Chapter 40
P anic roared through me as Ava’s words came through the speakers.
“Oh, shit. My water broke.”
I leapt to my feet and rushed out of the sound booth toward her. Luke and Micah were getting her upright, Micah draping the sheet over her shoulders. “Sweetness, how do you feel?”
“Fine, I think.” Her mouth twitched, eyebrows drawing into a furrow. “I don’t know if that was a contraction or not.”
“Let’s assume it was.” I pulled out my phone and started the stopwatch so I could keep track of how long it was until the next one. “Luke, Micah, get dressed. Micah, call Janessa to meet us at the hospital. Bryce, get my kit from the van.”
In a matter of minutes I had the pulse oximeter on Ava’s fingertip and the stethoscope against her belly to check on the baby. Both of their heartbeats were steady. Her blood pressure was a little higher than normal, but she had just gotten railed. I would keep track of it until we headed to the hospital.
“All the stuff is at the house,” Ava lamented as I finished my round of checks. “I didn’t bring the hospital bag.”
“We can go get it,” said Callie, who had been hovering and watching. “I don’t know how fast her labor is going to be, but the twins came out like they were riding a waterslide. We barely got to the hospital in time.”
Omega labors tended to go fairly quickly, though going that fast wasn’t as common. Still, it was better safe than sorry.
“Shit,” said Luke.
“What?”
“Charlotte’s probably already at the airport in New York to fly out.”
I had almost forgotten she would be making the trip out here with all of the chaos. “The guest rooms are already set up for her and the kids; we just haven’t done the grocery shop. We can put in an order to have it delivered.”
Ava’s face pinched and she let out a squeak.
“Sweetness, was that another contraction?”
She swept her hand over her belly. “Yep.”
That was only four minutes since the last one. It was possible she had been in labor for longer and all the sensations of Luke and Micah playing with her had drowned out the early signs. Either way, we needed to get a move on.
“Okay, let’s get you to the hospital.”
I passed my keychain to Callie. “The hospital bag is up in the nursery. Your pack knows where to go.” I helped Ava to her feet, getting her quickly bundled in the green dress she had worn over here.
“You’re a lifesaver, Cal,” said Luke. “We may need to get someone to pick up Charlotte and the kids from the airport tonight.”
“We’ve got it covered,” Callie promised. Ava had given her a brief rundown of everything during another of their hangouts, so Callie wasn’t entirely out of the loop and wasting time on questions when we needed to get moving. “Go be with your omega. Anything that needs doing will get figured out.”
We navigated Ava out of the studio and down to our van, pausing for another contraction on the way. We pulled out one of the middle seats so it was easier for Ava to get into the back, and just left it on the studio lawn for now. I got her settled in the back row and seat belted, Luke on one side, and me on the other. Bryce took the remaining middle seat, and Micah climbed into the driver seat, getting onto the road to the hospital.
Ava whined with another contraction and cuddled into Luke’s arms. I tried to push down my nerves, but each contraction was moving closer than the last. The vehicle slowed after a few minutes and I turned my attention from Ava to the road ahead of us that was full of gridlock traffic.
“Are you fucking kidding me?”
“It’s rush hour,” Micah defended. “The hospital Ness works at is downtown.”
I bit down on a growl. It was going to be fine. Rush hour was shit, but it wasn’t the end of the world. We should, in theory, have a few hours before the baby would be making its entrance into the world.
My optimism waned bit by bit as minutes turned into hours and we found out it wasn’t just rush hour slowing us down, but a pile-up accident blocking the major intersection that kept us trapped on this road.
The vehicle smelled of burnt sugar. It didn’t matter how much we tried to comfort Ava, we couldn’t do anything about the pain. It wasn’t detrimental to me through the bond quite yet, but each of her contractions sent an ache through my body.
“Keep breathing for me, sweetness.” I led her through the exercises, her little hand shaking in mine as the waves of pain hit her. “You’re doing so good. We’re almost there.”
“Jesseee,” she whined. “The baby feels really low.”
“Do you want me to check?”
Ava nodded, white-knuckling Luke’s arm with a whimper. We were moving slowly enough I took the risk and got onto the floor of the vehicle in front of her. Lifting the skirt of her dress sent a flare of panic down my spine.
“What? What is it? What’s wrong?”
“That is a crowning baby. They’re coming right now.”
“But we’re on the road!” Ava cried.
“It’s all going to be okay. I’ve delivered a baby before. Micah, get your sister on speakerphone right now.”
He hit the button on the console, filling the vehicle with the sound of ringing and Janessa’s voice a moment later.
“How’s the labor progressing?” she asked.
“She’s crowning.”
“Okay. Everyone stay calm. Ava, you’re in such good hands with Jesse there and I’m already at the hospital for when you arrive.”
“I don’t want to have a baby in the car!” Ava yelled.
“I know, sweetness. Babies come in their own time, though.”
“Ava,” said Janessa, “If you feel like you have to push, don’t. Deep breaths and let the contractions deliver Baby’s head nice and slow. Don’t force it. Baby should come out on their own in the next few contractions now that they’re crowning. Are her legs supported?”
“Bryce, get in the back,” I ordered.
He very awkwardly climbed over us and settled on Ava’s other side.
“Give me your shirt and put on your seat belt.”
He ripped apart his shirt open, buttons flying, and passed it over before buckling in. Luke and Bryce carefully scooped under Ava’s knees. I set Bryce’s shirt on the seat next to me, laid out one of the metallic thermal blankets across the floor and pulled out a handful of wipes packages from my kit along with the disposal bag before wedging half of another thermal blanket beneath Ava’s hips. I focused on keeping my breathing even so none of my concern filtered down the bond to Ava. Bryce didn’t look like he was doing quite as good of a job, if the wildness in his eyes was any indication.
“Stay in there!” Ava shouted, though the baby wasn’t going to listen. “Please. I don’t want to. I don’t?—”
I pressed my forehead to hers, cupping her cheeks. “Sweetness, you have to. The baby is coming right now, but it’s going to be okay. We’ve got you.”
I pulled on a set of gloves and settled into position.
“Okay, just keep breathing. Let your body do the work for you,” said Janessa. “Jesse, keep me posted.”
Ava’s scream put the fear of god into me, raising all my little hairs on the back of my neck. The baby made a bit of progress, but not much, leaving my omega panting and whining. I cleaned her up quickly and without a word, disposing of the gloves, soiled thermal blanket, and wipes. With a hasty coating of sanitizer on my hands and a fresh set of gloves, I readied myself for the next step.
“Head’s out,” I announced to Janessa.
“That’s great. Ava, you’re almost done.”
I glanced briefly at Luke and Bryce, both of them looking near-feral as Ava labored between them.
“We’re moving,” Micah yelled back, navigating us through the slow stream of traffic getting around the blocked intersection.
“Pull over,” Janessa ordered.
“No!” Ava groaned. “Hospital!”
Another contraction swept over her and the baby slid out into my hands. Both mother and baby let out a wail, the tension in the van instantly dispersing. Ava sobbed, Luke and Bryce trying to comfort her while still supporting her body. I bundled the baby into Bryce’s shirt and laid them on Ava’s chest, where she instantly wrapped her arms around them.
“Micah, how far away are you?” Janessa asked.
“GPS says fifteen minutes.”
“Okay. Jesse, did you give the baby to Ava already?”
“Yep.”
“Keep them warm. We’ll deal with the cord and placenta when she arrives. The team is ready for her. Come straight up to the emergency doors. I’ll be waiting.”
Ava continued crying and clutching the baby. I cleaned up the area, tying off the disposal bag and setting it aside.
“You did amazing, mama.”
“What is it?” Ava asked between gasping sobs.
“We’ve got a baby girl,” I replied, tucking myself closer to both of them and kissing her forehead.
“A girl?” Her sobs cranked up in volume and we all did our best to comfort her while Micah got us to the hospital.
Janessa and her team collected Ava and our daughter out of the vehicle, transferring her to a gurney to head straight into labor and delivery. Within an hour Ava was resting, tucked into the hospital bed and leaning against Bryce. The placenta had been delivered, the cord cut, both mom and baby cleaned up and checked over, and a first feeding attempted.
“How badly did they spook you?” Janessa asked when she sidled up to me while I watched Ava sleep, holding our daughter in my arms.
“I think a few hairs went gray,” I whispered, afraid to wake either of them.
“She’s gorgeous. Looks just like her mama.” Janessa peered down at the baby, who was sleeping peacefully. “Any names picked out?”
“Not a one. Ava will pick something when she wakes up.”
My omega stirred, blinking at me with a soft smile. “Baby on the outside?”
“Mhmm. You did amazing.”
Ava held out her arms and I settled our daughter into them.
“Want to try feeding again?” Janessa asked.
My omega nodded and put the baby to her breast, cooing down at her. “How the heck did all of you fit in my tummy? You’re so little and so giant at the same time.”
Bryce kissed the top of her head, keeping steady arms around her. “How are you feeling?”
“Tired. Hungry. Where are Luke and Micah?”
“They’re doing a quick check of the pack house and putting away the grocery order. They’ll be back soon. Any treat requests?” Jesse asked.
“Chocolate milkshake?”
“I’ll make sure they grab one on the way over. Anything else you need right now?”
Ava shook her head. “Nope. Just you.”
Just me. If someone told me I wasn’t the luckiest alpha alive right now, I’d have to call them a liar.