He burst into the delivery room just as Suzette was pulling on a paper cap.

"Wait, wait, wait!” he panted. He'd sped all the way here from the baby store and abandoned his mother in the parking lot to sprint up three flights of stairs--worried that the elevator would take too long. This was his moment. The moment his family was going to come together, and he'd be damned if he was going to miss even a second of it. "I'm the father!"

Suzette's wide eyes stared up at him from beneath her blue medical cap, but he barely saw her. Right now, he only had eyes for Tawny. Tawny, whose face was set into a pained grimace as she grasped the edges of her bed until her knuckles turned white.

"Luke," Tawny groaned as her eyes rolled back in her head and she screamed loud and hard, her body shaking with the effort of her labor.

He rushed to her side and took her hand in his. For the next tense thirty seconds, he held on as she squeezed the shit out of his hand while the nurse encouraged her gently to breathe.

It wasn’t until she finally loosened her grip and her muscles seemed to relax that he realized he’d been clenched and holding his breath right along with her.

“I’m glad you’re here,” she murmured softly.

“Me too,” he said, brushing a damp lock of hair from her forehead. “Why is Suzette suiting up? Are they taking you into surgery or something?"

"No." Tawny shook her head. "No, Suzette just wanted to be on the safe side."

"You should, too," a nurse said, then handed him a medical cap. He shoved it on his head, then glanced at Suzette and back to Tawny.

"How far apart are the contractions?" he asked, but this time Suzette answered.

“Just a couple minutes. It’s going very fast for a first-time mom, but she’s not fully dilated yet. We’re hoping she can start to push soon.”

He nodded, and Tawny managed a weak chuckle.

"What? What's so funny?"

"Your face. You look so terrified. It’s okay, really. I’m fine. We’re having a--" Another scream tore through her and she squeezed his hand so hard he was shocked he couldn't hear the sound of his knuckles popping from their sockets.

"You've got this, beautiful, you've got this," he soothed, and her screams echoed louder still through the room. He fucking hated it. Hated not being able to shield her from this pain or take it away. Hated to watch her suffering and feel so damned helpless.

Then, just when he was about to demand that the doctor give her something for the pain, almost out of nowhere, she sighed and laid back, closing her eyes.

"Good, baby, rest. You've got this. You can do anything," he went on. It didn't matter what happened tomorrow. In this moment, he knew that he loved her more than he'd loved any other person in his life. He wanted to be there for her and to help her, to do anything and everything in his power to somehow make this easier.

For a few moments, she lay still to catch her breath, then she squeezed his hand gently again.

"Luke, I want to talk to you," she murmured, swiping a trembling hand over her sweaty forehead.

He stared back at her and blinked, stomach still pitching with the rush of terror and adrenaline. "Right now?"

"No time like the present. I've been thinking and--Ah!" Tears fell down her cheeks as the nurse and Suzette cheered her on, encouraging her. He added his voice to the mix as her back bowed again.

"Go, baby, go. You’re doing so good!”

"I lied!" she screamed, and the nurse and Suzette watched on in sudden silence.

Luke, though? He focused in, needing to hear what she said next.

"I lied." Her words came out in a jumbled rush as her contraction ended, just as they had that morning. "I wanted to push you away because I didn't know about the bike shop and how you hated town and everything and I wanted you to be able to live your dream and not get stuck with me. And, okay, I was a little selfish because I didn't want to live my life wondering if you loved me but--"

“I don’t want to interrupt but I need to get the doctor, honey. I think it’s time to start pushing,” the nurse murmured.

Luke’s mind was reeling as Tawny’s words hit home.

She lied. His mom was right. Tawny hadn’t wanted him to feel like he had no choice in his future. God, if she only knew she would be his first choice every time.

The ice-cold pressure in his chest seemed to ease and warmth spread through him. It was all going to be okay. He couldn’t wait to prove to her how wrong she was. How much he loved her. But right now, they had work to do.

“It’s all okay, baby. We don't need to worry about any of that right now. You don't need to stress. Everything is going to be all right.”

“He’s right, mommy. You need to relax and get your strength between contractions while I get the doctor. You need all your energy for pushing.”

The nurse slipped from the room, but Tawny, stubborn as she was, ignored her and launched into another rush of words.

"I'm not stressed. I just need you to know the truth, Luke.” Her lean throat worked and she stared up at him, looking more beautiful than he’d ever seen her. “I love you. I love you, but I need you to follow your dreams and I can't be the one to keep you from--" She tried to keep talking but her words became whimpers as another contraction rocked through her.

"I see the head!" Suzette squealed, and Luke's heart flipped.

“Jesus, Suze, get the doctor,” he managed, his heart pounding a hundred miles an hour. He could hear the patter of her feet and her calling frantically down the hall. “Baby, I love you, too. And I’ll be wherever our family is. We'll find a compromise. I want you to be able to teach or do whatever it is you want to do, too. But right now we need to focus on this baby. Try not to push until the doctor—”

“I hear we’ve got a very impatient little boy in this room,” a low, calm female voice declared.

Luke shot a look to the doctor and barely managed to hold back a panicked laugh.

This was it. He was about to become a father. One magical night at the lake and his whole world was about to change.

He couldn’t wait.

“Let’s get ready to push, mom!” the nurse cried and Suzette appeared on Tawny's other side while the doctor positioned herself by Tawny’s feet. "You can do it. Ready? Push.”

Tawny grimaced and rolled forward, groaning as she bore down.

“Come on, love," Luke joined the chant. "You can do anything. You can do anything."

Tawny pinched her eyes closed as she gripped their hands and shook, pushing with all her might.

The next thirty minutes went by in a terror-filled blur, and just when Luke thought Tawny couldn’t push even once more, the doctor beamed up at him.

“Ready, dad?”

He nodded.

“Two more big ones, and you’ll be able to hold your son, mom.”

Tawny was a warrior and used every last bit of strength, pushing out the baby’s head and then his shoulders. Luke watched in awe as his son slipped out the rest of the way into the doctor’s waiting hands.

For a second, the room was silent save for their collective, harsh breathing, and then…

A wail.

The most beautiful wail ever filled the air--not Tawny's, but her son’s.

Their son's.

In that moment, nothing else mattered. Not the pain of rejection or the fear of losing her. Not money or a bike shop or what town they lived in.

This moment stood alone in time as the moment they went from two separate people to one family of three.

His family.

Joy flooded him and he kissed Tawny's head as she cried along with their baby.

"Our son," he whispered past the tightness of his throat. "You gave us a son. He’s so perfect.”

"We had a son," she murmured.

"I love you," he said.

“I love you, too. And Michael."

"Michael?" he asked.

"Michael."

"I like it." He nodded.