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We excited the depot just as a large green SUV came speeding around the curb. Emma Hansen flew out, her dark mane wild around her face as she came around and opened the door for me.
Tanner quickly looked her over. “Do you know where you’re going?”
“I have no idea. I’m so sorry.” Emma’s hazel eyes were anxious. Her hands twist briefly in the front of her bridesmaid dress.
“I can drive,” Brady suggested as he assisted me up into the back seat. I cringed as I sat, feeling the pressure and the dampness of my gown. Thank God we were close to the hospital.
Tanner’s steady, calm voice spoke over Brady’s. “No, you sit in the back with Cici, I’ll sit up front and navigate.”
“Okay, let’s get out of here.”
“Got it.” Emma tucked the last of my gown inside and closed the door on us, trapping Brady and me in the back seat together.
“How are you?”
For a moment, I couldn’t speak, the tight grip of a contraction stopping my voice. When it finally receded, I loosened my death grip on his fingers and tried to smile. “We owe Emma a car wash.”
Brady’s chuckle was half-hysterical, but it still made us both smile. Distantly I could hear Tanner giving directions to Emma while chatting on his phone. He was talking to another doctor in quick, curt tones. I was hit by the sudden relief of having a prominent doctor in the family. I leaned my head back against the seat and tried to relax while I could. There was a good chance that in a matter of hours, I would finally have my son in my arms. The thought threaded hope and strength through my pain.
“We’re almost there, Cici. You’re doing great.” Tanner’s voice filled the SUV again, forcing my attention back to the here and now. “As soon as we get there, they’ve got a team waiting. An old friend works in the ER. They’ve already paged your OB.”
“Have I mentioned how glad I am that you’re family?”
Tanner’s low chuckle surprised me. “That’s the first time I’ve heard that.”
Emma was an excellent captain, and in a matter of minutes, we were pulling into a large oval driveway, the flashing emergency sign glaring at me from above the doors. “We’re here,” Emma announced, her voice shaky. Putting the SUV in park, she moved to get out. Tanner laid a hand across the woman’s wrist.
“I’ll take her from here. Great job, Emma.” His deep voice was rough, and even in the dim cabin interior, I could see the pink flush appear across her cheekbones as the man got out of the passenger side.
I only had time to send her a quick, grateful smile before everything began to move very, very fast. I was in a wheelchair then being rushed to a room just down the hall, my body shaking in pain as contraction after contraction gripped my body.
I finally heard those blessed words, amongst the nursers and my OB cheering me on, telling me to push down on that unbearable pressure.
And then there was nothing but bright, vivid pain. Over and over. Suddenly it all made sense. The pulsing, rhythmic contractions, the timing and the voices of my nurses as they escalated between pushes. Brady’s hands swept my hair back from my face, pressing his lips against my forehead as I rested in between, waiting for that final moment where I would finally get to meet my baby.
Finally, after a deep, long-lasting contraction, Brady’s grip on my shoulder grew more and more firm. But instead of pain, I felt only the iron-clad support he offered me. I bore down again. And then, a cry, soft and mewling filled the room. My breath whooshed back into my body, the relief sweeping over me like a tidal wave. The heavy warmth was pressed to my chest, and blearily I stared down at the most important person in my life.
My son, utterly beautiful and perfect in every way, stared back at me.
***
Epilogue
3 months later
“Evatt Martinez, we really need to talk about your nighttime privileges.”
Evatt ignored me, his fists curling by his face as I shifted him from one elbow to the other. “Are you listening to me, little one? I can’t keep staying up all night partying with you.”
“I tried reasoning with him. It didn’t work.” Brady spoke from the wide sectional behind me, where he was laid out flat, his sweats rumpled.
“I’m a better negotiator.”
“You mean you have boobs.”
“Don’t hate because you can’t compete.” I smoothed a finger over Evatt’s little furrowed brow, torn between wishing he’d wake up so I could engage with him before my day began and hoping that he slept for at least a few hours.
“Are you ready for this?”
