be back there with her.” The doctor paused, looking between the two of them.
“You both can’t be the baby’s father.” Fuck, they were going to have to spell it out for him but if that was their only way back to Regan, Ash had no problem laying the facts out there.
“We know that scientifically only one of us is that baby’s father. But we are both in love with her and we don’t care about who, biologically speaking, the dad is. The baby is both of ours. Now, we would like to be with Regan if you wouldn’t mind showing us back?” The doctor smirked at Ash and God; he wanted to punch him in the face.
“Are either of you married to or related by blood to Miss Starr?” Shit, they hadn’t thought this through.
“Ash here is her legal husband.” Jamison pointed at Ash, and he looked at his friend like he had lost his mind.
“And Miss Starr will attest to being married to him?” Jamison nodded but Ash wasn’t as sure. Regan had made it clear that she wanted some alone time and now Jamison expected her to lie about being married to Ash.
“Wait right here please.” The doctor disappeared back to where they had taken Regan.
“What the fuck, Jamison? There is no way that Regan will say that she and I are married. She walked out on us this morning, what makes you think she wants us back there with her?” Ash paced the floor worried that Jamison’s lie was going to push Regan further away.
“Listen, man, she’s back there alone and afraid. She will want one of us with her. Once the doctor tells her that her husband is in the waiting room, she’ll catch on. Our girl is stubborn as a mule but she’s just as smart. She’ll want you back there to help her get through this.” Ash sighed, knowing that Jamison was right.
“What about you? You should be back there too, you have just as much right to be with Regan and the baby as I do.” Jamison smiled at Ash and clapped him on the shoulder.
“You need to be with her right now, more than I do. I know you, Ash. You need her as much as she needs you. You’ll have to be there representing both of us until they let me back.” Ash pulled Jamison in for a hug, thankful for his best friend.
“Thanks, man, you always have my back.” The doctor reappeared and nodded to Ash.
“You can come back now, Mr. Travers. Your wife collaborated your story and is asking for you.” Jamison nodded at Ash to go onto Regan. The thought of her being his wife left a lump in his throat; she was all he ever wanted and more.
Ash pulled the curtain back to find Regan lying in a hospital bed hooked up to wires and machines making all types of beeping noises. Seeing her laying there so small and pale, nearly did him in.
“Baby tell me you’re all right,” Ash choked.
Regan nodded, tears falling down her face. “The baby, I need to know that the baby is okay.” The doctor crowded into the room and looked at a long strip of paper that was feeding out of a machine. He nodded and pushed a button, and the room was filled with the sound of the baby’s strong, fast heartbeat. The sound nearly brought Ash to his knees; he was so thankful that their baby was all right.
“Your baby’s heartbeat is strong,” the doctor confirmed. “When was the last time you ate?” Regan fidgeted with the monitor that they placed on her finger.
“Last night,” she whispered. “I’ve been so sick, and this morning was crazy.” She looked up at Ash. “I just didn’t have the stomach for food.” The doctor told the nurse to start an IV with fluids.
“You need to eat, Regan. Your morning sickness should be just about over but your baby and you both need nourishment. Small meals throughout the day will help with nausea.” Regan nodded. “Tell me what else is going on with you. Are you under any stress with your job or home life?” Regan barked out a laugh at the doctor’s question.
“Yeah, you could say that.” Regan chanced another glance at Ash, and he felt like a first-class ass. Here he was so concerned about his feelings that he forgot to stop and think about how Regan was handling the whole situation.
“I’m so sorry, baby. I should have paid better attention to what was going on with you.” Ash sat down in the chair next to Regan’s bed. She reached over and took his hand into hers.
“I’m the one who should be sorry, Ash. I should have told you both about the baby.” The doctor cleared his throat, reminding them both that he was still in the room.
“How about I give you two some privacy? Would it be helpful if I sent in the other gentleman that accompanied you here?” He looked at Regan and she nodded her head.
“I’m assuming that he’s your brother, Miss Starr?” Regan nodded again, as if too embarrassed by the situation to speak. Ash growled, ready to tell the doctor to mind his own fucking business until Regan squeezed his hand.
The doctor left the room and minutes later Jamison appeared in the doorway. “Can I come in?” Regan held out her hand and Jamison crossed the room to sit next to her on the bed. “Mrs. Lucas is fine, the police showed up at her house and arrested Mike. He won’t be getting out anytime soon, honey. I have a doctor going over to check on her and Travis. Mike beat him up pretty bad, but he should be fine.”
Regan looked sad and helpless, “I’m so sorry, guys. I never meant for any of this to happen. I thought that Mike had moved on and stopped looking for me.”
“Hey, you couldn’t have known that he was going to show up here and do this. I promise you, baby, he will never touch you again.” Ash sat on the other side of her, pulling her gently into his arms.
“Thank you for saving me, Ash.” Regan smiled at him.
“Baby, from what I saw you didn’t need me to help you on that front. You should have seen our girl, Jamison. She was fierce.” Both guys laughed and kissed her forehead. Ash was so thankful that he got there in time. The thought of Mike making good on his disgusting promises made him cringe. The only thing either of them wanted to do was keep her and their baby safe. The idea that today could have ended so differently made him even more determined to take care of Regan.
Regan looked at Jamison, “Thank you for lying and telling the doctor that Ash and I are married. I don’t know what I would have done if I was alone in all of this.” Jamison kissed the tear that fell from Regan’s cheek.
“You’ll never be alone, honey. It’s like I told you last night, we are in love with you. We aren’t going anywhere.” Regan smiled at them both and Ash felt like everything in his world was right again.
Ash nodded, “Tell us that you’ll come home with us, Regan. Let us prove to you how much we love you and want to take care of you and the baby.” Regan sat silently between them, the baby’s heartbeat filling the small room. After what felt like an eternity, she nodded.
“We’ll come home with you—me and the baby. We’re yours, both of yours. I love you both, so much.” Ash felt a flood of relief that he hadn’t felt in months.
“Thank fuck,” Ash whispered.
Jamison nodded, “We love you too, honey. You and this baby are our whole world.” Regan smiled through her tears and Ash knew that all his dreams were going to finally come true. They found the woman that fit between them and if he had his way they would never let her go again.