Page 231 of Labor of Love

“Neither can Papa,” Josh added. “And Papa needs to meet you soon, because you’re keeping him up all night with all your gymnastics in there.”

“Any questions on the birth?” Dr. Melville asked.

“I know I’ll give birth in leopard form and the babies will be born in their cat forms, right?”

“Yes. Then you’ll shift as soon as you pass the placenta, because the babies will shift into human form shortly thereafter. They’ll remain in human form until puberty, when they’ll begin to shift into their cat forms at will.”

“Those will be the fun years,” I said in a droll voice.

“There are puberty specialists who can help you when that time comes.” Dr. Melville shook their hands. “Congratulations, Daddy and Papa. I’m going out on a limb and saying your due date can really be any time between now and three months from now. With shifters, there’s very little way of knowing. But the pups are big enough to be born safely now, so it really could be any time. Keep an eye out for when your water breaks, if it does, and if you have contractions one every five minutes for an hour straight. Then come to the hospital.”

“Gotcha, Doctor. And thank you!” Josh said.

I shook the doctor’s hand again. “And thanks for all the attention you’ve given Josh.”

“Nonsense. All my patients are important, but I find the shifters to be a little more special.” He gave them another smile and left the room.

It happened, as things so often do, in the middle of the night. One minute, I was sound asleep, dreaming of a thick, rare porterhouse — I had skipped dinner that night, being too tired to eat, and now was dreaming of my favorite meal — when I was rudely shaken awake by Josh.

Shaken being a generous term. Beaten with a hammer would be closer to the truth.

“Char! Char, get up! It’s time.”

“Time for what?”

“Time for the babies to come, why else would I be waking you up in the middle of the night?” Josh’s voice was edged with fear.

I forced myself awake. “It’s okay, baby. I’ve got the go-bag all ready. Let me throw some clothes on and we’ll be on our way.”

“My water broke. The bed is soaked.”

“That’s the least of what you should be thinking about right now. Just concentrate on breathing, and let me get dressed.” I jumped out of bed and quickly threw on a pair of jeans, a t-shirt that may or may not have been clean, and slipped my feet into my sneakers without bothering to put on socks.

“Are you ready, love?”

“Argh.” Josh moaned. “Oh, my god, here comes another one! Argh!”

“Breathe, love, breathe,” I said, trying to sound a lot more reassuring than I felt. Glancing at my phone, I noted the time.

Less than five minutes later, just as he was escorting Josh into the SUV, another one hit.

Oh, that was too close. Wasn’t it? I tried to remember what the doctor had said.

Five minutes apart for one hour.

Had it been an hour since Josh first started feeling the contractions? I had no idea.

I started to feel a bit panicked myself and tried to remain calm for Josh’s sake.

It was a battle I feared I was losing.

As soon as Josh was buckled in, I jumped in the driver’s seat, belted myself in, and revved the engine. “Here we go. Just breathe.”

Josh huffed and blew out the air in a long, slow breath. Then cried out when another one hit.

That hadn’t been five minutes since the last one! Oh, gods… Were the babies not going to wait until they reached the hospital?

I drove like a maniac and got them to the hospital in record time. By then, the contractions were coming almost nonstop.

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