Page 108 of Almost
“You got it. Hey, tell Blake that I love her please.”
I want to roll my eyes because now isn’t the time for that, but it’s also sweet. “Okay.”
“Stop crying too. I can hear it in your voice. I can’t wait to meet my nephew.”
I start to walk toward the exit of the suit, another contraction making me falter as I grab the wall. “We don’t know if it’s going to be a boy or a girl. Try not to get your hopes up. Just make sure Bash gets to the hospital without getting sidetracked for interviews. I’m going to kill him and then you if he misses it.”
“So you can call the baby an it, but I can’t?” Owen snorts, and now I might just kill him regardless. “On that note, I’m going to go. Coaching duties call! Good luck!”
Owen was offered an assistant coaching job in the Panthers program so he could stay around the game he loves. In the offseason, he does freelance work with the company Blake works for, putting his engineering degree touse. While Owen might not admit it, he loves bossing his old teammates around. It fits him perfectly.
I groan as he hangs up, but I feel better after getting to talk to Bash. Maybe it’ll help light a fire under his ass and they’ll score some points.
~
Good news and bad news. The good news is they won. The bad news is I’m an overachiever at labor, almost completely dilated, and Sebastian still isn’t here. I’m trying not to stress out or panic because I know it can be bad for the baby, but I’m really starting to second-guess my decision to tell him to stay at the field.
Another strong contraction ripples through me, and I bite my lip to keep from yelling, but it really fucking hurts.
The door opens and I look up, hoping to see Bash, but my heart falls when I see the doctor instead. Blake grips my hand tightly, reading my mind. “He’ll be here.”
The doctor checks where I’m at, and I rest my head back against the pillows, already exhausted. Her eyes crinkle as she smiles behind her mask, the nurse helping her glove up. “I hope you’re ready to be a momma because it’s time to start pushing.”
“No, it can’t be. He isn’t here yet. I thought it was—” I gasp sharply, squeezing Blake’s hand until the contraction passes. “I thought labor was supposed to be this super long, drawn out thing. I’ve only been here for two hours.”
“It’s different with every woman. Most pray for a quick labor,” she says cheerfully.
I sob, shaking my head as I shut my eyes tightly.This isn’t happening.“I can’t do this. I can’t do this without him.”
Blake’s delicate hand slips from my grasp as a different much larger, rougher hand takes its place. “Love, you don’t have to. I’m right here.”
Sebastian wipes the tears from my cheeks, revealing the ridiculous gown and cap he’s wearing. I can’t stop crying when he kisses my forehead. “You’re here,” I choke out as the doctor looks up at me expectantly.
“I need you to push now,” she instructs, and I nod, screaming as I do.Holy fuck, I’m never doing this again. Sebastian is fucking insane if he thinks we’re having more than one kid.
“You’re doing great, Lia,” Bash says soothingly, and I glare at him.
“This is your fault, next time you can give birth,” I grit out before being told to push again and again.
A sharp cry fills the room, and I sink into the pillows, refusing to let go of Sebastian’s hand as relief, exhaustion, and pain overwhelm my system. “Ten fingers and ten toes. Congratulations, you have a healthy baby girl.”
I smile happily, and Bash brushes my hair out of my face as they place her on my chest, covering us with a warm blanket. Sebastian cuts the umbilical cord, and they take our baby girl away to check her over, giving her an ankle bracelet for identification as I safely deliver the afterbirth.
She’s wrapped in a blanket when she’s passed back to me, her face squishy and adorable. She’s the most precious thing I’ve ever seen.
“She’s perfect,” Sebastian whispers.
“She’s everything. Our little Mirabelle.”
We agreed that if the baby was a girl, we would name her after Mimi. I wanted so badly for this to be a girl, but we decided to keep it a surprise.
I look at Sebastian, seeing nothing but love as he stares at her in awe. “We make really cute babies,” he says, and I adjust her in my arms.
“Do you want to hold her?”
He looks afraid for a moment, but he nods. A nurse still in the room helps transfer Mirabelle from my arms to his, and he cradles her carefully in his arms. I don’t think I’ve ever loved him more than I do in this moment.
Tears fill my eyes as I watch him hold her for the first time, and his widen when he sees them. “Thalia, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”