“City or upstate?”

“Upstate,” she answered, her stare leaving his as she looked over his shoulder at the monitor. Damn that line. It hadn’t reached the plateau of agony yet. It wasn’t even close.

“Wood or tile flooring?”

Squeezing his shoulders tighter, Emily brought her angry eyes back to Gavin’s, the breath rushing from her mouth. “Wood. Jesus Christ, wood.”

Gavin’s heart clenched, watching the woman he loved suffer as her body prepared to bring his son into this world. “Pizza or pasta?”

“Neither,” Emily hissed, tossing her head back. “Get the damn nurse, Gavin. No more twenty questions. I need something for this pain right now!”

Gavin shot up, nearly tripping over the bedside table. Before he could make it to the door, it opened. Easy smile in place, a young man in a white doctor’s jacket, who didn’t appear to be old enough to drive, strolled into the room. Behind him was the nurse from earlier armed with a vial of what Gavin assumed to be narcotics. With Emily screaming, Gavin couldn’t help a few thoughts from filtering through his head.

The first: He didn’t want this dude touching Emily. The second: Yeah, he still didn’t want this dude touching Emily. “Are you a student?” Gavin brusquely questioned, his eyes wide.

The young man flashed a grin, his gaze transfixed on a clipboard. He jotted something down and looked at Gavin. “No, I’m not a student. I’m Doctor Martin Beck.”

Gavin didn’t acknowledge the hand the doctor extended. “You’re delivering my son?”

“If your wife—”

“Girlfriend,” Gavin corrected, his stomach twisting from the lack of facial hair on the guy’s face. Gavin was pretty fucking sure the doctor was still a virgin.

“My apologies. If your girlfriend gives birth in the next twelve hours, yes, I’m delivering your son.”

Speechless, Gavin watched him approach Emily. Her pain-filled face looked like she could care less if another species delivered their child. The doctor rolled a chair up in front of her and asked Emily to come down to the edge of the bed. He also asked Emily to open her legs for him. Oh Jesus. Gavin felt nauseated. Witnessing a doctor as old as his grandfather prod and poke at the part of Emily’s body Gavin felt was created for him was bad enough, but now this? This was insane. Panic gripped Gavin, but before he could say a word, Emily, who now seemed to be in a blissful state of drugged up euphoria, did as the doctor asked, dropping her knees to the side. With his girlfriend spread wide for Doogie Howser, Gavin nervously swallowed, shoved a hand through his hair, and all but sprinted across the room. Depositing himself on the bed next to Emily, Gavin stared into her glassed over eyes, trying to concentrate on the fact she wasn’t in pain at the moment.

“You’re four centimeters dilated,” the young buck announced, rolling away from Emily. Pulling gloves from his hands, he gave her a smile. “Being this is your first child, it’s usually an hour or two a centimeter.”

Gavin glanced at the clock on the wall. It was a quarter past four in the morning.

“Will you keep giving me whatever you just gave me?” Emily’s lazy smile clearly showed she wasn’t suffering much. “I like how I feel right now.”

The doctor grinned. “That’ll take the edge off the pain, but you’ll still feel the contractions.” He checked the monitor and scribbled something down on his clipboard. “If you want stronger relief, we can give you an epidural.”

Eyes closing, Emily shook her head and yawned. “No. No epidural. I think I’ve scared myself from getting one. I read…” her voice trailed as she started falling asleep. She curled up on her side, her head nestled into the pillow.

With his grin still in place, the doctor looked at Gavin. “Like I said, the Demerol should clip some of the pain for her. She might wake up with each contraction, but it won’t be as difficult for her now. In the meantime, you should also try to get some sleep. You both have a long few hours in front of you.” On that note, the doctor left the room.

The nurse smiled at Gavin on her way to the door. “She’s in good hands. Don’t worry.”

Gavin nodded pensively, trying to talk himself out of dragging Emily’s sleeping body from the bed and off to another hospital to give birth. With that, he watched the nurse walk out. Sighing, he laid back against the pillow and stared at Emily, her breathing calm and peaceful. Though he was exhausted, sleep seemed oceans away. Instead, he gently positioned Emily’s head on his chest, his mind reeling over the fact that in a few hours, they would be parents. Only a year ago, the woman in his arms was out of reach, yet here and now, she was about to spoil him with a son. She was about to make him a father. Feeling more than blessed, Gavin knew he’d go through every second of pain all over again if he had to. He wouldn’t think twice about it.

Emily stirred, a small whimper leaving her lips. Gavin’s gaze fell to the monitor, his heart clenching, as he watched the line slowly start to climb. With tired eyes, he brushed his hand through Emily’s hair. He hoped the pain killer was helping. It must’ve because she didn’t fully wake. Over the next couple of hours, Emily tossed during the contractions, but somehow she managed to fall in and out of sleep. That was all that mattered to Gavin. As the horizon turned dusty orange with the waking sun, Gavin jumped when the monitor chimed. Within a few seconds, a nurse walked into the room.

Face pinched in concern, she gathered the long strip of paper from the machine and studied it. She turned to Gavin, her voice a whisper. “I need her to shift position. The baby’s heart rate’s dropped.”

Gavin glanced at the monitor and back to the nurse, his adrenaline spiking. “Is he okay?”

“He should be,” she answered calmly, but Gavin heard the worry in her voice. She made her way around the opposite side of the bed. “It usually helps if momma moves around a bit.”

Gavin slid his arm out from beneath Emily. She moaned, clearly in pain. Gavin ran his hand through her hair and gazed into her sleepy eyes. “Emily,” he whispered, stroking her cheek, “the nurse needs you to move around.”

Nodding, Emily sat up. The pain killer was wearing off as a contraction started moving through her stomach. She blinked back tears, her muscles bracing with tension. “I think I need something more for the pain.” She shifted onto her right side, grabbing at her lower back. “Please. I need something. They’re getting worse.”

The nurse stared at the monitor, her expression no less concerned. “Sweetie, I need you to get on all fours for me.”

Heart jumping into his throat, Gavin could see the look on the woman’s face. Emily let out another whimper as he helped her do as the nurse said. Trying to keep calm, he rubbed Emily’s back and watched the nurse flick her eyes to the monitor again.

“Okay, Emily. Go ahead and lay on your back again while I get the doctor.” The nurse rushed for the door.

“What’s going on?” Gavin questioned, helping Emily lay back down. “You can’t walk out of here without telling us if our son’s okay.”

The nurse whipped around. “The doctor will explain everything.” She didn’t give Gavin a chance to say another word as she fled from the room.