I run and grab her bag, feeling like my heart is going to beat right out of my damn chest. It doesn’t escape my notice that I was less scared the night I killed two men. I guess that makes sense. I cared nothing about them while right in front of my eyes the woman I love more than anything in this world is hunched over in pain and I can’t do a goddamn thing to take it from her.
Slinging her bag over my shoulder, I reach down and pick her up, cradling her against my chest.
“Kolya, are you crazy? I’m way too heavy!”
“Don’t insult me, beautiful. You’ll never be too heavy for me.”
The smile dies on her lips as she sucks in another quick breath. “It’s happening so fast. I thought it was supposed to take longer.”
Her voice is so soft that I have to strain to hear her. I push aside all my own fears and give her a reassuring smile before opening the car door and gently setting her down.
“It’s going to be fine, baby.” I buckle her in, being careful to keep the belt under her belly. “She’s just anxious to meet her parents.”
She gives me a weak smile, and I can tell she wants to believe me but the fear won’t let her completely trust what I’m saying. I kiss her quickly, toss the bag in the back, and run to the driver’s side. Not giving a shit about getting tickets, I break an unspeakable number of laws but manage to get us to the hospital in record time. Pulling up to the emergency room doors, I honk the horn until someone comes running out to see what the hell is going on.
I open her door and turn to the nurse. “My wife’s gone into labor.”
The woman hollers for a wheelchair and then steps aside as I reach in and pick Moira up before setting her in the chair.
“You need to move your car,” the nurse says, and I look at her like she’s crazy.
“I’m not leaving my wife.”
“Kolya,” Moira says, grabbing my arm. “I’ll be fine. It’s okay. Just hurry back.”
I let out a frustrated sigh and give her a kiss before running to hurry up and park the damn car. Why the fuck don’t they have valets at hospitals? I’d much rather park my own damn car at a fancy restaurant and have someone else park my car at the hospital when I’d rather not leave my wife’s side. It doesn’t make any sense. I realize I’m grumbling to myself in Russian and force myself to take a deep breath.
After I’m parked, I send a quick text to Dima, letting him now she’s gone into labor as I run back into the hospital. My eyes dart around for Moira, but I don’t see her anywhere. I stop the first person I see in scrubs.
“My wife was just brought in. She’s gone into labor. Where is she?”
I realize I’m yelling when the young guy takes a step back and eyes me nervously. “Probably the fifth floor. That’s the maternity floor.”
He’s barely finished his sentence before I’m running down the hall to the elevators. I pace the small square, cursing the damn thing’s slowness, and as soon as the doors open, I race to the nurses’ station.
“My wife,” I say, feeling like I’m on the verge of really losing my shit. “Moira Sokolov. Where is she?”
The nurse gives me a friendly smile. “First baby?”
“Yes, is it that obvious?”
She laughs and looks at her computer. “Your wife was just brought to room three. They’re examining her now.”
As soon as she points in the direction I should go, I shout a quick, “Thanks,” and race down the hall until I see room three. When I walk in, Moira is already in a hospital gown, sitting in a bed and hooked up to more things than I can count. It reminds me of the time I saw her after the fire that nearly killed her, and I force the thought away. I can’t let my mind wander to worst-case scenarios, because if I allow myself to think for one second that something could go wrong and that I could lose not only my wife but also our baby, I will become useless from fear, and I can’t let that happen. I need to be strong for her, for both of them.
“Kolya,” Moira says, reaching her hand out for me.
I immediately take it and lean down to kiss her. “I’m right here, baby. I’m not going anywhere.”
She lets out another groan and grabs onto her belly. I put my hands on her, feeling how impossibly hard her stomach feels as the contraction hits her.
“Looks like things are progressing fast,” Doctor Reed says, walking in and giving us both a reassuring smile. “Let’s see where we’re at.”
She sits on the stool and wheels herself between Moira’s legs as the nurse steps closer and gently puts Moira’s socked feet into the stirrups. Something about seeing my wife’s legs hiked up like that drives the reality of the situation into me hard. I brush a strand of hair from Moira’s face and smile.
“We’re about to become parents, beautiful.”
She smiles and squeezes my hand. “I know. I’m so scared,” she whispers.