She shakes her head. “They’re going to try and stop the labor, but I’m still having contractions. I think I was in labor during the game. That’s why my back hurt.”
“I should’ve known.”
Josie runs her fingers down the side of my face. “I didn’t even know. There were five other women near me who have all given birth, and no one knew.”
“I froze, Josie. I didn’t know what was going on and all I could think about was my grandmother and JD – when they tried to take you, I wouldn’t let them. I was afraid I’d never see you again.”
“I’m never leaving you, Liam. You’re stuck with me for life.”
“I’ll take it,” I say, as I give her a kiss.
Josie and I are just looking at each other when the doctor returns to do her ultrasound. She has one hand with me, while the other holds Noah’s.
“Come here, Noah,” I say when the doctor starts setting up the machine. “Do you want to see your brother or sister, or would you like to go out and wait?”
“Is it cool?”
“Aside from me being your dad, it’s the coolest thing ever.”
He shrugs and says he’ll stay. I keep him with me though, next to Josie, so that the doctor isn’t looking for an excuse to kick him out. A few nurses come in; one checks her vitals, while the other checks her IV’s.
“I forgot to tell you, a little old lady recognized my mom from an old movie. I thought mom was going to get up and dance a jig. When she asked mom where she disappeared to, she said she was raising a family and motioned to everyone in the waiting room.”
“I wish it were true.”
“Me too,” I say. “I let her have her moment though. Sometimes I think she needs it.”
“She does.”
“Whoa, what is that?”
Coming from the computer is the baby’s heartbeat. Noah’s eyes go wide as he looks at Josie and me.
“That, young man, is the heartbeat of your brother or sister and this is what he or she looks like.” The doctor turns the screen to show Noah, whose face drops.
“Where’s its head?”
Now I’m looking and sure enough, my child is missing its head.
“Well, it seems that your sibling is ready to join the world.”
“It’s too early!” Josie screeches.
“I’ll alert NICU,” one of the nurses says, leaving the room. The other nurse is jotting information down in Josie’s chart and the doctor is studying the computer.
“What’s going on?”
He looks at Josie and smiles. “You’re going to deliver. We’re going to let things progress naturally for a bit and see how much you can do by yourself, but you’re not leaving the hospital until your baby is born.”
“But… but…”
He rests a reassuring hand on her leg. “You’re early, but everything will be okay. We have a great team in the NICU, who will be on standby to assist your baby. Do you want to know the sex?”
We both shake our heads. We haven’t even discussed names. We thought we’d figure it out after we saw the baby.
“I know you’re scared. We could try and stop the labor, but the baby is engaged, so even if we stopped it today, it’s likely you’ll be in active labor within twenty-four hours. I suggest you rest while you can. Right now your contractions are mild, but that will change.”
He leaves the room, leaving us pretty much speechless. I’m trying not to panic. Josie doesn’t need this.
“Can you go get Katelyn? She went early with the twins. She’ll know what to do.”
I kiss her gently and tell her I’ll be back after Katelyn. As soon as I open the door to her room, her mother and father stand.
Noah stands next to me while I deliver the news. I tell everyone that they can fly home, that they don’t need to stay, but everyone says they’re not going anywhere.
“Katelyn, she needs to talk to you.” Katelyn rushes down the hall and into her room, followed by Mrs. Preston. Frankly, the one-person rule is dumb and we’re breaking it. I look at Mr. Preston and tell him he should go, too. That’s his baby girl in there.
“I need someone to go to the hotel and see if we can extend our stay.”
“I’ll do it,” Tess volunteers. “Do the kids want to come back to the hotel and swim?” Quinn and Elle say yes, but Peyton shakes her head. Tess reaches for Eden, who is still sleeping.
“I think I’m going to go with you, Tess,” Aubrey says. I know the chairs can’t be comfortable. Mr. Powell and Nick both stand, each saying for someone to call them when the news changes.
I pull Nick aside. “Thank you. Not only for trying to help Josie when I couldn’t, but also for being there for Noah when I wasn’t.”
He extends his hand, and I shake it. “You’re welcome, Liam. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for them.”
I know this, and nod. I don’t want to think about a time when I need to call Nick for help, but I’m glad that he’s been there for my family. I watch him walk away, knowing that he’s never going anywhere and I need to accept it.