“Huxley! Help!” My wail reverberated off the bathroom tiles, echoing back loudly. I whimpered as another contraction gripped me, squeezing my body tight. Footsteps pounded down the hall before Huxley threw the door open. He looked down at me, wide-eyed, where I sat on the toilet with my pants around my ankles, but I couldn’t have cared less about my sorry state.

“What’s wrong?”

Anxiety swam through me, thick and muggy. “…I think my water just broke.”

Then I started to cry.

“Shh, honey, it’s okay. It’s gonna be okay.” Huxley was at my side in an instant, his hand squeezing my knee. “We have time, right? Pretty sure we have enough time for me to pack you an overnight bag. Breathe, Chance. We got this.”

I nodded, blinking away tears. “Okay. I... Just hurry.”

He kissed my nose. “I will.”

I tried not to freak out, but each wave rolled through me, stronger and more painful than the last. I gripped Huxley’s hand like a vice all the way to the hospital and bless his heart, he stayed calm enough for both of us. “Breathe. Remember how they showed us? Breathe through the pain, Chance. We’re almost there.”

Parking haphazardly in the front, Huxley went inside and grabbed a wheelchair. I eased myself down onto the padded seat and pulled my feet up so they wouldn’t scrape the ground, groaning low. Fuck, if it hurt this bad now… I grimaced at the thought and gripped the arm rests.

Everything moved so fast. We were moved into a room and Huxley helped me change from my clothing into a hospital gown. I felt exposed, but that feeling didn’t last long. With Hux at my side, the nurses bustled around, guiding me through the process of childbirth between each crippling contraction.

“Almost fully dilated now. You’re doing good, sweetheart.”

I gasped out a curse. I pressed back against the mattress, writhing, trying to escape the pain. I squeezed Huxley’s hand so tightly that I feared I might break his fingers, but he squeezed right back. “I’m right here,” he promised me, over and over again, like a mantra. “Breathe with me, Chance.”

“Okay, go ahead and push,” the doctor instructed.

My whimpers quickly turned into wails, pain ripping through me. It felt as if Bones were down there, tearing his claws through the muscles of my abdomen, shredding me from the inside out. I clung to my mate. My body was turning inside out, the pressure inside of me building to a crescendo.

“She’s crowning!”

“Oh my god! I hate you,” I hissed at Huxley.

He grinned and kissed my sweaty cheek. “I love you.”

“I can’t do this, I can’t do it! I want to go home,” I panted, frantic now.

“You’re doing so good. Almost there,” the nurse promised me.

“Alright, one more big push!”

I bore down with another anguished scream. Moments later, I felt the rush of fluids and blood gushing hot against my skin as the baby burst into the world with one final squeeze. The pressure eased, though my body radiated with aftershocks of pain. I collapsed back against the pillows, panting for breath and shaking with exertion.

“And we have a baby!” A high-pitched, lamb-like wail rang through the hospital room as the nurses worked to clean her up. “She’s got a strong set of lungs, doesn’t she?”

Fuck me… Never again.

Huxley stroked my cheek, brushing hair away from my face. “So proud of you, Chance.”

The newborn was screaming now, her little limbs flailing from side to side as she was swathed in a soft pink blanket. One of the nurses carried her over to me and for one breathless, paralyzing moment, I was terrified.

“Here you go, Daddy,” she murmured kindly, tucking baby Charlotte into my arms. I gazed down at the tiny little thing with big brown eyes and a fringe of dark hair. Her ugly, swollen face was the most perfect thing I’d ever seen. The moment our skin touched, her angry screams turned to snuffling whimpers, and I began to cry.

“She’s so precious,” Huxley murmured, stroking his thumb over her baby-soft skin. “So perfect.”

I leaned my temple against his. “You make beautiful babies.”

“We make beautiful babies.”

“Baby. As in this one, right here. I’m not letting you knock me up again.”

He just laughed. “You ready for this? Full-time parenthood?”

“I mean, we don’t really have a choice now, do we?” I offered a cheeky smile, albeit a tired one.

“Oh, Chance…” Huxley’s voice cracked. “I love you so goddamn much. Thank you for giving me a chance. I’m so blessed to have you in my life and I can’t wait to see what the future holds. No more running.” His brown eyes glistened with happy tears. “Just us.”

I pressed my nose into Charlotte’s damp hair and breathed in the sweet scent of baby.

This was mine. For now, and for always.

“I like the sound of that.”