Written In the Stars

Chapter 19

Chapter 19

"How are you doing?" I say to Steffy as I walk her into the hospital.

She tightens up as another contraction runs through her body.

"Just breathe Steffy. It's going to be okay. You are not alone. I won't leave you. I promise." I comfort her. I caress her hair before giving her a small kiss on the side of her forehead.

"It hurts a lot," she cries.

"Everything is going to be fine Steffy, I promise."

A nurse from Labor and Delivery comes a few minutes later to take Steffy back to the birthing room.

"Liam, don't leave me please, I'm scared."

"I'll be right out here. The nurse will come get me as soon as you are all set up. Don't worry."

I take my phone out of my pocket to make two phones, one to Amelia, and ask her to stay with Kelly while we are at the hospital, and one to Finn.

"Liam," Finn says monotone, when he answers the phone. "What do you want?" he asks abruptly, practically cutting me off.

"It's Steffy," I reply. "I'm at the hospital with her and we are pretty sure she's gone into labor."

*

The nurses bring me into Steffy's room a few minutes later.

"Oh Liam," she cries as she reaches out for my hand.

I cup her hand in mine. "It's okay Steffy. You are a rock star. You got this," I encourage.

The nurse looks over to me, "Your wife is doing extremely well. Everything is progressing nicely."

"We aren't married," I say quickly.

The nurse raises her eyebrows to me and then looks over at Steffy. "Not married, huh?"

"No, we aren't," I confirm.

She chuckles slightly. "You sure could've fooled me," she replied while fixing Steffy's IV line.

"What took you so long to get in here?" Steffy asks.

"I had to make a couple phone calls. I had to call Amelia and ask her to stay with Kelly. I also called Finn."

Steffy's eyes soften. "You called Finn?"

"Yes," I confirm. "He should be here."

"But Liam, why would you do that?"

"It's the right thing to do, Steffy. Besides, he's still up at that retreat upstate, I don't know if he's going to make it here before you deliver. It all depends on how your labor progresses.

Steffy experiences another sharp contraction. She squeezes my hand tightly lightly while trying to breathe.

Dr. Philips comes in a few minutes later.

"Steffy, talk to me, how do you feel? What's going on?"

"It hurts. This feels very different from when I was pregnant with Kelly. I'm nervous. What's going on?"

"Yeah, Dr. Philips, is Steffy okay, she seems to be in a lot of pain."

"I won't know for sure until I do an exam, but I am sure everything is okay. Steffy has had a great pregnancy and has taken care of herself. There have been no issues."