Emily gave a weak nod and rushed a tired hand through her hair as she brought her gaze to Gavin’s. She could tell he felt helpless. Emily managed a small smile. “Come lay down next to me. I promise I’ll give fair warning when another starts.”
“You think I’m scared of you?” he chuckled, lying as smooth as they come. He was afraid of her. Hell, she was pretty terrifying and this was only the beginning, but he’d never let her know that. He slid across the bed, gathered her in his arms, and stared into her eyes.
“I can tell I’m scaring you.” Emily took a deep breath, losing herself in his embrace.
“Never,” Gavin whispered. “You couldn’t scare me if you tried.”
Emily leaned her forehead against his chin and tried to relax. She had a few seconds of reprieve as Gavin caressed her spine, his touch soothing, before her belly balled viciously. Tensing, Emily could barely prepare herself for the foreign feeling taking hold.
“Breathe, baby,” Gavin whispered. “Look at me and breathe through it.”
Tears spiked in Emily’s eyes as a slow, simmering twist knotted. Her back felt as though a bus was running over it. She gripped Gavin’s shoulders, her finger nails digging into his T-shirt as she stared at him. “Oh, God. It hurts,” she cried, her brows cinched. “Say something. Come on, Gavin. Twenty questions again.”
“City or upstate?”
“Upstate,” she answered, her stare leaving his as she looked over his shoulder at the monitor. Damn that line. It hadn’t reached the plateau of agony yet. It wasn’t even close.
“Wood or tile flooring?”
Squeezing his shoulders tighter, Emily brought her angry eyes back to Gavin’s, the breath rushing from her mouth. “Wood. Jesus Christ, wood.”
Gavin’s heart clenched, watching the woman he loved suffer as her body prepared to bring his son into this world. “Pizza or pasta?”
“Neither,” Emily hissed, tossing her head back. “Get the damn nurse, Gavin. No more twenty questions. I need something for this pain right now!”
Gavin shot up, nearly tripping over the bedside table. Before he could make it to the door, it opened. Easy smile in place, a young man in a white doctor’s jacket, who didn’t appear to be old enough to drive, strolled into the room. Behind him was the nurse from earlier armed with a vial of what Gavin assumed to be narcotics. With Emily screaming, Gavin couldn’t help a few thoughts from filtering through his head.
The first: He didn’t want this dude touching Emily. The second: Yeah, he still didn’t want this dude touching Emily. “Are you a student?” Gavin brusquely questioned, his eyes wide.
The young man flashed a grin, his gaze transfixed on a clipboard. He jotted something down and looked at Gavin. “No, I’m not a student. I’m Doctor Martin Beck.”
Gavin didn’t acknowledge the hand the doctor extended. “You’re delivering my son?”
“If your wife—”
“Girlfriend,” Gavin corrected, his stomach twisting from the lack of facial hair on the guy’s face. Gavin was pretty fucking sure the doctor was still a virgin.
“My apologies. If your girlfriend gives birth in the next twelve hours, yes, I’m delivering your son.”
Speechless, Gavin watched him approach Emily. Her pain-filled face looked like she could care less if another species delivered their child. The doctor rolled a chair up in front of her and asked Emily to come down to the edge of the bed. He also asked Emily to open her legs for him. Oh Jesus. Gavin felt nauseated. Witnessing a doctor as old as his grandfather prod and poke at the part of Emily’s body Gavin felt was created for him was bad enough, but now this? This was insane. Panic gripped Gavin, but before he could say a word, Emily, who now seemed to be in a blissful state of drugged up euphoria, did as the doctor asked, dropping her knees to the side. With his girlfriend spread wide for Doogie Howser, Gavin nervously swallowed, shoved a hand through his hair, and all but sprinted across the room. Depositing himself on the bed next to Emily, Gavin stared into her glassed over eyes, trying to concentrate on the fact she wasn’t in pain at the moment.
“You’re four centimeters dilated,” the young buck announced, rolling away from Emily. Pulling gloves from his hands, he gave her a smile. “Being this is your first child, it’s usually an hour or two a centimeter.”
Gavin glanced at the clock on the wall. It was a quarter past four in the morning.
“Will you keep giving me whatever you just gave me?” Emily’s lazy smile clearly showed she wasn’t suffering much. “I like how I feel right now.”
The doctor grinned. “That’ll take the edge off the pain, but you’ll still feel the contractions.” He checked the monitor and scribbled something down on his clipboard. “If you want stronger relief, we can give you an epidural.”
Eyes closing, Emily shook her head and yawned. “No. No epidural. I think I’ve scared myself from getting one. I read…” her voice trailed as she started falling asleep. She curled up on her side, her head nestled into the pillow.
With his grin still in place, the doctor looked at Gavin. “Like I said, the Demerol should clip some of the pain for her. She might wake up with each contraction, but it won’t be as difficult for her now. In the meantime, you should also try to get some sleep. You both have a long few hours in front of you.” On that note, the doctor left the room.
The nurse smiled at Gavin on her way to the door. “She’s in good hands. Don’t worry.”