Her Motherhood Wish (Parent Portal 3)

“It’s too late to move her,” the young paramedic, a redhead, announced. “He’s already half out. Okay, Mama, one more push and he’s here,” he said.

Whether Cassie heard him or just pushed because her body forced her to, Wood didn’t know, but she gave one more scream and then lay still.

He saw a small body pass from one set of hands to another, and then was focused on Cassie.

She was breathing. But still. Her eyes were closed. And her gorgeous features were no longer scrunched up in pain.

For the moment, at least, she was at peace.

There was rustling farther down her body. A lot of quick movement. A sheet appeared. Some talking, too low for him to make out—he suspected so Cassie wouldn’t hear.

And one thing was missing.

There’d been no baby crying.

* * *

Cassie felt herself being lifted. Heard Wood’s voice telling her that she’d done great. That everything was fine. He’d been there through the worst of it. She’d heard him. Had focused on his words. They reminded her of something important.

Mostly though, she just remembered excruciating pain. So much of it. And then...numbness. She just wanted to sleep.

“I’m going with them.” Wood was angry. She’d never heard that tone from him before. She opened her eyes to see his head at the end of the stretcher, but she couldn’t see the rest of him. Thought maybe she was in heaven and he was on earth.

“Wood?” Her throat was dry, and she could hardly get the word out.

“I’m right here, Cass.” His tone changed, was the calm in her storm just like always, and then his body was there, too. Sitting next to her. They moved. Fast. Sirens blared.

“I had the baby,” she said, aware now that she was in an ambulance. And hooked up to an IV.

Wood nodded. He wasn’t smiling.

“Where is he?”

“He’s right here,” he said, nodding toward a little bassinet-looking thing by the door, someone official-looking bending over it.

“Is he okay?” She hadn’t heard a cry, but knew that you didn’t always. Some babies just took their first breath without squalling.

“We don’t know yet.” His beautiful blue eyes looked so sad. “They think he needs a blood transfusion. Something about oxygen levels.”

She closed her eyes. Oh God. No bad waves. No bad waves. Let them bring in the good. If You never give me another good wave in my life, please let this one be good. I won’t want any more. I swear to anyone who will listen. I won’t use Wood for my own personal gain. Just let my baby live...

She prayed all the way to the hospital.

And then she waited.

* * *

Cassie and Alan were whisked away as soon as they got to the hospital. Wood was told to follow Cassie’s stretcher and then was asked to wait outside a door through which they took her. He’d yet to even get a good look at their son. No one had offered to let him see or hold the baby. They’d been too busy hooking him up and tending to him.

If it were possible for a human being to explode, he was fairly certain he’d have done so.

And Cassie, other than that brief moment when he’d first gotten in the ambulance, had had her eyes closed. She’d lost a lot of blood. He’d seen it on the floor of her office as they’d lifted her. But wasn’t sure if childbirth regularly produced an alarming amount of liquid or if her life was in danger. A minute or two after they’d shut the door behind Cassie, he called Elaina. She was in the hospital someplace. She’d at least be able to give him some idea of wh

at might be going on.

She came right down and waited with him instead.

“You’re shaking,” she said, taking his hand as they found a couple of chairs, pulled them across from the door and sat. She’d told him that based on the situation, taking Cassie in as they had was protocol. She’d be checked over. Might need some stitches.