Off The Clock (First Responders 1)

Gabe clicked on the flashlight and examined her briefly. “We can X-ray it at the hospital, but I think it’s just bruised. You hit your head and left shoulder on the door post, I think.”

She nodded, closing her eyes and tried to breathe through the pain radiating from her head down her arm. “The baby…”

“How far along are you?”

“Thirty-seven weeks.”

“And everything’s gone well?”

She smiled then, forgetting briefly about the pain in her left side. “Yeah. It’s a boy.”

“There you go then. Nothing to worry about. You’re going to be fine, Carly. Just fine. I pr

omise.”

Carly put her hand on the swell of her belly, wishing the baby would kick against her palm, afraid to tell Gabe that any movement was horribly absent. A kick, a roll. Anything to let her know he was okay. Fear rushed in, stealing her breath.

“It’s a boy,” she repeated, and Gabe’s dark gaze was there to anchor her again.

“Congratulations,” he said warmly. He took off his jacket and spread it over her. “I know it’s getting chilly, but I hear sirens. The guys’ll be here soon, okay? They’ll be able to take care of you better than I can right now.”

Carly didn’t care. She was glad he was here. Gabe had always been steady as a rock and she would have wanted him with her even if he wasn’t a paramedic. She reached out with her hand and grabbed his wrist. “Gabe?”

“I’m right here, Carly.”

“It’s a boy.”

A wrinkle appeared between his eyebrows but he smiled. “And he’s going to be fine, Carly. Just relax, and let us take care of you, okay?”

Gabe pushed back so he was on the outside of the car and Carly watched him, confused. Why was he looking at her that way? What was wrong? Her muscles tensed as she remembered seeing the other car cross the centre line. Where was it? Was that driver okay? Had they crashed too? What if they were… Her breaths shortened as she tried to inhale. She reached for Gabe to ask him and shifted her weight in the seat. There was a funny little popping feeling and a new fear pummeled her. Not now. Not here, and not yet.

“Gabe, my water just broke.”

“What?” Gabe leaned forward again.

“It’s too soon, Gabe. That is what happened, right?” She tried not to panic but the wave of hysteria was impossible to fight. Her mind raced with possibilities of what could be going wrong right now. “Oh my God, my water broke,” she whispered, and started to shiver.

“Right, you need to breathe.” Gabe’s voice broke through and she latched on to it. “Long exhales, Carly. Don’t panic. I’m here with you, remember?” Gabe did a quick check while she struggled to control her breathing.

He was right. She couldn’t lose it now. She had to keep it together. For herself and for her baby son. Gabe put his hand on her cheek and she closed her eyes. He wouldn’t let anything happen to her. She trusted him, always had. She let out a slow breath and let the anchor of his touch give her strength.

“Carly, look at me.”

She opened her eyes and stared into his. How many times had she wanted him to look at her with the concern he was showing now?

“Your water did break. Are you having any contractions?”

She shook her head. There had been nothing, only a few Braxton Hicks the last couple of days. The sirens seemed to scream at her, hurting her head as an RCMP cruiser and ambulance pulled up along the shoulder.

“Then you’re in good hands, darlin’.” His voice was warm and steady. “You hang tight. We have time. You’re both going to be just fine.”

“Don’t leave me, Gabe.” With each second the situation was becoming clearer to her, and as the reality of what was happening sank in, she realized she did not want to be alone. “Please.”

“I’m not going anywhere. Just to brief the guys, okay? I’ll be right back. I promise.”

She watched as he jogged up the incline to where the paramedics were getting out of the ambulance. Gabe Brenner. Not the first time he’d come to her rescue. He’d always been her knight in shining armor. How was it that he was always there when she needed him?

Gabe greeted Mike and Eric briefly and quickly related Carly’s injuries. “Possible concussion, bruised shoulder that might need an X-ray. And she’s thirty-seven weeks pregnant. Her water broke a few minutes ago. Looks like this baby’s coming early. No contractions yet.”