Chapter 1
Ellery
Connor stared at me as if he didn’t understand what I’d just told him.
“What did you say?” he asked.
“My water broke, Connor. The baby’s coming. We need to get to the hospital,” I said as slowly as I could.
He jumped up out of his chair and helped me out of mine as he looked at Henry and Peyton.
“Her water broke. It’s time!” he exclaimed.
Peyton quickly got up from her seat and ran over to me, while Henry remained calm.
“OMG! It’s time! Henry, what do we do?” Peyton asked in a panic.
“Everyone relax,” he said. “Ellery, are you having any pain yet?”
“No, not yet.”
“Okay, good. Let’s get in my car, and we’ll get you over to the hospital.” Henry smiled.
Connor put his arm around me as he guided me out of the restaurant. Before we made it to Henry’s car, I abruptly stopped and doubled over in pain.
“HOLY SHIT!” I screamed.
Connor stopped with me and put his hands on my stomach.
“It’s okay, baby. Breathe in and out, like we learned in our class.”
I nodded my head and did what Connor said as the pain started to subside. Henry and Peyton told us to wait while they pulled the car up. When Henry drove up to the curb, Connor opened the door for me, and I slid in the back seat. He shut the door and walked around to the other side. Connor climbed in, sat beside me, and pulled out his phone to call Denny. After he hung up, he reached over and pulled me into him.
“I can’t believe our daughter is coming,” he said as he kissed my head.
I buried my face into Connor’s neck as another contraction started. The pain was unbearable; it was worse than my cancer treatments, and I didn’t think that could be possible. Connor held my hand and kept telling me to breathe. I swore I was going to lose it if he said it one more time. Peyton kept turning around and looking at me from the front seat.
“Are you all right, Elle?”
“Do I look like I’m all right, Peyton?” I said with gritted teeth.
It seemed like it took forever to get to the hospital. Once we arrived at the ER, Henry got a wheelchair, and Connor helped me from the car. I had only had a couple of contractions, and I was already wishing this was over. Connor wheeled me inside, and Henry led us up to the Labor and Delivery unit. Stopping at the unit desk, Henry gave them my name as the clerk showed us to my room. She handed me a cloth gown and said a nurse would be in shortly.
I changed into the cloth gown that was all too familiar to me. Connor helped me as Peyton and Henry stepped out of the room. I could feel another contraction coming, and I bit my bottom lip as tears started to fill my eyes. A nurse walked into the room and looked at me and Connor. It was Nurse Bailey. She looked at me with a smile as she walked over and patted my hand.
“It’s good to see you again, sweetie.” She smiled. She turned and looked at Connor. “Are you still the friend?” she asked.
Connor grinned, as he replied, “No; I’m the husband.”
Nurse Bailey smiled and nodded her head. “Very good. I’m glad to see things worked out for the two of you. I knew they would.”
She turned back to me as she hooked me up to the fetal monitor. “Look at you! You’re having a baby.” She smiled.
I tried to smile back, but another contraction was starting. I bit down on my bottom lip as Connor grabbed my hand. Peyton and Henry walked back into the room, and Peyton rushed to my side.
“I paged your doctor, Ellery, but I haven’t heard anything yet,” Henry said.
“Who’s your doctor, sweetie?” Nurse Bailey asked.
“Dr. Keller!” I yelled through the pain.
“Dr. Keller had a family emergency yesterday and had to leave town for a few days. His partner, Dr. Reed, is taking care of his patients. I’ll go call him,” she said as she patted my hand and left the room.
The contraction ended, and I felt like I could breathe again. Connor sat on the edge of the bed and softly kissed my lips.
“I love you,” he whispered.
“I love you too,” I whispered back.
Henry walked over and explained to us how the fetal monitor worked. He showed us at which point a contraction was starting, when it was at its peak, and when it was ending. Connor looked intrigued as he studied it. Peyton and Henry left the room to grab some coffee and to bring me back some ice chips.
“Can you believe Nurse Bailey is my nurse?”
“No, baby, I can’t believe it. But I’m glad she is.”
“Me too.” I smiled.
“Look at our daughter’s heartbeat,” Connor said as he pointed to the number on the fetal monitor.
I smiled as I looked over at it and another contraction began. I grabbed Connor’s arm and dug my nails into his skin. Did I feel bad? No, the pain of my nails is nothing compared to the pain of childbirth.
“Breathe, baby.” He smiled at me as he stroked my forehead.
Peyton and Henry walked into the room with a cup of ice chips. She took one out and started rubbing it across my lips.
“Maybe this will help you feel better,” she said.
“The only thing that’s going to help me feel better is getting this baby out of me!”
Nurse Bailey walked in and said she needed to examine me. Henry and Peyton stepped out of the room again while Connor sat on the edge of the bed next to me, holding my hand. She explained that she needed to see how much I was dilated. When she finished, she looked at me and pursed her lips.
“Hmm, you’re only dilated to one centimeter. You said your water broke while you were at the restaurant, correct?”
“Yes, I was sitting down at the restaurant when it broke,” I replied.
Nurse Bailey looked directly at Connor. “You didn’t by chance have sex today, did you?”
I looked at Connor, and he looked at me. “This is your fault!” I said.
“My fault? You’re the one who invited me to take a shower with you before we left for the restaurant.”
“Just relax, Ellery. Everything will be fine. I don’t want you to worry,” she said as she walked out of the room.
***
A few hours passed, and I wasn’t any further along. The contractions were getting worse, and Nurse Bailey stepped out of the room to call Dr. Reed. Henry was keeping a close eye on the fetal monitor, as was Connor.
I was lying on my side, and Connor wiped my forehead with a cool cloth. A contraction had just ended. I let out a deep breath and closed my eyes. I felt Connor kiss me softly on the forehead as he pushed back my hair.
“Get ready, Elle. Here comes another contraction,” he said as he stared at the monitor.
“Why do you have to tell me, Connor?!” I yelled.
“I want you to be prepared so you can start your breathing. I don’t want you to be caught off-guard.”
Every bit of me wanted to kill him at that moment. The pain with each contraction was intensifying, and I felt like my body was trying to rip itself in two. As always, he was right and another contraction came.
“Breathe, Elle. Come on, baby; deep breaths.”
“Connor, I think you better lay off; she’s getting pissed,” Peyton said.
I started screaming in pain. I promised myself that I wasn’t going to be one of those women, but at that moment, I didn’t care. I didn’t care who heard me, and I didn’t care what they thought. Connor was still telling me to breathe, and that was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
“Tell me to breathe one more time, and I swear I’ll castrate you, Connor Black!” I screamed.
I heard Peyton burst into laughter, and Connor looked at me.
“Wow, Elle. That was uncalled for,” he said.
“No! What’s uncalled for is you making me feel worse than I already do. I don’t want to know when another contraction is coming! I don’t want you to tell me to breathe! I know you’re trying to help me, but all I need from you, babe, is silence.”
Connor stared at me and took my face in his hands. “I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t mean—”
“I know you didn’t, Connor. It just hurts so badly, and I want it to be over,” I said as I interrupted him.
“I know you do, and I can’t wait to see our daughter. She’s going to be beautiful, just like her mother.” He smiled.
A tear fell from the corner of my eye and down my cheek as another contraction started; the worse one yet. I looked over at Henry.
“Please, Henry, give me an epidural. Please, I’m begging you.”
“Ellery, I can’t. You’re not dilated yet. I’m sorry,” he said as he shook his head.
I wanted to die. This baby was tearing me apart inside, and something didn’t feel right. Nurse Bailey walked in and told Henry that Dr. Reed asked her to call him when I was dilated to five centimeters. Connor sighed, got up from the bed, and walked over to Henry.
“How much longer is she going to be like this?” he asked.
“Every woman is different, Connor. It’s hard to tell. She’s not even dilated to three yet. This could go on for another twenty-four hours.”
“WHAT!” I exclaimed.
Peyton took my hand and started rubbing it softly. “Don’t worry, Elle. We’re here to help you through this.”
Connor turned and looked at me. He tilted his head and gave me a small smile as he walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. “If I could have this baby for you, I would. I hate seeing you in so much pain,” he said as he grabbed my hand and brought it to his lips.
“I love you, Connor,” I whispered as I closed my eyes and braced myself for the next contraction.
“I love you, Ellery.”