Page 77 of Jacked and Jaded

“Love you, too.”

Jackson disconnected the call and looked up, everyone was already up and moving toward the door. His dad was grinning wide. He’d been excited about being a grandpa again since he’d first heard the news. He clapped him on the shoulder. “Come on, son. You’ve got a wife and baby waiting on you.” They all filed out the door, heading for their bikes. He heard his dad calling his mom, telling her to head to the hospital, it was time to meet the grandbaby.

Calliope and Jackson had deliberately not told anyone the sex of the baby, thinking it would be fun to find out when it got here. Now, he was about to find out if Ryker was going to have a baby brother or a baby sister.

He and his brothers made it to the hospital in record time. He parked his bike in a no parking zone and hopped off. “Hey! Jackson, keys!” Trick caught the keys as they sailed through the air. His brother would move his bike for him so it didn’t get towed. He appreciated it. It allowed him to hurry inside.

He rushed through the automatic doors and searched for the check-in desk. Finding it, he quickly worked his way across the room, dodging running kids and people in wheelchairs. “Hi, can you tell me where Calliope West was taken? I’m her husband and she’s in labor.”

The short, round woman behind the counter had a friendly smile and spoke in calming tones. He was sure she’d had to talk many, many people off the ledge. “Yes. Hold on just a moment and I’ll see where she’s at.” She searched through her computer for the information. “Here we go. She’s up on the maternity ward. Take the elevator to the second floor and someone will help you from there.”

The rest of his club and his mom met him at the elevator and followed him up to the second floor. He again stopped at another desk to find out where they’d taken Calliope. “I’m looking for Calliope West. She’s in labor and I’m her husband.”

This time the woman behind the desk was a skinny, young thing, whose eyes shot wide at seeing him and the large group of bikers behind him. Her mouth hung open and she appeared to be frozen in place.

“Excuse me, dear,” his mom stepped up and got her attention. “My son needs to be with his wife. She’s in labor. Can you tell us where she’s at?”

The young girl seemed to shake herself out of her initial shock and checked the computer. “Yes. She’s in room 233, but he’s the only one who can go in there. There’s a waiting room about halfway down the hall on your left for the rest of you.”

“Thank you.” Jackson hurried down the hall, checking door numbers as he went. He vaguely registered everyone peeling off and going into the waiting room.

Entering Calliope’s room, he noted Zoey was still with her, helping her work through a contraction. There was a nurse taking vitals and checking monitors. Her head came up and she spotted him. “I’m guessing you’re Dad?”

“Yes. Jackson.” He held out his hand in greeting. “How’s she doing?”

“She’s doing fine.” She raised Calliope’s gown and fastened something to her stomach. He remembered them doing the same thing with Zoey. They did this to keep an eye on the baby’s heart rate and measure contractions. As soon as it was hooked up, he could hear the wonderful sounds of his baby’s heartbeat. He smiled and watched as Calliope’s face filled with awe. She bit into her bottom lip and tears filled her eyes.

The nurse finished what she was doing then left the room, leaving Calliope, Jackson and Zoey.

“Well, I think I’m going to head out to the waiting room. You and Jackson have this.” She leaned down and kissed the top of Calliope’s head. “It won’t be long. The nurse said her labor is progressing quickly.” She squeezed Jackson’s hand and started to go.

He stopped her by tugging on her hand. “Thank you for getting her here.”

“Not a problem at all.” She shrugged her shoulders and beamed. “I can’t wait to see what you have!” She gave a little wave and went out the door.

“Oh my God, Jackson, this is it! Our baby’s almost here!”

He pulled a chair closer to the bed and took her hand, squeezing it. “Yeah. Hard to believe.” He cupped her cheek. “How are you doing? Holding up okay?”

“So far, so good. They asked if I wanted an epidural and I said hell yes. Someone’s supposed to do that in a little bit. I hope they don’t wait too long.”

No sooner had she said it, than someone came in to do the epidural. “Hi, my name is Sam and I’m going to give you your epidural.” He checked his chart. “Can I check your ID band?”

He read it, then double-checked his computer screen. “Okay. I need you to sit on the side of the bed and bend over your belly as far as you can.”

Jackson helped her sit up and made sure to keep her bottom half covered at all times. He didn’t want the man to see Calliope’s goodies, as she liked to call them, trying to spare her any embarrassment. He needn’t have worried. The man was a complete professional. He had her hooked up and ready to receive the pain medication in no time at all. “Now I need you to lie back down slowly and I’ll make sure your lines don’t get tangled or get dislodged.”

The man, satisfied with his work, wished them good luck and left them alone.

Jackson watched as a contraction took her over. Her stomach tightened and lines around her mouth formed. She breathed through it, then relaxed back on her pillow. “How was that one? Strong?”

“Getting stronger, but the epidural helped a lot.” She looked him in the eye and smiled. “Have I ever told you how happy I am that you finally got your head out of your ass and decided you couldn’t live without me?”

Jackson threw his head back and laughed. “Only every other day since you got pregnant.”

“Oh. Here comes another one.” She clenched her jaws. “I feel like a need to push.”

“What? You feel like you need to push?” Jackson sat up in his chair and gained his feet. “I don’t think you’re supposed to do that yet.” Yes, he sounded close to panic, so sue him. He moved to where he could peek under the sheet. “Oh shit!”

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