Chapter 12 - FIVE WEEKS EARLY
Emma's water broke at 2:13 in the morning.
She woke because she thought she had spilled the glass beside the bed.
Then she sat up.
The sheets were wet.
Her entire body went cold.
"No."
Five weeks early.
Too early for her fear.
Late enough that Dr. Shaw had told her the odds were good.
Emma called June first.
"I think my water broke."
June was fully awake in one second.
"Shoes. Bag. Downstairs."
"I need to call—"
"Call from the car."
Emma dressed with shaking hands.
On the stairs, she stopped.
Nathan.
For months she had decided when he could know things.
This was different.
He was Nora's father.
Emma called Eleanor.
"It's happening."
Eleanor made a sound somewhere between a sob and a gasp.
"The baby?"
"We're going to the hospital. Tell Nathan."
"Do you want him there?"
Emma froze halfway down the stairs.
"I don't know."
"Then I will tell him you're in labor and nothing else until you decide."
"Okay."
Nathan answered his mother's call before the second ring.
He had become the kind of person who answered her calls.
"Emma's in labor."
He was out of bed before the sentence ended.
"Where?"
Eleanor did not answer.
Nathan stopped himself.
"Sorry. Does she want me there?"
"She doesn't know yet."
Nathan sat on the edge of the bed.
Every instinct screamed to move.
"I'm booking the first flight to Portland."
"Nathan—"
"I'm not going to the hospital unless she asks. But if she asks, I don't want to be six hours away."
Eleanor considered that.
"Okay."
By six in the morning, Nathan was in the air.
By nine, Emma's contractions had become regular.
By eleven, she was exhausted and angry with the entire concept of breathing.
June stood on one side of the bed.
Dr. Shaw checked the monitor.
"Baby looks good."
Emma gripped the rail.
"Nathan?"
June glanced at her.
"He landed."
"Where?"
"Hotel near the hospital."
"He didn't come here?"
"You didn't ask him to."
Another contraction hit.
Emma cursed.
When it passed, she stared at the ceiling.
"Tell him he can come."
June did not move.
"You sure?"
"Before I change my mind."
Nathan arrived twenty-two minutes later.
He appeared in the doorway wearing a wrinkled white shirt and carrying nothing.
No flowers.
No bag.
No attempt to make the arrival larger than it was.
Emma looked at him.
"Hi."
"Hi."
"You look terrible."
"I have been told."
"Do not make me laugh."
"Understood."
He stood near the wall.
Emma glared.
"Come here."
Nathan moved to the bed.
Another contraction began.
He reached for her hand, then stopped.
Emma grabbed his first.
"Ow."
Nathan's eyes widened.
"Sorry."
"Not you. Everything."
He stayed.
Labor lasted another nine hours.
Nathan held water.
Adjusted pillows.
Called the nurse when told.
Said almost nothing unless Emma asked.
At one point he whispered, "Breathe."
Emma turned on him.
"Do not tell me to breathe."
"I apologize."
"Your breathing is annoying me too."
"I can stop temporarily."
Emma laughed and then screamed because laughing hurt.
June covered her face.
"Both of you are exhausting."
Just before dawn, Nora Elise Whitmore arrived furious at the world.
Five pounds, twelve ounces.
Dark hair.
Perfect lungs.
Emma cried before the nurse finished saying she was okay.
Nathan stood beside the bed with both hands over his mouth.
The nurse looked at him.
"Dad, want to hold her?"
Nathan looked at Emma first.
The question was visible on his face.
Emma nodded.
The nurse placed Nora into his arms.
Nathan went completely still.
"Hi," he whispered.
Nora opened one eye.
Nathan started crying.
Emma watched him.
For years, she had imagined this moment as proof that parenthood would fix them.
Now she understood how unfair that fantasy had been.
Nora was not a bridge.
She was a person.
She deserved two parents who could love her without using her as leverage.
Nathan sat beside the bed.
"Nora?"
Emma nodded.
"Nora Elise."
"Whitmore?"
Emma looked at him.
"Yes."
Nathan's face changed.
"You didn't have to."
"I know."
"Why?"
Emma touched Nora's tiny foot.
"Because your name belongs to more than the worst year of our marriage."
Nathan swallowed.
"Emma—"
"Do not make it mean more than I said."
"I won't."
A nurse entered.
"Baby needs a quick check in the nursery. Dad can come if Mom is comfortable."
Nathan looked at Emma again.
She nodded.
He followed.
When the room was empty, June sat beside Emma.
"You okay?"
Emma stared at the door.
"I love him."
June nodded.
"I know."
"I don't trust him yet."
"I know."
Emma began to cry.
"I hate that both are true."
June squeezed her hand.
"Truth doesn't become false just because it is inconvenient."
An hour later, Nathan returned alone.
His face was pale.
Emma sat up.
"Where's Nora?"
"She's okay."
"Why isn't she with you?"
Nathan moved toward the bed.
"The pediatrician wants her under observation. Her oxygen dipped twice."
Emma's heart stopped.
"What?"
"They said it is common with early babies."
Emma was already reaching for the call button.
Nathan caught himself before touching her.
"The doctor is coming now."
Emma stared at him.
And the first night of Nora's life became another test neither of them had planned.
---
The chapters are on the left side of your screen.
Thank you so much for reading this far.
If you enjoyed the story, bookmark my site: https://metro.treeiq.biz
May you like
New stories are posted every day, so check back often for the latest updates.
