I meet her dad in the lobby, and he has this smirk on his face that comes with a bit of understanding to really note how fast I just got here.
“I’ll take you to her room. Her water broke about half an hour ago. She’s dilated to six already.”
Fuck, six? That fast? Then again, what do I fucking know?
“Is she okay? Is Foster? She’s only thirty-eight weeks.”
Patrick nods as we keep a quick pace down the hall. “Mia’s blood pressure was pretty high when we got here, which they believe played a part in her going into labor early. But they’ve got it managed now, and Foster’s heartbeat is strong.”
Relief floods my body so fast that I have to hang my head. “Thank you. I’m glad you were with her at the house. I could tell in her voice that something was off.”
“Yeah, I’ll let her fill you in on that.” Patrick pauses outside her room. “Her mom and I are going to wait in the lobby, per her request, but if I can ask, we’re going to need updates when you can.”
“Of course.” I reach for the doorknob, but with what I’m sure is a mirror expression of fear and worry for Mia, I move my hand to his shoulder. “I’m going to take care of her. I promise.”
A smile tugs at his mouth. “I know you will. We’re here to take care of you, too. Now, go in there and hold my daughter’s hand.”
“That I can do.”
He claps my back as he walks past, and I open the door slowly to not take out any potential nurses.
The moment Mia sees me, her head falls back. “Thank god.”
“Hey, honey, it seems we’re having a baby today.”
Mia tosses her hands with a nervous laugh. “Yeah, seems like it.”
A nurse turns from her computer with a smile. “Is this Dad?”
Shit, yeah.“That’s me.”
“Perfect, I’m Leah. I’m Mia’s labor and delivery nurse. To catch you up, everything’s looking really good, and Mia’s up next with the anesthesiologist to get her epidural. In the meantime,she really needs to keep her blood pressure at or below 140/90. If it goes up during a contraction, we can work with that, but we need it to go back down after the contraction subsides. I’ll be back to check on her in a few.”
Mia flashes me a nervous smile before looking down at her hands. “Thank you, Leah.”
The door clicks behind me, and with just the few steps I take to reach her, her blood pressure goes from 130 to 138.
“Mia, honey, what’s going on?”
She takes one deep breath, but then she bursts into tears. “This is my fault. I let myself get too worked up and now we’re having Foster two weeks early—and I have to tell you what happened?—”
The machine next to me starts to beep and I see her blood pressure is up to 145/93. “Okay, Mia, stop. Look at me.” I capture her face in my hands and wipe her tears slowly with my thumb. “People have babies early all the time. Your dad told me Foster’s heartbeat is strong, and if there are any complications, we’re in the best place for them. But honey, I need you to breathe for me. Can you do that?’
Mia nods as she attempts to take a small breath. “I need to tell you something.”
I glance at the screen— her blood pressure hasn’t updated yet—and see her heart rate is still hanging around 120. “Baby, I don’t care what happened. I mean, I do, but right now I don’t. I only care about you and our baby. For right now, nothing else exists. Not our jobs, not our friends or family. Just me and you, okay?”
“Okay.” Mia’s hands shake as she reaches for mine.
Leaning in, I kiss her forehead. “I’m here, honey, I’ve got you.”
She takes her first real deep breath, and thankfully her heart rate drops down to normal for a few good seconds, but then it jumps back up.
Her hand squeezes the hell out of mine. It takes me a second to realize she’s having a contraction.
“I got you, honey, I promise.”
After four more hours of labor and an hour of pushing, our little girl finally makes her appearance.
