Chapter Fifteen
Baby Time
By the time the ambulance got to the hospital, the EMTs who rolled him into the delivery room were telling the doctor, “It’s already time for him to push—this one’s moving fast.”
It seemed like hours, but when Adrian glanced at the clock on the wall, he had only been pushing for two minutes. His latest contraction had just ended, and he was tired and dizzy. It was hard to breathe. It was like being ripped apart while trying to run a marathon at top speed. He didn’t think he was going to make it. This baby would be inside of him forever.
“Doctor Carter,” the nurse beside him muttered to Adrian’s obstetrician, who had finally arrived. “We have a problem.”
The air in the room seemed to press down against him in that moment. He widened his eyes and peered over at Justin. His face was the picture of calm. Adrian took in a deep breath and mirrored his mate.
“What’s the problem, doctor?” Justin asked in a calm voice Adrian was sure he was using for his benefit.
Doctor Carter’s eyes were narrowed, and his gaze darted between several monitors. “All right, Adrian. I need you to relax. Your baby is breech, and I need to turn the little guy around, okay?”
Adrian nodded and sat up straighter.
“Okay, breathe in and out for me.”
Nodding again, he breathed in and out slowly. Then, Doctor Carter reached inside of him, and it felt like he went in up to the elbow. Adrian squeaked like a mouse, and his legs began to shake. “You’re doing great, Adrian,” the doctor said. “Just a few more seconds, okay?”
He closed his eyes and pictured waves crashing onto pristine beaches. Beside him, Justin was whispering soothing words into his ear. He’d been amazing the entire time, even when Adrian was calling him awful names. The doctor shifted something, and it felt like he was turning his insides upside down. Adrian’s breath caught, and just when he thought he was going to kick the doctor in the head, he backed off.
“Okay.” Doctor Carter stood up and stared at the monitors. Adrian glanced at the nurses, and the one with spiked, red hair shook her head. “I don’t want you to panic. But the baby’s heart rate is low, okay? We’re going to have to change strategies.”
Adrian gaped. “Low, what does… Why?”
“Sir, we need you to leave the room,” a dark-haired nurse said to Justin, while another one came over and lowered his bed.
“What?” Adrian asked, panicked. “No, I want him to stay.”
Justin gave his hands a squeeze. “It’s okay, baby. You’re both going to be okay.” He leaned over to kiss him and then the medical staff shoved him out of the room.
“The baby’s heart rate is dangerously low, okay?” Doctor Carter’s voice was calm and seemed a direct contrast for the panic coursing through his veins. “Unfortunately, the baby has already entered the birth canal, so it’s too late for surgery, and the longer we wait, the higher the risk of oxygen deprivation is. Do you understand?”
“Help my baby,” he growled, and for the first time ever, his bear came fully to the surface.
Dr. Carter, though, was used to dealing with shifters. He simply turned and began issuing orders.
The beeping on one of the monitors turned into a straight line. The nurses rushed all over the room, gathering instruments he didn’t recognize. He opened his mouth to ask them what was going on, but he knew if he did, they’d have to split their focus.
All he knew was his baby’s heart wasn’t beating. His baby was dying inside him.
“All right, Adrian. I know you’re scared. But I need you to stay calm,” Dr. Carter said, sitting back on his stool and holding some kind of hose with a suction attached to the end. “On your next contraction, push as hard as you can.”
He nodded again. The pain swept over him like a blanket made of razor blades, but he focused past it and pushed like his life depended on it. And it did. Something more precious than his own life depended on it. As he pushed, a loud whir filled the air. It sounded like a vacuum cleaner. Then, the doctor inserted the suction, and Adrian had to fight the instinct to clamp up. Instead, he pushed harder.
“That’s great, honey,” a female voice said at his side. “You’re doing great!”
It was like he was being split in half. He didn’t try to hold in the screams. He let them out.
“I have the head!” the doctor said. Two people rushed to his side, ready to take the baby and examine her. “Forceps, please.”
Something sharp sliced into him, and then cold metal spread him wide, and the pain made him feel faint. His breathing came in shallow gulps. Blackness crept into the edges of his vision. Sturdy arms slid across his shoulders, and someone slipped an oxygen mask across his mouth and nose.
“Try to breath normally,” the nurse coaxed him.
His entire body began to shake.
“I’ve got him unstuck,” a voice said from faraway.
Adrian blinked, and his vision was blurry like he was staring through a fog. Doctor Carter appeared above his knees, holding a little, bloody bundle in his arms. His heart galloped, and he started to reach for his baby, only to be pushed back. The doctor handed the bundle off to someone else. Someone yelled, “Starting compressions. Bag!”
He couldn’t stop the tears that slipped down his cheeks. A group of doctors rushed through his vision, pushing a small incubator and trying to push breath into a small body. The door opened and closed, and he glimpsed Justin. The mask of strength he’d been wearing lifted, and Adrian felt his mate’s terror as sure as it was his own.
“Doctor,” he said, barely able to get the words out. “Please…”
There was another loud whir. Then, there was that sensation of being pulled inside out again. He gasped and flopped back against his pillow. Someone dabbed at his forehead. At that point, all he could sense were noises and pain. He was pulled farther open. Something pushed down against him, and then there was an intense burning from where Doctor Carter was working.
He lifted an arm, reaching for his baby, his family, outside the room, only to find Doctor Carter’s hand.
“Your baby’s in good hands,” he muttered. “We have the best NICU in the state…”
He went on, but everything he said faded into a place where his worst nightmares were in danger of coming true.
“Justin,” he said in a strangled voice. “I need Justin.” His eyelids began to flutter, and before long, he couldn’t keep them open any longer. “Jus—”
“I’m here, sweetheart. I’m so proud of you.”
Adrian felt him push the sweaty hair off his forehead and take his hand.
“Our baby,” he cried out, his voice breaking. “Our baby…”
“She’s going to make it.” He kissed Adrian’s forehead. “She’s strong like her omega father. She’s going to make it.”
Tears of joy and relief ran down Adrian’s cheeks. She was going to be okay.
Time slowed down, and even with all the distractions that came along with post-birth medical care, he was going stir crazy. It had been hours. The wait was beyond agonizing. All he knew was his daughter was in intensive care. The moment he’d spent months waiting for had been ripped away. He hadn’t even been able to see her precious face. It was like a part of himself had been torn away from his body. The nurses had given him something for sleep, but he was fighting it. Every time he stirred in bed, Justin rushed to his side.
His bear’s cries ripped him apart repeatedly. Not that he blamed his bear. He felt the same, but he needed to be strong for both Justin and his baby.
When the bear finally slept, Justin paced the room, staring down the door as if he could will a doctor into the room to tell him what was going on. He raked his hands through his hair so hard, he almost pulled it from his scalp. Adrian wanted to alleviate his mate’s stress, but he was barely suppressing his own. He had envisioned this time as a baby moon where they all snuggled and enjoyed their first moments together as a family. Nearly losing her had been a fear too grave for him to even contemplate.
Taking his hands so gently that Adrian squeezed it to be sure it was there, Justin lowered his head. “Please,” he muttered to no one. “Please let our child be okay.”
Tears burned in Adrian’s eyes. He clenched his jaw and blinked them away. “I can’t do this without her.” He rocked, trying to hold himself together, Adrian squeezing tightly, wishing he had the strength to do more for his mate. He’s never seen the man so crumpled.
He looked up as the door to the hospital room swung open. Adrian blinked over at Justin and then sat up. “How is our daughter?” he asked in a groggy voice, his bear’s growl still audible in his tone.
Justin squeezed his hand and then followed his gaze across the room. There was Doctor Carter. He looked worn, but there was a bright smile on his face.
“Why don’t you see for yourself?” The doctor opened the door wider, and Adrian popped up in bed like he hadn’t just delivered a baby earlier. His hands covered his mouth. “Is she okay?”
“She’s a fighter,” a nurse wearing pink scrubs said as she pushed a small crib into the room.
Justin’s heart hitched in his chest. Everything around him slowed down.
“Oh my God,” Adrian said with a gasp. “My beautiful girl!”
With his heart thudding in his ears, Justin peered down.
A wave of dizziness tore through him. He was pinned to that spot, staring down at a little pink bundle. The nurse smiled, reached down into the crib, and lifted her up. “Would you like to meet your daughter?”
There was a little squeal from inside the pink blanket. He opened his mouth to speak but couldn’t find the words. Something wet slid down his cheek, and he realized he was crying. He didn’t care. It was enough he managed to remain on his feet.
“Here she is,” the nurse said. Then she put his daughter in his arms and stepped away.
Her eyes were dark blue, and she blinked up at him. He had to remind himself to breathe. A pink hat was pulled down over her head, and she wore little mittens he didn’t think, as a grown man, he should get that excited over.
“Oh my God. Sarah, you’re perfect,” Adrian said with a sniffle.
Justin cupped his daughter in one arm and placed his thumb inside her little hand. She gave him a toothless smile, and she had him. Right away, he knew he would do anything, live or die, for her.
“Sarah, huh?” Justin looked over and Adrian was glowing. More than he had in the past eight months. More than he had even on their wedding day in the forest, outside their cabin. His heart swelled with love. He hadn’t even noticed that the doctor and nurses had crept out of the room, most likely to give them all some alone time. He went over and motioned for Adrian to scoot over, and then slid into bed next to him. He laid Sarah on his chest. “Sarah has a birthmark on her perfect little nose,” he said, leaning over to kiss the baby. “And the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen.” He stared at their baby for a long moment. “God,” he muttered. “Is this real?”
Adrian smiled. “It is, Daddy.”
He shook his head. “God. Thank you for this, sweetheart.”
Adrian lifted an eyebrow. “Thank you for making me the luckiest omega in the world.” He leaned over, and they shared a kiss unlike any other kiss they’d ever shared. Justin felt bonded to Adrian in a way he didn’t think he could ever be bonded to anyone else.
“I’m going to make sure you have everything you need to be the best omega father you can be.”
Adrian smiled and kissed their daughter’s forehead. “I know you will. That’s why I mated you.”
And as he leaned over to kiss Justin again, his bear rose to the surface, as if to reinforce their connection.
Justin let his inner unicorn rise up, meeting his mate in the most perfect unspoken bond possible.
And as their kiss ended, he felt, more than heard, the most adorable tiny growl. With a laugh, he glanced down at their baby.
“I think Sarah inherited your bear-shifter genes.”
Adrian gazed down at his child in wonder. “Yeah—but I don’t think she’s going to have any trouble getting her bear to show herself.”
As if in answer, Sarah growled again, and the three of them snuggled together for the first time as a family.