Aaron’s lust turned up a notch.

Grabbing Aaron’s shirt, Rob pulled him away from the cabin, down the steps and into the trees to the left, shoving him against the nearest tree. Aaron wasn’t going to let Rob run this, and gripped his top, pushing it up, getting his hands on soft, warm skin, and scraping his nails over hard nipples. Rob hissed, pressed closer, trapping Aaron's fingers between them, but Aaron wasn’t a lightweight, and he wanted to move, damn it. He shoved, Rob shoved, and then they were kissing again.

This wasn’t gentle or loving. This was raw need and power, and he twisted one hand in Rob’s hair and held on for dear life. The kiss was aggressive, but the taste of Rob was intoxicating, the way he pushed for more, then gentled his tongue so that it took Aaron by surprise. He reached between them, working one-handed on Rob’s jeans, slipping the buttons until he could get where he wanted; his fingers wrapped around Rob’s cock.

Rob groaned, and the kiss was breathless and hard and focused. He thrust up into the circle of Aaron’s hold.

Elation slammed into Aaron. He was getting this man off in the darkness, and he wanted to feel, but Rob was making no moves to return the favor, and Aaron’s cock hurt.

He wanted to fight, to demand that Rob touch him, and he tried another direction. He untwisted his grip from Rob’s hair then traced his back to the top of his ass, pushing his hand inside his shorts and grabbing the meaty globe of his ass, even as he twisted his other fingers on Rob’s cock.

“Fuck,” Rob groaned, pressing forward and then yanking himself away completely.

Aaron reached for him, but Rob sidestepped the hold before gripping Aaron’s arm and making him turn so he faced the tree. Aaron braced himself, and Rob forced a hand into Aaron’s pants, opening buttons and shoving the material down around his thighs, his shorts with it. Then Rob pushed against Aaron, his cock sliding between his butt cheeks, and gripped in Aaron’s hand. For a short while, he rutted there, and Aaron circled his own cock. He didn’t care how he got off, but it was damned nice to get off with Rob pressing against his ass.

“Don’t touch,” Rob growled and reached around to grasp Aaron’s cock. He held and twisted and rutted, and Aaron was lost, pushing back against the tree. The noises they were making were muted. Both of them were clearly enough in the moment to know they were outside where anyone could hear them. When orgasm hit Aaron, he let out a cry of relief into Rob’s hold, and Rob followed soon after, fucking into his hand and leaning over Aaron.

Silently Rob stepped away, pulling up his jeans, leaving them unbuttoned. This wasn’t about reaching for a post-fuck kiss. This was nothing like affection or romance. This was getting off.

“Get the fuck away from me,” Rob murmured and left. He walked away without a backward glance, went into the cabin, and shut the door.

Aaron should’ve felt like he did after club hookups, sated but dirty.

He was sated. But he didn’t feel dirty at all. If anything, he wanted more of what just happened. In a bed or at least in the light so he could see Rob’s expression when he came.

Because he bet it was all kinds of hot.

Aaron couldn’t shake the encounter. It stayed with him through his next shift, and even Grace called him on his inattention to the real word.

“Watch what you’re doing, Aaron.” She frowned and took the sanitization spray off him. “You sprayed that three times. I think it’s done. What’s wrong with you?”

He could’ve asked her the same question. She'd been quiet all morning and irritable. Which wouldn't matter normally, but grabbing breakfast at Carters before the start of the shift had him experiencing Saul in a bad mood as well. Aaron put that down to Michaela, and offered sympathy, but Saul had grunted that it was nothing to do with Michaela, and everything to do with being old and tired.

“I met this guy.” Aaron decided to tell Grace. "And the sex was scorching."

Grace said she lived vicariously through his encounters and usually wanted all the details. But today all she did was stare at him.

“Well, there you go. You got sex. Well done you. And that caps my shitty day." She left the bus, and he followed her all the way to the ladies’ restrooms and stood outside the door. And waited. She didn't expect him to be there and glared at him when she walked out.

“Wait up. Grace, what’s wrong?”

She turned to face him, and she was crying. Aaron was worried, and made to pull her into his arms, but she refused to be held and backed away. Their shift was over, and he didn’t chase her.

Hormones probably. Had to be.

When his phone rang and it was Eddie, he didn't want to answer it but he did because hell, Eddie was his brother, and as much as he didn't want another conversation about Eddie’s sex life, he couldn't avoid him.

“Shit, A, there’s something wrong,” Eddie said without preamble.

Instinct kicked in. This wasn’t Eddie’s whiny voice. This was his terrified-the-world-was-ending voice.

“What?”

“There’s blood.”

“Call 911,” Aaron said.

“She won’t let me. She says it’s too early, I called you.”

“I’ll be there in five.” He hung up and headed straight for the bus. He was off duty, but this was family. He caught up with Grace in the parking lot.

“Jenny’s not good,” he called. He didn’t ask her to go with him. That was her decision to make, but was relieved when she climbed into the bus and belted up.

“Let’s go,” she said.

They made it to Eddie’s place, not far from Carters, in less than three minutes, parked and were out of the ambulance immediately. Saul was at the door. He stopped Aaron with a touch to his arm.

“I think the baby is coming early,” he said.

“Got it,” Aaron confirmed and headed inside. He didn’t have to examine Jenny to know that things were advanced, too far gone for them to get her to hospital. She was curled up in pain on the floor of the front room, her skin pale, and her features screwed up with pain.

Eddie was frantic. “She started to bleed, and then the pain was so quick we didn’t have time to… we couldn’t… she wouldn’t move—”

Aaron stopped Eddie from talking with a gentle hand to his chest. “I’ve got this, Eddie, let me fix things.”

Eddie backed off, and Aaron immediately went to Jenny, Grace right by him.

“I can’t get my hair up,” Jenny said and cried out as pain doubled her over. “It’s in my face. I hate it.” She writhed and then stared up at Eddie. “I hate you,” she said, panting through the last of the pain.

In a quick movement, Grace had Jenny’s long, raven-black hair up in a messy ponytail, extricating the tie Jenny had gripped in her hand. “All done,” she announced and held Jenny’s hand as Aaron did checks.

“You’re eight centimeters,” he announced.

“I can’t be!” Jenny snapped.

“The baby isn’t due for another four weeks,” Eddie interjected and went to hold his wife’s other hand. “This is all my fault,” he added, broken, and stared right at Aaron.

“A baby coming early is no one’s fault,” Aaron said firmly and eased Jenny back against the pile of cushions Eddie had made. “Okay, Jenny, I need you to breathe through the next contraction for me.”

“Towels, hot water,” Grace demanded, and Saul moved quickly to gather what Aaron needed.

Aaron could feel the rippling of her belly, the movement below his fingers. There was no time to get her to the hospital. He was going to have to deliver this baby right now in his brother’s front room. Listening for the heartbeat, it sounded strong, and then Jenny screamed when a contraction tore through her.

This was too fast. This wasn’t the slow labor that women hoped for, no gas and air, or an epidural. This was nasty and violent, and Aaron put on his game face. He’d seen blood before, he’d seen pain before, and now he needed to focus on the baby and mom.

The baby was head down, thank god, and he didn’t have to do a thing. With a final push from Jenny, his niece arrived in the world, pale and gray, but at least the cord wasn’t wrapped around her neck. She was a good size and breathing on her own. He cleared the airways, checked the heart, wrapped her in one of the clean towels, and handed her to Jenny who was sobbing. He would give them a couple of moments, his sister-in-law and his brother, and the new life they had created.

Then he had things to do, the umbilical cord, the placenta, the messiness of birth. Things the parents would never remember while they held their baby girl with so much love in their hearts.

When the midwife arrived, running through the front door, there was very little for her to do. But Aaron had never been so pleased to see someone in his entire life.

“You did good,” Saul said and cupped his shoulder. He’d moved outside, letting the midwife take over, run checks, and pronounce mom and baby fine. Grace was outside with them, sitting on the small wall around Eddie and Jenny’s backyard. She was pale, a hand over her belly, protectively cupping the new life inside her, and Saul moved to sit next to her, bumping shoulders.

“Okay?” he asked.

She looked up at him, startled, and then fled. Not just left but actually sprinted out of the garden and through the side gate to the road. She only lived a block away, but Aaron wondered if he should go after her.

“She’ll be fine,” Saul said, but he sounded sad.

Aaron didn’t have time to question his brother’s statement or tone because Eddie appeared at the door, shell-shocked but grinning as wide as the Cheshire Cat.

“Oh my god,” he announced, completely spaced out “She’s beautiful. Jenny, the baby. They’re beautiful.” He held up his car keys. “I need to fetch Milly and Jake.”

Eddie was in no fit state to drive. Aaron opened his mouth to say he’d do it, but Saul beat him to it, taking the keys, giving Eddie a hard hug, and then using the side gate to head for the car.

Eddie sat next to Aaron and put an arm over his shoulder. “Thank you, little brother.”

Aaron huffed a laugh. “I didn’t do anything. That was all Jenny.”

“And it was all my fault, you know. I looked it up on Google, and it said sex was okay, and she wanted—”

“Stop, okay, I don’t want to picture you and Jenny… y’know.”

They sat there for a while. Eddie humming under his breath.

“Aaroni, Ariana, Arienne? Aria?” Eddie eased away from Aaron and lifted his face to the sky. “How about Aaroni?”

“What?”

“The baby should be named for you. After all, you delivered her. How about Aaroni? Should we add an S to that? Aaronis? Would that be a silent S? How about Aaronisabelle?”

“No, jeez, poor kid.”

“Well, you choose a name then.”

“No, asshole, I'm not responsible for her name." They fell into silence, and then an idea formed in Aaron's mind. "Okay, well, how about Mom’s name, how about Elizabeth?”

Emotion gripped him. Their mom was long gone, just a distant memory now, but yeah, that seemed like a good idea. He side-hugged Eddie.

“That sounds like a good idea,” Eddie said and stood, brushing the brick dust from the wall off his pants. “Elizabeth Aaronisabelle Carter.”

Aaron smiled and then realized what he’d heard.

“No!” he shouted after Eddie.

“Just kidding, man,” Eddie responded and then chuckled evilly as he went into the house.