“I’m right here,” Millie shot back.“Shut your face and drive the car.”
Cruz raised an eyebrow but did as he was told.By the time we arrived at the hospital, Millie had had six more contractions and now sobbed softly between them.I hated seeing her like this, and the impotency of being unable to relieve her pain broke something loose in my chest.
The officer had rushed in and grabbed a wheelchair for us so that by the time I helped Millie out of the car, she could drop right into it.
“Thanks, man, for escorting us.I gotta go in with my…Millie, but I will send you some signed gear.”
“I’ll take care of this,” Cruz said, shooing me off.
Much as I wanted to bolt forward, I couldn’t risk Millie, so I settled for a sedate pace.The good news about active labor?You don’t have to wait in the waiting room.Another good thing about active labor?The staff puts your woman directly in a delivery room.
The really terrible thing about active labor?
“No drugs,” the doctor said, a hint of regret settling over her features.“But this will be over soon.”
“Now,” Millie gasped.“I want her outnow.”
Dr.Lopez had helped get Millie out of her wet pants and underwear as I washed up.They draped Millie in a sheet, over her bent knees, as I took position by her head.I gave her my right hand this time, unsure my left one could take any more squeezing.
I kissed Millie’s temple.“You’re doing so well.”
She looked up at me, her green-gray eyes filled with hope and worry.“She’ll be okay, right, Luka?”
I smiled at her.“You both will.”
“Okay,” Millie whispered.Her face contorted.“Oh, God…another one.”
“You’re dilated to nine centimeters,” Dr.Lopez said.“My guess is this girl is coming soon.”
“Now,” Millie said.She chanted again and again: now, now, now.
One nurse smiled at me before she turned to offer Millie advice about her breathing.
“Then you do it,” Millie snarled at her.Her name tag read Olivia, and when she looked at me with hurt in her eyes, Millie tried to crawl off the bed to get at her.
“He’s mine, Olivia,” Millie yelled.“Mine!I’ve loved him forever, and no one else will ever love him like I do.”As I reeled from that statement, Millie turned toward me, eyes wet with tears.“For the love of God, Luka, am I going to chase women out of my delivery room?”
“No, sweetheart,” I said.“Of course I’m yours.I love you, too.”
A thrill rippled over me, the hairs on my arms standing on end.Yes, that was right.Even if Millie had told me she loved me for the first time while wrestling a tiny human from her body.
“That did it, Millie,” the doctor announced.“You’re fully dilated, so you can push with the next contraction.”
My moment on cloud nine faded as Millie pushed and strained, panted and screamed.No wonder this was calledlabor.I’d worked hard my whole life to get in the shape to play professional hockey at an elite level.But never had I seen anyone work as hard as Millie did to bring Bree into the world.
Worry settled in as Millie turned toward me.Her eyes had lost their sheen, her hair was plastered to her head from sweat and tears, and even her lips were pale—nearly bloodless.
“I can’t do it anymore,” she whimpered.
“Yes, you can,” I said.I sent Dr.Lopez a frantic look.“She can, right?”
Dr.Lopez’s expression pinched with worry, but she nodded.“The baby’s in the birth canal.I can see the top of her head.We just need a couple of good pushes to get her out.”
“You can do that, sweetheart.I know you can.”
Millie was already shaking her head.“I can’t.I really can’t.Oh…ohh…” Another contraction hit her.Olivia pressed on Millie’s belly, just under her breasts.
“That was good, Millie.The baby’s crowning,” Dr.Lopez said.But I heard the unease in her voice and saw her glance at the monitors.Millie slumped back, tears of exhaustion leaking from her eyes.
