Chapter 36
Adam
I can’t hear anything over the pounding of my heart.
Lex yanks me forward by my tactical vest, forcing me to focus for a second.
I see Nico on the ground, this time really dead, and I see Woodcroft cuffing Hunter Page, who appears to be freshly off of his private jet.
But I don’t see Claire.
“Where is she?” I scream into Page’s face, gripping his shirt.
“I don’t fucking know. I just got dragged off my fucking plane.” He nods back to the plane sitting in the warehouse.
How the fuck they got clearance to have a plane in here, I have no clue. Obviously, money talks.
“Adam, upstairs!” Juliette motions to the stairs.
I’ve been here before, but it’s like everything is brand new. I have no clue where to go, where to check. I’m frantic and making very little actual progress.
I take the stairs three at a time before walking around the lift area. Then I see the bathroom door.
I pound on the door like my entire life is behind it because I’m really hoping it is.
“Claire! Please tell me you’re in there!” My fists don’t stop.
“I am.”
I can barely hear her, but the thing that resonates is that I can hear her.
“I can’t get up to open the door, though.”
Like a beast, I slam my shoulder into the door, cracking it before the lock breaks.
The first thing I see is Claire’s gorgeous face covered in tears and snot. Then I see her hands covering her bump and a huge wet spot on her pants. Sheer panic grips me. There’s something wrong with the baby.
“Oh my God,” I mumble, dropping to my knees in front of her. My hands run along every inch of her I can touch until I run them along her belly, just as is tightens visually. “Oh shit.” My eyes wide, I look up at Claire.
“Yeah.” She laughs through her tears. “I blame you for this shit. How am I going into labor in this shitshow?”
“Blame me every single day, baby, but right now, we have bigger problems.”
Juliette enters the small bathroom and immediately goes into control mode. “Adam, pick her up and get her to the SUV now. We need to get her to the hospital. Stone, drive. Woody, Sin, and Lex can handle things here, and I’ll come with you guys.”
Claire grunts, eyes squeezed closed, as her hand grabs mine and nearly crushes it.
“Oh my God. Oh my God,” I chant before Juliette ducks in front of me.
“She is in labor. Check yourself and suck up whatever panic you feel right now.”
I nod, but I feel no calm. I do, however, pick up Claire off the floor and make my way to the SUV. I know she’s feeling every ounce of pain because she doesn’t even complain about me lifting her up.
Somehow, we maneuver into the backseat, me sitting behind Claire while she semi-lies on the seat, and Juliette against the other door. It’s a very tight fit, but Juliette seems to know what she’s doing, and I’m sure as hell not getting in the way.
Claire groans, shifting onto her knees.
“Drive!” Juliette yells at Stone.
“Hey, you’re doing great,” I murmur to Claire.
“Shut up!” she growls, making Juliette laugh.
“I’m going to get your pants off, okay, Claire?” Juliette asks calmly.
Claire whimpers and nods.
I’m powerless to help. Seeing Claire in this much pain because she’s bringing my kid into the world is so damn hard. She presses the majority of her weight onto me, putting a knee on the floorboards and one leg onto the seats.
“Damn good, Claire. Just breathe through the contractions,” Juliette says, ducking down to peek at what I assume is Claire’s progress. “Stone, how far?”
“Eight minutes if I run reds.”
“Do it. We don’t have eight minutes,” Juliette says. Her eyes lift to mine, and I know that this is it. Claire is about to give birth in the back of the SUV while my co-worker delivers.
I’ve never been more scared in my entire life.
“I feel like I’m going to shit myself,” Claire murmurs, pressing more into this makeshift position she’s in.
“Good. Lean into that feeling. Let your body work.” Juliette grabs the first-aid kit from God knows where and slides on a pair of gloves, tossing one to me as well.
I don’t hesitate before returning my hand to Claire’s as her entire body clenches tight.
“Adam, reach down.” Juliette looks up at me with a soft smile.
My hand not holding Claire’s reaches between her legs and immediately feels the head. “Oh my God. You’re so close, baby. I can feel Teeny,” I murmur in awe.
Claire doesn’t respond; instead she grunts and pushes, which I can feel against my hand. I look up at Juliette in panic. What do I do?
“You’re going to catch your baby. I’ll be right here.” Juliette smiles.
“I need to move,” Claire whispers.
“Move. However you need to.” Juliette should have been a damn OB/GYN at this rate.
We get Claire shifted in between contractions to where she’s facing me, arms over my neck, with her head against my chest. I have the perfect position to reach Teeny, and now it’s just a matter of waiting.
Both of my hands cup the head, and within a matter of minutes, it’s out.
Things move insanely fast after this. Claire relaxes against me as Teeny is finally out and in my hands.
“Oh my God.” Tears roll down my face. I just caught my own baby. Talk about a story to tell.
Juliette grabs an emergency blanket, helping Claire sit and handing me the blanket to wrap the baby in. I can’t focus on anything. It’s like the world has completely changed. Everything I was worried about, everything that was uncertain, no longer matters.
All I see is Teeny and a fucking incredible woman who is stronger than she will ever know.
“What’s Teeny?” Claire asks, exhausted. Juliette is tending to her but also letting us have a moment.
“I didn’t even look.” I chuckle through my tears. I sit next to her, leaning in close and moving the emergency blanket.
“Charlette Morrison,” Claire whispers.
I will tell anyone who asks that I cried like a damn baby, sobbing as this little person wraps her small fingers around mine.
Things are hazy after that. I know that doctors take Charlie from me and take Claire up to a room. I try to follow, but Juliette tells me to grab some clothes from the back and change before I head up to the room. It’ll take them a few minutes to get my family all set up apparently.
When I walk out of the restroom after changing, Stone and Juliette are waiting for me.
“Good job, dad.” Juliette has tears in her eyes.
Stone is looking at Juliette like she hung the moon. I wish I could focus on that, but I’ve got a woman and baby to go check on.
We walk up to Claire’s room and find a doctor checking Claire over while she holds Charlie. Claire looks more tired than I have ever seen her, almost dazed. I turn to Stone and ask for a favor before I go to my family. He agrees readily, leaving me with Claire and Charlie.
“Hey, mama,” I whisper, leaning into her and pressing a kiss on her forehead.
“Hi.” She’s still looking at baby Charlie.
“I am so in awe of you.”
“I don’t even know what just happened.” She chuckles, looking up at me.
“You were fucking superwoman,” I whisper. I don’t have adequate words to tell her how the last ten minutes changed my entire life. “I’m so in love with you.”
“I love you too. I’m glad you were there,” she breathes out. Her thumb brushes across the full head of hair Charlie has, Claire’s head resting on my shoulder.
The rest of the night goes by in a blink.
I don’t sleep; instead, I am content to hold Charlotte Morrison while the love of my life gets some sleep.
The doctor said we were lucky that Juliette knew what she was doing.
There weren’t any complications, and even though Charlie was born a little early, she’s perfectly healthy.
The next day, a knock on our hospital door—followed by my team—makes me smile.
“Hey, how are you doing?” Juliette immediately asks Claire.
“Good, thanks to you.”
“Eh, that was nothing.” Juliette brushes it off.
“Guys, I’d like to introduce you to Charlette Jules Morrison.”
Juliette’s eyes immediately go to mine and well up.
“You guys,” she whispers.
“It was only right to honor the calmest person who made sure Charlie was healthy,” Claire says.
“Can I hold her?” Juliette asks.
“Of course.” I hand the baby off although it kills me to do so.
A round of congratulations is followed by Stone pulling Claire’s favorite pizza from behind his back.
“Oh my God, how did you know?” Claire gasps, reaching for it with gimmie hands.
“Your man, of course,” Stone says with a chuckle.
Claire looks at me with nothing but admiration in her eyes. She immediately takes a huge bite of pizza, making me choke on my laughter.
“By the way, I called your sisters,” Juliette says, rocking baby Charlie.
“Jesus.” My hand goes to rub the bridge of my nose.
“I told them to just go to your apartment and not bombard you at the hospital. They should be here right around when you get discharged. And you, little one, will get to meet all your crazy aunties.” Juliette’s babytalk cracks the group up.
“Well, we just wanted to come see the little one. Don’t worry about anything, Adam. Call me when you feel up to getting back to work,” Woodcroft says.
“We’ll be stopping by. God knows none of us are going to stay away for long with that little one,” Lex says, brushing his fingers over her dark baby hair.
“Thanks for the pizza!” Claire says through a mouthful.
She’ll never say it, but this was all very traumatic for her.
Nothing went to plan, and she thought she’d have to give birth in front of assholes who wouldn’t give two shits about anything.
All that while still having Charlie in a car was a lot for her.
She’s been a little zoned out, but it appears the pizza is helping.
Everyone leaves, and we’re left to just the three of us again.
All is right in my world.