Page 2 of Jake and Conner
1
Jake
The snow had started early. Mid-October and all of Oceanport was buried under inches of the cold white stuff overnight. It didn't stick around for long, but long enough to melt, freeze and turn the roads all over town into a public health hazard. I knew because I was extremely busy at work the next day and the ambulance I rode in seemed to nearly slip on the ice enough times that I pictured myself ending up with a broken bone or two before the end of my shift. But we didn't have time to worry about our own health when there were so many emergencies to rush to. Nobody had really been prepared for the early cold spell. People thought they still had time to get the tires on their cars changed.
I didn't blame them, I just tended to their injuries where I could.
When I finally got home that night, I felt wired. Bone tired and wide awake at the same time. It was a weird feeling, but one I was getting more and more used to the longer I worked this job.
And I knew exactly what was going to help me wind down and get some shut-eye.
Before I even stepped into my house, I turned right and walked over to my neighbor's place. I wasn't sure exactly what time it was. 9pm? 10? In any case, I saw a light in the window and I knew Aaron would be waiting for me to come over and collect Bailey. Aside from being a great friend, Aaron was a dog-trainer and he took excellent care of Bailey while I was at work. I was lucky, really. Knowing that Bailey was in good hands let me focus on my work much more effectively.
I could have left her in Aaron's care for the night, but whenever I came home, there was nothing I looked forward to more than the sloppy embrace of my most loyal friend.
I knocked on the door and was greeted by my dog's bark before the door was even opened. A smile formed on my lips. Bailey was such a good girl. She knew her daddy was coming for her.
Bailey barked for quite a while though, and then suddenly Aaron ripped the door open. When he did, there was a panicked look in his eyes. For a second or two, I almost thought I was back at work, responding to an emergency call. "Where's the fire?" I asked, even as I knelt down to pet my dog, who was too happy to see me to care about anything else. "Good girl," I whispered into her ear even as I kept one eye on Aaron.
"It's the baby," he said in an incredulous tone of voice, as if he couldn't believe that anything happening right now was actually happening.
"Laurence is having the baby?" I felt my eyes widened. That was... well, nottotallyunexpected, considering Aaron's mate was nine months pregnant, but still. Did the baby have to pickthisnight to be born? "How's he doing?" I asked, standing straight.
"He's... I don't know." Aaron glanced back over his shoulder. "I wanna take him to the hospital but we have to wait for my brother to get here to take care of the twins."
As if summoned, one of the twins appeared by Aaron's side. "I'm going to be a big brother," he told me proudly. When he grinned at me, one of his teeth was missing. I reached out to ruffle his hair.
"That's a very important job," I told him, remembering that I'd been about the same age when my little sister was born. What a chaotic day that had been. My dad and I got stuck in traffic on the way to the hospital. Not that Aaron and Laurence would be having a much easier time getting to the hospital in the weather we were having. The snow had stopped, but there was still ice on the roads, and it was dark.
And Aaron didn't look like he was in the best state of mind to be driving.
"When's your brother getting here?" I asked.
"I called a couple of minutes ago. He should be here any second now."
I nodded. That was good. I walked past Aaron and his son and farther into the house, Bailey following close on my heel. "Where's Laurence?"
"In the living room."
Nodding again, I turned into the room on my left and found Laurence, sitting on the edge of the couch, face red and panting. He didn't look like someone who'd only just started labor. "Hey, Laurence," I said, trying to get his attention.
He looked up. "Oh, hi, Jake." One of his hands rested on his belly and I noticed a slight tremor go through it.
"When did the contractions begin?" I asked. In the background, I heard a car turn into the driveway. Aaron's brother? I hoped it was. I'd seen enough to know how quickly things could go south when you couldn't get to a hospital on time and you weren't prepared for a home birth.
"Not long ago," Laurence said, voice strained. "But the twins were quick too."
That wasn't good, but I didn't let my face reflect my feelings. No reason to add to Laurence's misery or to make Aaron panic any more. "What do you say I drive you and Aaron to the hospital?" I suggested. "I think Aaron's brother is here now to take care of the twins." Their voices were coming from the direction of the door now.
"You would do that? Aren't you tired?"
"I'm fine." Iwastired, but Aaron and Laurence were my friends and I wanted them to be safe, and anyway I was probably better equipped to drive to the hospital than Aaron was, and if thingsdidgo wrong... Well, it was good to have a paramedic in the car. Laurence's baby wouldn't be the first birth I assisted, although I hoped it wouldn't come to that. Being born in a hospital was always better than being born in a car.
Especially if the kid was breech.
Or got the umbilical cord wrapped around his head.
Or needed to get his lungs cleared.
