Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
Nadia
I ’m sitting in the common room with Nolan, Krimson, Danyella, Jezebell, Daisy and Kensi. Nina has the twins at the pool table, teaching them how to play. Neither MJ nor Jaxson can reach the table, but she’s a natural at keeping them entertained. Jezebelle is bouncing her baby girl on her knees while Naomi laughs.
Knight, Daisy’s twin brother and future prospect, and Seth, Jezebelle’s son are behind the bar, cleaning. I’ve been uncomfortable since we came back from our dinner with Nolan and Krimson but I’m not saying anything yet. If it gets worse, then I will.
“Hey, sis. How are you doing?” Nolan asks, sitting next to me on the couch.
“I’m doing good.” I turn to face him. “Listen, Nolan. I’m really sorry for everything.”
Nolan holds his hand up to stop me. “Don’t apologize, Nadia. I’m the one who should be apologizing, not you. I get why you were so scared and didn’t want to see me.” He gently takes my hand in his scarred ones. “When you found me, I was going through some shit of my own and wasn’t in the right headspace.” His eyes trail to Krimson sitting at the bar with Danyella and Daisy. “If it weren’t for Ashley, I would still be struggling with the darkness inside of me. Neither one of us had the best upbringing, but together we can give this little one all the love neither one of us had. That is if you’ll let me.”
Tears form in my eyes, “Of course I want you to be a part of our baby’s life. You’re going to be the best Uncle to our little boy.” I shift and try to get comfortable but it’s not helping. “I need to go for a walk.”
Nolan is watching me with worry in his eyes. “Are you OK?”
“Yeah, just a little uncomfortable at the moment. Nothing a long walk can’t fix.” I stand up with the help of Nolan and walk through the garage until I get outside. Red and the rest of the Royal Bastards are still in their meeting and will probably be there for a while. The night air is crisp in my lungs and I’m feeling better already. I walk the perimeter of the fence and look across the deserted land. Lights from Los Angeles are twinkling in the distance and the four-oh-five is filled with headlights and taillights. A slight breeze coming behind me ruffles my hair and I turn in its direction, letting it cool my face down. A snap of a twig on the other side of the fence has me spinning around to look but I’m not seeing anything. An eerie feeling settles deep in my stomach.
“Who’s there?” I shout into the night. I know I’m well protected here and no one can get in or out unless they come through the gates, but that doesn’t stop the hair on the back of my neck from rising. It’s too dark to see anything on the other side of the fence, but I have a sudden feeling I’m not alone out here.
As I slowly back away from the fence another breeze picks up and with it a scent I will never forget. It’s buried deep into my subconscious and will haunt me for the rest of my life. He’s here and he’s watching me. Fear and panic bubble to the surface and the uncomfortable feeling I’ve been having doubles. Wetness pools between my legs and I turn to run back into the Clubhouse. I make it to the door when a cramp has me doubling over. I cry out, clutching my lower belly.
“Fuck.” I breathe through the pain and wait for it to subside. Once it does, I take another careful step. I control my breathing so I don’t have another cramp. I open the garage door and slowly make my way down the garage attached to the Clubhouse. I’ve had to stop a few times and breathe through the cramping. I reach the common room and breathe a sigh of relief. Now I just need to get someone’s attention. I open my mouth to shout for help when a sharp pain stabs me in the stomach, taking my breath away. I collapse on the floor moaning and clutching my stomach. Something is happening and I don’t know what. I’m all alone and no one knows what is happening to me or my baby. It’s the story of my life. No matter how hard I try, I’m always left alone.
I close my eyes and tears are rolling down my cheeks as I fight through the pain. “Shit, Nadia.” I hear someone shout my name. I don’t know who it is but someone sees me. I’m not alone anymore. “Someone get Red.”
Warm hands grip my shoulders, forcing me to sit up. I open my eyes and Jezebelle is in front of me, trying to get my attention. “Nadia, what’s wrong?” I open my mouth to answer when another sharp pain stabs through my stomach and I clutch it tighter. “Shit, she’s going into labor! Where the fuck is Red?!”
“I’m right here, what happened?” I can feel Matt’s touch around my shoulders and it calms me down.
I breathe through the pain and open my eyes to see Matt staring back at me. “Went for a walk. Felt wetness between my legs. Now I’m in pain.” I grit out through clenched teeth.
“Ok, Pulchra, we’re going to get you to the hospital.” Matt pushes the hair out of my face. “Where’s Derange?”
“I’m right here. I need everyone to step back and give Nadia some room, please.” Derange demands. He bends down so he is at eye level with me on the floor. “Hey, Nadia. I’m going to check you over and make sure the baby isn’t already on its way here. How long have you been having these pains?”
“Just started.” I shift so Derange can look me over. My back is to Matt’s front and I’m settled between his legs. “I have been feeling uncomfortable for a few hours but figured it was gas. But when I went for a walk outside, I felt a rush of water and then the cramping started.”
Derange pushes on my stomach. He looks at me and then at Matt behind me. “We need to get her to the hospital ASAP.” Derange’s eyes move back to mine. “You’re in labor, Nadia. The baby is coming whether you’re ready or not.”
“I can’t be. I still have another six weeks.” I clutch Matt’s hand when another contraction hits me. “Uh!” I groan through the pain.
Matt gently picks me up and carries me through the Clubhouse and into an awaiting SUV. He carefully settles me into the backseat and follows. Before Matt can close the door, Derange sticks his head inside. “Get her there as quickly as possible. I will call ahead and let them know she’s coming. One other thing, time her contractions. If they come any quicker than two minutes apart, you’re going to have to deliver that baby. We’ll be right behind you, brother.”
Aftermath and Kensi are in the front and as soon as the door is closed, Aftermath slams the gas pedal, shooting out of the Club’s parking lot like hell was on his heels.
Matt wipes the sweat away from my forehead. “How are you doing?”
“This shit hurts, Matt. Are you sure he’s going to be ok?” I question. I’m scared something is going to happen and we’re going to lose our baby.
“Everything will be fine, Nadia. We’re getting you to the hospital as quickly as we can.” Matt’s lips linger on my forehead and I breathe him in.
There is no one I’d rather have here at my side during this than Matt. He’s been my rock and my salvation. I’ve opened my heart and my soul up to him, leaving my jaded past behind. What we feel for each other is something I never thought I’d have.
“We’re about ten minutes out, how are you doing back there?” Aftermath asks. He glances at Matt in the rearview mirror before turning his eyes back to the road. Something passes between the two of them.
“What was that about?” I ask.
“What was what about?” Matt questions my question.
“That look between you and Aftermath.”
“Nothing for you to worry about. Just trust we have this.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive. If you need to know, I’ll let you know. As of right now, you need to focus on the baby, nothing else.” I rest my head on Matt’s shoulder and close my eyes. I’m suddenly exhausted and can’t keep my eyes open. “Rest, Pulchra. We’ll get you there safe.”
“I know you will. I trust you, Matt.” I answer in a whisper. A sharp contraction hits me and I double over in pain.
“Breathe, Nadia. In through your nose, out through your mouth.” Matt inhales through his nose and out through his mouth and I follow suit until the pain goes away.
“Pulling in now,” Aftermath states. He throws the SUV in park and hurries to open my door. He helps me out of the vehicle with Matt right behind me. A nurse is waiting with a wheelchair to take me inside. I sit on it and breathe a sigh of relief. We made it and hopefully, my baby will be ok.
“How far apart are her contractions?” the nurse asks in a hurried, clipped voice.
“They’re around six minutes apart lasting for less than a minute,” Matt informs her. “She is six weeks early.”
The nurse nods her head and pushes me inside. I still have ahold of Matt’s hand and I’m not letting go. “We need to get this woman to OB stat.” A doctor with long brown hair pulled up into a tight bun comes from around the corner and shock is the last thing I need right now.
“Nadia?” The female doctor asks.
“Doctor Amber? What are you doing here?” I ask, shocked.
“I work here part-time when I’m not running my father’s practice.” Her eyes travel down to my belly I’m running a soothing hand over. Maybe if I can calm the baby down, he won’t come yet. “Oh, you’re the one Derange called in to warn us about. Let’s get you upstairs and as comfortable as can be.”
Amber takes over pushing my chair from the nurse and wheels me into the elevator with a confused Matt, Aftermath and Kensi following.
“How do you know each other?” Matt growls, not moving from out of my grasp.
“Let’s say we have mutual acquaintances.” Amber winks at me but Matt isn’t having any of it.
He slams his palm on the emergency button of the elevator making it come to a screeching halt. “I don’t give a fuck if you’re the Queen of England. I don’t know you, so you tell me who the mutual acquaintances are or I’ll call Capone and you won’t be around to help us deliver my son.” Matt threatens with fury in his voice. I’ve never heard this tone from him before.
Amber crosses her arms over her chest and gives Matt a no bullshit attitude. She doesn’t answer, but instead looks down at me. My eyes are ping-ponging between the two of them, trying to hide a smirk. “She is a friend of Rush’s.”
Amber’s face turns a deep shade of red that rivals Matt’s and he raises an eyebrow. “So, you know she’s?” Matt asks, leaving the answer in the air, and giving Amber an opening.
“Nolan’s sister? Yes, I know. Rush filled me in on what’s been going on just in case Nadia’s doctor couldn’t make it.” Amber states.
“And how do you know Rush?”
“That’s really none of your business,” Amber pauses long enough to check Matt’s road name on his cut. “Red.”
“Actually, it is if you’re treating my Ol’ Lady.”
Amber’s eyes grow wide and she looks down at me. “Ol’ Lady? Did you snag yourself a biker? And a protective one at that.”
I grin at Amber, “Just tell him so we can get out of this damn elevator.”
“Fine.” Amber looks back at Matt. “Rush and I have been seeing each other since he was attacked a few years ago.”
“Fine.” Matt releases the emergency button and the elevator lurches up. “But I will be running a background check on you as soon as we know how my boy is doing.”
“Check away, Red. I don’t have anything to hide.” Amber challenges.
The elevator doors open in a whoosh and I feel another contraction starting. I reach for Matt’s hand and he gives it to me. He kneels next to me, “Breathe in through your nose, out through your mouth.” Matt does it and I follow. “That’s good, Pulchra. You’re doing good. Keep going.” I synch my breathing to Matt’s until the contraction passes.
“Jesus. It’s getting worse.” I groan.
Matt wipes the sweat away from my forehead and kisses it. “It’ll be over soon and when it is, our little boy will be here.” A blush creeps up Matt’s face I haven’t seen for a while and it makes me smile.
“Thank you,” I wrap my arms around Matt’s neck and hug him. He hugs me back, kissing the side of my head.
Amber grabs the back of the wheelchair and steers me out of the elevator. Matt, Kensi and Aftermath follow. “We’re going to Labor and delivery. You two need to stay out here until I give you the all clear.”
“Wait, Doctor Amber.” I hold up my hands halting her movements. “I want Kensi in the room with Matt and me.”
“You do?” Kensi asks wide-eyed.
“I do. You’re my best friend, Kensi. Even if I am dangerous with a pair of scissors.” We laugh remembering my crazy side earlier.
“Ok, Kensi, let me get Nadia settled and then you can come in. But we can’t have any more in the room with us. Hospital policy.” Amber states.
“Thank you, Amber,” Kensi responds, hugging Aftermath.
Amber wheels us off into the room where she hooks me up to a couple of monitors. One is for my blood pressure and the other is attached to a band wrapped around my belly. Then she starts an IV for fluids. “Rest when you can, Nadia. I’m going to check your cervix and see how dilated you are.”
My stomach growls, “Can I eat?”
“Unfortunately, you can’t. You can chew on ice chips, but that is it.” She hands me a hospital gown. “Here, put this on please.” Amber steps into the bathroom while I change. I slide my shirt and fat pants off along with my bra and underwear and Matt helps me put the gown on.
“We might need to take one of these home with us,” Matt whispers in my ear, sending a shot of lust through my body.
“I never want to see one of these again, for as long as I live. Who thinks having your ass hanging out is a good idea? Not me.” I grumble.
“But it’s a sexy ass that I don’t mind seeing hanging out.” Matt kisses me on the lips.
“I love you,” I say after we break apart.
“I love you, too, Pulchra,” Matt answers, his face turning a light shade of red. Hmm… I think when his heart races, his face burns. I’ll have to store that away for later.
Amber comes back out of the bathroom carrying a large sheet and slides a pair of latex gloves on. “Ok, Nadia, lean back and put your feet in the stirrups.” I do as she asks as she drapes a sheet over my lower half. “Now, you’re going to feel slight pressure. I’m checking the cervix and seeing how the baby is doing. Did your water break?”
“Yes, that’s what started the contractions,” I answer. Amber presses her fingers inside of me and pushes on my lower abdomen. “Slight pressure my ass. I feel like I’m on fire down there.”
“Your cervix is almost fully dilated. We’re past the point for pain meds.” Amber checks a few other things on the monitors hooked up to me. “It won’t be long now. Do you want to hear the baby’s heartbeat?”
I nod my head and Amber pushes a button. A slow and steady whoosh, whoosh, whoosh fills the room. “Wow.”
“Wow is right,” Matt repeats.
“Don’t freak out, but each time you have a contraction, his heart rate will slow down dramatically and the readings on the sheet will increase. This will give us a more accurate idea of where you are to deliver. Then when it’s over, it’ll speed up and then settle back to normal. When it doesn’t go back to normal or the heartbeat increases during a contraction, that’s when we have a problem.”
“Thank you, Amber.” I praise the doctor.
“Don’t thank me yet. The hard part hasn’t started yet. Would you like me to get Kensi now?”
“Yes, please.”
“Ok, I’ll be right back.” Amber discards her gloves, washes her hands, and then leaves the room.
“Crap, Matt. We don’t have anything ready for him. No names were picked out, and no nursery was set up. Nothing is ready.” I cry.
“Shh…” Matt smooths my hair back. “The prospects are being bossed around right now by a few Ol’ Lady’s making sure everything is ready for us.”
“Thank you.” I lean back and close my eyes. I’m exhausted as hell.
“Want to hear something else?”
I pop an eye open and turn my head. “What?”
“Capone has agreed to purchase the land around the Clubhouse and we’re all going to build houses on it. That way we’re still safe and have more room for our expanding families.”
“Wow. That’s what you got out of our conversation earlier?”
“Yup. I want my woman and child or children to have the absolute best, while still being protected by the Club. What do you think? Want to pick out floor plans with me later?”
I think about it for a moment, “Hmm… maybe?”
“What do you mean maybe?” Matt places his hands on his hips giving me a pointed look. The blush creeps up his neck.
Yup, when I get him riled, that blush I love comes back with a vengeance. I try to hide my giggle but fail. I pull Matt to me and make him sit on the bed. He wraps his arms around my shoulders, pulling me into his chest. “Of course, I’ll pick out floor plans with you. But first, we need to have a baby.”
Matt leans down and kisses me hard on the lips. We’re a mess of tongue, teeth and moans when another contraction hits. “Shit.” I pull away from his lips and after several minutes of breathing through the pain it stops. We listen intently as the baby’s heart rate speeds up and then slows back down. “Wow, that one was intense.”
Kensi and Doctor Amber knock on the door before coming in. “Hey, are you ready to meet your little guy?” Kensi asks.
“I’m more than ready,” I respond smiling.
“Not to freak you out, Nadia but you need to understand that this baby will be in NICU for a while until he can feed and maybe breathe on his own, depending on how his lungs are developed. He’s premature and while he might be healthy, he will need to be monitored. I’d rather you know now, than after he’s born and taken right up to NICU.” Amber looks uncomfortable with this news but I can’t blame her. No one wants to tell a soon-to-be mother and father, that they can’t hold their baby right after it’s born.
“Thanks, Doc,” Matt responds. He squeezes my shoulders. “It’ll all work out, Pulchra. We have to trust it. With everything you went through to bring him here, now it’s the doctor’s job to keep him here.” He kisses my head. “Besides, he’s a Phillips. They’re too stubborn to give up.”
“Ain’t that the truth.” I tease.
A few hours later and several small contractions, I’m wiped out when a sharp contraction takes my breath away. “Doc, it feels like I have to push,” I say through gritted teeth.
Amber throws on a pair of gloves and lifts the sheet. “Yup. Ok, Nadia. It’s time. On the next contraction, I want you to push with everything you have.”
When the pain starts again, I push with everything I have in me. When it stops, I sit back trying to catch my breath. “Good. Good. Do it again.” I push on the next one and pressure builds up below my waist. “Keep going, Nadia. Don’t quit. He’s almost here.”
I sit up and squeeze Matt and Kensi’s hands while I bare down and push. I’m beyond exhausted and ready to throw in the towel when the pressure releases and I collapse back onto the bed. A nurse takes the baby out of the doctor’s arms and takes him over to an incubator. I watch as she cleans his mouth and nose.
“He’s not crying. Why isn’t he crying?” I ask panic bubbling to the surface. Just then a loud wail pierces through the hospital room and I lay back, relief filling my body. “Thank goodness.”
“Ok, Nadia, I need you to push one more time and then we’ll be done.” Doctor Amber says from her spot between my knees. I push hard again and more pressure releases from my abdomen. “Good. Ok, we’re done.”
My body starts to tremble and spots fill my vision. I reach for Matt, but my hand barely grazes his. He’s watching the nurses and doctors clean up our baby. I open my mouth to say something but nothing comes out. The monitors hooked up to my heart and blood pressure start beeping wildly and I’m paralyzed. I can’t move before blackness pulls me under.