Chapter 11

A dog doesn’t care if you’re rich or poor, educated or illiterate, clever or dull. Give him your heart and he will give you his.

-Marley and Me

Payton

“Payton.” The annoying voice said.

 

I ignored the voice, and covered my head with my pillow. Maybe if I ignored it, it would go away. However, my luck sucked, and the irritation continued.

 

“Payton, you need to get up or you’ll be late for work. You’ve got forty-five minutes.” The bastard I married said as he drew the pillow from my face.

 

I cracked one eye open and gave him the stink eye.

 

“Leave me alone. I only need ten minutes to get ready, and ten minutes to get there.”

 

“Yeah, but you’ve been spending at least half of that time every night puking, and then you’re late like you were last night.”

 

He did have a point; yet, I didn’t really care at that moment in time. I closed my eyes and resumed my sleep, but shortly found myself standing beside the bed with Max’s arms holding me up. As soon as I was vertical, my stomach revolted and I dashed for the bathroom. I only managed to run into one wall as I went, and made it to the toilet just in time to puke up absolutely nothing. Just as I did every night before work.

 

After wiping the back of my hand across my mouth, I stood and saw Max standing in the doorway.

 

“What?” I snapped.

 

His look said ‘I told you so’ yet he didn’t say anything. The man knew better. I knew where he slept. Pushing him out of the way, I got dressed in my navy blue scrubs and slipped my feet into my tennis shoes, without the socks. Lately, even the slightest thing tight on my body drove me bonkers, so I stopped wearing anything constricting. That meant no socks, no underwear, and no bra. I substituted a loose camisole for the bra that concealed my nipples for the sake of propriety, though.

 

“You’ve been puking like this forever. When is this shit supposed to go away?” Max asked from the other side of the bed.

 

I looked up from tying my shoes and replied, “Well, all of the books I’ve read said the first trimester. I’m past that and still puking, so I got nothing.”

He left the room, and disappeared into the main part of the house and called out, “What time is the ultrasound appointment today?”

 

I followed the sound of his voice to the kitchen and found him digging in the fridge.

 

“Today on my lunch break; they’re going to work me in since I’m not sure when I can get free for lunch. I’ll text you when I head down there.”

 

Seeing as I slept days and went to work during the night, it wasn’t so easy to get to the doctors unless I wanted to lose a couple hours of sleep. To a pregnant girl, that’s worse than anything you could imagine. My doctor is one of my favorites in the maternity ward, and since he’s in the next hall over from where I work ninety nine percent of the time, he said he’d work me in since he had two inducements that night.

 

“You won’t have a man on you today. A tree limb fell through the roof of the garage early this morning and we need to get it patched since it has yet to stop raining and freezing in a day and a half.” Max explained.

 

In Texas, snow and ice of any kind was rare. For it to ice for that long was unheard of. The trees couldn’t keep up with the weight of the ice, and they were just collapsing, breaking, and uprooting all over the place. We’re lucky that worse hasn’t happened. Hell, at least we had power.

 

The lights flickered twice before going out completely. The last thing I witnessed was Max lifting the jug of orange juice to his lips. Straight out of the jug he drank. I glared at him, but since it was dark, he couldn’t get the full impact of the glare. Pig.

 

I walked slowly with my hands out until I found the counter. I filled up a glass of water, downed my prenatal vitamin, and placed the cup in the sink. Displaced air informed me of Max’s arrival at my side as he leaned down and threw the empty orange juice pitcher into the sink. The man couldn’t find the trash when the lights were on, what made me think he could when the lights were off?

 

Max came up to me and wrapped me up in his big strong arms. My face was buried in the soft flannel of his shirt. His chin rested on the top of my head and my tiny bump nestled up to his crotch.

 

“You were glaring at me weren’t you?” He asked before smacking my ass and leaving me standing there.

 

Tiny flutters in my belly made my heart happy, but they weren’t noticeable to Max yet. I couldn’t wait for him to feel the baby kick.

 

I didn’t follow him, seeing as it was dark and I’d probably find every damn chair in the kitchen with my shins, and still never catch him.

 

“Alpha!” I yelled.

 

Alpha was at my side instantly, and I gave him a body rub before standing and saying, “Truck.”

 

He led me through the house, and never once did I hit a chair or ottoman. I don’t know what I ever did without this dog; he was such a large part of our lives, now, that I don’t know what I used to do before him. Max and he had a competition going on for my love and affection. Max teased that I loved the dog more than I loved him, which might have some truth to it because Alpha doesn’t leave a complete mess everywhere he goes.

 

“Ready?” Max asked from directly behind me.

 

I jumped three feet in the air and turned with a flare.

 

“Jesus Max. Can’t you freaking stomp or something and let me know you’re coming?”

 

“Sorry, sweet cheeks. Let’s get going.” He said as he lifted me up in his arms, cradling me against his chest.

 

I rolled my eyes, but was secretly happy that he was so thoughtful. The man was a pain the ass, but he was my pain in the ass.

 

The drive to the hospital was a slow one. It was good that I wasn’t driving because people were being complete dumbasses. Some drove excessively slow, while others went too fast. There were wrecked cars abandoned on the side of the road. A few power lines down, here and there, as well as downed trees. The snow was making a kaleidoscope effect as we drove, and soon I found myself dizzy and nauseous. I’ve never been so happy as when we pulled up to the front entrance to the hospital.

 

“Hold on and I’ll walk you up. Hopefully, they don’t care if I park here.” Max said as he rounded the corner of the blazer.

 

He opened the door and grabbed me around the waist with both hands, letting my body rub against his until my feet met the asphalt. My nausea disappeared, and was instantly replaced by need. I inhaled deeply, taking the scent of him into my lungs. This would be a long twelve hours.

 

His hearty laugh filled the night, and I beamed at him.

 

“Alright, let’s get this shit over with.”

“Remember to call me. Don’t you dare start without me!” He said as he led me to the nurse’s station.

 

The lights flickered but stayed on. We all groaned. If the lights went out, this would be one hell of a shift. Babies continued to be born whether there were lights or not. It was a scary thing to be in the middle of a delivery and lose power.

 

“Call me if you need anything, Payton. Love you.” Max said as he kissed me, before he took off for the stairs.

 

“Why did we not just ride in the same vehicle?” Cheyenne asked from behind me.

 

I turned and smiled at her. She was wearing her hair down tonight, and I envied the long, curly mass. “Probably because I’m twenty minutes late again, and you’re always on time.”

 

“That’s right. Sam drove me; he wanted to spend a little more time with me.” Cheyenne said and then amended, “Well, if you wanted to be technical, he said, ‘you’d probably end up in a ditch, and then I’d have to come get you anyway. Get over it.’ I chose to think he did it with love, though.”

 

“Sure you did. What do we have today?” I asked while scanning the charts.

 

“It must me a full moon, the whole floor is filled; we’re actually having to double up patients in rooms.” Cheyenne informed me.

 

It was six hours into my shift before we got our first break. I’d called Max about twenty minutes before, and just took my eighteenth bathroom break of the day, when the power went out. It had been flickering on and off for the entire shift, and we’d prepared for it to go out almost as soon as I got on shift.

 

We checked every single battery in every machine that resided on this floor. We also informed the patients that if the power did go out, not to panic. We had hospital policies that prepared us for the possibility if the lights went out; except one. They didn’t tell me how to prepare for a killer set on taking you out, and didn’t care about babies getting hurt in the process.

 

Alpha scratched at the door frantically, and I assumed that it was Max on the other side, but when I opened the door, nobody was there. Alpha slunk out the door and into the hallway, leaving me behind. Good thing the battery on my phone was fully charged as I was now down a guide dog who left me high and dry in the dark.

 

The high pitch cry of a baby screaming in pain had me dashing through the corridor and straight up to the nurse’s station. Just as I rounded the corner, I tripped over something and fell to my hands and knees. Pain radiated up my arm, but all I could think about was how thankful I was that I’d caught myself before falling on my belly.

 

I may not be showing much at this point, but it was definitely there if my pants had anything to say about it. It was just the tiniest of bumps. It fit perfectly in the palm of Max’s hand, which seems to have a permanent home there whenever we are within reaching distance of each other.

 

I ignored the pain in my arm, as well as the stinging in my knees that signals that, most likely, I’ve broken the skin, and turned to see what tripped me. It didn’t register with me at first, but then I saw the long curly blonde hair and it took everything I had to hold the throw up that wanted to exit my stomach inside me. Cheyenne. I crawled over to her, quickly using her hair as a guide since my phone was now somewhere I couldn’t see it. Once I reached her head, I feel something slick, but continue to run my hand over her face until I reached the crook of her neck.

 

Her pulse was steady and strong, and I released the breath that I didn’t realize I was holding. Just as I was standing to find someone to help me, I heard a noise that chilled me to the bone. Alpha’s growl warned me that something wasn’t right, and I needed to find a place to hide. I couldn’t hide though; if something was wrong, there were eighteen babies on this floor that didn’t have the same warning that I’d just gotten.

 

Moving the desk chair out from under the counter, I dragged Cheyenne’s limp body over to the little nook and folded her inside. I felt her front pockets and was elated to find her phone there; yet, quickly deflated when I couldn’t figure out how to work it. It was a brand new one that I had absolutely no idea how to even open, so I shoved it back into her pocket. I shoved the chair in front of her. Most likely, she wouldn’t be seen anyway, but more is better and all that.

 

A quick survey of the floor and surroundings yielded nothing, and I cursed beneath my breath. Crawling on my hands and knees, I peeked around the nurse’s station and saw my phone lying face up illuminating the hallway. I crawled quickly to it and called Max.

 

“I’m about five minutes away, there was a wreck at the intersection in front of the hospital, or maybe it’s just an abandoned car, hell I don’t know. I went around the side street and am just pull…” Max was saying before I interrupted him.

 

“Something’s wrong. The powers out; I found Cheyenne unconscious with a head wound, and Alpha is somewhere on this floor growling at something.” I whispered as quietly as I could.

 

“Fuck me. Can you go hide somewhere?” He asked. I could hear a commotion in the background, almost as if he was running, but I couldn’t be sure.

 

I crawled along the hallway wall, keeping one shoulder on the wall so I wouldn’t get lost.

 

“No can do, I have babies to take care of, and parents to warn.”

 

The first opening I came to signaled to me that I reached the first patient room. Pushing it open silently, I listened for a heartbeat before going in all the way. Since I could still hear Alpha growling, I made an educated guess that whatever was wrong wasn’t on this side of the floor. There were no sounds of TV, or moms talking to their babies. No sound whatsoever. Just as I made it to the bed, I heard a whimper.

 

“It’s okay, its Payton, I’m a nurse on this floor.” I whispered.

 

“Payton!” A voice hissed.

 

It took me a few moments to recognize who it was, since she was whispering. I finally realized that it was a nurse from the day shift.

 

“What do you know?”

 

“Nothing. I came out just as the lights went out. This was the first room I came to check. When I came out, I saw some woman standing behind Cheyenne with a flashlight. She swung it at the back of her head, and Cheyenne went down. I closed the door and haven’t moved since. I put the family into the bathroom.”

 

“Okay, I’m going to the next room. Jodie, Tina, Jacklyn, and Aida are probably in patient rooms as well. I know where Cheyenne is. You need to call 911 on the patient phone.” I ordered and then crawled out the door.

 

I don’t know where all my bravery came from. I just knew Max was boosting me just from being on the phone with me. Except, now that I thought about it, I forgot about him as soon as I entered the room. Putting the phone on speaker, I dropped it into the front of my pants and crawled to the next room.

 

“Max. Can you hear me?” I whispered.

 

“Yeah, I’m on the second floor, but all the doors are fucking locked. How do I get in?” He whispered back gruffly.

 

“There’s an emergency code that will get you inside, but it also sets off a silent alarm, which wouldn’t be a bad thing right now. There’s a keypad beside the door, punch in three-five-six-five-pound.” I explained.

 

I went to three more rooms, told them to get into their showers. The next door I came to I could hear an infant urgently crying so hard that it was making my insides hurt. As soon as I pushed the door open, the whimpering of the young mother could be heard.

 

“Stacy?”

 

Stacy was all of fourteen, and had a C-section just four hours ago. She was also on psych watch because she tried to kill herself, which, in turn, led to the C-section two weeks before her due date. I’d walked out on an argument between her and my boss about when she would get to see her child.

 

“I can’t move to get her. She fell off the bed, and I can’t get her.”

 

I felt sick to my stomach just thinking about why the baby was on the floor. Suddenly, a thought occurred to me. Where was the sitter that was supposed to be in this room? The woman was a silent watcher every time I had come in to check on Stacy today. She gave me the creeps, and I’d tried all night to stay out of the woman’s sight, but, alas, duty called and I sucked it up.

 

“Stacy, honey, where is your sitter?” I asked quietly, as I checked the baby.

 

The baby calmed as I placed my hands on her little chest. The infant was tiny, a little over six pounds. I was concerned that the baby might have something wrong with her. Sadly, there was nothing I could do with the power out. Not to mention there was a psycho bitch on the loose.

 

Scooping the baby up in my arms, I grabbed a sheet from the closet and tied the baby to my chest in a makeshift sling. There was no way I was leaving this baby with a suicidal mother. The baby was sleeping now with little sniffles and catches in her breathing, every so often, from the fall she took.

 

I reached the door when it was silently pushed open. I quickly stepped to the side and crammed myself into the corner so the door would open and conceal my body. The footsteps were nearly silent except for a slight clicking sound that may have been from a rock or a pebble stuck in the grooves of their shoe. I put the phone from my pocket to my ear and listened, but couldn’t tell where Max was since no sound was coming from the earpiece.

 

I called myself ten times a fool when I realized that the light from the phone would be like a homing beacon to the person who was in the room with me. The baby’s sniffles continued, and my head dropped in despair. Surely, whoever it was would figure out we were hiding behind the door, but I was wrong.

 

The slight clicking every other step exited the room and walked away from the door. Letting out a breath, I eased out from behind the door and peeked outside when I was grabbed from behind. A hand covered my mouth, and I bit down instinctively before the smell and body made me aware of who it was that was holding me.

 

“Motherfucker.” A very deep voice said from behind me.

I went limp in Max’s arms. My legs threatened to give, and Max cursed again as he readjusted his grip. He snaked his arm around the front of my abdomen, just above my belly, and right below the infant I had strapped to my chest.

 

The baby felt the motion and gave an experimental wiggle, but quickly found comfort and dropped back off to sleep.

 

“You scared the piss out of me.”

 

“You should have stayed behind the door.” Max countered.

 

“How did you get in here?” I asked.

 

I was confused. If he was in here, then who had come into the room, and why did I only hear one person’s set of feet enter?

 

“Who just left?”

 

“I don’t know.” He said nearly silent. “I want you to stay in here. I haven’t found Alpha, and I’ve already made one round. He’s stalking something and staying on the move.”

 

For once, I didn’t argue with him. My bravado fled the instant I felt his body against mine. Moreover, there wasn’t much I could do with an infant strapped to my chest. I didn’t want to get us killed just because I wanted to stay with him. He didn’t need to know that I was terrified that I could barely keep the shakes under control. That my heart was pounding a mile a minute. That I was on the verge of puking. If he didn’t leave, I was sure I would cling to him and never let go. Somehow, I found the will and forced myself to tell him that I would stay and not move.

 

“Okay.” I said, nearly as silent as he did.

 

He gave me a soft kiss on the lips, then left the room so silently that I wouldn’t have known that he left if I hadn’t felt a shift in the air as he passed. I said a silent prayer to myself that he would be all right, and then went to my original position in the corner of the door.

 

I slid my back along the wall, until my butt met the cool tiles. My knees were pulled up as far as I could get them, cradling the baby between my knees and chest. The baby wiggled around at the scrunched up position, and I couldn’t help but smile.

 

What started this whole ordeal was that I’d forgotten to go to my yearly exam with my gynecologist. I’d been stressed with my nursing boards and finding a job. Since this was the year that I was supposed to have the implant in my arm replaced, I wasn’t as protected as I’d thought I’d been when I slept with Max in August. When I finally took the time to notice that my period was late, I was nearly ten weeks pregnant. But, I didn’t say anything to Max. Seeing as I was a nurse who worked with babies, I should’ve known better. I felt like a complete moron. Not that I was upset about it. I knew Max would be an excellent father as soon as I met him. He interacted so well with all of the kids he came into contact with. Hell, one time I walked into the room and he was singing a lullaby to Cora and, I swear, my ovaries started shooting out eggs for his torpedo to fertilize.

 

Not really, but the man was a serious turn on when he sang, and for him to sing while holding a baby was a completely different ball game. I’ve yet to hear him sing to me, but it was definitely something I begged him to do often. His response to my bugging was that he wasn’t a singer. No matter how deep his voice was, it didn’t mean that he could sing. He said he sounded like a ‘badger having his asshole ripped out,’ to be specific. With that vivid image, I decided to leave him alone, for the time being.

 

The whisper of air clued me in that someone entered the room again. I closed my eyes and hoped that it was Max, instead of the psycho bitch that took out Cheyenne. When the person took the first step inside I knew that it wasn’t Max, because I could hear footsteps.

 

Max was silent as a wraith, when he left the room. This person had heavy footsteps. He also ran into the baby’s bed and then cursed up a storm.

 

“Nurse!” Stacy whimpered from the bed.

 

I squeezed my eyes shut tightly and prayed that whoever it was, wasn’t bad. Maybe it was just the maintenance person here to fix the lights. On the other hand, maybe he was a cop. Yes, definitely a cop. This would be one of the first floors to have police on, right?

 

Then he went and killed my hopes by muttering a “Shut up, bitch.”

 

Of course, I wasn’t that lucky. I was just thankful that he hadn’t closed the door, and that I was small enough to fit behind it while the door was open. The baby chose that moment to make the hungry baby grunts that signaled that she was perilously close to waking up and working herself into a full-blown panic if she wasn’t fed right that instant. I jiggled her slightly, quieting her down quickly, but it didn’t help. He knew there was a baby in the room.

 

“Where’s your baby?” The man asked Stacy.

 

“T-the n-nurse h-has her.” Stacy cried.

 

“Where is she?” He asked.

 

“Behind the door.” Stacy snickered.

 

I found myself blinded by the flashlight the man held, before I was pulled out by my ponytail. I threw myself onto my side and curled, protectively, around the baby. Crying out from the pain in my scalp, I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to breathe through the pain. My heart was pounding so hard in my chest that I could feel it all over my entire body.

 

“So, Payton, did you miss me?” The man said.

 

It was then that it finally registered as to why the voice sounded familiar.

 

“Rory? What the heck are you doing here?” I said calmly, even though I was feeling anything but calm.

 

I had to keep him talking. Maybe if I kept him talking, Max would be able to handle him. A sharp wrench on my hair made the tears that were threatening to spill before, finally take the plunge down my cheeks. The baby that was strapped to my body started wailing again, and it was all I could do not to match her scream for scream.

 

“Rory, please calm down. I have a baby in my arms. You could really hurt her. Please.” I choked out.

 

“Calm? I’m anything but calm. That boyfriend of yours has ruined my calm.” He seethed.

 

My brows pulled together in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

 

“Oh, don’t play innocent with me. You sent him after me. He threatened me. Got me fired from my job. I lost my house, my girlfriend, and, now, I’m beyond calm.” He accentuated each point by giving my hair a vicious yank after each item.

 

I breathed heavily through my mouth, trying desperately not to throw up from the pain. Alpha’s malicious growl from the hallway beyond, startled Rory enough that he let my hair go so quickly that my head pounded onto the tiled floor. He stood, and I took the opportunity to back away from him.

 

Rory’s flashlight swung to the open door, but the only thing that could be seen was the door closing quietly. Almost as if someone had pushed it open, and then immediately let it close. I squeezed my body underneath the hospital bed. There was barely any room, but, somehow, I made it work. Alpha was still snarling somewhere in the hallway beyond the room we were in, and I had the sick feeling that maybe Max wasn’t all right if he wasn’t in here yet.

 

I patted the baby’s bottom without thought. She was in a full-blown roar, and I didn’t think I’d calm her down unless she got something to eat. At least, I hoped that was the problem and not something that had to do with her fall. As soon as we got through with this shit-fest, I would definitely be saying something to my boss about her decision to let this girl see her child. I didn’t care who was in the room with her; there would be consequences here.

 

“Whose damn dog is that?” Rory asked. “Where’d you go, Pay?”

 

His flashlight swung back and forth across the floor of the room. Just as his flashlight beam met the edge of my feet, a sickening thud, followed by a moan, and then a heavy body falling to the floor. The flashlight rolled across the floor until it came to rest against my foot, and I snatched it up quickly before killing the light.

 

“It’s okay, Pet. It’s just me.” Max said quietly, before hunkering down beside me. His arms came out and framed my face, and I instantly felt better. My stomach stopped rolling and even the baby quieted down to a weep instead of wailing.

 

“What’s going on?” I asked him.

 

“The lights for the generator are working on every floor except for this one. The only person that would have the knowledge to cut off only one floors power would be an experienced electrician. It all makes sense that Rory’s here now, seeing as he’s worked on the hospital’s power grid before.”

 

As soon as he mentioned the power, the lights flickered twice before blinking on, blinding in their intensity. I surveyed the room, and then looked down to the little girl who was startled out of her crying. I reached over to the cradle, grabbed an infant nursette bottle, and started feeding the hungry baby. She attacked the nipple as if she was starving, making hungry sucking noises. Max chuckled at the little pig noises she was making.

 

“What about the woman?” I asked while looking the baby over for any noticeable injuries.

 

I felt his body go immobile, his breathing freeze, and then a cackling laugh came from behind Max. Max slowly turned and faced the woman who had laughed like a horror movie reject.

 

I recognized her immediately, and saw red. This woman was paid to watch the young mother, and was very close to harming an innocent child with her careless disregard of her job. I was so upset that it took me a moment to realize that Max had his gun in his hand pointing straight at the aid.

 

“What’s going on?” I asked with a deep foreboding.

 

“Oh, not much.” The woman said with an evil smile on her face.

 

It made her look all wrong. Where, earlier, I felt uneasy around her, now I felt downright disturbed.

“Put your gun down, darling. Surprised to see me?” She asked.

 

I turned and looked at Max. His face was set as hard as granite. He was working his jaw, as if he was afraid if he didn’t clinch it, he would say something that would set the woman off. His eyes flicked down, and then, just as quickly, flicked back up.

 

“Tell your dog to back off.” The woman said before bringing the backpack she had strapped to her back around to give it a good shake in front of her body.

 

The sound of snuffling, and then a lusty cry reverberated through the quiet room, and I could no longer hold the throw up that had been stewing for the past few hours. I bent over and puked until all that was left was dry heaves.

 

What is wrong with this woman and hurting innocent babies. How were we going to get the baby away from her? What if the baby was hurt? Whose baby was it? All these thoughts continued swirling through my mind as Max said the command for Alpha to stand down. He stopped where he was, but didn’t stop the menacing growling.

 

“I’m going to leave this floor, and if you don’t have anyone follow me, I’ll leave the baby on the elevator.” She said as she carefully placed the backpack back over her shoulder.

 

“O’Hare, keep your word.” Max said as he lowered his weapon.

 

O’Hare backed out of the room, and then disappeared into the chaos of the hallway. Nobody stopped her. The alarms that signal that a baby was leaving the authorized area flared to life, but were quickly extinguished as she found a way to override the locked elevator and shut them off. Bile threatened to rise again, but one look at Max’s face helped me persist through the nausea.

 

He had his phone to his ear, and started speaking authoritatively to whoever was on the other end. I walked out into the hallway to see the rest of the nursing staff running towards the elevator.

 

“Why did it unlock?” Tina cried, as she watched the numbers flow down to the basement level.

 

Max was there with me, gun tucked back into his holster.

 

“Stay here, I’m going down to the basement as soon as I see that the baby is on the elevator.”

 

We all watched with bated breath as the elevator returned back to the third floor. The doors swished open, and every last one of the nurses that were crowded around the elevator let out a loud cheer, and then started to cry. We all felt responsible for the fact that we’d lost a baby. It was our job to make sure that they were safe and protected, and we had all failed.

 

Tina bent down to scoop the baby up. Dressed in the hospital attire of onesie and animal blanket, she looked oblivious to the world. Not even disturbed in the slightest to be lying on the floor. Thank God.

 

Max left within the next minute, following the same route down to the basement. It was only then that I realized that he was by himself going after a psycho woman. Saying a small prayer, I went back to work. I checked over the small infant who was still strapped to my chest by the bed sheet. The doctor pronounced her fit as a fiddle, and then returned to the other babies to do his rounds.

 

Cheyenne was propped up in a rolling desk chair at the nurses station with a white cold pack pressed to her bandaged forehead.

 

“This is your entire fault.” She moaned. My stomach dropped and I closed my eyes tightly, but then snapped back open when she said, “I told you I needed that stun gun! Why didn’t you let me get it?”

 

My mouth hung agape. “You’re seriously trying to blame this on me because I told you not to buy a stun gun from that homeless guy on the side of the hospital?”

 

“He wasn’t homeless! He was a legitimate businessperson. He even had business cards.” She laughed and then groaned clutching her head.

 

“Cheyenne, those cards weren’t even in his name!” I guffawed.

 

She glared at me. Then, there was commotion at the elevators drawing everyone’s attention.

 

“Back away.” A deadly calm voice told the rookie cop at the elevator.

 

The cop’s hand found its way to the butt of his gun, but then another more experienced officer told him to let him pass.

 

“God, that man makes my ovaries sing,” she said. “And he’s phat.”

 

“He’s not got an inch of fat on his enormous body. Are you sure you don’t need to see a doctor?” I asked, pulling the pen light out of my pocket and shining it into her eyes.

 

She flinched away and said, “No, I mean he’s pretty hot and tempting, phat.”

 

“Cheyenne?” I asked her.

 

“What?” She asked as her eyes followed Sam as he weaved through the crowd of police, nurses, doctors, and concerned parents.

 

“The 90’s called, they want their saying back.” I snickered.

 

Sam made it to her and stalled her comeback. He dropped down to his knees in front of her and gathered her so sweetly against his chest that tears gathered in my eyes. Alpha came up to my side and leaned against me, letting me know that he was there.

 

I was just about to give them some privacy when a wave of nausea hit me out of nowhere, sending me to the trashcan under the nurses station desk. I made it just in time to throw up the Snickers bar and Dr. Pepper I’d consumed not two minutes before. Unfortunately, I was wedged in between Sam’s torso and Cheyenne’s knees, with Sam’s arms above me that were framing Cheyenne’s face as he kissed her.

 

Once I was finished, I stayed still for a few moments before slowly backing out. Both of their bodies were frozen on either side of me; my face was absolutely flaming. If I had a mirror right now, I knew it would be as red as a fire engine. Once I was free of their bodies, I kept backing up with my head down until I was blocked from their view by the nurse’s station. My butt knocked into something solid, and I stopped and looked up. Max’s eyes were sparkling and his lips were twitching at either ends.

 

“What are you doing?” Max asked me.

 

“I don’t want to talk about it.” I said, as I finally noticed the various officers and nurses laughing their asses off.

 

My face flamed once again and I buried my face in between Max’s shins wishing the floor would swallow me whole.

 

Max’s hands slipped underneath my arms and he hauled me to my feet. I didn’t help him in the slightest. Then I started to mourn my lost candy bar. I wasted two and a half dollars on those two things, and I was seriously thinking I needed to go raid my locker stash before I came up with a bright idea. Looking up into Max’s eyes, I smiled my most radiating smiled.

 

“Will you go get me a hamburger from the cafeteria?” I asked sweetly.

 

Cheyenne lost her battle with her laughter and finally gave in, throwing herself into Sam’s arms.

 

“I don’t know what you’re laughing about. That was disgusting.” Sam grumbled.

 

“It can’t be any worse than Ember’s water breaking all over your legs.” Cheyenne said, wiping tears from her eyes.

 

Max’s chest was shaking so hard beneath me that I feared he might fall over. I looked up at his face and was rewarded with a laughing Max, who lit the room with his happiness. I love this man with all my heart; nothing compares to this. Tonight could have been truly awful, we were all lucky we were here experiencing this when it could have just as easily gone the other way.

 

“Hate to break up this love fest; Max, I need your statement. Ladies.” Luke said as he left, expecting Max to follow him.

 

“I’ll head down to the cafeteria and get you something to eat; maybe you can make it to the bathroom when you need to throw up next time.” He teased before walking in the direction Luke disappeared.

***

“All right, since this chart says you’re already at twenty weeks gestation and you haven’t had a songram up to this point, I think we should do an internal sonogram. Just to check all of the structures. So, lose your pants and get situated on the table, I’ll be back as soon as you’re settled.” Dr. Schmidt said before leaving the room.

 

“What does he mean by lose the pants? When Ember had her thingy done, she just lifted her damn shirt.” Max growled from across the room.

 

I shucked my pants and panties and tossed them all at his head. He caught them with a flick of his wrist and settled them down into his lap. My ass hit the table and I covered up with the crappy paper sheet that was made to make myself decent.

 

He looked stressed. His easy laugh was lost when he got back to me without the hamburger. I decided to let it slide because the look on his face was one of a man who was holding on by a shred. For that reason, I let him be, while I starved, and waited anxiously until I was off shift, before heading to the maternity wing with Max’s hand solidly in mine.

 

“An internal ultrasound is when they shove this,” I said, holding up a wand that was covered in a lubricated condom and waving it back and forth. “Up my love tunnel and wiggle it around.”

 

Max was on his feet, trying to get my scrubs back on me while keeping me covered when Dr. Schmidt walked in and took in the scene.

 

“I swear to God I’m a happily married man. Although, even if I wasn’t, I don’t want any more kids, hell I even don’t even want the ones I’ve got!”

 

Max sighed and leaned his head against my knees before giving in and standing, making his way to my side.

 

“Why’d you wait so long to have an ultrasound, again?” Dr. Schmidt asked.

 

“Well, I’ve just been busy. I’m healthy, and, well, my insurance just kicked in, so that was a good reason, right?” I asked and then saw the incredulous look on his face.

 

“Okay, if I ignored it, it wasn’t real. I didn’t want confirmation of my dumbassness.” I rushed out.

 

The doctor got the wand lubed and inside of me in the next second.

 

“So how many kids did you want?” He asked cryptically.

 

Max looked at the screen, to me, and then to the doctor. “I want a house full.”

 

“So how many does a house full consist of?” He continued with his mysterious line of questioning.

 

“I don’t know, four or five I guess.” He said warily.

 

I had a sick feeling I knew where this was going. A really sick feeling. “Dr. Schmidt, for the love of all that’s holy, spit it out.” I said, glancing from the screen to his face.

 

“I was just kidding. There is only one from what I can see. Congratulations.” He remarked.

 

I was so very relieved that I nearly wept in happiness. “You suck.”

 

“There’s the head, and the hands right up next to the face. Oh my, would you look at that? He or she has your attitude already!” Dr. Schmidt chortled.

 

The printer printed off two shots and handed one to each of us, laughing. In the picture, you could see a close up of the baby’s alien face and hand, middle finger extended perfectly precise mini version of flipping someone the bird. Hell, it even looked like the baby was extending it in front of the face so you didn’t get a clear shot. If I wanted to be honest, that was more Max’s style. I don’t think I have one picture that he’s smiling. Most of the time he’s flipping the camera off so I can’t put them on Facebook.

 

“Uh, no that would be the father,” I said gesturing to Max with my thumb. “He doesn’t like taking pictures and goes out of his way to avoid them. Sneaking up on him would be easier, and if you knew him, that feat’s impossible.”

 

I glanced at Max’s face again and found his eyes glued to the screen, eyes alight with astonishment. Who knew that this big, strong man would want kids as bad as he did? He’s like a big old teddy bear. It was good to see him in a better mood. Whatever Luke had had to say, it wasn’t good, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear it.

 

“Do you want to know what the gender is?” Dr. Schmidt asked.

 

Just as I opened my mouth to say yes, Max blurted, “No!”

 

“How could you?” I cried drastically.

 

It wasn’t that big of a deal, if you didn’t think about the fact that this was my first baby and I wouldn’t be able to plan anything. I was a planner to the extreme. My spice drawer is in order from A to Z. I fold my socks in neat piles, and have them separated in colors. The clothes in my closet are arranged in colors as well. I wrote a grocery list every week, and if it wasn’t on the list, it wasn’t bought. How does one buy stuff for an unknown gender? My baby would come home in a diaper and that’s it! I was working myself up into a full-blown hissy by the time Max grabbed my face and made me look at him.

 

“Breathe.” He said in that deep voice that calmed me down rapidly. “Please?”

 

I let sweet blissful air enter my lungs, and I watched his eyes while I came down from my panic.

 

“Why?” I whined.

 

My mind was pulled back to the present when the hideous wand was pulled from the depths of my body. I scrunched up my nose and sat up, covering myself a little better so I wasn’t feeling cool air on my goodies.

 

“All right, Payton. I want you to make an appointment with the office. I’ll see you in a month. You’re measuring right on time, and there’s always time to change your mind about knowing the gender next time. Have a good day.” He said before exiting the room.

 

I got dressed in silence, allowing Max to quiver in his boots thinking that I was mad at him. I wasn’t, really, but it was a disappointment. I’d make do though, because I wanted him to be happy; I’d do anything for him.

 

We walked arm and arm out to his bike, and I hopped on, donning my helmet in the process. Sam and Cheyenne took Alpha home for us since we wouldn’t be going straight home once my shift ended.

 

He started the bike with a roar, and I had just enough time to pull my scarf securely around my neck and get my gloves on before he was easing out of the parking lot. Five minutes into the drive, I was officially a Popsicle. Regardless of the gloves, hat, scarf, large leather jacket that Max insisted I wear, and Max’s body blocking most of the wind, I was still frozen to the bone. I was shaking uncontrollably when we pulled up in front of our place.

 

Since my legs were unable to move from their frozen position, I waited with my arms up for Max to lift me off his bike, which he did, laughing softly. He didn’t put me down; instead carrying me past Alpha’s welcome home dance, and straight to the bathroom. He set me on the counter, and then went to the shower and turned it on full blast.

He stripped me of my clothes and shoes, yanked the ponytail from my hair, and sat me on the shower seat that took up the back wall of the shower. The water sprayed down on my popsicle like body.

 

I moaned as my legs and arms started tingling, as blood rushed back to them. I was lifted, placed onto Max’s lap with my back to Max’s front. He methodically washed my hair with shampoo and conditioner. His hands meticulously rubbed the bar of soap down my legs, arms and torso.

 

He skipped all the good areas; I found myself disappointed. It wasn’t until he finished with me and placed the bar of soap down beside him on the seat that I tried to stand up. He pulled me immediately back down and I realized that maybe he wasn’t planning to skip over the good parts after all.

 

His erection dug into the crease of my backside, and I looked down between our legs to see his penis sticking out beneath me: full, hard, and pulsing with each beat of his heart. The head of his cock was a ruddy, mean red, and my mouth watered. I let my hand ease down past my clit, over my entrance, and finally sought his cock in a firm grip.

 

He groaned and started rotating beneath me, working himself in the cleft of my ass. I looked up and saw the fogged over mirror, and had a brilliant idea. Counting the tiles up from the bottom of the shower, I stood up from his lap and worked my fingernail under the suction of his shaving mirror, and then suctioned it back to the wall where I guessed would be the best height.

 

Backing up slowly, I hit the junction of his thighs. His cock pointed at the ceiling; he grabbed it with one hand, and my hip in the other, urging me to lower myself down on top of him. Biting my lip, I lowered myself slowly, filling myself with him so completely that I never wanted this moment to end.

 

“Oh, God. That’s so good.” Max rumbled.

 

I could feel the vibration in his chest when he said it, and that only made me work harder. Max leaned back against the tiles, taking me with him, which, consequently, made me not be able to touch any longer. He guided one leg, then the other, over either of his thighs, and rested my feet on the bench beside them.

 

This new position made him deeper; it was close to the type of pleasure that might soon resemble pain, if he wasn’t careful. Not that I should have worried. The man controlled his cock the way he controlled his body. Seamlessly precise, each and every movement filled me up to perfection.

 

“Look at us.” He commanded huskily.

 

My eyes opened, and I caught the reflection of our connected bodies in the mirror. Max’s hand had moved down and his fingers framed my labia, but still gave me a clear view of all the action. His cock was curved slightly as it entered me; my entrance looked like it was stretched to the limits, as he plunged in and out of me. After just two rough thrusts from him, I lost it. Pure and simple, my mind was blown. Shocks raced through my veins, radiating out from my core. My nipples puckered even harder than they already were. My head connected with Max’s collarbone, and I felt the rumble of his growl underneath me.

 

The water continued to pour down on the both of us as we both panted from the exertion.

 

“Holy cannoli.” I whispered.

 

“You can say that again.” Max’s voice reverberated through me.

 

“Holy cannoli.” I teased.

 

He tweaked my hip and made me squeal, but I didn’t get up from our intimate connection.

 

“I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.”

 

“Baby, I’d never let you fall. Never. The only way that would ever happen would be if I was dead, or both my legs and arms didn’t work. If one of them worked, I’d claw my way to you. I’d do everything in my power to watch over you. Only death would separate me from your side.” He said as he kissed the side of my neck.

 

My eyes and nose stung smartly. “You ever die, and I’m going to beat your corpse up.” I sniffled.

 

“Not by choice, baby. Never by choice.” He whispered.

 

That night in bed, with Max on his side, and me on mine, I thought about our life together so far. Everything had changed so fast. One second I was scared to leave the house, scared to be at home, and scared to live. Now I had a job I adored, a husband I loved with all of my heart, an overprotective dog that kicked ass, and a tiny little baby on the way. My life was perfect.

 

However, nothing is ever as perfect as it seems. I knew things would go wrong. That something was going to happen, and that it wasn’t going to be bad: It would be gut wrenching. Whatever it was, was going to tear my heart out. It was going to hurt so bad that I wouldn’t be able to live through it without something to guide me. I wished with all my heart that I was wrong; but, in my soul, I knew something was going to take my perfect and shred it. I just hoped we would be able to pick up the pieces.