“You’re fucking with me, right?”
She shakes her head. “I swear, Harrison.”
“What the fucking fuck?” Anger floods my veins, and I try like hell to stay calm.
Cassie appears beside us, her hand held out. “Can I see your phone, Rocky?”
Rocky pulls it from her pocket and offers it up without complaint.
Cassie concentrates as she roots around, and then finally, spins the phone around for us to look at. It’s a list of numbers with mine at the top. “That’s my number,” I say. “What is that?”
Cassie bites her lips and then swiftly and bluntly breaks the news like only she can do. “Rocky’s blocked numbers list. And I’m guessing by the way she’s looking at you, she’s not the one who blocked you.”
“Seriously? What the fuck?” I yell, jumping to my feet and forgetting all about keeping a cool head. “Who the fuck would do something like that?”
But no sooner than I’ve asked the question, I’m certain I have the answer. “Heidi.”
When I look at Rocky, she’s nodding. “I think so. I don’t have any physical proof yet, but she’s the one who told me you left. That you didn’t want to come to set.”
“That’s bullshit!” I shout again, and Cap clamps a hand down on my shoulder.
“Relax, dude. If this bitch really schemed the two of you this way, I’m going to nail her ass to the wall.”
“No,” Ruby contests. “I am.”
“We all are,” Kline says definitively. “We all know powerful people. We’ll use them.”
“I’m all about the mob mentality you guys have going right now when it comes to taking down the evil lady who tried to backhandedly turn Harrison and me against each other in a bid to not only control my life and secure her income, but to also, in all probability, use my child as a means to gain more control and money…but it’s kind of going to have to wait a little bit,” Rocky says in one big breath followed by a giggle.
“What?” Cap roars. “Why?”
“Well…because I can’t be sure, but I think maybe…kind of…sort of…my water just broke.” Rocky glances down between her legs, and the wet spot on her shorts and the small puddle of fluid on the floor beneath her makes the evidence pretty clear. “I…uh…think I’m about to have the baby.”
“Oh my God!” I shout as the room erupts into a manic mix of elation and panicked chatter. I grab on to Rocky quickly and help her down into the chair behind her. “We have to get you to the doctor.”
“What doctor?” she laughs sardonically. “I brought Dr. Simpson with me on the plane just to make sure I didn’t give birth by myself midflight, but she’s already on the way home. She had other clients she had to get back to,” Rocky updates, but then grips her belly and takes a deep, stuttered breath, blowing the air out through pursed lips. “Oh boy, are you supposed to feel contractions that soon after your water breaks?”
“Yeah, okay.” Georgia steps up immediately, phone in hand. “I’m going to call my brother.”
“Don’t worry,” Kline comforts. “He’s not just some guy off the street. He’s the best OB-GYN in New York, and he’ll admit you with absolute discretion. You won’t have to worry about the press.”
“That’s great,” Rocky says as she begins to breathe through what must be another contraction. “I just hope he’s good at answering the phone too!”
Raquel
Mamma mia, I’m going to push a baby out of my vagina today!
Georgia’s brother greets us at the secret ambulance bay of St. Luke’s hospital, quickly getting me inside and into a wheelchair to push me up to the private maternity ward on the fourth floor.
As we walk, he says hello to Harrison and introduces himself to me. “Hi, Rocky. Dr. Will Cummings. It’s nice to meet you. I understand that you probably don’t think it’s very nice to meet me right now, seeing as you’ve got a cute little human trying to make its way out of your body and you didn’t imagine not meeting your doctor at all before having that come to pass. But I promise I’ll do my best to assure you’re as comfortable as humanly possible while we make it happen, okay?”
I nod; it’s all I can manage as a contraction grabs ahold of my will to do anything other than scream bloody murder and smother it.
“Great,” he says cheerfully. “My wife, Melody, is going to be your nurse, so you won’t have to worry about someone you can’t trust breaching your privacy. I assure you, we’re dedicated to making this a happy experience for you.”
I nod again. “Good.”
He laughs. “Please, stop talking, Dr. Will. I got it. Reading you loud and clear, right?”
I can’t not smile. “No offense, but yes.”
He grins. “None taken.”
Finally at my room, he wheels me inside and gives Harrison a good-natured salute. “Okay, I’ll leave the two of you to get settled, and we’ll be back in shortly to get Raquel admitted and everything going. Congratulations, guys.”