“What should I do?” I asked Nova in desperation. “She should be at the hospital, but I don’t want to stress her out.”
She gave me a reassuring smile. “When you go in there, just sit with her. Aunt Raven and Aunt Kelli are taking turns rubbing her back and feet, trying to get her as comfortable as possible. My mom is feeding her ice chips, and the entire house is very zen right now.” She patted me on the arm. “Take your cues from them, cuz. They are the ones with all the experience after all, seeing as they’ve each had a baby or two of their own.”
I sucked in a deep breath, trying to steady myself. “You’re right. Okay. I’ve got this.” Tears stung my eyes for the first time since I could remember. “She’s going to be okay, right?”
“Of course she is!” Nova gave me a quick hug. “Now, get your ass in there and hold your treasure’s hand.”
With that, she bounced down the stairs, her phone already to her ear. I could hear her speaking to Ryan, most likely letting him know that Ronan was on his way. I trusted that he would let Tavia know and figured they would be on their plane within the hour.
“Fuck,” I muttered to myself again, but I opened the door and walked in.
As Nova had said, the house did have an instant zen vibe to it. The lights were off, and even though the AC was blasting, there was a fan pointed right at Delaney as she sat on the couch. Mom stood behind her, massaging her back, while Kelli sat on the coffee table in front of her, rubbing my very pregnant wife’s swollen feet. Aunt Flick sat beside her, spooning crushed ice into Delaney’s mouth.
Sweat dotted my treasure’s upper lip and brow, making her face glow. Her cheeks were flushed, and when she opened her eyes as I walked closer, I could see they were glazed with pain. She gave me a bright smile as soon as she saw me. “Hi,” she signed. “You’re here early.”
“I missed you,” I told her honestly. “Thought I could come steal my beautiful wife for some cuddle time. Looks as if you need it.”
“The contractions are only ten minutes apart,” Kelli informed me, signing the words as s
he spoke them. She’d become fluent in ASL in the last four years, helping her become even closer to her niece. Between her and Mom, Delaney didn’t feel the loss of not having her mom nearly as much as she used to. “They need to be closer together before we can go to the hospital.”
I nodded, giving them all a tight smile, trying to hold it together for them—but more importantly, for my treasure.
Flick stood and handed me the container of crushed ice. As she did, she gave my arm a squeeze, whispering to me that everything was going to be fine and I could do this. I didn’t know if she was right, but I schooled my face so my wife didn’t see how freaked out and scared I was.
For the next three hours, I sat there, feeding her the ice and holding her hand. When she moaned in pain from the contractions, my heart rate would jack up a little higher, but I only rubbed her belly. It comforted her when I did, speaking to my son. I was just glad she couldn’t hear the quiver in my voice when I told him how much I loved him, or she would know I was holding on by a thin thread.
Finally, the contractions were five minutes apart. By that time, Lexa and River had arrived, both of them having dropped their kids with their fathers. As soon as Mom said we could go to the hospital, I scooped up my treasure and sprinted to our Tahoe, making her giggle even as another hard contraction hit her.
That thin thread broke the second Delaney started pushing, not half an hour after we were placed in a labor and delivery room. She’d been adamant about no epidural, and there had been no time for one even if she’d changed her mind. Things had moved at warp speed, and the doctor barely had time to suit up before she was dilated to ten.
The first few pushes were fine. She did what Mom signed for her to do, exactly as we’d practiced. Ronan’s head appeared, covered in thick, dark hair. But then the doctor said to wait before she pushed again, and she tried. The pain was too much for her, though, and she screamed when the doctor gave her the green light to push again.
My son’s shoulders were wide, and she began to tear, causing her to scream again.
That was when I lost it. Her pain was too much for me, and I began sobbing, unable to control my emotions even for another second, let alone until she was no longer in excruciating pain.
With one more push, I watched as my son was born through my tears. Scrubbing a fist over my soaked face, I kissed my treasure.
Breathing hard from exertion, she widened her eyes when she saw the condition I was in. “Max?” she whispered.
“I’m okay, treasure,” I rushed to assure her. “It was just hard to see you in pain.” I kissed her again, swallowing down the next sob, but this one from total happiness. My wife had just given me the most amazing gift. “Our son is perfect.”
Her concern morphed into an exhausted but content smile. “Just like you.”
“No, treasure,” I told her, and I watched the nurses clean off our firstborn. “Just like you.”
Family Tree: Rockers
Emmie & Nik: Mia (Barrick—Emerson and Hendrix), Jagger (Shaw)
Jesse & Layla: Lucy (Harris—Hayat and Evan), Luca (Violet—Remi, aka Love Bug), Lyric (Mila—Ian and Isaac, Israel and Ireland)
Drake & Lana: Nevaeh (Braxton—Conrad and Carver), Arella, Heavenleigh, Bliss, Damian
Shane & Harper: Violet (Luca—Remi, aka Love Bug), Mason
Axton & Dallas: Kenzie (Bishop—Knox and Vera), Cannon, Shaw (Jagger)