Grace watched me move through the room.
“You planned for this,” she said between contractions.
“I planned for everything.” I set the towels within reach and laid out the supplies on the dresser. “Sterile scissors. Clean towels. Bulb syringe. Clamps.” I met her eyes. “Didn’t think we’d need it three weeks early, but here we are.”
“Here we are.”
Another contraction started building. I moved to her side, took her hand, let her squeeze until my knuckles ached.
When it passed, she looked at me with something raw in her expression.
“I love you,” Grace said.
“I love you too.” I turned my head and kissed her palm. “Now let’s meet our daughter.”
Doc’s voice came through the speaker, steady and sure.
“Okay, Grace. You’re doing great. Owen, talk to me. What are you seeing?”
I moved to the foot of the bed. Towels ready. Hands steady now—the training taking over, the fear pushed down somewhere I could manage it.
“She’s crowning,” I said. “I can see the head.”
“Good. Grace, on your next contraction, I want you to push. Owen, support the head as it comes. Don’t pull—just guide.”
Grace looked at me across the distance between us. Her hair was plastered to her face, her whole body trembling with exhaustion and effort.
But her eyes were clear. Certain.
“Together,” she said.
“Together.”
Another contraction started to build. I watched her breathe into it, watched her gather herself for what came next.
“Okay,” Doc said. “Here we go.”
Grace bore down.
And I thought: This is it. This is everything. Right here.
CHAPTER 20
Owen
Grace bore down,and the world narrowed to this single point.
“That’s it,” I said. “You’re doing it. I can see her, Grace. I can see the top of her head.”
Grace made a sound somewhere between a scream and a grunt—primal and raw—her whole body curving into the effort.
“Good,” Doc said. “Owen, don’t pull. Let Grace do the work.”
My hands were steady. That surprised me. Somewhere between the panic of the drive and this moment, the training had taken over.
“One more push,” I said. “You’ve got this. One more.”
Grace gathered herself and found some reserve I hadn’t known she had. Her eyes met mine across the distance between us.
