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“Oh! I see.”
Beau headed into the other patient room. He looked at his nurse, struggling against pain in the office chair.
“Oh, boy. I haven’t delivered a baby in a long time.” He offered a quick glance to Aurora, his eyes wide. “Are you sure she’s going to have it right now?”
“Yes,” Aurora said as Cathy screamed again.
“We’d better call 911.”
“Do it—but you may be delivering a baby before they get here. This looks precipitous.”
Though Aurora had done several rotations in Delivery, she hadn’t attended a birth in some time—and this one was looking like it was going to be a doozy.
“No! I don’t want to have it here. I can’t!” Cathy huffed her breath in and out, her doe eyes wide in fear as she looked at Aurora for help. “We have plans.”
“Honey, those plans are about to go up in smoke,” Aurora said. “Where’s your husband?”
“Home.”
“You’d better call him,” Aurora said, and watched as Beau called the emergency services to send an ambulance as soon as possible. Out in the country, nothing was “stat”, or “fast,” as they were miles from everywhere.
“Okay. Okay...” Cathy took a deep breath and leaned back in the chair as the pain obviously eased. She held the phone to her ear. As she looked at Aurora for reassurance another frown crossed her face and she took a deep breath. “Honey? The baby’s coming!”
Aurora took the phone before Cathy crushed it to pieces in her hand. “Your wife is at the clinic and she’s in labor. You’d better get here quickly if you want to see your baby being born.”
Then she hung up. He’d either get there or he wouldn’t. Aurora’s first priority was to see this woman and her baby safe.
“Cathy, we’ve got to get you ready to have this baby.”
“What about the ambulance?” She rose from the chair with Beau and Aurora’s help, leaning heavily on both of them.
“You know as well as I do that it’ll take them half an hour to get here, and you’re going to have this baby long before that.”
Beau ripped off his lab coat and rolled up his sleeves, then scrubbed his hands and arms vigorously at the sink, jumping into the mode necessary to save both his nurse and her baby.
He knew heroes weren’t born. They were made. In situations like this.
“Aurora—good to see you, my friend, but it looks like we’re going to be welcoming a baby in the next few minutes. Are you up to it?”
“Absolutely.” There was nothing, not even the pain in her back, that would interfere with her ability to save a life or two today.
“Great. Let’s get her on the exam table and see what’s going on.”
His jaw was tense, and he didn’t look at Aurora as he scrubbed. When his child had been born his wife had died. That was all she knew. The shock of this unforeseen delivery was obviously stirring that memory. Was he struggling to push it aside? Until now she hadn’t thought of that, and her heart ached for him. Those memories had to be incredibly painful for him, but he was mustering through and doing what was needed in the moment.
“Oh, no. Oh, no.” Cathy bent at the waist and clutched her abdomen, nearly crushing Aurora’s fingers. “Agh!”
“Beau, I don’t think the table is going to work. It’s not designed for this. How about we put some blankets and sterile sheets on the floor and let her squat, like she seems to want to?”
“Okay. Good idea.” Beau grabbed blankets and two sterile packages.
Together she and Beau turned the room into an impromptu delivery suite. This was so over the top of what she’d expected to be doing today, but knowing there were no other options, and that Beau had her back, she had his—she knew they could do it together.
“Do you have a surgical kit around in case we need it?” Chewing her lip for a second, Aurora didn’t want to think about the possibility of having to do an emergency C-section, but planning for the worst and hoping for the best had always worked for her.
“Yes—there.” Beau pointed to another cupboard over the sink. “It’s a general kit. Everything we need should be in it.”
“Breathe, Cathy. Just breathe.” Aurora tried to keep her voice calm and not let the woman know about the anxiety pulsing through her body. “I’m going to reach around you and remove your shoes and leggings.”
“Okay.” Cathy nodded. “It’s easing now.” She took in a few deep breaths, sweat pouring off of her. “Beau, you aren’t going to fire me because I had my baby in your office, are you?”
Beau barked out a laugh and gave her a comforting pat on the shoulder, the light in his eyes not as dark as it had been a few moments ago. “No. Although I do have to say it’s going to go down as one of the most interesting days I’ve ever had.”
“That’s g-o-o-o-o-d!” Another contraction hit, nearly dropping Cathy to her knees.
“Let’s get you down before you fall.” Aurora tucked a hand on Cathy’s waist and eased her to her knees, then sat her back so that Beau could check and see if the baby was crowning.
A door slammed in the front office.
“We have company.”
“Cathy? Cathy! Where are you?” Hurried footsteps got closer to the room.
“We’re in the back, Ron!” Beau yelled toward the door.
“Oh, my God. You are in labor. It wasn’t a joke.” Ron, clearly Cathy’s husband, stood in the doorway, panting from his exertion, his eyes wide as he took in the scene. “I can’t believe it.”
“No jokes today. Wash your hands over there,” Aurora pointed to the sink. “This is going to go fast.”
“She’s definitely crowning,” Beau said after he had a quick look.
“He. It’s a he. I know it.” Cathy began to pant again. “Oh, here he comes! I have to push again—get me up!”
Cathy struggled to a sitting position, then Beau and Ron helped her to her knees. With one hand she held onto her husband, with the other she clutched the edge of the patient table.
“Go with it, Cathy. Wait until you can’t wait any longer and then push.”
“I’m pushing now!” Her statement ended in a scream, a gasp, then another push.
“He’s almost here,” Beau said from his position on the floor nearby. He placed a sterile cloth beneath the baby’s head and supported it. “Pant. I need to check the cord.”
Cathy cast tear-filled eyes at her husband, who looked like he’d been hit by a truck. “Honey? We’re having a baby today!”
“I... I can see that.” He looked down at his wife and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Wasn’t quite what I was expecting, though.”
“Me, either. Oh! Pushing again.”
“Go ahead. One more ought to do it.”
With a great groan, Cathy pushed the vernix-covered baby into Beau’s waiting hands.
“Ron? Can you help me sit her back?” Pain was slicing through Aurora’s back and she couldn’t do it alone.
“Yes.”
Together they eased Cathy into a reclining position, supported by her husband’s chest. Exhausted, Cathy drew in cleansing breaths and closed her eyes.
“We have to do a few things, then you can hold your baby.”
Beau’s voice, choked with emotion, drew her attention. He focused, he did the job, but she could see the pain in his face. Tears pricked Aurora’s eyes at the miracle of birth that had happened so unexpectedly right in front of her, but she shoved them back. Now wasn’t the time to think of the family that she’d wanted and never been able to have. Might never have. Beau was struggling with his own issues and had set them aside. So could she.
“You were right, Cathy. It’s a boy. He’s perfect.”
Beau provided the news, the tension in the room eased, and Aurora was able to take a deep breath, too.
“All parts are there, and exactly where they belong.”
He finished wiping the baby’s face, then Aurora used a suction bulb to clean out his mouth and nose and placed him in his mother’s arms.
“I can’t believe this! We delivered a baby today.” Beau gave a laugh and shook his head, some of the emotion leaving his face and his shoulders relaxing.
“I can’t either,” Cathy said, with tears flowing down her face as she looked at her baby, then leaned into her husband’s neck.
“How did this happen?” Ron asked. “I thought you weren’t due for two more weeks.”
“Well, your son had other plans.”
“I can certainly see that.” He let out a shaky breath and with one trembling finger touched his son’s hand. “I just can’t believe this.” He held out his hand. “I’m shaking. Nothing ever gets to me, but I’m shaking like a leaf.”
“Well, this circumstance is very different than anything else you’ve ever experienced, isn’t it?”
It wasn’t every day that a new dad had to come screeching into the parking lot of his wife’s place of work to see his baby being born.
“You’re right about that.” He blew out a breath and shook his head, letting out a tremulous laugh. “You are definitely right about that.”
The front door opened again, to admit the ambulance crew with their stretcher and equipment.
“Did we miss the party?” A leggy brunette paramedic stuck her head into the room, offering a cheery grin, but her observant dark eyes were looking for anything that was out of place.
“You sure did. It was a doozy, too.” Aurora shook her head, still in shock at the day’s events.
“Aurora...?” the paramedic said, and frowned as if she were trying to figure something out. “Is that really you? I haven’t seen you in years! It’s Missy!”
The woman who had gone to high school with Aurora held her arms out and embraced her.
“Missy—hi! Yeah. It’s me.” She gave a nervous laugh. This was turning into quite a day of friends from her past showing up unexpectedly. “It was a trip I hadn’t really planned. But here I am. It’s great to see you.”
“You, too. Everyone okay?” Missy asked. Those eyes of a trained observer looked around the room again, focusing on the mom and baby.
“I think so—but they’re going to need a trip to the hospital for a full exam.” Beau stripped his gloves off and tossed them on the growing pile of trash.
“You got it. Sirens or no sirens?” Missy gave a smile and a wink.
“No sirens today.” Beau shook his head and gave an amazed laugh. “Wow!”
Cathy reached out to Beau and he stepped forward and clasped her hand. “Beau. I hate to ask this right now, but can I have my maternity leave starting today?”
Everyone laughed at the absurd request.
“Of course you can. It’s not a problem. But I’ll miss you, and I just hope I don’t destroy the place while you’re gone.”
“You won’t. You’ll be fine.”
“Six weeks, right?”
“Yes. I’ll let you know if it needs to be longer.” She cast a loving eye on her husband and her baby as tears filled her eyes. “This has been such an amazing event, I’m not sure I’m going to want to come back.”
“Don’t talk like that.” Beau squeezed her fingers again and shook Ron’s hand. “Just keep me updated and let me know when you’re ready to come back.” He snorted. “If you are.”
“I will. I promise.”
“Ready now?” Missy asked.
“Ready.” Cathy sighed and clutched the baby securely in both arms.
After mother and baby had been packed onto the stretcher and were headed to the hospital Aurora and Beau faced each other, alone for the first time since the event had begun. For a few seconds they stared at each other, unblinking, then Aurora laughed.
The tension-reliever caught her by surprise, and she clasped her hands to her face. “Beau! We delivered a baby!”
“I know—I was here.” A grin split his face and he held his arms wide. “Now that all the excitement is over, let’s have a proper greeting. Come here.”
“I don’t think I can walk after that. My legs are shaking.”
But she had enough strength to close the gap, and Beau met her halfway.
“You held it together during a crisis—the sign of a true professional, right? That’s the most important part.” He closed his long arms around her and squeezed.
CHAPTER TWO (#ulink_7ed3d8c3-4bd0-5e37-bcfa-dbf1c142f655)
THE SURGE OF adrenaline and attraction that pulsed through her was completely unexpected in the embrace of an old friend she hadn’t seen in ten years.
Her heart did a little flip at the sight of his long, sun-bleached blond hair that had a tendency to fall into his eyes, and the strength in that jaw she hadn’t remembered being so masculine. Memories of the past, of her secret crush on him, surged forward, and she hesitated a second, trying to breathe through the onslaught of unanticipated emotions suddenly swirling within her.
Wow. She certainly hadn’t expected this reaction.
Though she’d sworn off men after her recent painful break-up, her hormones obviously hadn’t taken the same oath.
Clearing her throat, she reined in those wandering senses of hers that appreciated a fine-looking man. Now wasn’t the time to be ogling anyone—let alone a good friend—no matter how broad those shoulders were.
