“Fuck, Drew, is she all right?” Ryan shoved Drew into a chair and started putting pressure on his shoulder. It hurt like a son-of-a-bitch.
“I don’t know, man. That asshole just shot her.” Drew motioned to Jake, who was still passed out on the floor. The police had shown up at the same time as Ryan, and they were cuffing Jake and taking the gun into evidence.
“You didn’t mention the gun—what happened? I thought he was going up to the third floor.” Drew shook his head at Ryan, feeling just as confused as his brother sounded.
“I guess he doubled back and came in through the back door, in the kitchen. Karlie must have seen him because she was running for me. After he shot me, she tried to take him out with a frying pan, crazy woman!”
Ryan let out a sharp laugh, “You better never piss your woman off, man.” They had Karlie on a stretcher, and they were moving her into the elevator. Drew stood, following her.
The EMT stopped him, “Sir, we need to look at your shoulder. Your fiancée will be fine. It was just a flesh wound. The bullet grazed her leg. They are taking her upstairs to monitor the baby and dress the wound.” Drew exhaled in relief. “I’m more worried about your wound, Sir. Please, let us take a look at you.”
“I’m not leaving her. You can look at me upstairs, with her.” Drew started following the stretcher, Ryan following right behind him.
Ryan leaned in closely, for only Drew to hear, “Fiancée?”
“Shut the fuck up!” Drew’s bark made Ryan laugh, and that just pissed him off all the more.
Chapter Fourteen
“Jenna, honey, you can do this. You will do this!” Ryan was at her side, holding her hand. She couldn’t help but squeeze back because another contraction had started. And, boy, the woman seemed to have super strength.
“Ryan,” she screamed his name, “he’s ripping me apart! It hurts so bad.”
“I know, honey, but I need you to push. Hold onto me and push as hard as you can.” The nurse pulled Jenna’s leg up at the kneecap and told Ryan to hold her leg for her so that she could bear down. Ryan didn’t even hesitate; he grabbed her leg and wrapped his other arm around Jenna’s shoulders, hugging her close. “It will all be over soon, sweetheart. You just need to push this little guy out.” Jenna nodded and sat up to push. She was screaming and pushing, and Ryan felt a surge of pride, though he knew he had no right to.
“That’s it, honey, keep pushing.” The doctor told Jenna that he could see the baby’s head. Ryan dared a look and not only saw his little head but also part of his shoulders. God, Jenna was right, he was ripping her apart. Ryan bent down to kiss Jenna’sforehead, whispering how proud he was of her. He couldn’t believe how incredibly strong this woman was. He’d never think of her as a girl again—that was for sure. Jenna started squeezing his arm again, signaling another contraction. “Push, honey. You’ve got this. He’s almost out.”
She pushed with one scream, and the doctor held up her baby. He was covered in white, waxy stuff and blood, and Ryan had never seen anything more beautiful. The little guy started squawking after the doctor suctioned out his mouth and nose. Ryan looked at Jenna. She had tears streaming down her face as she looked at her son. For the first time in the two hours that he had been with her, he felt like he was intruding. Like he should have left, but he couldn’t bring himself to leave either of them. Jenna squeezed his hand and looked up at him.
“Do you mind,” she said in between sobs, “if I give him your name as his middle name? I’m thinking Zachary Ryan—would you be okay with that?”
Ryan brushed away tears from her cheeks, “I would love that, honey. It would be an honor to have this little guy named after me.” His voice sounded gruff with emotion. The nurse handed little Zac to Jenna, all swaddled and sucking his thumb, soothing himself. God, he was beautiful. Jenna seemed to fall instantly in love with the little guy. She was talking to him and cuddling him, already a good mom. Ryan knew that she would be a wonderful mother. He backed away from the two people who had come to be pretty important to him in such a short amount of time.
Once Jenna and the baby were settled in a private room, Ryan knew that his time with them was just about over. Sticking around longer than he already had would only make leaving more difficult. “Congratulations, Jenna,” he whispered to her and turned to leave.
“Wait, Ryan—where are you going? Don’t you want to hold him? You don’t have to leave, please.” He looked back at Jenna, her eyes pleading with him, and she took his breath away.
“I’d love to hold him, but he’s so small,” he worried. Jenna just laughed and patted the side of her hospital bed for him to sit down.
“You won’t break him; he’s not made of glass.” She handed Zac to Ryan, resting her head on his shoulder, to watch the two of them.
“I’m so tired,” she said around a yawn.
“Yeah, well—you did work pretty hard.” Ryan smiled down at her.
“Thank you for being here with us,” Jenna said sleepily, “I couldn’t have done it without you.”
“Well, that’s not true, honey. I didn’t do anything.” He couldn’t help himself; he kissed Zac’s little forehead and then kissed Jenna’s, too.
“Well, you being here meant a lot to us,” Jenna bent and kissed Zac’s forehead, too. “But I’m really tired. I think I need to sleep,” she said around another yawn.
“Okay, honey.” Ryan put Zac into his little bed, giving him one more kiss.
“Will we see you tomorrow?” Jenna asked, with hope in her voice. Ryan couldn’t help his cringe, hoping she wouldn’t notice. “It’s okay if you don’t want to come back, I understand. You’ve already done so much for us.” God, she looked so disappointed. He hated what he had to do next, but it was best for Jenna and Zac. Jenna didn’t need a life built on promises that might notcome true. She had a new baby to take care of and a life to live without him.
“Jenna, I—” He stuttered, “I just found out today that I have to ship out again tomorrow. I got the call when Drew and I were on our way back to the hospital. I’m so sorry, honey. I didn’t want you to think—well, I don’t know what I want you to think.” He was looking at the floor, unable to look Jenna in the eyes. Zac started squirming and fussing, and as if on cue, a nurse entered the room.
“Someone’s hungry,” the nurse lifted Zac and handed him to Jenna. “Are you ready to try nursing?” Jenna nodded, and with that, Ryan slipped from her room. He knew that leaving was what he had to do—it was his duty, but every fiber of his being wanted to go back into Jenna’s hospital room and just be with her and Zac. Ryan shook his head and started down to Karlie and Drew’s room. He needed to say his goodbyes and head home to pack up. The next two years belonged to Uncle Sam.
