Page 77 of Love is a Drum Beat
Doctor Lawrence walked into the room and put a hand on her son’s now dry shoulder. Dax and Ben went to the gift shop, looking for dry clothes for Dax. He’d ended up finding a pair of green sweatpants with the hospital’s logo on them and a T-shirt that read “It’s a boy.”
She’d always known Dax was a bit of a nerd, but this look... She couldn’t hold in her laughter.
“It’s all they had.” He crossed his arms, meeting his mother’s gaze.
Doctor Lawrence kept smiling. Why was she smiling when Jo had been here for ten hours with no baby appearance? Everyone was exhausted, but she was the only one who showed it.
“Stop smiling.” She scowled.
Doctor Lawrence didn’t listen to her. “Well, who is ready to have a baby?”
“What?” It was the moment she’d waited all these hours for. “No. No, no, no. I’m not ready to push this alien out of anywhere. Give me another epidural. No, give me three. Why don’t you put me to sleep? Can’t you get this baby out of me while I’m unconscious?”
“Jo.” Again with the smiling. “Trust me on this. You won’t want to miss the birth of your son.”
She was right, of course. Jo was just being a big old baby. Ironic under the circumstances. “Is it still just Ben out there?”
Dax leaned forward, his elbows on the bed. “He left, but he’ll be back.”
“He left?” No. That wasn’t right. These rock stars she’d become so dependent on had to be here. “Drew isn’t here yet?”
“He’s driving, so he’ll be here soon.”
“Okay. Okay.” And Noah was on his way.
But so was this baby. Two nurses entered the room. Jo couldn’t remember their names, but she struggled to recall anything when they rolled equipment into the room. “What’s all that for?”
Doctor Lawrence pointed to one of the nurses. “Because of your condition, we need to have extra precautions in case the baby struggles to thrive outside your womb. They’re from the NICU.”
Jo’s lungs squeezed for air as she hyperventilated. NICU. Failure to thrive. “Is my baby in danger?”
Was she already a bad mom letting something happen to the baby? Why couldn’t she just stay in bed like she was told for the last month?
Doctor Lawrence sent her a soft smile. “I can see the gears working in your head. You do not have control over this, and you do not have fault.”
“I need…” She sucked in a breath. “Dax, squeeze my hands so hard it hurts.”
“Why?” He didn’t want to hurt her, she could tell.
“Just do it!”
He took her hand and squeezed, watching her face for a reaction. Her breathing evened out, and she looked to the ceiling. “Okay, Doc. Now, I’m ready.”
“Don’t be impatient, Jo. Active labor can take a while.”
There was a noise at the door, an “oh my gosh” Jo recognized without turning to look at him. “Dax, get Drew out of this room right this minute!”
24
Dax
Dax rose and walked into the hall, dragging Drew with him and shutting the door. “I only have a few minutes before I need to get back in there.”
Drew followed him down the hall to the waiting area. “So, this is happening?”
“Looks that way.”
Dark circles ringed around Drew’s eyes, and he let out a tired sigh as he dropped into a chair.
