Page 35 of Rescued By the SEAL

“Are you asking me if I have cold feet?” I try to make a joke through gritted teeth. “Because the answer is no.”

“I’m asking you if you’re in any pain.” Okay, the joke didn’t go down well. He seems really worried about me, and in a sweet way. “Because you aren’t even fully standing up straight right now. Is something bothering you? I can help.”

“Just… help me get to Landon,” I bite back as I attempt to straighten my spine. “That’s all I need you to do.”

To his credit, Dad clamps his lips together and does exactly what I ask of him, but I can sense a lot of hesitation in him regardless. He’s doing his best not to fuss in his normal overprotective way, but it isn’t easy for him. I’m not going to focus on that, though. I have my eyes fixed on Landon, my eyes on the prize, and I need to get to him.

It’s going to be fine,I tell myself, pretty non-convincingly.Everything is going to be alright. Don’t worry.

It’s such a relief when I hit the end of the aisle and I hold onto Landon’s hands that I allow myself to relax at long last. I’vemade it to my goal, so now I can let my body calm down. The panic can subside and my wedding can begin at long last.

“Oh, no.” But just as everything is about to kick off, my body changes all over again. I stare at Landon in horror, who is silently begging me to explain what’s going on. Why does this have to happen now? At the worst time possible! Just as I’ve been feeling like the luckiest woman alive, everything shifts and changes once more. “It’s my waters. They’ve broken.”

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EPILOGUE - LANDON

“It’s my waters.” Heather grabs onto my hands so tightly that I feel them about to explode. “They’ve broken.”

I can’t breathe, I’m in such shock. Those words have tilted and twisted everything around in so many ways. I’ve been expecting this moment, waiting for it for what feels like forever, but now that it’s here, I’m stunned to the core. Everything is a blur. I barely know what’s going on. Thank God I have so many strong guys with me to take control of the situation when it feels like the world is spinning underneath me. I don’t know what I would do without them. I thought that we would be okay today. We were convinced that our wedding day would be fine, untouched by the babies because they aren’t quite due yet…

But it seems that everyone who warned us that it would be too close were right. Our babies are on the way.

“You got this.” Much to my surprise, it’s Officer Buchan who offers me the most support. “I believe in you. In both of you.”

I carry those words with me as Max piles us into the car and starts driving. I’ll take them in my heart to help me. I know Imight not be the one who is about to have my body go through hell, but I need that support so I can care for my wife… or the woman who was about to become my wife, anyway. Now, I guess we’ll have to think about all of that again at some point…

“You’re going to do amazingly,” I whisper to Heather as the car speeds along. “I’m here for you. We all are.”

“My wedding dress,” she howls. “It’s going to be ruined. Oh, my goodness, I’m giving birth in my wedding dress.”

It’s something we will laugh about at some point, I’m sure of it, but this isn’t the moment. Right now, it’s my job to continually remind her that nothing matters but her and the babies. Nothing is more important than getting through the next few hours. I don’t know if I’m getting through to her. I think the pain has Heather right now, but I’ll keep trying my best.

“You’re going to do this, Heather Buchan. You are going to make the best babies ever and then go on to be the most incredible mother too.” Uh-oh, I didn’t mean to get all choked up and emotional but I am. “I love you… I love you so much.”

She says nothing back but leans on me, just like I’ve always wanted her to. Finally, I’m the man she can always trust.

Somehow, thanks to everyone else, we make it to the hospital in time and she’s in the safe hands of medical professionals as things really start to happen. This might not exactly be the wedding day that we had planned, but it’s going to be crazy memorable, regardless. Our babies are coming into the world and everything is going to change. I can’t wait.

“A boy and a girl.” Heather and I never found out the genders of our babies to make it a surprise. I predicted two girls. She guessed boys. We were both right and wrong in equal measure. “Isn’t this amazing? Wow. What names shall we choose?”

Names are something else we never quite agreed on, but that was because we didn’t know who we were having. Now, looking at our children, I can see that no names we chose beforehand would have worked, anyway. We need to see them first.

“I was thinking of Veronica for our baby girl,” Heather tells me with a tearful smile. “After my mother. What do you think? Since I’ve always struggled to find any kind of connection with her, I thought that this could be a good step.”

Instantly, I lean down and kiss her on the head. “I love that idea. And the name Veronica is a beautiful one.”

“I’ll have to check with my father first because I don’t want to destroy him all over again… Can you call him?”

“Actually.” I chuckle. “He’s in the waiting room. Everyone from the wedding is. They all wanted to be here for you. We might not have had a big wedding, but we’ve pretty much taken over the hospital. It’s crazy. Should I get him?”

“Is Derek here?” There’s a playful twinkle in her eye. “Because we could still get married today if you want to. It would just be here in this room rather than at our beautiful ceremony. But I’m okay with that, if you are. Why not make this day everything?”

I’m stunned, but in a really good way. “Oh, my God, I would love that. Should I go and get everyone now?”

“Not quite yet.” She rests her hand on mine. “Our baby boy needs a name too. Do you have any ideas? Since I’m naming our girl after my mother, Bill could be a nice name for our boy… if you want to call him that, of course?”

“What about William?” Sort of a memoriam to my father, but also something new. It’s also a name that I’ve loved over time but haven’t brought up until now because I wasn’t sure it was right. But now I’m convinced otherwise. “William Max.”

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