Epilogue 1
Vee
September
Iwake up with a sharp pain tearing through my stomach.
For a second, I don’t know where I am. The room is dark, the house quiet, the clock on the nightstand glowing faintly in the corner.
Then another pain hits. This one is so sharp, it steals my breath.
“Ahhh,” I gasp, curling slightly on my side as my hand flies to my belly.
“Veronica,” Josh’s sleepy voice speaks beside me.
Something feels different. There’s a gush and all I feel is wetness.
“Oh my God.” The realization hits me all at once. “I think my water just broke… or I peed myself.”
He bolts up in bed and reaches across me to wake up Luke.
“What?” He jumps up as if he’s prepared to fight off an intruder. “Get Hank, Veronica’s in labor,” he tells him calmly. A harsh contrast to Luke who jumps out of bed in a panic and races out of the room. I hear his bare feet slapping on the wooden floor as he sprints down the hallway.
My heart starts to pound as I shift under the blankets, my hand sliding across the mattress.
Another contraction crashes through me before I can even think.
Josh gets out of bed, snatching up the pair of jeans he tossed over the chair in the corner and pulls them on before rummaging through a drawer and finding a shirt. Once he’s dressed he turns back to me.
“Leggings and a shirt?” he asks as another contraction hits me.
They're close. So close.
Chaos explodes as Luke and Hank come rushing back into the room. Hank is dressed, but Luke is still in just his boxers.
“Shit!” Luke mumbles. “Clothes, where’s my clothes?”
“Where’s the hospital bag?” Hank asks. “And the keys? Where are the damn keys?”
The two of them scramble around the room. Drawers slam open, something crashes to the floor, someone swears loudly as they yank on jeans. That was Luke.
Their panic would almost be funny if another contraction didn’t slam into me right then.Josh whistles, getting their attention at the same time I cry out again, clutching my stomach as the pain squeezes tight.
Of course he’s the one in control. He is a doctor.
“Hey,” he says gently, kneeling down in front of me at the bed. “Look at me.”
I try, but another wave of pain makes my eyes squeeze shut.
“Breathe,” he says calmly. “In through your nose, out through your mouth.”
I follow his voice, gripping his arm as the contraction slowly fades.
“Where’s the damn hospital bag?!” Hank shouts again. “She needs her bag. The baby’s things are in there. Her focal stuff for Lamaze.”
“When did the pain start?” Josh asks.
“I don’t know. My back hurt last night but I just thought it was typical pregnancy stuff,” I breathe. “But this pain is so much worse.” Another one hits and I groan, curling forward.
Josh’s hand moves to my stomach, holding it as the contraction recedes.
“Okay,” he murmurs. “Let’s time the next one.”
Across the room Hank finally finds the bag, and I can see the swell of pride on his face. “Got it!”
“Keys!” Luke shouts.
“They’re on the…” I don’t get to finish my sentence as another contraction hits.
Josh frowns, and I know whatever he’s going to say isn’t good. “They're too close together,” he mutters.
Then he waits. Thirty seconds later another contraction slams into me so suddenly I cry out.
His eyes sharpen instantly.
“I need you to lay back and I need to check your cervix.” He helps me lean back against the pillows. I nod, barely hearing him over the next wave of pain.
He moves quickly, calm and precise, and then he freezes.
“Josh?” I gasp. “Is something wrong?” Tears are streaming down my face. All I can think is I’m about to lose my baby.
“You’re fully dilated.”
My heart stutters.
“What?”
He exhales slowly.
“You’re not making it to the hospital.”
Across the room both Hank and Luke freeze.
“What do you mean, not making it?” Hank demands.
Josh’s voice stays calm, but I can still hear the urgency in it.
“She’s having the baby here.”
“What?!” I shriek. Another contraction crashes through me, and I scream this time, grabbing the sheets.
“Okay, okay,” Josh says quickly. “Veronica, I need you to listen to me. Everything is going to be okay. We’re going to deliver the baby here, and then go to the hospital.
Women deliver at home all the time and I’m a doctor, remember?
. It’s going to be okay. We’re here. We’ll keep you and the baby safe. I promise.”
He looks over toward Luke and Hank.
“Hank, get me my medical bag from the closet by the front door. After that get me some towels . and a clean sheet. Then call an ambulance. Tell them she’s in labor and fully dilated.”
Hank grabs his phone so fast that he almost drops it. “Okay, I can do that,” he says.
“Luke,” Josh says firmly, “come here. Get on the bed beside her and hold her hand.”
Luke rushes over, climbing on the bed immediately, moving right through the spot I soaked.
“I’m here,” he says, grabbing my hand.
“Stay with her,” Josh tells him. “Help her breathe. Hank, when you’re done, come hold her other hand. I’m going to need the two of you to help her.”
I clutch Luke’s hand as another contraction hits.
“Oh God,” I pant. “I can’t—”
“Yes, you can,” Josh says, his voice tight but determined. “You’ve got this.”
Across the room Hank is pacing, phone pressed to his ear. “Yes…yes…she’s in labor…our friend’s a doctor, but he says the baby’s coming now!” He’s running his hand through his now grown out brown hair, tugging on the ends.
Josh moves between my legs, his expression completely focused.
“Okay, Veronica,” he says gently. “Next contraction, you’re going to push.”
My eyes go wide.
“I’m not ready!”
“You are,” he says firmly. “Our baby is ready to be here. To meet his mama, and daddies.”
The pain builds again, stronger than anything before.
“Oh God!” I cry.
“Push,” Josh orders.
I scream as I bear down, Luke gripping my hand, while Hank drops the phone and rushes to the bed, dropping down on the floor beside me.
“You’re doing great,” Josh says. “I can see the head. Luke, Hank, I need you to take her knees and pull them toward her.” They do just as he says, and when the contraction hits, I push.
Hank presses his forehead to mine. “You’re amazing,” he murmurs.
Sirens wail faintly in the distance, growing louder. They’re coming. Maybe I can still make it to the hospital. Just tell this baby to stay in until I can get the good drugs.
“One more push,” Josh says.
The contraction hits and I push with everything I have left.
Then suddenly a cry fills the room. High, loud, perfect. For a moment none of us move.
Then Josh laughs softly. “It’s a girl.”
Tears spill down my cheeks as he lifts the tiny, crying baby and places her gently against my chest.
She’s warm. Real. Perfect.
Luke lets out a shaky laugh beside me while Hank just stares, completely stunned.
“Holy shit,” Hank whispers.
I look down at our daughter, my heart so full it feels like it might burst.