He saw her eyes move back over the basket and light on a stack of towels.
Crois reached in and picked up the towel from the top and reached out to hand it to her.
"Can you help me try the baby's skin?"
He nodded, and reached out, pausing just a heartbeat away from the first swipe. "Should I get some wipes to clean the baby first?"
Harmony continued to suction the baby's airway. "Right now, we need to stimulate the baby, rubbing the blanket against his skin might rouse him."
She should be panicking.
He was.
But her quiet determination affected him.
Moving closer, he used both hands covered in the towel to rub the baby's skin. From the top of his head to this arms and legs. Everywhere Harmony wasn't actively working, he was rubbing.
Come on, baby... Come on.... breathe.
He felt a kind of pressure in his ears as if he was in an airplane, climbing up to thirty thousand feet, that bubble growing and growing until... POP.
A thin cry reached his ears and Crois felt like he could breathe, clearly.
"There we go, little boy."
Harmony's voice was soft, but full of joy and relief.
"That's okay. I know..."
"Harmony?"
Crois heard Vega's tone and turned his head as well.
"We've got bleeding."
Crois could see Harmony out of the corner of his eye. She didn't cringe and she didn't crumble.
No, Harmony Morgan was too strong for that.
Too capable.
She straightened her spine and made a lightning-fast decision.
She turned to look at Crois, and he turned his head to meet her gaze. "Take off your shirt."
Okay.
He laid the towel over his forearm and reached for the buttons down the front of his uniform shirt.
Pilar took the towel off of his arm and wrapped it around the baby, taking it from Harmony's hands. "You know what she wants you to do?"
Crois nodded. "Skin to skin?"
Pilar smiled. "It helps that you're not wearing a bra."
He grinned back. "It's not a Tuesday."
"Vega, I've got her. Get ready to drive."
