Page 10 of A Game-Changing Christmas

An opened mouth smile spread across Jaden’s face as he tossed his head back.

“Get yo ass out of here, Rose!”

Jonas laughed as he exited, and Jaden’s amusement held for a few seconds before it fizzled. His thought shifted back to Claudia. The last thing Jaden wanted was to stress his wife out about children, but Jaden couldn’t help but feel his heart tugging him in that direction. Maybe Jonas was right. Jaden could see a urologist without Claudia knowing. At least he would have a direction to take and could offer his wife real solutions. He and Claudia spoke about children from the moment they married. Well… more so him then her. Claudia hadn’t been as expressive, but she voiced her agreement for wanting to grow a family.

Jaden grimaced again. If he couldn’t give her kids, it would not only break his heart, but his spirit. Jaden loved Claudia and wanted a little girl that looked just like her. He imagined his little princess having her mother’s slanted eyes, tipped nose, and smooth brown skin. A smile crept across his lips as he pictured them in the mirror trying to learn Beyoncé’s moves so they could dance together. He even pictured his little princess telling her mom she wasn’t doing it right.

Jaden’s heart tugged again, and he rose from his seat and strolled to the window that Jonas had stood in front of before. He slipped a hand to his tie and loosened it, unclasping one of the buttons on his suit shirt. As he stood six feet three inches from the ground in a strong body compact with cut edges and a muscular design, Jaden made up his mind. He would see a urologist. The sooner, the better.

* * *

Northwestern Memorial Hospital

Labor and Delivery Ward

It had beenthe most intense four hours Claudia had ever been a part of. What started out as a quick run to meet up with friends and freak out about her impending pregnancy turned into being front row and center of a baby being born. What were the odds? She wondered this from the time Camilla Valentine’s water broke. Once they made it to the hospital, Camilla never released Claudia’s shoulder. She drug her right into the labor and delivery room as the doctors prepared her for emergency delivery.

“Camilla, how are you doing? Are you all right?” Claudia had asked.

Camilla could only pant and squeeze Claudia’s shoulder tighter as she bristled for another oncoming contraction.

“Aaaaah!”

Claudia was utterly terrified seeing Camilla’s pain, but to calm Camilla, Claudia repeated what she saw people do on TV all the time.

“Take deep breaths. Inhale and exhale like this.”

Claudia demonstrated breathing exercises.

“That’s pretty good,” a doctor said as he approached them. “Did you learn that in classes?”

Flustered, Claudia responded. “Ah no, I just figured it’s the standard, right?”

“Aaaaah!” Camilla screamed.

“You’re right,” the doctor said. He glanced at Camilla. “Mrs. Valentine, I’m Dr. Peterson, Dr. Blake is out of the country today and won’t return until tomorrow. So, if you deliver your baby today, it will be by way of me, do you understand?”

Camilla nodded as a whooshing breath escaped her.

“The pain,” she shouted, and Claudia tensed. She unknowingly slipped a hand around her belly and locked her teeth as if practicing her own breathing exercises.

“Would you like an epidural?” Dr. Peterson asked.

“That’s drugs, right, something to numb the pain?”

Camilla’s breathing was haggard, and Claudia wondered if Camilla’s heart was beating as fast as hers.

“Yes, ma’am, it is.”

Camilla’s head fell back. She and Hunter had spoken about natural birth, a water birth, and birthing at home; none of which they’d made a definite decision about. Camilla knew there would be pain, but this knocking around her cervix was a different kind of torture, one that would go away then creep back seconds later. It was driving her crazy.

“Can we wait until my husband gets here?”

“This is what we can do,” Dr. Peterson said. “I’m going to check to see how far you’ve dilated, and if it’s not too late, then we can try and wait for your husband, but if it is, you’ll have to go natural.”

“Oh my God,” Camilla whined, unsure if she could endure the harsh reality of a natural birth.

“The good news is, if you are too far along, it means the baby is on his way, and you won’t have to withstand the pain much longer.”

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