Page 76 of In Her Shadow

“Are you sure?” The clerk asks, looking over his desk at the mess that’s on the carpet.

“I want us to be married when she gets here; just tell us what we need to do.” Eloise looks determined as the clerk hands her the pen and tells her where to sign. I wait until she’s done and quickly sign myself. Then flap my arms, trying to speed up Mary-Ann when she starts blowing on the page to dry the ink before passing it to my uncle.

“Here comes another.” Eloise grips hold of my arm, screwing up her face and tensing her body when she gets another pain. I look at the clerk desperately, and he nods his head in understanding.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may leave and get to the hospital.” He moves straight to the door to open it for us

“Stefan, there’s a bag in our room, next to the wardrobe. You need to run home, grab it, and bring it to the hospital,” I tell him, leading her out the door with my arm around her waist.

“I’m on it,” he assures me, looking serious about his task. “Oh, and congratulations, Mrs. Ashcroft." He shocks us both when he kisses Eloise on the cheek and dashes out the door, almost knocking into a woman on his way out.

“And I’ll let everyone at the office know of the imminent arrival,” Mary-Ann calls after us as I start helping Eloise down the stairs toward my car.

“It’s okay, everything's going to be okay,” I keep assuring her, as I open the door and help lower her into the seat.

“I know it is…” She smiles up at me, looking way calmer than I thought she would. “How can it not be? You're here.”

ELOISE

“You're such a fucking idiot. Itoldyou to take the bridge!” I scream at him as my nails dig into his thigh.

“Baby, the bridge is always busy this time of day. I promise this is the fastest route to the hospital.” He strokes my stomach as if it’s supposed to help, while I try to stay calm. The contractions have gotten worse and closer together; they’re so intense they’re taking my breath away.

“Just breathe. In through your nose, out through your mouth.” He shows me an example, and I lean forward and clutch my stomach when another contraction makes it tighten.

“These are coming real fast.” He looks at me, panicked.

“Thanks for informing me of that, Ren.” I hiss back through my teeth as I try to breathe through it. Each one is more painful than the last, and I think that's a sign that we don’t have much time.

“How far are we from the hospital?” I rest my head back on the seat, trying to remember those breathing techniques before I get struck with another contraction.

“Only ten minutes, but with this traffic…” Ren slams his hand on the horn, but it just sets off a chorus of others surrounding us.

“There must be an accident or a road closure up ahead. But don’t panic. First babies take their time, you're probably only a few centimeters dilated.” He tries to sound convincing, and it makes me want to punch him.

“I don’t think she wants to wait, Ren.” I grip hold of his shirt and cry out when another pain doubles me over.

“Okay, okay, listen to me. You have to stay calm.” I can see him looking for a solution.

“Ren, I need drugs, and I’m pretty sure I need to push.”

“What!? No! Don’t do that.” Now he really does look panicked.

“I don’t think it’s something I get to control.” I grit back at him as the pressure between my legs starts to become unbearable.

“I’m gonna have this baby in the car.” I feel as if I’m going to hyperventilate.

“No, you're not,” he promises, scrubbing his hand over his face.

“You just have to keep her in there a little while longer for me.”

“Tell that to my uterus,” I groan, blowing out heavily when I feel another contraction coming. The cars around us aren’t moving, and when I see a sudden relief on Ren’s face, I feel a tiny bit of hope.

“It’s okay, baby, I got us covered.” He shocks me when he gets out of the driver's seat and rushes around the hood.

“Ren, I don’t think I can walk, I feel like the head’s right there.”

“You don’t have to walk, I’m gonna carry you; the building’s just down the street,” he assures me, unclipping my belt and lifting me up into his arms as if I'm weightless.

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