A spasm of pain cracked through me as I lay in the back seat of my dad’s car.

“Oh my God!” I shouted out, grabbing as hard as I could on to the seats.

“Is it happening?” asked Mom from the front passenger’s seat. “Is the baby almost here?”

“Of course, it’s almost here,” Dad said. “What do you think she’s carrying on about back there?”

“Don’t be snippy,” she said, giving my dad a soft swat on the shoulder.

“Guys,” I said as the most recent wave of pain died down. “I’m going to need you both to please, please, please calm down.”

“Sorry, sweetie,” said Mom. “I just hate to see you like this.”

Dad pulled a hard right, taking us down the road toward the hospital.

“We’re almost there,” he said. “I can see it.”

Relief hit me like a cool wave. But I was still in shock at being in labor.

We were supposed to have time. Justin and I had it all planned out. We had chosen the perfect private clinic—a quiet, calm, upscale place near the penthouse, not some overcrowded hospital.

But all of those plans looked to be going out the window because this baby was coming now, and it didn’t care that I wasn’t anywhere near the village.

“Almost there,” said Dad as he pulled closer and closer to the hospital, the immense white building now so near.

“Pull in!” shouted Mom.

Dad slowly turned into the parking lot and came to a stop in front of the emergency room doors.

“A baby’s coming,” shouted Mom. “Need some help!”

Her call caught the attention of a few nearby staff members, and they quickly came to the car with a wheelchair. Dad got out of the car, opened my door, and helped me out.

“Did you hear anything from Justin?” I asked as my parents formed up on my sides and the staff wheeled me toward the entrance.

“He’s stuck in traffic,” Mom said gently. “Said he’s going to get here as fast as possible.”

A tinge of panic spread out through me. What if he couldn’t make it here in time? What if he missed the birth of our baby?

I couldn’t think about that now, though—there was nothing I could do about it either way. Right now, I needed to focus on the baby.

Another contraction hit, the pain so intense I could barely see straight.

“Ahhh!” I yelled out as the staff pushed me down the fluorescent-lit hallways of the emergency room.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted the white-clad figure of a doctor. I turned my head to see that the doctor was a trim, white-haired woman who looked to be around sixty.

“Hi,” she said. “What’s your name?”

“H-Heather,” I said, the pain from the contraction fading slightly.

“I’m Dr. Hart,” she said as we continued on. “And I’m going to make sure this baby gets delivered safe and sound, okay?”

“Okay,” I said, sweat streaming down my face.

The staff wheeled me into a birthing suite and helped me up on the table.

“Justin,” I said in a weak voice. “Where’s Justin?”

“Is Justin the father?” asked Dr. Hart.

“Yes,” I said, my breath short. “And he works all the way in the Financial District.”

“Shoot,” said Dr. Hart. “Is he on his way over?”

“Yeah,” I said. “He knows.”

“Good. Then all we can do is hope for the best.”

She was right, but that didn’t mean I didn’t want him there more than anything.

“Doctor,” I said. “The baby’s not supposed to come for another two weeks. Is that bad? My last baby was right on time.”

My parents turned their eager attention to Dr. Hart, the other staff swarming all around us and getting the room ready for the birth.

Dr. Hart spoke in a cool, even tone that put me at total ease.

“It’s totally fine,” she said. “Sometimes babies are really eager to come out and see the world. It’s nothing to worry about.”

“Oh thank God,” I said, letting all the air out of my lungs as I spoke the words.

“Now,” Dr. Hart said. “All I need from you is to relax. We’ll get this little tyke out of you soon, because he really doesn’t seem like he wants to wait.”

Another contraction hit as Dr. Hart led my parents out of the room. I could feel the baby coming—it was going to happen, and soon.

And, right at that moment, I heard the three sweetest words I could possibly imagine.

“The dad’s here!”

“I want to see him!” I shouted out.

Justin burst into the room. He was wearing a gown, mask, shoe coverings, and hair covering.

“Am I in time?” he asked, short of breath. “Are you doing all right, sweetie?” He leaned over and kissed my forehead, taking my hand.

I let out a big moan as another contraction built up. All I could do was try to smile at him through the pain.

“You’re just in time,” said Dr. Hart once my legs were propped up and everything was set for the birth. “Okay, Heather, this is going to be one of the fastest births I’ve ever seen, so get ready. When I say ‘push’, I want you to push hard!”

It was all starting to come back to me from Faye’s birth. I did my best to clear my mind and work through the pain.

“Push!”

I did, as hard as I could.

“Push!”

I grunted, sweat trickling down my forehead.

“Push! There’s the head!”

Somehow, the pain intensified even more.

“Push one more time!”

I did, pushing out with all my might. I let out a yell, putting every bit of energy I had into it.

Then I heard the sweetest sound—a baby’s cry—and collapsed back into the bed.

“What—boy or girl?” I asked trying to catch my breath.

“It is,” said Dr. Hart over the baby’s wailing, “a beautiful, healthy, strong-lunged little boy.”

Justin let out a whoop of joy as he squeezed my hand. He wiped my forehead with a cool cloth a nurse had given him.

A boy. I couldn’t believe it. Faye had a little brother.

The pain began to subside, and a warm wave of euphoria came over me. I relaxed, listening happily to my baby boy crying, knowing that it meant he was healthy and strong.

Dr. Hart and the rest of the staff cleaned the two of us up. I eagerly awaited seeing my boy, and when he was ready, Dr. Hart brought him over.

He was so beautiful I couldn’t help but cry. His skin was a healthy, rosy red and he already had a head of thick, dark hair just like his daddy’s. And when he opened his eyes for the first time, I saw that he had my mint-green eyes.

“Congratulations,” said Dr. Hart. “Couldn’t have gone any better.”

“Thank you so much,” I said.

“My pleasure,” she replied. “Now, I hear your parents are outside eager to meet this little guy. Want me to send them in?”

“Are you ready?” Justin asked.

“Please,” I said, holding the baby close, gazing down at him.

Dr. Hart and the rest of the staff stepped out. Justin and I were alone with the baby for a moment.

“I can’t believe it,” said Justin. “That’s my boy, my son.”

I could see a shining film of tears form in Justin’s eyes, which surprised me—I’d never seen him cry before. But, of course, only a single tear managed to trickle down. He quickly wiped it away and composed himself.

My parents knocked and came in. I was so happy to see them that I could hardly contain it.

“Oh my God,” said my mom, hurrying to my bedside. “There he is.”

I held the little baby close, planting a soft kiss on his adorably wrinkly forehead.

“Can I hold him?” Justin asked.

“Of course, you can,” I said. “He’s your boy.”

I handed him over and Justin carefully took him, as if the baby was the most precious, fragile thing in the world.

“He’s beautiful,” said Mom as she wiped away tears. “Just beautiful.”

“You both did good,” said Dad as he put his hand on Justin’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

“I can’t believe it,” Justin said. “I’ve never been this happy in my life. He’s perfect. I can’t wait for Faye to meet him.”

“Me either,” I said.

“Well,” said Mom. “Now that we know this little baby is a he, you both need to pick out a name.”

She was right. I had a few names in mind, but as I watched Justin with the baby, how he held him close and tight, a thought occurred to me.

“You know what?” I asked. “I think that since this is your first child, you should get naming duties.”

Justin’s eyes flicked up to me, an excited expression on his face that was almost boyish.

“Really?” he asked. “Are you sure?”

“Totally sure.”

“Okay,” he said. “Then that’s easy—William.”

“William,” said Dad, trying it on for size. “Good, strong name.”

“Where’d you get it?” asked Mom.

“It was my father’s name,” he said. “He’s gone now, but I think it’s fitting that his name can keep going.”

“I love it,” I said. “Little William and Faye—sounds so good.”

We doted on little William some more before Dr. Hart returned and let us know that because everything had gone so smoothly, despite William’s early arrival, I could be on my way in just a few hours.

It was exactly what I wanted. The time passed as Dr. Hart took care of all the necessary baby business and made sure that William and I were as healthy as we looked.

Soon enough, it was time to go. We all said our goodbyes to Dr. Hart and the rest of the staff, thanking them for all of their help.

“Might have to see about making a donation here sometime soon,” said Justin as we left.

“I hope you two are fine with Dad and I inviting ourselves over,” said Mom. “We want to make sure everything’s okay. Not to mention smother that little guy with attention.”

I glanced up to Justin.

“That okay?”

“Of course,” he said. “How about we head back to the penthouse, pick up Faye, and all get settled in for the night. More than enough space for you both to say as long as you want. Then tomorrow morning, I’ll order in some breakfast for us all.”

“What a guy,” said Dad.

“I’ll take the new Mommy and William,” Justin said. “You both can follow.”

A short while later we were in the car and making our way back home.

“I have to ask,” I said. “How did you get there so fast?”

“Damnedest thing,” said Justin. “I was stuck in traffic, sure I wasn’t going to make it in time. But then an ambulance started carving through, and I got the bright idea to follow him.”

“Smart thinking,” I said.

“That took me all the way through the city, and once I made it to Queens, it was smooth sailing. It was meant to be.”

I couldn’t have been happier how it all turned out.

We all arrived back at the penthouse, picking up Faye on the way up. I introduced Faye to William, Faye being beyond happy to meet her new little brother. We settled in, getting comfy for the evening. Before too long my parents went to bed, and it was just Justin, Faye, William and me, all of us cuddled on the couch.

My heart was so full of love and joy I could hardly stand it. Everything had turned out perfectly. I had a happy little family.