Page 150 of His to Save
My phone buzzes and I quickly scan Ellis’s reply as I rush back to Nora.
Ellis
10-4.
By the time I make it back to Nora, she's kicked off her leggings and is on her knees in the back seat, bracing herself on the center console, as she pants.
“How you doing, pretty girl?” I ask, keeping my voice low.
She glares in reply as a bead of sweat rolls down her temple, despite the frigid air.
“Got a blanket and some water,” I offer lamely, setting my bundle down on the seat beside her. “Gonna call us some backup now, okay?”
Nora huffs and nods, a pained cry escaping her lips. “I need to push, Atlas. Oh, God.”
I hit dial, put the call on speaker, and climb into the back seat with her.
“911. What's your emergency?”
“My wife is in labor. We're on the side of 27 and not going to make it to the hospital.”
“How many weeks pregnant is she?”
“Thirty-eight.”
“How far apart are her contractions?”
“It seems like they’re relentless.”
“Okay, sir. Has her water broken?”
“Yes. She’s… she’s pushing.” A thread of panic bleeds into my voice as I think of all the ways this could go wrong.
“Stay calm for me, paramedics will be there soon. Do you have a blanket or anything?—”
“Yes, I do.”
“Good. If the baby’s born before the ambulance gets there, I want you to wrap the baby in the blanket, okay? Then you’ll need to wipe the baby’s face. You may also need to clear the airway.”
“I… how the fuck do I do that?”
The dispatcher rattles off instructions, and then says, “I'm going to stay on the phone with you until paramedics arrive.”
I leave the call on speaker and drop my phone down onto the floorboard before I turn all of my focus to Nora, rubbing her lower back as I try to soothe her. “You're doing great, Pip. Deep breaths.”
“Atlas,” she growls my name in a tone I’ve never heard her use before. “I swear to God, if you tell me to breathe again I am going to lose my mind.”
“Okay, okay.”Shit, man, get it together. Nora needs you to be strong for her.“How can I help?”
“I-I don't know. It hurts. There’s so much pressure. It... it feels like he's?—”
Her words cut off mid-sentence as her entire body tenses.I swear, I can see her pulse pounding in her neck.
“Are you...” I force myself to swallow back my fear. “Do you need to push?”
“Already there,” she clips out, her face as red as a tomato as she digs her fingers into the soft leather of my seat.
I watch on helplessly as the love of my life pushes and grunts and groans and wails, until finally—even though it's actually only been moments—she brings our son into this world all on her own.
