Page 144 of The Forever Vault

“Congrats on your medals so far. My daughter does gymnastics. She’s a big fan. Mrs. van der Berg is on the fifth floor, just head down this hall, up the elevator on your left, exit to the right and the waiting room is right there. There’s another station there where they can grant you access to her room if possible.”

“Thank you-” I glanced down at her nametag, “-Nancy.” I made a mental note of her name, hoping I’d remember to send her daughter an autographed photo later.

“There’s more people coming,” Austin added. “Can they all fit in the waiting room upstairs too?”

Nancy nodded. “It’s an exclusive wing of the hospital. There’s only two patients in there at the moment. You’ll be fine.”

I silently thanked Austin for asking about the others, then continued to drag him further into the hospital.

“You remember the directions?” he asked.

“Left elevator, fifth floor, exit to the right,” I answered.

“Show off.”

I knew we were in the right place immediately. David was there with Isaak, who looked shaken, but greeted me right away.

"Cam, thank God."

"How is she?" Austin asked .

His dad answered, "Great, but a little feisty. Mr. Silicon Valley here made the mistake of saying he was already exhausted for her. She sent him away."

I held back my laughter to ask, "Who’s with her?"

"Just Rebecca."

I didn't say anything more. I walked over to the other station Nancy mentioned and asked what I needed to do to be with Erika.

"Family?"

Before I could answer, Austin was beside me. "We’re her brothers."

"Very good," she replied. "Joey, can you take these young men to the dressing room, then into birthing unit B?"

Remy bounded into the room, dramatically - everyone turned - but once he saw Austin and the other guard near David and Isaak, he appeared to relax, but not before staring daggers at Austin.

"You ready?" I got Austin's attention back, but his face was red. "You okay? You look warm."

"Just excited for the baby. Let's go."

Joey led us to a small locker room and explained, "This room is exclusively for your family’s use. It stays locked from the hall, so your belongings are safe in here. You can put the scrubs over your clothes or take off what you're wearing and put the scrubs on instead. It can get cold in there, so the layers may help, but I'm always cold." He chuckled. "When you’ve got the booties, the pants and shirt, and the scrub cap on, you can enter the birthing suite through that door."

He pointed at a solid violet-colored door in the corner. “If you have any questions, you can pick up that phone. It will automatically connect to the desk outside. Good luck!”

I didn’t wait for him to leave before I started taking my clothes off. I slipped the scrubs over my briefs, the booties over my bare feet, and put the cap on as I made my way to the door. Austin was still fumbling with his jeans, mumbling something about wearing his tight pants to look good for O today.

“See you in there.” I didn't wait for a response before plowing through the door.

“Cam!”

My eyes adjusted to the muted light in the perimeter of the room, but were drawn, of course, to the action in the middle and Erika’s outstretched hand. I walked quickly, careful to avoid the staff, to grab it. Her mother was opposite me, holding her other hand.

“He’s not born yet?” I said with a smile, earning a hard squeeze from Erika.

“Go fuck yourself–aaah! He’s doing his best.”

“Everything good so far?” I asked the room.