Page 247 of Sebastian's Baby

Lita stares at me with wide eyes, then looks down to her feet. “I think my water just broke.”

I follow her gaze to see a massive puddle of fluid on the tiles at her feet.

“Holy shit!” I blink at the sight in front of me, and Lita laughs.

“That’s exactly what I said.”

“What do we do?” I ask her.

“Call an ambulance, I guess,” Lita says, and then winces again before rubbing her bump. “I think I might be in labor.”

Heather says from behind me, “I’ll call an ambulance immediately, darling.”

It spurs me into action and I rush toward Lita, who says, “Watch your step.”

“I don’t give a fuck about some amniotic fluid; I just care about my fiancée, who is about to give birth to my child,” I say as I walk over to her and put my arm around her to help her walk back toward the main living area.

I can’t believe this is happening. I’m excited and terrified in equal measure. I wasn’t prepared for this to happen tonight, but it looks like I’ll be meeting my beautiful little girl sooner rather than later.

We walk slowly, and Lita has to stop mid-way when another contraction hits her. Ariana has gotten some towels, and Lita sits on them on one of the dining table chairs, even though we offer for her to sit on the sofa instead.

“I don’t want to ruin your carpet or your sofa,” Lita says in horror.

“Both of those are replaceable, do whatever makes you comfortable,” Gabriel offers.

“Yeah, I’m not going to be comfortable with ruining your sofa,” she laughs, then winces as another contraction hits her.

“The ambulance will be here soon,” Heather announces as she hangs up the phone. “I don’t normally pull the Cruise Control card, but I made sure they knew that they were coming to get the mother of Sebastian Fox’s baby.”

“Finally, Heather gets to be a diva for a good cause,” Ariana teases her.

“Hey, I will diva all day every day if it gets Lita an ambulance quicker.”

It’s less than fifteen minutes—and four contractions—later that we hear the sound of an ambulance’s siren coming down the street. Ben goes down to the SUV and retrieves the hospital bag that Lita has been taking with her everywhere for three weeks, and he meets us in the apartment lobby.

The whole group comes down with us and wishes us luck as the paramedics get Lita onto a gurney and wheel her out to the ambulance. I get in the front seat of the ambulance, and we head off to the hospital.

“Is this your first baby?” The paramedic asks.

I smile at him and nod. “I’m surprised you don’t know.”

“I didn’t think my small talk through,” he says with a laugh. “I’ve got three. It’s a pretty amazing experience every time.”

We talk until we arrive at the hospital, where he and his partner drop Lita off in the ER for admission and wish her well. The hospital must have been told we were coming because we’re swarmed as soon as we arrive and are swiftly escorted to a delivery room in the maternity ward.

I stand at Lita's bedside, and I hold her hand as I murmur comforting words to her as she labors. I’m wiping her forehead with a wet cloth when the door opens, and we both look up to see Dr. Floyd entering the room.

“Eric, I don’t think I’ve ever been more grateful to see you,” I exhale with relief.

Lita only grunts her acknowledgment of him, and I can tell she’s having another contraction. This is confirmed when Lita yells out loud in pain before it eases off again.

Dr. Floyd smiles at us both. “I see that the induction for tomorrow is off. Let me check and see how far along you are, Lita.”

He sets about getting some gloves on and then waits as Lita has another contraction before he checks her.

“Okay, well, you’re nine centimeters dilated. We’ll be ready to push within the next hour or so.”

“Are you telling me that there’s no chance of an epidural, then?” Lita groans.

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