Page 19 of Deadly Rescue
Sophie laughed. “Kickass might be pushing it, but we can hope.”
Leo returned and paused in the doorway, a question on his face at seeing Celina still there.
“Do whatever you need to do, doc, but Celina stays,” Sophie informed him, tugging up the hem of her long maternity dress. “I got over the whole shyness factor a long time ago.”
Celina loosened the sheet from the end of the bed and used it to drape the lower portion of Sophie’s body while Leo jury-rigged his phone to give him some light. He must have found a pair of rubber gloves in the first aid kit because he snapped them on and knelt in front of the bed.
“Here we go.”
Sophie bit her lower lip and turned her face toward Celina. She stiffened, the telltale movement a sign that Leo had begun to check her cervix. “God, I hate this part.”
Celina chuckled, remembering all too clearly how uncomfortable it was.
Finally finished, Leo stood and pulled the sheet down. The seriousness of his face didn’t bode well, and Celina swallowed. “Sophie, you’re dilated to seven centimeters. I was hoping we’d have more time, but at the rate you’re going, these babies are coming fast. You mentioned you’ve had back pain—how long has that been going on?”
“Since yesterday afternoon.” Sophie frowned, thinking back. “Or maybe it was yesterday morning? I’m not sure. It’s been there for a while, just kind of comes and goes. I’ve also had a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions since about the seventh month, but our doctor said that was normal since the babies are both good sized.”
“Normal sure, but given the back pain with the contractions, it’s quite possible you’ve been in labor since yesterday and didn’t realize it.”
Anxiety twisted her stomach. Celina had experienced terrible back pain in the days that led up to Via’s birth. “But what about her water?” She glanced at Sophie. “It hasn’t it broke, has it?”
Suddenly, the lights came on. Cooper popped his head in. “We’ve got juice! I’ll check the elevators, you guys get Sophie ready to move.”
Sophie made a small noise in the back of her throat, her face surprised, and Leo held up a hand. “Not a good idea.”
He was looking down at the sheet.
“Why?” Cooper asked.
Sophie swore again. “Because my water just broke and…damn it!”
“What do you need?” Celina asked as Polly and Cooper came back in the room.
“More towels, for starters.” Removing his gloves and setting them carefully aside, Leo opened the first aid kit and began pulling out items, creating a small pile.
“See, I knew you’d need towels,” Polly exclaimed. She disappeared into the bathroom.
“What else?” Cooper asked.
“Lamps,” Leo answered quickly. “We need as many lamps that you can find.”
“Floor or desk?”
“Both. We’re going to use the heat from the lamps as an incubator to keep the babies warm until we can get them to the hospital.”
A brilliant idea, and not something Celina would have thought of. She was suddenly insanely thankful for Polly’s crush on the doctor. If not for Leo, they would be in serious trouble right now.
As another contraction hit, Celina stayed by Sophie’s side and helped her breathe through the pain while Polly and Cooper made quick work of gathering as many lamps they could find, including a decorative one from the hallway table near the elevators. When they were done, they had two table lamps, another floor lamp, and a small desk lamp.
“It’s not going to be enough, is it?” Cooper asked, eyeing their paltry pile.
Leo grimaced. “We can make it work, but if you could find a few more floor lamps we would be sitting a lot better.”
“Let’s knock on the other rooms and see if we can round up a few more. Surely we aren’t the only ones still on this floor,” Polly suggested.
“I doubt anyone’s left, but I don’t think the hotel will get their panties in a bunch over a few broken door hinges.” He flashed Celina a boyish grin as he took his gun from its holster and checked the rounds. She laughed, shaking her head. Of course he would be willing to bust down a door or two. When he wasn’t being dad of the year, he lived and breathed danger.
“Be careful,” she called after them. Not that she was truly worried. Cooper would see that they got everything they needed. Nelson was a close friend, there was no way he was about to let anything happen to Sophie and the babies.
