You Again

Chapter 13

~Theo~

I've never experienced a miracle before, but I am certainly living through one right now.

These past nine months have been hard. Hard on our relationship because we had only just started getting along. Hard on our mentality because of pregnancy hormones, because I'm never home to take care of my girls and unborn son. Hard on us physically because Margot is struggling with the added weight. She can barely walk up the stairs. She started sleeping in the guest bedroom down stairs, of course I followed.

But this is still a miracle. It's a miracle because we get along. It's a miracle because I'd never thought I'd make it this far, not after my spirits were crushed last time. It's a miracle because I'm going to witness my kid's birth, because I'm going to be there for the first five months of his life... and the rest of it too.

He was due any minute now and I was more than terrified.

I was on edge. Margot was a bomb waiting to happen. One wrong step and she's gone, along with my children. One loud, unusual noise and our son is on his way.

Like that fork clanging to the floor.

I halt what I'm doing and listen. Margot said she would call me when her water broke. When no shouting or ringing happens, I breath out a sigh of relief. Must've been Claire.

But not too shortly after the sound of shattering glass breaks the silence.

"Theo!"

Shit. It's happening. It's actually happening.

The first thing I did, while simultaneously rushing to the kitchen, was call my brother. I picked up our bag filled with the necessary supplies and rushed it out to the car.

I didn't even let him speak when he answered. "Come take care of your niece." I demanded, closing the trunk.

"Oh my god!" A high pitched voice squealed back. Sarah. "It's baby time!"

I winced, pulling the phone away from my ear to lower the volume. "Yes. Get your asses over here."

I hung up the phone. Margot and Sarah could get mad at me for swearing later.

I turned to head back inside the house when Margot appeared in the doorway looking disdainfully at the steps before her, hand rubbing her stomach gently. Without thinking I ran up the stairs, scooped her up in my arms and carried her down, just like I had been these past few months. I sat her in the passenger seat and made my way to the drivers side.

"What are you doing?" She whispered. "I can still drive you know."

My heart was thumping erratically in my chest, I could hear it in my own ears. My hands were frozen still, stuck in the past. "I'm not going to let you drive while having contractions."

"You haven't driven in 13 years. You don't even have your license." She responded softly. How she was so worried about me while practically in labor was beyond me.

I shut my eyes tight. Now is not the time to choke up. Get your ass together and drive.

"Hey," She said, placing a hand on top of mine, "I trust you. We're going to be okay. Just stay calm, alright. We have enough time to get there. You don't need to rush. We're going to be okay."

The last time I sat in the drivers seat of a car I lost my father forever.

Focus.

I put the car in drive, the memories flooding back to me in tidal waves. Break, signal, stop, mirrors, go, left... All the while, Margot's groans of pain kept me grounded.

I waited anxiously at a red light. Were we going to make it?

"Theo..." Margot breathed to my right. Her attention was faced out the window, at a couple on the side of the street desperately trying and failing to hail a cab. "We have to help them."

I bit my lip, but the look in her eyes left no room for negotiation. The light turned green, but I didn't go.

"Need a ride?" I called out Margot's now open window. The couple looked up in shock, but gave it no thought as they made their way into the back seat.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you.." The woman heaved. As soon as they were buckled in I took off, ignoring the pissed off drivers behind me. I tuned out their conversation, something of gratitude and 'what a small world.'

"...Do you have a name for your son." The woman asked, my ears picking up the change of curiosity in her voice. Margot shot me a glance, to which I replied.

"Luca, Luca Ricardo Santiago." 

The quiet gasp did not go unheard, but I chose to ignore it, my mind already reeling with memories of my father. Ricardo Jaques Santiago.

Sooner than I realized we pulled up to the hospital, the four of us rushing into the ER calling for nurses. We wished eachother good luck and then were off to our separate rooms.

Everything happened in a blur. One moment I was forced into scrubs, the next we were waiting for Margot to be dialated enough, the next the word push was ringing in my ear, and then it was calm.

Margot had an exhausted smile on her face as she watched me hold our son for the first time, the morning light peaking through the blinds. We had been here all night.

His little fingers wrapped around mine as his green eyes peered up at me. I had never seen someone so delicate and small.

I had never been more proud.