Simon

“I’m here.” He woke as Nick hoisted him into a chair. “Wait—what?”

Nick rolled his eyes. “You fainted, jackass.”

“I did not.”

“Okay, you didn’t.” He dropped Simon and stepped back.

Woozy, Simon grabbed for the back of the chair before springing up and going to the bed. “Jesus fuck.”

“Simon! That will not be the first words our daughter hears!”

“Right.” He rounded the bed and tried not to faint again at the towels and sheets and—God, was that blood? Was everything okay?

He quickened his step to the head of the bed and sat beside her. “Hi. I’m sorry I’m late. I’ll never leave you again, I swear.”

“You’re damn right you won’t.” Margo grabbed his hand and those freakishly strong fingers nearly cracked his own. “Holy shit!”

Okay, so she got to swear? “Where do you want me?” He looked at Nora helplessly.

“Well, we’re nearing the time to push.”

“Already?” Shock and brain-numbing fear threatened to override his already circuits.

“Already?” Margo shrieked. “If you’d been here, you would know what an asinine thing that was to say.”

“Okay, I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” He kissed her sweaty brow and she pulled away from him.

“I thought I was going to have to do this alone.”

“Never.” He crowded in on the bed with her.

He couldn’t get close enough.

“Simon, how about you get behind her and hold her between your legs. So she’s got something to push back against while we get this show on the road, huh?”

Didn’t this sort of thing take hours? Not that he wanted his wife to be in labor for hours, but it all seemed to be moving awfully fucking fast. “Everything is cool, right, Nora?”

“She’s doing everything correctly. The baby just decided she was really impatient.”

“And yet her daddy is late to everything.”

“Not the important stuff.” He tucked his hands under Margo’s bent legs as she stiffened and moved into position as directed. “Okay, I’m here. I’m ready.”

“You’re ready?” Margo gripped his hand and screamed.

Lila came around the other side of the bed and grabbed onto her other flailing hand. “We’re here. We’re all going to do this together.”

Nick inched his way to the door. “I should leave you guys to this.”

“Coward,” Simon called after him as he zipped out of the room and into the hall.

“I’ll just go get some hot water or something,” Nick called.

“More like a damn beer,” Simon muttered.

Margo arched up and cracked his chin with the back of her head.

“Here we go. I think we’re ready to push.”

“Push?” he asked.

“Yes, push. Get this thing out of me.”

Simon’s eyebrows shot up. Thing? Their daughter wasn’t a thing. For once, he kept his damn mouth shut. He wasn’t birthing a baby. He was exhausted already and hadn’t even done anything. So, yeah, shutting up was definitely the better part of valor today.

The brief silence allowed them to clearly hear how the storm was raging outside. Out the window, the rain seemed to be falling sideways. God, that wasn’t good.

Nothing he could do about it now.

Time slowed to a crawl. He wiped Margo’s sweat away between contractions and told h how amazing she was about a thousand times. Anything to help, when he felt so goddamn helpless.

As quickly as she seemed to have gone into active labor, she stalled out in the middle. She was sagging against him weakly and he didn’t know what the hell to do. He looked at Lila and found an equally tired pair of blue eyes staring back at him.

“I can’t do this,” Margo said weakly.

“Of course, you can.” Lila patted her hand. “You’re a fucking warrior, remember?”

“I can be a warrior tomorrow.”

“No, you’ll be one now.” Lila glanced at Nora. “How’s it going?”

“She and the baby are fine.” Nora peeked under the towel. “Margo?”

Margo’s hand slid out of his limply. “Nope. No Margo here. She’s home, in a birthing center with lots of drugs. This is just one of my crazy dreams.”

Simon pressed his lips to her sweaty temple. “My wife is the strongest person on this entire fucking planet. And you’re going to push…” He could feel her tensing in his arms. He shot a look at Nora who nodded. “And you’re going to push right now. Right fucking now, Margo.”

He straightened her up in his arms with the help of Lila just as the contraction washed over her. “Push, dammit.” No time to be nice right now. She could kick his ass later.

“You’re right there, Margo. One more good push.”

She bore down on him. Bones crunched together in his hand, and Lila winced in reaction as well, but goddammit, she was a damn warrior.

Nora’s face went from expectant to joyous. “There we go.”

Margo sagged back against him. “She’s not crying. Why isn’t she crying?” She sat up and winced. But then came the most beautiful song in the whole world.

Raine’s disgusted yowl broke through the tension in the room.

Lila laughed and sagged against the headboard. She pressed her forehead to Margo’s arm. “Oh, thank God.”

Margo burst into tears and Simon wasn’t entirely sure he wouldn’t be right behind her.

“Lila, can you grab me some towels? I put a few on the warming rack near the shower. Can you grab those too?” Nora spoke to Lila but didn’t look away from the baby as she cleaned her up and did some other things Simon didn’t want to think about.

Lila darted into the bathroom and came back. She faltered a little, but seemed to steady herself and moved forward with an armful of towels.

“There’s a perfect girl. Such a good girl. That’s right, you cry it all out.” Nora tucked Raine into the warm towel and she pinked up. “Just keep your legs like that and here we go…” She set the baby on Margo’s chest. “Skin to skin is best.”

“God, she’s so tiny.” Simon’s eyes filled. She had a full head of dark hair and she looked like she was mad at the world until she settled on Margo’s chest. Her little bow of a mouth didn’t seem to know what to do as she burrowed closer to Margo’s heart.

“She’s perfect.” Margo’s whisper was as awestruck as he felt. She pressed a kiss against their daughter’s downy head.

“Look what you did.” He kissed Margo’s forehead and curled his arms around her and the baby. “We made this little human. I don’t even have words.”

Margo smiled up at him, but her gaze went right back to the baby. “Hello, Raine Lila Kagan. It’s very nice to finally meet you.”

Lila let out a little sob next to them.

Margo cuddled the baby closer, angling her toward her best friend. “Want to meet your Aunt Li? She’s going to be in your life almost every day like your mom and dad.”

Lila leaned over to them, one long finger brushing over Raine’s fist. Their little girl opened and closed her perfect tiny fingers around Lila’s. “Hi there, Raine.”

Raine suddenly squawked and her little face scrunched up.

Lila dashed away tears. “She’s so beautiful, Margo.”

Margo carefully turned the baby back toward her and murmured soft, nonsensical words. She winced lightly. “Whoa.”

Simon froze. “Whoa, what? Everything okay?”

“Should I still be having contractions?”

“What?” Simon scooted up against the headboard. “You’re joking.”

“Relax, everyone. It’s just the not-so-sweet part about having a baby.” Nora’s voice was no-nonsense.

Simon sagged back against the headboard. “Jesus.”

Nora laughed. “Did you think another baby was magically in there?”

“No.” He huffed out a breath. “Maybe.”

“God, no.” Margo laid her hand over the baby’s head. “I’m good.”

“No, just don’t mind me down here, just buttoning things up and taking care of the placenta.”

Simon grimaced. “Oh, umm, carry on.”

“Lila, why don’t you and Simon take the baby in to get cleaned up while I do the same for Mom?”

Lila nodded and put on her manager hat. She had a plan to enact. And just like that, the soft lines became stern and her tears dried up and she bustled Simon and his precious cargo into the bathroom. “We have a nice big sink to do this in.”

“We didn’t really prepare for the baby here yet.”

His Raine had sure been in a hurry, but she was definitely the best early surprise.

“Good thing I had a little gift in my bag.” Lila pulled out her phone and texted something, then someone came stomping up the stairs.

“I got it. Holy fuck—warn a guy.”

“In here, asshat.”

Nick stumbled into the bathroom, his hand up to shield his eyes. “I didn’t ever need to see that.”

“Good luck since you and Li want another one.”

Nick shook his head. “Not like that.” He stared at Li. “Not like that.”

“Yes, Nicholas, we’ll endeavor to make sure our baby isn’t born in a hurricane on an island.”

“Damn straight.” He held up the bag. “Here we go.”

“There’s a girl,” Lila crooned as she dug out the small travel bottle of soap. “Let’s just clean you up, hmm?” She handed the bag back to Nick.

Nick peered over her shoulder. “You did good, buddy.”

“Thanks.” Simon held his breath as he checked her over from head to foot—and every inch was perfect if incredibly fragile. He didn’t want to drown his baby in her first freaking ten minutes of life. Lila patiently told him how to hold her head as they ran lukewarm water over her super sensitive skin. Raine decided she liked the warm water and her fussing eased almost immediately as Lila gently rinsed her off.

“Look at you. Going to be a water baby, aren’t you? Grab a towel, Simon.”

He rushed around the counter with a fluffy towel and Lila settled his squeaky clean daughter into his arms. He lowered his mouth to her hair and brushed a kiss there in the same spot Margo had. Soft and lavender-scented perfection.

Nick snapped something out of the bag and held it up proudly. “Think this will fit?”

Simon looked up at the white onesie with the words “plot twist” in bold letters. His head dropped back and laughter filled the bathroom.

“What’s going on in there,” Margo called from the bedroom. “Bring my baby back in here.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Simon called out. He laughed again at Nick’s proud face. “Once I get a diaper on this one, we’re trying that on. I need that in every size.”

Nick laughed. “Damn right.”

Simon cuddled his daughter tight against his chest and waved in Ian and Zoe, who were hovering out in the hallway. “Come meet your niece.” He bent down to kiss his wife and settled their baby in her arms. She was in a new nightgown and her hair was brushed. She was so damn beautiful. Now he had two wonderful girls in his life.

He went around the bed and knelt next to Margo. Ian and Zoe came up to the bed hesitantly.

“Meet Raine Lila Kagan of the ten perfect fingers and ten perfect toes—I counted them myself.”

Margo grinned up at him. “Did you now?”

“I did.”

“So proud of himself, counting to twenty,” Nick drawled from the bathroom doorway.

Simon held up a middle finger.

Ian slid his arm around Zoe and smiled broadly. “She’s perfect.”

“Yeah, she is.” Margo leaned into Simon then looked around the room and back down to their baby. “Absolutely perfect.”

Best plot twist ever.