I can barely hear her, but the thing that resonates is that Icanhear her.
“I can’t get up to open the door, though.”
Like a beast, I slam my shoulder into the door, cracking it before the lock breaks.
The first thing I see is Claire’s gorgeous face covered in tears and snot. Then I see her hands covering her bump and a huge wet spot on her pants. Sheer panic grips me.There’s something wrong with the baby.
“Oh my God,” I mumble, dropping to my knees in front of her. My hands run along every inch of her I can touch until I run them along her belly, just as is tightens visually. “Oh shit.” My eyes wide, I look up at Claire.
“Yeah.” She laughs through her tears. “I blame you for this shit. How am I going into labor in this shitshow?”
“Blame me every single day, baby, but right now, we have bigger problems.”
Juliette enters the small bathroom and immediately goes into control mode. “Adam, pick her up and get her to the SUV now. We need to get her to the hospital. Stone, drive. Woody, Sin, and Lex can handle things here, and I’ll come with you guys.”
Claire grunts, eyes squeezed closed, as her hand grabs mine and nearly crushes it.
“Oh my God. Oh my God,” I chant before Juliette ducks in front of me.
“She is in labor. Check yourself and suck up whatever panic you feel right now.”
I nod, but I feel no calm. I do, however, pick up Claire off the floor and make my way to the SUV. I know she’s feelingevery ounce of pain because she doesn’t even complain about me lifting her up.
Somehow, we maneuver into the backseat, me sitting behind Claire while she semi-lies on the seat, and Juliette against the other door. It’s a very tight fit, but Juliette seems to know what she’s doing, and I’m sure as hell not getting in the way.
Claire groans, shifting onto her knees.
“Drive!” Juliette yells at Stone.
“Hey, you’re doing great,” I murmur to Claire.
“Shut up!” she growls, making Juliette laugh.
“I’m going to get your pants off, okay, Claire?” Juliette asks calmly.
Claire whimpers and nods.
I’m powerless to help. Seeing Claire in this much pain because she’s bringing my kid into the world is so damn hard. She presses the majority of her weight onto me, putting a knee on the floorboards and one leg onto the seats.
“Damn good, Claire. Just breathe through the contractions,” Juliette says, ducking down to peek at what I assume is Claire’s progress. “Stone, how far?”
“Eight minutes if I run reds.”
“Do it. We don’t have eight minutes,” Juliette says. Her eyes lift to mine, and I know that this is it. Claire is about to give birth in the back of the SUV while my co-worker delivers.
I’ve never been more scared in my entire life.
“I feel like I’m going to shit myself,” Claire murmurs, pressing more into this makeshift position she’s in.
“Good. Lean into that feeling. Let your body work.” Juliette grabs the first-aid kit from God knows where and slides on a pair of gloves, tossing one to me as well. I don’t hesitate before returning my hand to Claire’s as her entire body clenches tight. “Adam, reach down.” Juliette looks up at me with a soft smile.
My hand not holding Claire’s reaches between her legs and immediately feels the head. “Oh my God. You’re so close, baby. I can feel Teeny,” I murmur in awe.
Claire doesn’t respond; instead she grunts and pushes, which I can feel against my hand. I look up at Juliette in panic.What do I do?
“You’re going to catch your baby. I’ll be right here.” Juliette smiles.
“I need to move,” Claire whispers.
