Page 27 of Always and Forever

“Babe, you’re gonna have to look after Jack. I’m trying to service my bike and he’s getting into all my tools. Babe? Where are you?” I shout through the house, Jack on my hip.

“I’m in here,” Jasmine yells from upstairs.

“Babe, seriously, I can’t look after him,” I call out as I climb the stairs. I stop when I reach our bedroom, and freeze. Standing just inside our en suite, a puddle of water at her feet and smiling, is Jasmine. “Babe, what the fuck, you peed yourself?” I place Jack down on the ground, letting him run off toward the toys he’d left on the floor earlier.

“No, Quill, I did not pee myself. My waters just broke.”

“Your what just broke?”

“My water, you idiot. I’m having this baby, now. Hurry, quick, get my bag and get it in the car. We need to leave now, my contractions are close.”

“Fuck! Fuck!” I shout, panic rising. I begin to pace the bedroom, trying to remember where the hell we put her overnight bag. “Where the fuck is the bag, babe?” I ask, opening cupboards, then kneeling on the floor to check under the bed.

“Baby,” I hear behind me.

“Babe, I can’t find it. Where the hell is it?”

“Babe, come here,” Jasmine says quietly.

“Jasmine,” I say, getting up off the floor. “We need to go, you’re having the baby. We need to go! Now tell me where the fuck your bag is.”

She sighs, then cups my face in her hands, forcing me to look at her. Why the hell is she so calm right now? I feel like I’m gonna have a heart attack.

“Breath, baby, just breath,” she says. I do as she instructs and inhale a deep breath, feeling surprisingly calmer.

“Now, the bag is downstairs, remember? Next to the front door, ready for this exact moment.”

I run my hand roughly through my hair. “Shit, babe, I’m so sorry. What about Jack?”

“I’ve called my mom and she’s meeting us at the hospital, with my dad coming along to look after him.”

Right then she must have a contraction, because she lets go of my face and bends over, resting her hands on the bed as she screams out in pain.

I rub her back. “Breathe, baby, just breathe,” I say, repeating her words from only a few moments ago. And that’s when I see a whole other side of Jasmine, as if she’s turned into a demon.

“If you tell me to breathe one more time, I’m going to chop your dick off. You’re the one who put me in this position in the first place. Now, hurry up and get Jack’s backpack from his room, and help me get in the car before I have this baby right here on the floor, for you to deliver.”

I feel blood drain from my face, and I suddenly feel faint. “You’re right. Okay, bag, Jack, Jasmine, night bag, and car.” That’s it, I can do this. I race out of our room, grab Jack’s backpack from his, and race back. Holding Jack in one arm, I place his backpack on my shoulder, and let Jasmine lean on my other. Slowly we make our way down the stairs. I let go of her for a minute, then tell her to wait on the porch as I place Jack in his car seat, putting his backpack on the floor underneath. I run back up to the porch and take Jasmine’s arm, helping her to the passenger side of the car, and then into her seat. I quickly strap her in, shut the door, and run to the driver’s side.

Starting the car, I hear her say, “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

I frown. Her face is red, her forehead damp with sweat. “No, everything’s here. Isn’t it?”

“My bag, you idiot,” she growls as another contraction hits her hard. She screams and bends over, gripping her stomach. Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!

I quickly race back to the house, find the bag by the door, lock the house up again, and run back to the car, throwing the bag over my shoulder into the back seat.

Starting the engine, I race over to St. John’s hospital, not stopping for anyone or anything.

“It’s a girl,” the midwife says excitedly, as she cradles our baby in her gloved hands and passes her straight to Jasmine, resting her gently on Jasmine’s chest.

I’m stunned. I still for a minute, not realising how long I’ve been standing there.

“Baby, come here, have a look at her. Isn’t she beautiful?”

I still can’t move, or say anything. It’s a girl, a bloody girl. If I thought I had issues with men trying to make moves on my woman, what the hell am I going to do with my daughter? I’m gonna buy myself a big gun, that’s what I’m gonna do. No fucker’s getting next to my baby girl.

“Baby, come here,” Jasmine says, raising her free arm out to me. I take her hand, and slowly step closer. I look down at what has to be the most beautiful little girl I have ever seen. Her lips are pink, like rose petals, her skin perfect, and her eyes… well, I can’t make them out at this stage, but God she’s a sight. My eyes burn with tears that threaten to fall, and I sniffle. “Oh, baby, are you happy?” Jasmine asks.

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