Page 164 of All The Things: The Last Thing He Needs Omnibus

Jesus. Ben felt like he’d stumbled into a horror movie.

Tina got unnaturally still, and Ben knew she was gritting her teeth through another contraction. Before it was over, she let out a scream and then yelled, “Brian, you son of a whore! I hope your dick gets caught in a blender!”

The doctor chuckled through his surgical mask. Under any other circumstances, Ben would’ve laughed too. He’d never heard Tina swear before, or even say an unkind word. She sounded possessed.

As Tina panted and did her breathing exercises, Ben leaned close to her and said, “Hey, when we’re all done here, I’ll call a couple friends and see if we can make that happen, okay?” He got a weak laugh from Tina for that.

“Make that offer again tomorrow.” Her words were strangled around another groan. Her whole body was shaking—exhaustion or adrenaline, Ben could only guess. Probably a little of both.

Mercifully, the doctor said, “Okay, Tina, this is our last shot here. Push.”

Gavin rubbed her back and whispered encouragement to Tina. Ben barely noticed. In his head he simply thought, Please God, let them get through this. Give us this one, okay? Please, God. The closest thing to a prayer in over twenty years, and Ben felt it deep in his bones. He closed his eyes tight, as if God would hear him better. Maybe he even held his breath too.

The doctor’s voice cut through Ben’s silent begging. “Okay, good girl. One more.”

Ben finally looked at Gavin. His eyes were red, tears streaming down his face. Ben nodded but didn’t say anything as Tina gave one last push and then collapsed on the bed.

“It’s a boy,” the doctor announced into the silence. Ben looked down. Blood and Christ only knew what soaked the bedding, and in the doctor’s arms was a tiny, slick bundle. The baby’s hands were balled up into fists, but he wasn’t making a sound. It felt like Ben’s heart stopped as he watched the nurse suction fluid out of the baby’s mouth and nose, wipe the muck from his face.

Hell was probably sitting in a delivery room waiting for a baby to cry. Seconds felt like years. And then, finally, there it was. A high-pitched, strangled cry, and Tina let out another sob, this time probably from relief.

She shifted on the bed. “Can I hold him?”

The nurse came around to help Tina move onto her back again. “Of course you can. You did good, Momma.”

Ben had imagined himself fleeing for the nearest exit, but now he thought it would take dynamite to get him to move. He watched the doctor pass the baby to Tina. The cord was still attached, two clamps hanging off it. “Who wants to cut the cord?”

Shockingly, Ben kind of wanted to. He thought Gavin probably did too, but Gavin said, “I think Teeny should do it.” He sniffled as more tears slipped down his nose before he leaned over and kissed his sister on the forehead.

The doctor passed her a small pair of scissors, and Tina took them with a shaky hand. “I guess I have to do everything around here.” She’d been through the wringer, looked like she’d been run over by a team of horses, but she still managed to joke. Who knew an eighteen-year-old little girl with big blue eyes and a soft heart would turn out to be one of the toughest people Ben would ever know?

Chapter Thirty-Six

Gavin

Gavin pressed his head against Ben’s chest, standing in the hallway outside Tina’s door. They’d stayed for a few minutes after the baby was born, but when the doctor started to stitch Tina up, that was their cue to leave. “That was intense,” Gavin whispered as Ben tightened his arms around him.

“Yeah it was.” Ben laughed softly and kissed Gavin’s hair. “Pretty fucking amazing.”

“Right?” Gavin lifted his head and searched Ben’s face. He looked awestruck, lost for words. “She did good.” He knew she would, but he’d had no idea what it would be like up close and personal. Hearing stories and watching videos didn’t even touch the reality of what Tina had gone through.

Ben let out a deep breath and said, “She blew me away in there.”

“Me too.” Gavin rose up on his tiptoes and kissed Ben, small and quick, just a touch of their lips together. With a laugh, he added, “If we do decide to have kids, we’re adopting one that’s already born. No way am I asking someone to go through that on purpose.”

“Right?” Ben said with a tired-sounding laugh. “Never would I ever.”

He let Ben pull him close again, the two of them leaning against the wall together as strangers rushed by them. A patient shuffled past, breathing hard, one hand on an IV pole and the other on her lower back. Gavin wanted to warn her. He wanted to tell her to just let them knock her out, sleep until the baby was ready to graduate. In the end, he just glanced at Ben again. “Hey,” he whispered. “We’re uncles.”

Ben grinned at him before resting his chin on the top of Gavin’s head. “Again.”

Yeah, true. He was an uncle to Anna’s kids, but they’d already been born by the time he and Ben got together. This felt different. Not that he loved the others any less, but something about being there from the start, maybe even something about sharing some blood with Tina’s baby, just made it feel more… more.

The doctor came out then, and Gavin pulled back. “She doing okay?”

“They’re both fine,” he said, smiling. “You can go back in now.”

Gavin didn’t need to be told twice. He grabbed Ben by the hand and led him back into Tina’s room.

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