We walk into the hospital hand in hand, and I’m not surprised when we’re greeted by a room full of anxious adults. Thad is pacing in circles so fast that I get dizzy after a few seconds of watching him. He’s running his hands through his hair repeatedly, murmuring under his breath. James, Jenna, and Chloe are in a corner, drinking coffee and chatting, ignoring Thad completely.
When they see us, they smile wide and wave us in.
“How are things going?” Presley goes to Thad and forces him to stop moving by throwing her arms around his waist.
“They say she’s fine. Everything’s fine… that’s all they’ll tell us.” His voice is grave and does nothing to hide his worry.
“Thad! Stop it, she IS fine,” Chloe scuffs at him and then looks at Presley. “Ember is perfect. She’s fully dilated, and the baby’s heartbeat is strong and good. Robbie will be out any minute to tell us when she’s going to push. The doctor on call has already stopped by to say it’s almost time.”
“Eeeekkk! This is so exciting!” Presley
gushes and dances in a circle.
“WHY IS SHE DANCING? I didn’t miss it, did I?” Cruz bolts into the room with panic written on his face. Alex is close behind with the same expression.
“No, calm down,” Chloe shushes him.
Robbie walks in and slaps me on the back then looks at everyone with a slight tremor in his voice. “We’re going to start pushing now. Ember is ready.”
There’s a collective round of ‘good lucks’ around the room, and I follow him down the hall out of earshot.
“Man,” I put a hand on his shoulder, “you got this.”
“Yeah, I do.” A spark of excitement flashes across his face.
“Oorah!” I whisper fiercely.
“Oorah, brother.”
He walks away, and I watch him disappear into a room.
“You know you never cease to amaze me. You are my real life Hero,” Presley says softly, and I turn to see tears in her eyes. “That was priceless.”
I shrug, my heart warming at her calling me ‘her hero’.
“Come back in. Raven and Declan are here. Everyone wants to hear about our honeymoon, and I want you to help me tell them.” She holds out a hand, and instead of taking it to follow her, I pull her close.
“Should we skip over the part about fucking for two days straight? Or setting our all-time record of earthshattering orgasms?”
She giggles and nods rapidly. “Yes, I think we can skip that part. Let’s stick to the snorkeling, shopping, and general trip details.”
She leads me back to the waiting room where a few others have arrived, and we share the PG- rated details of our honeymoon… while we wait…
“Your turn. Robbie insists it’s you next,” James says quietly, eyeing Presley sleeping in my lap. I nod and jostle her lightly.
“Babe, wake up.”
She sighs and stretches a bit then scoots back. “What’s going on?”
“Robbie and Ember want to see us.”
This wakes her up fully, and she pounces out of my lap and goes to the sink on the other side of the room, motioning for me to join her in washing our hands.
We walk into the hospital room, and I am shocked to see Ember sitting up, glowing. Robbie is hunched over her with his forehead against her shoulder, staring at a bundle in a pink blanket.
“Hey, guys, congratulations.” Presley speaks softly, going to them and laying a hand on each of their arms. She stretches her neck and then inhales sharply. “She’s so pretty. Oh my God, look at her! She’s perfect.”
Ember beams, reaching out her free hand. I join them and kiss her cheek, looking between the proud parents.