Page 142 of Samuel

“Good. Let’s try some of that to see if we can’t help Evie feel a little better during these contractions.”

“Why is this happening so fast?” she groaned.

“I think you’ve been in labor longer than you realize, Evie.” Jake answered.

“No, no, no. I can’t do this. I can’t. There was supposed to be ice chips, and laboring in the shower before a blissful epidural. There’s no way I’m strong enough to do this without drugs. I want the drugs, Sam.THE. DRUGS.”

“You can do this. You can. And you’re going to. Because all this pain? This fear? It’s the last hurdle to break through before we get to meet our girl.”

“It’s not supposed to be happening here. I can’t… I can’t give birth to her here in the office.”

“Why not? This is where we fell in love. It makes sense for Jellybean to be born here.”

“Really? Right here next to our desks?”

“Yeah. Right here, where I get to spend every day with my best friend. Where I fell in love with her and the sweet baby in her belly that made her crave the most god-awful combinations of food, and gave her hiccups at all hours of the day. Where I watched a brilliant woman stop someone from destroying my family’s legacy. It’s right that Jellybean should be born here. It’s where our story started. It’s fitting that her story will start here too.”

“What did I ever do to deserve you?”

Sam didn’t have a chance to respond before the next contraction had Evie screaming out in agony. Fuck. Sweat dripped down his back as panic edged his vision.

Evie shifted so her legs were underneath her body, and she rubbed her hand over her belly. Sam watched as her bump morphed from oblong in appearance to a perfect basketball. She groaned and went perfectly still.

“Hey, Cowboy?”

“Yeah, Bluebell?”

“Remember when we were at the little lake and I fell? You were worried about Jellybean and I…” She huffed, closing her eyes for a second before popping them back open. “I joked that the baby wasn’t in my butt.”

“I remember.”

“Well, I think I was wrong. It feels like she’s in my butt! OH GOD…”

“Evie?” Sam watched as Jake squeezed her ankle. “Are you feeling the urge to push?”

She let out her breath in short puffs, and the men both clearly knew her answer to Jake’s question. Not only had she felt the urge to push, she’d started doing it. Sam slipped in behind her, his back resting against the sofa while her back rested against him.

“You are so fucking strong. I love you.”

“I…love you…too.” Evie’s head lulled onto his shoulder before he felt her entire body go rigid. “Jake. The. Baby…”

“Okay, Evie, I’m going to lift your dress and have a look.” Sam helped gather the fabric and rolled it up over her belly.

“T-Take it off me….please,” she groaned. Sam wrenched the fabric from under her and lifted it up over her head.

“They are the most precious thing in this world to me, Jake. You make sure they’re both fine,” he growled as Evie let out another strained moan.

“Your girls are in good hands, Sam. I promise. Evie, you’re doing such a great job. I can see the baby’s head. Whenever you feel the urge again to push, I want you to listen to your body and give it a go. Okay?”

“N-Now. I feel her coming NOW…” He felt her body shake as she curled in on herself.

“Jake! She’s shaking!”

“Totally normal part of the process, Dad. Good Evie, you’re doing so good.”

His heart was going to beat out of his chest. How the fuck he hadn’t been shocked by his implant was a goddamnmystery, because nothing felt right about the way his heart was jack hammering the shit out of his rib cage.

“Everything okay, Sam?” Jake’s eyes bounced up to him and Evie’s head swiveled, panic beyond her pain reflecting back at him.

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