I’m not ready for this. It freaking hurt with Coby and Ryan, and it’s not as though the third is just going to slip straight out. Damn it, what was I thinking? Though luck is on my side. I’m still in the early stages, so it’s not like I can’t get myself an epidural to manage the pain.
I’ll be fine. I have Bull.
Shit, Bull! I should probably let him know that he’s about to be a daddy again.
I pull my phone out of my bag and find my recent contacts list, knowing Bull’s name would be right at the top, just as it always is. I press his name and hold the phone against my ear, impatiently waiting for him to accept the call.
“Angel, what’s going on? Is Zeke okay?” he asks as noise erupts in the background, stealing his attention away. “Faster,” he yells. “Get up that fucking ladder.”
I smile to myself. Bull has been hard at work, being the badass that we all know he is. They’ve put him in charge of testing all the new rookies and putting them through their paces, and from the sound of it, he’s doing everything in his power to make sure he gets their absolute best.
“Zeke is fine,” I tell him. “Listen ...”
“Get up there, Jones. The house is burning. There are children inside, and you want to stop for a breather? There are no fucking breathers when it comes to saving lives. Get. Up. There.”
“Bull,” I demand, needing his full attention.
I hear Jet in the background, and from how loud he sounds, he’s either right on Bull’s ass, or he’s yelling pretty fucking loud. “You think he’s going to hurl?”
“Fuck, yeah,” Bull chuckles. “Look at him. He’s either going to shit himself or puke. Either way, he’s not finishing this course without redecorating it.” Jet laughs as I hear Chief reprimand them both in the background, telling them to knock it off.
A loud whistle blows, and I rip the phone away from my ear, feeling like I might have just gone deaf. For fuck’s sake. Is it that hard to pay the mother of your unborn child just a little bit of attention? “Bull?” I call.
“Babe,” he laughs. “You should see this kid. He’s fucking red in the face, holding onto his stomach. I swear, he’s not going to make it. Oh … oh no. Here it comes.” There’s a slight pause before I hear all four of the guys burst into uncontrollable laughter. “Naw, shit,” Bull says, unable to breathe. “It’s all down the fucking ladder. You should have seen this, Angel. It’s fucking atrocious,” he calls out loud, still laughing at the guy. “You’re cleaning that shit up, Jones.”
“BULL,” I scream, making every eye in the maternity ward turn my way. “Would you shut the fuck up and listen to me?”
Fucking silence everywhere. Bull shuts the hell up, just as I so kindly requested, while everyone around me stares on in horror.
The noise in the background of Bull’s call fades to a distant hum, and suddenly his voice is a lot clearer. “Sorry, babe. You have my undivided attention. I was just training the boys. Is everything alright?”
“No, everything is not alright,” I say, irritated. “My water broke. I’m in labor.”
“Fuck.”
“Yeah, I know. I’ve been having contractions all morning, but I thought they were just Braxton Hicks again.”
“Babe, are you sure?”
Why do people keep asking me that?
“Yes, I’m fucking sure,” I snap at him. “This isn’t my first rodeo, Bull. Either I just pissed myself in a major way and didn’t have the slightest clue, or my water broke, and seeing as though I don’t like to make a habit of pissing my pants, I’m going with option two.”
“Shit, um … okay. I’m leaving now.”
“Wait, Bull,” I call, knowing he’s bound to start panicking if this goes down anything at all like it did with Jessa.
“Yeah?” he breathes.
“I’m okay. This is going to be fine. There’s no rush. My water has only just broken, and my contractions are far apart.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yeah. It’s fine,” I tell him. “Just take your time.”
“Like hell,” he booms in a tone that has a grin stretching across my face. “I won’t be missing a single second of this. I’ll be there in ten.”
“Okay,” I smile as my heart fills with all sorts of happiness. “Oh, and Bull?”
“Yeah, Angel?”
“I love you.”
There’s a short pause before I hear the joy in his deep voice. “I fucking love you, too.”
With that, Tarryn leads me into my room, hands me a gown, and shuffles me into the bathroom. She lets the nurses down here know what’s going on before offering me an encouraging smile and hurrying back to continue attending to my son.
I get myself dressed in the gown and stop when a stronger contraction comes on, making me groan with the pain and realize just how real this is.