"Are you okay? I'm just going to park the truck, and I'll be back."
Lily nodded, hoping that she really would be okay, but not one hundred percent sure what her body might do. She rounded the back of the truck, willing her body to cooperate with the demands she would continue to put on it for the next little while. The group had already begun to move toward the automatic doors, and she followed as quickly as she could.
“Wait for my sister,” she heard Jessa say.
One of the nurses moved to her side. "We're going to take her right up to labor and delivery."
Lily nodded and then followed them to the nearest bank of elevators. Jessa had another contraction as the elevator rose, and she reached out toward Lily. Grateful to still be of use to her sister, Lily stepped close to enfold Jessa's hand in hers. The doors slid open but since she was still in the midst of the contraction, one of the nurses held the doors open until it passed.
Since they skipped registration and headed straight into a large birthing room, Lily assumed that all the paperwork had been dealt with well in advance of this day.
"We're going to need to hook you up to some monitors," one of the nurses said as they helped Jessa onto the hospital bed. "Did the fluid appear clear when your water broke?"
"I think so," Jessa said. "I didn't notice any kind of staining on the bed or my clothes."
She glanced at Lily, who shook her head. "I didn't see anything like that either."
"Okay, good."
It wasn't long before the Violet, Laurel and Will showedup, but it was Lance's arrival that finally eased some of the tension from Jessa's expression.
"Babe," Lance said as he rushed to Jessa's side. He took one of her hands in his and brushed a strand of auburn hair from her face. He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Everything is going to be okay."
Lily saw their gazes lock and Jessa nodded. "Yes. Everything is going to be fine."
She swallowed hard as she watched their united front. It was as if in coming together they had just become a force to be reckoned with. They were going to face this side by side and would be together regardless of the outcome.
"I hate to do this," a nurse near the monitor said, "but I need to just have Jessa and Lance here for a bit until we get an idea of how the labor is progressing. We can have one other person beside Lance here for the delivery, but we will also have a neonatal team on standby so there won't be room for anyone else."
Violet and Laurel each approached Jessa to give her a kiss and assure her of their prayers. Will clapped his hand on Lance's back before giving Jessa a kiss as well. "We'll be in the waiting room if you need anything."
As Lily moved to follow them, Jessa grabbed her arm. "Do you want to be here?"
"I'm not sure if I'll be much help."
"Go rest now," Jessa told her. "Then come back when it's almost time, okay? I would like you here."
Tears pricked Lily's eyes. "If you're sure."
"We are," Lance said. "I'll come get you when it's time."
Lily left the room, eager to get to the waiting room so she could sit down. Her feet felt heavy as she walked in the direction indicated by the signs. She was almost there when she didn't lift her foot high enough and the toe of her shoe snagged on the carpet. Lily stuck her hand out to the sidetoward the wall, but it was a pair of strong arms that stopped her fall.
The familiar scent told her who it was before she looked up into a concerned brown gaze. "Are you okay?"
"Lily?" Violet was the first of her sisters to reach her. "What's wrong?"
Nate still held her in his arms, and Lily didn't have the strength to fight him. If all of this had transpired after she'd been home a few weeks, her body likely wouldn't have been reacting like this. However, coming so soon on the heels of the stress and strain of packing up her apartment and traveling back to Collingsworth, it was more than her body could be expected to handle.
"I'm okay. Just the way my body is sometimes now."
"Let's get you to a chair," Nate said as he swung her up into his arms. Before she could protest, he carried her to the waiting room and set her onto a chair there.
"Thank you," Lily said, keeping her head bent.
Emotions rolled through Lily, each warring for the upper hand. Worry for Jessa. Anger at the weakness of her own body. Frustration that she'd had to rely on Nate. And then there was the part of her that had relished being in Nate's arms once again. Even when her body hadn't been so weak, she had always enjoyed his strength. Whether it was lifting her into his truck or carrying her on his back when they'd go hiking. She had enjoyed being the weaker one in their relationship. Now, however, she hated the weakness.
"Are you okay?" This time is was Laurel who asked.
