Page 62 of Secret Redemption

Chapter Twenty-Three

Ava walked into the hospital with Zack at her side and headed for the reception desk. Before they got there, they saw Lucy and Jace walking towards them.

“How is he?” Zack asked.

Lucy looked mystified as Jace answered. “He’s coping well, but he has a long night ahead of him.”

“Are you two fucking serious?” Lucy asked as she watched Zack and Jace with mild disgust.

“What?” Zack asked.

“Zack, please don’t make me hurt you,” Ava said as she took Lucy’s arm and rolled her eyes at the ridiculous men.

“How is she?” Ava asked, having gone through childbirth, she knew exactly how painful it was.

“She’s doing well; the babies are stable and in the correct position. Dane came out and gave us an update about half an hour ago. The doc says that although the babies are five weeks early and classed as preemies, they probably won’t need to go into SCBU for long. The main concern at the moment is that Lauren’s blood pressure is slightly elevated, so they are keeping a very close eye on her.”

They reached the entrance to the Women’s Health department that housed the labour and delivery ward and sat, with Zack and Jace taking seats either side her and Lucy. Megan, Daniel, Nate, and Skye were there all showing support for their friends.

“She’s strong, she’ll get through this and then have two beautiful babies to love,” Ava said as she held Lucy’s arm.

“I know. At this point, I’m more concerned that Dane will get arrested for punching the doctor.”

Everyone laughed at that and agreed that it was a definite possibility.

“How far dilated was she?” Ava asked.

“She was six centimetres when they brought her in. She had been having pains all day, but hadn’t said anything as she didn’t want Dane to overreact.”

“Don’t underestimate him,” Daniel said softly. “When Paige was born, I was a complete wreck. Claire was in so much pain, and I didn’t know what to do to help her. Dane was home on leave with me at the time, and he sat with her for a full hour, while I got my shit together. He rubbed her back, helped her with her breathing and kept her calm. There is nobody else I would have trusted to do that.”

Silence descended as they all took in his words and the feeling behind them.

Skye spoke then. “When I was having Noah, I was on my own, until uncle Reg turned up, spouting that Tilly had told him I needed him. He was awesome, in his own way. He didn’t rub my back or anything, but he kept me company and entertained me while he and Tilly bickered. When it got down to it, he sat outside and waited. He was the first person to hold Noah,” The last was said with a sad smile.

Nate took her hand and kissed her head, “You’ll never be alone again beautiful,” he said softly, and every female in the room smiled and sighed.

Silence descended once again until Zack broke it, “Tell me about Riley?” he asked as he played with the fingers of Ava left hand.

“What do you want to know?” she asked.

“Who was with you?”

“My mom and dad. Dad stayed in the waiting room the whole time, but mom never left my side. Riley was a big baby, and he was in a hurry. I was in labour for a total of three hours.”

Letting go of her fingers, Zack hooked an arm over her shoulder and pulled her head to his shoulder, kissing her temple. “Next time Green Eyes, I’ll hold your hand and rub your feet.”

“You plan on knocking her up, Zack?” Jace asked.

“Jace!” Lucy said and smacked him on the chest.

“Ow! What was that for?”

“You can’t ask that!”

“It’s fine Luce. But if I had my way then as soon as I make this woman Mrs Cunningham she’ll be knocked up. But that’s her decision.”

“Wow, we’re dropping like flies!” Jace exclaimed.