"Wait, Ethan," Emma gasps. "We can't leave him here alone..."
"I'll get him," I say, already moving. "He can come with us."
I take the stairs two at a time, burst into Ethan's room where he's still sleeping peacefully, unaware that his little sister has decided to make her entrance early. I scoop him up, blanket and all.
"Uncle Jack?" His sleepy voice is confused.
"We're going on an adventure, buddy. Mommy needs us."
They load Emma onto a stretcher. Chase is beside her, holding her hand, looking terrified. I follow with Ethan in my arms, still half-asleep and clutching his blanket.
"I'm calling Mom from the car," I tell Chase. "She can meet us at the hospital."
Mom's been staying at a hotel nearby for the past week—Chase's idea, and he insisted on paying for it. Emma tried to tell her she was being ridiculous, that there were still eight weeks left, but our mom is stubborn. She wanted to be close just in case something happened.
Turns out she was right.
"Okay, okay, yeah. Good."
We follow the ambulance to Hartford Memorial. Maya rides with Emma and Chase while I drive with Ethan, who's waking up now and asking questions I don't know how to answer.
"Is Mommy okay?"
"She's going to be fine. Your baby sister decided she wants to meet everyone today."
"Baby sister?" His eyes go wide. "It's a sister?"
"Yeah, buddy. You're getting a sister."
"Cool."
At the hospital, they rush Emma to labor and delivery. Maya's right there, talking to the nurses, explaining the situation.
"Family?" A nurse asks.
"I'm her brother," I say. "This is Chase, her husband."
"And you?" She looks at Maya.
"Best friend. And I'm a pediatric nurse, but I have L&D training."
"Good. She's going to need support, labor's progressing fast."
I'm holding Ethan's hand when Mom arrives thirty minutes later, rushing through the doors looking worried and out of breath.
"Where is she?"
"Labor and delivery. She's seven centimeters already."
Mom's face pales. "That fast?"
"Yeah."
She looks down at Ethan and forces a smile. "Hi, sweetheart. How about Grammy takes you to get some food? There's a cafeteria downstairs with pancakes."
"I want to stay with Mommy..."
"Mommy needs to do some really hard work right now," Mom says gently. "But Grammy will bring you back to meet your baby sister as soon as she's here. I promise."
