Page 44 of Arrivals & Assets

He steadied me as we walked to the stairs, pausing to grab some towels, then we headed down to the car. He got me in the passenger seat just before another contraction started.

“That was nine minutes,” he said as he got behind the wheel. “I think you’re progressing fast.”

I made a noise of agreement as he backed out onto the street.

Unfortunately, we’d barely made it out of our neighborhood when traffic started to back up. The New Year’s Eve parties were over, and everybody was heading home at the same time.

I gripped Dylan’s hand while we waited for a traffic light to let through a handful of cars at a time, and people honked behind us.

Then another, only a couple of lights later.

The hazard lights flashing on the dashboard were almost infuriating. The click-click of them was another reminder of time passing as we waited for the cars in front of us to move.

We’d thought the hospital was the ideal distance from the house. We’d tested the drive, and it was only supposed to be about ten minutes away, but as I breathed through another contraction, I saw that we’d spent nearly half an hour in traffic.

“They’re getting closer together,” Dylan said as I released his hand. “I’m calling the hospital to let them know we’re coming in hot.”

“Ok.”

He thumbed the phone button on the steering wheel. “Call labor and delivery.”

The speakers were silent for several seconds before a computerized voice declared a poor signal.

“Damnit!” Dylan cursed, then thumbed the button and repeated the call request.

That time, the call went through, but I was terrified that it was going to drop again as it rang… and rang… and rang…

It was probably a full minute, maybe two, before somebody answered.

“Harris Cove General Hospital, Labor and Delivery, how may I help you?”

“My mate’s in labor,” Dylan declared. “We’re stuck in traffic, but coming in hot. Labor started around eleven forty, initially ten minutes apart. Water broke at twelve fifteen. Contractions are now seven minutes.”

There was a beat of silence, then, “How far out are you?”

“I don’t know… ten minutes? It’s hard to tell with the traffic. We only live ten minutes away but have already been in the car for half an hour.”

The pressure was building again, and I tried to hold on so my alpha could talk to the nurse, but I cried out with another contraction.

“What are you driving and what’s the plate number? We’ll have somebody meet you at the emergency entrance,” she said as soon as I was able to breathe again.

Dylan gave her the car information and breathed a sigh of relief when the call disconnected. “We’ll be there soon, and they know we’re coming.”

“Ok,” I whimpered. Even between contractions, the pressure was almost overwhelming.

The traffic sped from a standstill to a crawl as Dylan pulled onto the road leading to the hospital, and he stopped at the emergency entrance just as another contraction started.

Somebody in scrubs opened my door as I screamed through the pain, then helped me into a wheelchair as soon as it passed.

Then there was a moment of awkward indecision as Dylan looked between me, the car, and the ambulances coming down the street.

“Go,” said a nearby cop. “I’ll park and lock it for you. Give me your name, and I’ll leave the keys at the security desk.”

My alpha tossed the keys at the cop and gave his name as he rounded the car, then he jogged beside me as I was rushed inside.

The emergency room was chaotic, but as soon as I was on the elevator to labor and delivery, it was almost too quiet.

Until I screamed with another contraction.