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“You are not watching the birth of my son, asshole!” I snarled.
Deacon’s smile stretched even further. “I meant watching you freak out. The guys want updates. Mind if I take some pictures? I wonder if I can get some popcorn around here?”
I cuffed him on the back of the head, but he just laughed heartily.
The elevator whooshed open, and I jogged down to another set of double doors that led to the maternity ward waiting room. I pointed at a chair and gave Deacon a look that said he better sit down and shut up.
Another nurse sat behind a glass window, and she looked up at me as I neared. “Reed. Wife. Cora. Um…” I couldn’t string two damn words together.
The nurse’s eyes twinkled, but she held back her smile and calmly gave me the room number. I left Deacon laughing behind me as I burst through yet another set of doors.
My shoes squeaked on the white linoleum floor as I found my way to room four.
Cora was reclining on a hospital bed, her expression worried. When she saw me, her blue and green gaze filled with joy and relief. Then her eyes narrowed, and she glared at me.
“Cutting it kind of close, babe.”
“I am so sorry, gingersnap,” I sighed as I ran my hands through my hair. “I couldn’t get my car in my keys,” I sputtered as I strode to her side, the words coming out all wrong. “Deacon ran me here, and I drove to your room as fast as I could.”
Cora’s lips pinched for a second before she broke out into a peal of giggles. “Who are you, and what have you done with my cool and collected husband?”
I gathered her into my arms and touched my forehead to hers with a deep sigh. “I can’t get over it. I’m going to be a dad. I don’t know what to do with a baby! What if he breaks when I hold him? What if—”
“Huntley,” Cora interrupted my rambling with a chuckle. “I can’t—”
Panic rose in my throat when she stopped and grimaced in pain, leaning forward to put her hands on her large belly. “Are you okay? Is something wrong with the baby? Should I get the doctor?” A small part of my brain muttered that I was overreacting, but it was overpowered by all the irrational emotions.
Cora shook her head and placed a hand on my forearm, squeezing it as she breathed through the contraction. Damn, her grip was fucking strong. I was definitely going to have bruises when this was over.
Finally, the pain subsided, and she leaned back against the pillows. She smirked and giggled again. “I can’t believe a little baby scares you more than anything you’ve encountered on one of your missions.” I gave her a mock glare before chuckling along with her. Then I placed a quick kiss on her lips, and as I pulled back, her face contorted in pain again.
“Should you be in this much pain?”
Just then, a woman in a long white coat strolled into the room, examining a clipboard. When she looked up and saw me, she smiled. “This is the husband, I take it? I’m Dr. Bensen.”
“Why is she in so much pain? Can’t you do something?” I demanded, the soldier in me returning.
The doctor just continued to smile, ignoring my outburst as she sat on a stool and examined my wife. “Cora is allergic to the epidural, so she’s going to have to do this naturally.” She met my wife’s gaze and nodded encouragingly. “Are you ready? It’s time.”
Cora was in the middle of another contraction, her nails digging into my flesh hard enough to draw blood. “Let’s roll,” she mumbled.
With every push, my heart rate increased and my breathing became shallower.
“One last push!” the doctor called out.
The sound of a baby’s cry split the air, and my head started spinning. Then everything went black.
When I came to, I was lying on the ground, and several pairs of eyes were staring at me in shock.
“Did you say your husband was a Navy SEAL?” someone asked Cora in a loud whisper.
Shit.I was never going to live this down…
* * *
“He’s perfect, gingersnap,”I told Cora softly as I stared down at my son. She ran a hand over his fuzzy little head and smiled blissfully. When her blue and green eyes raised to mine, I bent and kissed her forehead. “Thank you,” I said reverently.
Cora smiled. “You’re welcome. But what for?”
