Page 27 of Married to a SEAL

“I’ll see if his sister can come over and watch them. Both kids are in summer camp this week. Unfortunately, my nanny has the week off—she’s going to be full-time with us this summer, so this is her vacation. Naturally it happened to be when Patrick deployed, but we never know when that’ll be. It’s not like we could plan around that. I’ll have to wait until Sarah gets to Patrick’s house before I can come see you though. I’m picking up the kids from camp in a little while.”

“All right, if you’re sure she can watch the kids later on. I’m kind of freaking out at the moment.”

“Of course I don’t mind coming to wait with you. And I’m sure the stress of the guys leaving didn’t exactly help. I was a wreck when Patrick came to say goodbye this morning.”

“Sorry, hun. Believe me when I can say that I relate. I’m drinking tons of water, and they’ve got me on an IV drip. Hopefully it’s just a false alarm and this little guy will stay cooking longer.”

“All right, I’ll be there as soon as I can. Call me ASAP if anything changes before I get there.”

Rebecca called Sarah, and a couple of hours later she was finally heading to the hospital. Goodness. It was always something, wasn’t it? Patrick and Evan were deployed, her nanny was out of town, and now her best friend was in labor.

She parked in the garage closest to the maternity ward and hurried inside the building. How ironic that she knew every in and out of the hospital since her first husband had worked here. Their life together seemed like a million years ago now—the accident and everything in the aftermath was pushed to the back of her mind.

It was amazing how Patrick and Logan had changed her life for the better. Only a year ago, she was content to live her life devoted to raising Abby. And now?

She blew out a breath.

Overwhelming was one way to describe it, but she was happier than she’d been in years.

After checking in at the nurses’ station, she rounded the corner to find Alison’s room. Her best friend was lying in a hospital bed, her strawberry-blonde hair pulled up in a top-knot, hospital gown on.

“It’s the latest in fashion,” Alison said with a grin. “Can you believe they made me change out of my scrubs into this?”

“Well, it’d be hard to deliver a baby in pants,” Rebecca said, sinking down into the chair beside her. “How are you doing?”

“The contractions have slowed, which is good. They’ll probably have to keep me overnight hooked up to all these monitors and the IV drip. Good thing I’m not afraid of needles,” she joked, glancing at the IV inserted into her hand.

“And you say I never leave work,” Rebecca teased.

“Ha. I might have to start my maternity leave early if we can stall labor. Even with changing my shifts around, too much time on my feet isn’t good for the baby. I will say it was convenient only having to take the elevator upstairs though. I guess I’ll never be one of those women who give birth on the side of the highway or something.”

“Never say never,” Rebecca quipped. “And I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.”

“Evan’s CO called to check on me.”

“Ryan? That was sweet.”

“Yeah, I think he feels guilty, which is crazy. I mean, Evan’s job is being a Navy SEAL. Deploying to God knows where. He’s just doing what he’s paid to do.”

“I think Ryan knows that Evan would worry about you. The entire team looks out for one another. And Ryan’s just as protective as the rest of them. They’re not around, so he feels like he should step in or something.”

“He’s not stepping foot in the delivery room.”

Rebecca burst into laughter. “I don’t think he’d literally step in, but he’s trying to be supportive. That’s what I’m here for. And besides, doesn’t he have a mission to run or something?”

“Something like that,” Alison agreed. She rubbed her hand over her stomach. “I’m absolutely starving, and they won’t let me eat anything since I’m in labor. It’s so annoying.”

“Sorry, hun. I’m still in the phase of early pregnancy where I’m sipping on tea and eating crackers all day long. At the moment, I’m pretty sure I’ll never want to eat most foods ever again.”

“Just wait, after the first trimester is over, you’ll be starving.”

Rebecca shuddered.

“Sorry. I guess it’s hard to even think about food right now.”

Rebecca pulled her phone from her purse. “That was Patrick’s sister texting me. The kids are both sound asleep, so I can stay here as long as you need.”

Alison groaned. “Thanks, sweetie. Although I’m hoping we can both bust out of this joint sooner rather than later.”

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