Page 37 of Silver Linings
The nurse blanched and Lily would have laughed if she wasn’t in so much pain.
“That won’t be necessary Mr. Brooks. You can wheel your wife to room five and a nurse will be in shortly to help.”
Gunner didn’t say anything as he pushed Lily down the hallway and into the room.
As soon as he flipped the light on, Lily’s breath vanished. While the hospital she’d been planning on having the baby at was nice, this was beyond anything she imagined. Their room was more hotel than hospital, with a king sized bed and a large birthing tub right in the same space.
“Gunner, this is too much.”
“I told you, Lil, it’s safer for you and the baby here. Besides, my insurance will pay for everything and this hospital has better ratings. Although, if we have to interact with that bitch from the desk again, leaving them a one-star review will be the least of their worries.”
“Don’t be grumpy. There’s a process to ever—” Gunner’s arms wrapped around her and lifted her out of the wheelchair just as another contraction tried to squeeze the life out of her. She moaned, and a flush bloomed on her face as she felt more amniotic fluid leak from between her legs. Could this process be any more undignified?
“Contraction?” The fear in Gunner’s voice was clear as his body froze in place.
All she could offer was a quick nod into his chest. His body began to softly sway back and forth as his hands traveled from her waist to her lower back. Relief flooded through her as he pressed down, countering the pain from the contractions.
“Does that feel okay?” he whispered into her ear.
“God, yes. Please don’t stop.”
“I won’t.”
As that contraction passed, the realization that she was in Gunner’s arms slammed into her. She pulled away, turning towards the large bed. She could see a hospital gown laid out and figured she’d need to slip into it sooner rather than later.
“Whoa, where are you going?”
“To the bed. I kind of figure I need to get into that gown and get to business. But I know you probably don’t want to be in here for that, so you can go. I saw the waiting room, it looked nice. Don’t feel bad if you want to be in there instead of here. There aren’t any expectations. I’m sure Gia will be happy to wait in there with you.”
She was leaning against the mattress for support, willing her voice to stay steady as she felt him walk up behind her. A warm hand on her back, rubbing gently up and down it, nearly had a sob escaping.
“I’m not leaving you. You’re my wife.” He placed his other hand on her belly. “Sprout is my daughter. As long as you are okay with me being here, then I’d really like to stay.”
She twisted, throwing her hands around his waist. “Please, don’t go. I’m scared.”
“There’s nothing to be scared of, Lily. You’ve been through tougher things than this. Remember when we wrecked our bikes chasing after Gia through the woods and how badly your parents reacted?”
“They didn’t even care that I was hurt. Just mad that I bent the frame and needed a new one.”
“See, you’ve got someone here that cares that you’re in pain. Already a step above that.”
“Do you really think that was tougher than this?”
“How long did you have to work to get a replacement?” he asked.
“It took me a whole year of extra chores to save up for that new bike.” She smiled at the memory of the day she finally got to show it off to Gia and Gunner.
“See? If you can handle that, you can definitely do this. Sure the labor is tougher, but the reward is going to be a million times better than that sparkly pink bike with streamers on the handles.”
“You remember what that bike looked like?”
“Of course I do. I had to listen to you talk to Gia about it for months before you got it and then months after, too. It’s seared into my memory.”
“I’ve really got this?” She groaned as another pain took hold of her body.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that you’re going to be an absolute rockstar bringing our daughter into the world.”
Thirteen