Chapter Twenty
Brooks screeched to a halt in front of his apartment building. Leah was already standing on the curb trying to flag down a cab. “I’m here, I’m here, I’m here,” he said.
“We have to hurry. I think the baby’s coming now.”
“Are you sure? It’s three weeks early.”
She glared at him. “Yes, I’m sure!”
He grabbed her around the waist and ushered her into the passenger seat of his car. “Don’t worry. I’ve mapped out the route to the hospital. I can get us there in under ten minutes as long as traffic cooperates.”
She snorted. “Oh sure, because traffic always cooperates, right?”
She said it with a smile, but the words still sent a rush of panic jolting through him. She was right. There is always traffic, but he couldn’t worry about that now. He got her in and buckled her up and then ran around to the driver’s side, jumping in and slamming the door.
“Where’s your driver?”
“Out with the flu.”
“Wonderful,” she said through gritted teeth.
“It’s okay, I’ve got this. We’re all good. Don’t worry.”
She laughed a little, though the sound was strained. Then she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Okay. It’s okay, Brooks. We probably have some time. It’s my first baby. I’ve heard that they can take a while. So you probably don’t need to ru—”
He slammed on the gas before she could finish her sentence. There was no way he was going to let the baby be born on the front seat. He was going to get her to the hospital if he had to drive on the sidewalk to do it.
“Brooks, slow down,” Leah said, gripping the side of the car.
“It’s okay,” he said. “You just breathe. Don’t forget the breathing exercises.”
“I won’t need to breathe if you kill us on the way there.”
“Did you call your mother?” he asked.
“Yes. She’s trying to get her plane tickets changed. She’ll be on the first flight out. But she’s not going to make it in time.”
“Cole called Kiersten. They’ll meet us at the hospital. Marcus?”
“I texted him after I texted you. He’ll meet us there. Oooh,” she groaned, gripping the doorframe until her knuckles turned white.
Luckily, traffic did actually cooperate, and they pulled up to the hospital in 14.3 minutes flat. Brooks jumped out and ran around to the passenger side, frantically waving at the orderlies who were coming to meet them with the wheelchair.
“My wife is in labor,” he said. “We have a private room reserved for her. Mrs. Leah Larson.”
“Yes, we’ve got everything ready for you. Let’s get you inside,” the orderly said, helping her into the wheelchair.
Brooks grabbed her bag from the backseat and threw his keys at the valet who stood by waiting, then he hurried in after them. The next few minutes seemed a blur of activity, as the hospital staff got Leah checked in, gowned up, and situated in the bed. There wasn’t much for Brooks to do except sit by and watch as they strapped all sorts of monitors and wires to her.
“Is all that really necessary?” he asked.
The nurse nodded. “The monitors help us keep an eye on mom and baby’s heart rates. And it lets us know when contractions are coming and how strong they are. Speaking of which, looks like we’ve got another one coming on.”
Brooks could have told her that without the instruments. Leah’s fist grabbed the sheet and squeezed tightly. He pried the material from her hands, giving her his hand to grip.
“Squeeze as hard as you want,” he said.
She panted through the pain, squeezing his hand until he had to bite his lip to keep from panting himself.
“That was a strong one,” the nurse said. “This little one might be coming quicker than we thought. I’ll check on the doctor.”
She headed out. Brooks smiled when he spied an exercise ball in the corner. He pulled it over so he could sit more comfortably beside Leah.
“We have seriously got to get a few of these for the house. How are you doing?” he asked.
She lay back on the pillows and glanced up at him. “Probably about as well as you’d expect,” she said.
He gave her what he hoped was a supportive smile and brushed her hair back from her forehead, leaning forward to kiss her temple.
“Not long now and you’ll be holding your little girl.”
She smiled up at him. “It doesn’t seem real that she’ll be here soon.”
“Have you thought of any names?” he asked, trying to keep her mind from the next contraction that he could see gearing up.
She breathed through it and then lay back, blowing out one last long breath.
“I have a couple,” she said, waiting until her breathing had returned to normal. “Thought I should run them by you first, though.”
Brooks glanced at her, hardly daring to hope that she meant what that statement implied. But before he could ask her to clarify, another strong contraction hit. She gripped his hand so tightly that he thought the knuckles might break. And he’d have gladly let her crush his bones if it saved her one ounce of pain.
Once it tapered off, he gently pried her fingers from his hand. “Those contractions are starting to come fast. I’m going to see if I can find the doctor or one of the nurses.”
She nodded slowly, blowing air out through her teeth.
Brooks darted into the hall, frantically looking up and down the corridor. He grabbed the first nurse he could find. “My wife’s contractions are right on top of each other. I think the baby is coming soon. Where’s the doctor?”
“I’ll have him paged, sir. Go back in with your wife. We’ll be right there.”
“Brooks!”
Brooks sighed. He’d half hoped Marcus wouldn’t show, though for Leah’s sake it was probably good he had. At least he thought so until he turned around and saw Marcus hauling the biggest teddy bear Brooks had ever seen.
“What the hell are you going to do with that thing?”
“It’s for the baby. Nothing but the best for my little girl. Why? Did you not get anything?”
Brooks ran a hand over his face, his nerves frayed to breaking point, especially when Leah’s groans of pain filtered out into the hallway. Marcus frowned and took a step in the direction of the door, but Brooks grabbed his arm.
Marcus looked down at his hand and back up at him. Brooks let go, but he stepped close enough that he could get his point across without anyone else hearing.
“Listen up, because I’m done with this shit. Today is about Leah. What she needs. No more of this one-upping bullshit that you like to pull. This isn’t a game. We aren’t in college anymore.”
“Oh, I’m aware of that, but you don’t seem to be. I know you think I screwed you over back then—”
“You did screw me over!”
“It was ten years ago, Brooks. Let it go already. Shit. You hold a grudge like a sixteen-year-old girl.”
He wasn’t wrong, which pissed Brooks off to no end. However, it wasn’t the important point at the moment so Brooks tried to focus.
“This has nothing to do with you stealing that app out from under me or anything else that has happened in the past. It has everything to do with your obsessive need to compete with me. Leah and the baby aren’t some sort of prize to be won or weird leverage for you to use to get at me, but that’s the way you’ve been treating them and it’s going to stop. Now.”
“I think your perspective is a bit skewed. That’s my baby she’s having in there, not yours. I’m not the one trying to use them for leverage. I’m just trying to be a part of my kid’s life, something you are making extremely difficult.”
“She’s my wife and that makes this situation a little more complicated than that. And I’ve done nothing but make sure you were included in all this, despite my feelings on the matter.”
“Your wife, huh? Yeah, well I’ve heard more than a few credible rumors that the whole marriage situation isn’t exactly what it seems to be, so I wouldn’t go throwing that word around too much, acting like it gives you the right to call the shots.”
“Both of you shut up and get in here!” Leah called out.
Brooks could have stapled his mouth shut. The last thing he wanted was for her to hear all that.
“Shit,” he muttered, running a hand through his hair.
Marcus snorted and pushed past him into the room.
Before either could say a word, Leah held up a hand. “You two are ridiculous. Yes, we are in a complicated situation, but I’m busy at the moment and could use a little support right now. If you can give that to me, great. Take a spot on either side, and keep your mouths shut. If you can’t, there’s the door. I’ll deal with you when I’m done pushing a freaking human being out of my body. Okay?”
Brooks immediately took her hand and leaned over to kiss her forehead. “You got it. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry, just be quiet.”
He grinned at her. “Yes, ma’am.”
“What about you? You have any issues?”
Marcus took her other hand. “Not for the moment, no.”
“Good, now both of you shut up, because another one is starting.”
She gripped their hands hard and sat forward, curling in around the pain.
Brooks rubbed her back. “The doctor is on his way,” he said, hoping that that was true.
She nodded, but was too far gone in the middle of a contraction to say anything.
Thankfully the doctor entered the room not long after.
“Greg, hi,” Brooks said, disengaging from Leah just long enough to shake his hand.
“Well, let’s see what we have here,” the doctor said, grabbing a stool and moving to the end where all the action was happening.
Brooks took up his position back near Leah’s head, smoothing her hair back and holding her hand as she breathed through yet another contraction. Marcus stood silently, lending his support but looking on with a sort of horrified fascination that was almost comical.
“Looks like you’re ten centimeters and ready to go. That was fast, especially for a first baby.”
“Fast is good, right?” Brooks asked.
“It’s not good or bad,” the doctor said. “Babies come in their own time, but it looks like this one is eager to make her mother’s acquaintance.”
They got Leah’s legs propped up, with a nurse holding each leg. Brooks positioned himself behind her, helping to support her back, and Marcus stayed up front, helping to coach her through her breathing.
“All right, we’re going to push now, okay?” the doctor said.
Leah nodded, trying to pant through the contractions.
“When I tell you to push, you’re going to push for a count of ten.”
Leah nodded again, and the doctor began to count.
“All right, now give me a good push. One…two…three…four…five…six…seven. Almost done, and good. Now rest just a moment.”
They went through the same thing several more times as Leah strained to push her baby into the world. Brooks stood by watching with awe as this incredible woman labored to give birth. It made him want to pick up his phone and call his mother and apologize for everything he’d ever put her through. He’d seen the tapes, been to the classes with Leah, even read a dozen books when no one was looking, but nothing had prepared him for the real thing.
And then Leah finally slumped back against him with a deep sigh. Brooks looked down at her in concern until she smiled up at him with a triumphant glow.
There was some jostling around down at the other end while the doctor and nurses situated the squirming, squalling, little bundle of gooey baby. Who was then promptly laid on Leah’s chest.
She smiled and laughed, using the end of the blanket to wipe some weird goo from the baby’s eyes.
Brooks reached out a hesitant hand but glanced at Marcus and pulled back. Her father should get to see her first. Leah smiled up at him and then at Marcus who leaned over for a closer look. The baby was sticky, purple, covered in all kinds of weird and disgusting things…and she was the most beautiful thing Brooks had ever seen.
Except for her mother.
He leaned down and gave Leah a long, lingering kiss. “You blow me away,” he said, so full of amazement and overwhelming love for his two girls that he could barely speak.
A nurse tapped him on the arm. “Do you want to cut the cord, Dad?” She held out a pair of scissors.
He glanced at Leah, startled. Her gaze darted between the two men. Brooks shook his head before Marcus could say anything.
“He’s the father.”
The nurse looked a little confused, but handed the scissors to Marcus. Brooks stepped back, suddenly feeling like he was intruding on someone else’s family moment.
Marcus cut the cord and beamed down at Leah and their baby. Brooks watched it all, his heart swelling with so many emotions he couldn’t begin to process them all.
The nurse took the baby to get her cleaned up and, after a few moments, gave her back to Leah. Marcus snapped a few pictures and then stepped to the side for a moment to call his parents.
The doctor had kept working, delivering the afterbirth and getting Leah somewhat situated. Brooks went back to her side, sitting on the edge of the bed so he could put his arm around her shoulders as they gazed down at the baby together.
“Isn’t she beautiful?” Leah asked, beaming up at him.
He stared down at the wrinkly little thing that still needed a good bath and looked like she’d had a very rough day. “I’ve never seen anything more beautiful in my life,” he said, his heart swelling with love and pride.
The doctor shook both of their hands and they thanked him profusely.
Once they were alone, Brooks stared down at the new little life Leah had brought into the world. It didn’t seem possible that one minute she hadn’t been there, and now here she was. Beautiful. Tiny. Helpless. Completely dependent on them for life-giving care and sustenance.
He glanced at Leah, wondering if her throat had started squeezing shut in panic, but she still stared at her daughter with total and utter awe.
He slid down beside them on the bed, wrapping an arm about Leah’s shoulders, and she settled against him. After a few moments, her body relaxed, though her hold on the baby remained steady. She really should rest. But that would require him either calling a nurse in to put the baby back in her bassinet, or doing it himself. Of the two options, calling the nurse definitely seemed the best course of action. Cowardly, maybe. Okay, totally. And completely unnecessary as he, a fully grown adult, sat there perfectly capable of transferring seven pounds of cuteness into a bassinet not even three feet away. Theoretically capable.
He stared down at the baby, trying to figure out where exactly he should place his hands that would support every squishy, cuddly inch. Though, hell, her little head fit in the palm of his hand. If he just slipped it beneath her…
He carefully slid his hand and forearm beneath the baby but Leah jolted awake.
“It’s okay,” he said. “I’m just taking the baby so you can rest.”
“Thank you,” she whispered, giving the baby a kiss on the forehead before relinquishing her.
Leah had fallen back asleep before Brooks had fully sat back up. Not that he could blame her. She’d just produced an entire human being. The woman had earned some sleep. Though that left him with the little one. He stood slowly, careful not to jostle her, and for a moment just stood with her solid warmth bundled in his arms. His heart swelled with overwhelming emotion, stunning in its intensity. How could he possibly feel so strongly for a little creature who hadn’t even been in the world a few hours ago? Who technically had no ties to him, other than through her mother? It hadn’t occurred to him he’d feel so strongly for her. Well, that he’d feel for her at all, really. He’d been concerned for her welfare in a vague sort of way, but now that she was here…
She made a gurgling sound and blew a bubble and he grinned down at her. “All right, little lady. I think you could probably use some rest, too.”
He laid her with as much care as possible in her bassinet, sliding his hands out from under her body with infinite care so he didn’t accidentally bruise anything. How was he supposed to help take care of something that felt as though she’d break if he sneezed too hard in her direction? Not that he knew the first thing about taking care of babies.
Maybe he should have paid more attention in those classes Leah had been dragging him to. Or read more of the books she had scattered all over the apartment. There was no way he’d be able to pull this off without making some horrible mistake. He was the last person who should be caring for a baby.
She deserved better. They both did.
And then Marcus walked back in, arms full of flowers and a proud, beaming smile on his face. And for the first time, Brooks considered that maybe Marcus really was the best man for the job. Maybe he hadn’t been pulling his same old rivalry shit, but was just trying to do the best he could for Leah and his baby. His baby. Not Brooks’s. Brooks really had no place in that room at all.
He watched Marcus lean over the bassinet, face full of the same wonder that Brooks had felt as he’d gazed down at the baby. He looked at Leah, sleeping like an angel in the bed beside her little girl.
And then he turned and walked out.
…
Leah kept glancing at the door, waiting for Brooks to come back in. She’d woken just as he’d turned to leave and the expression he’d had when he left…it made her want to jump out of her bed and track him down.
She shifted her weight and sucked in a breath at the twinge from all the tender bits. Okay, maybe jumping out of bed was a tad extreme. The baby made a cute little squeaking sound and Leah smiled.
Marcus came closer, gazing down at the baby. “She’s so tiny.”
Leah held her out. “Would you like to hold her?”
“Oh, um…”
“It’s okay.” Leah held her out and Marcus took her carefully. “Just support her head,” she said, giving him some direction.
Seeing him holding the baby unsettled her. Of all the strange emotions she’d been riding lately, this might be the strangest. Watching Marcus hold her child. Their child. She needed to wrap her head around that.
The turmoil in her heart roiled over Brooks suddenly walking out. She knew he was probably in the next room, maybe trying to be the bigger man and let Marcus have some time with the baby. But she couldn’t help feeling there was something more to it than that. All she knew was that he’d left, and he hadn’t looked like he was going to come back. Physically, yes, she knew he wasn’t far. But emotionally…she couldn’t get that look on his face out of her mind. Something had changed in him the moment he’d stepped back so Marcus could cut the baby’s cord, something that made her heart ache with promised pain.
At the same time, watching Marcus cradling their newborn daughter touched her in a way she hadn’t thought possible. He stared at her in awe, in much the same way Leah imagined she looked when she gazed at her baby. He cuddled her close and gave her a kiss on her forehead, pausing to inhale the new baby scent.
“Settled on any names yet?” he asked.
Leah gave him a small smile and shook her head. “Not yet.”
She didn’t mention that she hadn’t decided because she and Brooks hadn’t been able to agree on anything. And because she hadn’t been sure what last name to give her.
“Did you have any ideas?” It was only fair to ask. He was the baby’s father after all.
“Oh no,” he said. “Anything you pick will be fine.”
They sat in somewhat uncomfortable silence for several minutes. Most of Marcus’s attention stayed on the baby. He drew a finger down her little face, examined each toe and finger, smiled when she grasped his thumb with a surprisingly strong grip.
“She’s strong,” he said.
Leah beamed with pride. “Yes, she is.”
“And beautiful like her mother.”
Leah’s cheeks warmed. It was a sweet thing to say, but she couldn’t help wanting Brooks to be the one saying it.
The baby began to fuss a little, and Marcus leaned over to hand her back.
“I think she might be hungry,” Leah said.
“Oh,” said Marcus. “Would you like me to leave?”
“No, it’s fine,” Leah said.
She pulled one of the swaddling blankets over her shoulder to block his view of her and the baby, even though he’d seen it before. And really, after all the poking, prodding, and fondling she’d had over the last several months, culminating in the free-for-all at the birth when it seemed like half the hospital had been digging around in her nether regions, she didn’t care who saw her boob or anything else anymore. But she felt a little more comfortable covering up since she was still new at the whole breastfeeding thing and found it easier to let it all hang out there until the baby latched on.
“So,” she said, once she got the baby situated. “I guess we’ve kind of run out of time to figure out how this whole situation is going to work.”
Marcus gave a little laugh, and played with the hat in his hands. “Yeah. This is…it’s…”
Leah laughed also. “A bit complicated.”
“That’s definitely the word for it.”
“I know you and Brooks don’t exactly see eye to eye on most things…”
“Don’t worry about me and Brooks. We’ll figure all that out, too. Just have a little history to get over, that’s all.”
Leah tried to stifle a yawn. It had been a long week. She hated having things between the two men in her life so unsettled but…she really just wanted to curl up and sleep.
Marcus, bless him, picked up on that.
He stood and looked down at them for a moment longer. “I think I’ll go and let you get some rest,” he said. “But I won’t go far. And…thank you. For my daughter.”
His voice cracked a little on the last word and Leah started to get a little choked up herself. He leaned down and gave them both a kiss on the forehead and then left quietly, closing the door behind him.
Leah gazed down her daughter for several moments. “Well, little peanut,” she said. “Now what are we going to do?”