He could imagine her now, refusing to give birth until his ass was in the room. If she did that with all the pain she was going to be, she was going to be so pissed.
“We want to live through this.”
“We are going to live through this.” He drove, by some miracle not passing a police car.
Arriving at the hospital, he brought the car to a stop. Turning off the ignition, he threw the keys at Pa. “Park it.”
Devil waited for him.
“Where is she?”
“She’s in the labor ward. There’s still time.” Devil took the lead, showing him where he needed to go. He followed, his nerves picking up.
A nurse was on hand, offering him some scrubs. He washed his hands with sanitizer and quickly pulled on a gown and a hat. Entering the room, he heard a scream.
“No. I’m not pushing. Not until Simon’s here. We talked about this.” Tabby had her head turned away from the door. “He wanted to be here.”
Lexie was there by her side.
“And I’m right here,” he said, drawing their attention.
“Where the fuck have you been?”
He rushed to her side. “Working, but I’m here now.”
“I hate you right now.”
“I know.”
“And I love you.” She sniffled.
“I love you too.” He pressed a kiss to her clammy forehead.
“I smell.”
“You’re beautiful.”
“You’re lying.”
“Does it matter?” he asked. “So long as I love you and I’m here.” Lexie didn’t leave. His father had also entered, and they stood back.
Simon didn’t care. Taking Tabby’s hand as another contraction rushed through her body, he held her as she screamed and cried.
“It hurts.”
The doctor agreed but promised it wasn’t too much more. Just another couple of pushes.
He’d gotten here in time.
Tabby tensed up, screamed, and then collapsed. Her face had gone a deep red.
He stroked her hair back.
“We’re never having sex again.”
“Never?”
“Never ever,” she said. “I can’t. I can’t do this. It hurts way too much.” She sniffled.
“I’ve got you, baby.” He looked toward the doctor who held up a single finger. “One more push. Then it will all be over.”
She whimpered.
“I know. I know. I want to take the pain away. I’m here. Hold on to me and give me one more good push. Come on, baby.”
She held his hand, squeezed it with all of her might, and then he heard it. It was the most precious sound in the world. One he was never going to forget. The sound of his little baby girl, screaming, finally born into the world.
“Is she okay?” Tabby asked.
The nurse handed her to a doctor, and after a few minutes, she came back to them, the baby wrapped in a blanket.
“She is perfect and she has a set of lungs on her.”
Their daughter was placed in Tabby’s arms. He reached out, touching her cheek, but quickly pulled away to remove the gloves.
“She’s so sweet. So precious,” he said.
“We did this.” She leaned her head against his. “I love you, Simon.”
“Love you, Tabby.”
This was the perfect ending to the day.Chapter Twenty-OneTabitha lifted her glass of soda as Pa, Simon, Knight, Teddy, Felix, and Twig were each gifted with the official patches. The prospect patch had been taken off, and now they were full members of the Chaos Bleeds MC.
Tears filled her eyes and she clapped her hands, seeing how happy her man was. Nathan did the same while Skye sat in her stroller, sleeping. She’d just been fed and burped.
The sun was out. It was a glorious day. The cold nights would start fighting back. Her husband had finally earned his patch, and she knew what it meant to him. What it meant to all of them.
They had found each other on the road, but that hadn’t stopped them from becoming a family. They were a unit. United together. One person.
Devil slapped his son on the shoulder and tears filled her eyes as they embraced. This was perfect. Wiping away the tear, she got to her feet as Simon jogged over to her. He wrapped his arms around her waist, picking her up.
“I did it, babe.”
“I had no doubt.”
He took possession of her mouth as Nathan groaned. “Ew, gross.”
Giggling, she put her hands flat to Simon’s chest. “You’re going to party.”
“I’m going to party. Mom is taking the kids tonight so you and I can enjoy this moment together.”
“This is your moment.”
“No, it’s our moment. I couldn’t have done this without you and the truth is, I never want to do anything without you.”
“You’re a charmer.” She wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him again.
Lexie came over. “How would you like to hang out with Grandma?” she asked.
“Will you and Grandpa make out?” Nathan asked.
“No, he’s staying here,” Lexie said, chuckling.
“Then, yes, I’ll come.”
They all burst out laughing.
“One day, son, you’re going to want to make out with a girl.”
Nathan wrinkled his nose. “No. They poop and fart and throw up. Look what Skye does all the time.”