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According to Adam, Irene was getting there, but none of them were willing to put Katie in a situation where she became an emotional punching bag for her mom. Irene needed to work out her feelings away from Katie so they could have a productive conversation together.
And still, Maggie was supposed to be getting on that flight.
Her phone buzzed to let her know her ride was downstairs.
She sighed, picked up her camera bag, grabbed her suitcase, and left her apartment with her limbs feeling like lead.
When she was in the car, she texted Katie to let her know, and shared her location, just in case.
Everything was going to be okay when she got back, right? Christmas was just another day. It wasn’t a deadline after which a person’s feelings changed. They’d both been circling back around to them, they’d do the same thing after Christmas too, right?
As if she could hear Maggie’s thoughts, Katie texted her.Have a safe journey! Everything will still be here when you get back. Me included.
Maggie’s heart pounded and it took every inch of her strength not to ask the driver to take her to Katie’s place instead.
It had to be a sign. It had to be Katie telling her there was still a chance for them, that she wasn’t giving up, that the interruptions weren’t a sign they couldn’t be together.
She scrubbed a hand through her hair. How was she supposed to get on a plane away from Katie when all she wanted was her?
Her knees bounced as they drove closer and closer to the airport. She couldn’t just miss her flight. She couldn’t just turn around. She couldn’t add more pressure on Katie when she was already going through so much.
When she was wondering whether they were far enough into the airport for Katie’s phone to read her as there, Maggie’s phone buzzed.
She yanked it out of her pocket, foolishly hoping it was Katie telling her not to go.
It wasn’t Katie. She attempted to regulate her disappointment as she answered. “Hello?”
“Hey, Maggie? It’s Timia,” said a slightly tense voice on the other end of the call.
“Timia? Are you okay?” There was only one reason her clients usually called her unexpectedly and from unknown numbers…
“Yeah.” She cut off, clearly gritting her teeth through a wave of pain. “The baby’s coming early.”
Maggie breathed a laugh. It felt like a lifeline she desperately wanted. “Are you at the hospital?”
“On the way.” Timia took a steadying breath, speaking much more smoothly when she started again, without the contraction. “I’m so sorry. I don’t even know if you’re in town or you went away for the holidays…”
“I’m still here. I’m on the way. I’ll meet you there.”
“Oh my god.” Timia sounded like she might burst into grateful tears. “You’re the best.”
Maggie laughed. “You just look after yourself and I’ll be there soon.”
Timia hung up and Maggie, ridiculously gleeful, asked her driver to take her to Saint Giles, apologizing profusely for the change of plans as she turned off location sharing on her phone. If Katie saw her heading to the hospital, she’d be convinced something terrible had happened.
She’d figure out what to do about her flight and Christmas and her family later, but, for now, all Maggie could think was that she was getting another shot. She had an important job to do, but, after that, she was telling Katie. Come hell or high water, she was telling her. And she didn’t care if the entirety of both their families showed up, they’d just have to watch the show.
If Maggie was going to believe in signs, she was sure as hell going to believe in this one.
It didn’t take long to make it back to the hospital, even though Maggie’s flood of emotions made every second feel like a lifetime, and, before she knew it, she was practically throwing herself and her belongings out of the car, and power-walking towards the hospital doors.
She bounced on the balls of her feet as she jammed the elevator button, barely taking in her surroundings. When the doors dinged open, she leaped inside, attempting to speed it up simply through force of will.
It stopped on three different floors on the way up and, through her irrational frustration, Maggie knew she needed to calm down. Birth was rarely a quick process. She was unlikely to have missed it, and, while she was eager to get to Katie, she wasn’t going to be impatient during a client’s birth. She wasn’t going to ruin it for them.
Finally, the doors opened on the correct floor, and she rushed out, charging towards the nurses’ station. She was overjoyed to find Rea there.
She frowned at Maggie. “What you are doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be on a flight right now? God knows Katie hasn’t stopped complaining about it.”
