Page 15 of Shattered

“Yep. Five weeks.”

As Tuck grinned, Bauer slapped a big hand on Nate’s shoulder, gave him a little shake that would have rattled a lesser man’s teeth. “That’s so awesome, man. Happy for you guys.”

“Thanks.” He couldn’t wipe the grin from his face. He was gonna be a father in a few months’ time.

“Happy for who? And for what?” Cruzie called out from across the cargo hold, seated between Vance and Evers, who were all staring at Nate with curiosity.

“Nate and Taya. Doc’s gonna be a daddy,” Tuck announced to the entire cargo bay.

Twenty-three pairs of eyes turned toward him, five of them familiar, the others not. A chorus of whistles and congrats filled the cavernous space and he lifted a hand in acknowledgment.

“Were you guys trying?” Blackwell asked from Bauer’s right, leaning forward and craning his neck to see Nate past Bauer’s bulk.

“Not officially. We both wanted to start a family soon, so we decided to pull the goalie a few months ago. Never thought it would happen so quick.” The news had come as a shock. He’d assumed it would take a while. They’d only been married a few months, tying the knot in a small wedding on her dad’s farm back in Kentucky, with only DeLuca and Briar there for Nate. He hadn’t wanted to drag the entire team down there just for them, but he appreciated his commander and wife being there.

“When did you find out?” Evers asked.

“Few hours ago.” Nate still couldn’t believe she’d managed to wait that long. She’d been so damn excited about it.

“It’s life changing, man,” Bauer said in his deep voice, folding his thick arms across his chest and giving Nate a couple inches more elbow room. “It’s gonna be so awesome, you’ll love it.”

“Except for the no-sleep part, right?” Bauer bitched about that all the time, and the guys constantly gave him a hard time about it. It was how they showed the love.

Bauer’s hard mouth twisted into a wry grin. “Yeah, except that. But hey, sleep deprivation’s nothing new for guys like us.”

No, it wasn’t. He’d be fine.

“You’re gonna be a great daddy,” Tuck said with a slap to Nate’s leg.

“Thanks.” He’d do his best. He didn’t remember his father, but Taya’s dad was awesome, and both Bauer and Blackwell were pretty damn good examples to follow. DeLuca, too, because Nate pretty much idolized him. He’d figure it out, basically do the opposite of what his mother had. That would be a good start, anyhow.

“The whole birthing thing is no joke though, man,” Bauer added. “With your medical background you’ll be fine. That stuff’s way more up your alley than mine.” He winced, shook his dark head. “Zo’s already talking about baby number two, but for damn sure I’m not ready to go through all that again.”

“You’renot ready to go through it again?” Nate said with a laugh.

“Dude.” Bauer half-turned toward him, his bright blue eyes serious. “You ever witness a birth?”

“A few, yeah.” Once at a hospital during one of his training rotations, and a couple times during his service as a PJ.

Bauer blinked at him in surprise, then sobered. “Well have you ever seen one when it’s your wife and kid involved?”

Okay, he had a point there. “No.”

“Yeah, well. Wait for it. It ain’t pretty.” He shook his head again, that hard mouth twisting in distaste. “I’ve seen things, man. Things you can’t unsee.”

It tickled Nate’s funny bone, to think of a badass former SEAL like Bauer going pale and weak in the knees at witnessing the birth of his own child after all the violent, gory and fucked-up things he’d seen over the course of his career. Bauer was no stranger to blood and guts. None of them were.

“That’s funny?” Bauer said, raising a dark eyebrow when Nate smirked.

“So freaking funny,” Nate said with a chuckle that turned into a full-on belly laugh the more he pictured his teammate’s reaction in the delivery room.

The laugh must have been infectious because all his teammates started grinning and chuckling too. Nate couldn’t help himself. Couldn’t stop now that he’d got going.

“Poor Zoe,” he managed between gasps, holding his aching middle as he imagined the scene in the delivery room. “She’s the one in agony, trying to hold it together while she pushes Libby out, and her former SEAL husband can’t handle it.”

Bauer’s brows snapped together in a foreboding frown that didn’t intimidate Nate in the least. “I handled it. I handled it fine—betterthan fine. She told me I was awesome.”

That only made Nate hoot louder. Zoe having to soothe Bauer’s giant ego afterward by praising his efforts at trying not to be a useless boob during the delivery. He wiped his watering eyes with the heel of one hand. “Did you at least find your balls long enough to cut the cord?”

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