Chapter 218

"But... But I thought she wasn't due till next week?" I panicked.

"She is, but shock and stress can induce labour," Leah said and squeezed Blair's hand. "Breathe; it's going to be ok. The chopper is already on its way. Just hold on—"

"Don't fucking tell me to hold on! Get this thing out of me!" She screeched, thrashing around.

"Don't move too much; you're going to hurt yourself and the baby," she warned.

"I don't fucking care; just make the pain stop."

"What's going on?" Gordon asked, crouching beside me.

"She's in labour," I replied as I wiped the sweat and soot from her brows.

"Shit! This wasn't supposed to happen!" He cursed and turned to Jeffrey. "What are we going to do? We have to get her to the hospital."

"Leah said a chopper is on its way, so we have to wait. Fuck, I hoped it wouldn't turn out this way," he grimaced, running his fingers through his hair.

"Can we really wait for that? I thought you said you had the equipment to perform the delivery in case this happened?" I asked.

"They're all gone. The fire took everything," Leah said, nudging at what was left of the safe house, and I cringed.

"Bu—"

"Ah! Fuck! This is all your damn fault, Iris!" Blair screamed, glaring at me, and I flinched. "You should have left me with Thomas!"

"I'm sorry. I just wanted to save—"

"Does this look like you've fucking saved me?! If I were still with Thomas, I would have been at the hospital by now!"

"Or you would have been dead!" Gordon blurted, and the rest of us gasped.

"You can't say that to a woman in labour. Be considerate," I frowned, slapping his shoulder.

"It's true. Why should she blame you when you did what's best for her?"

"This isn't the right time for this. We need to be focused on her health," I retorted and turned back to Blair. "I promise you'll be alright, Blair. I swear you will be."

"I don't need your half-assed pr— ahh!" she hissed, digging her nails into Leah's arm. "Fuck you, Iris!"

Gordon twitched beside me, and I grabbed his arm, shaking my head.

She could curse me to the sun and back if it would give her the strength to hold. What were a few mean words compared to her life?

And wasn't it my fault that she was here? If I hadn't brought up the kidnapping plan, she wouldn't have been trapped in the middle of nowhere without access to healthcare.

If anything happened to her, it... it...

No! Nothing had to happen to her and her baby. We couldn't lose another set of lives to Paul. I couldn't have failed her by bringing her straight to her death.

"Please hold on," I begged, wincing at her sharp scream.

"It's here!" Jeffrey yelled, and the whooshing of propellers tore through the air.

"Finally," I breathed as the helicopter descended, stirring up dust, and I covered my face.

"You'll be fine, Blair." I squeezed her hand. "You'll be fine."

~•~•~•~•~•~•

"Will she be ok?" I asked one of the nurses wheeling her away from the helicopter into the hospital.

"I promise we'll do our best to make sure she and the baby are fine," she replied.

"Can I be with her in the deliv—"

"No!" Gordon said, grabbing my arm.

"I have to; I'm the only family she has left." I frowned, trying to free myself from him.

"You need treatment too," he insisted.

"No, I don't. I'm fine."

"Are you? Blair isn't the only one pregnant; you are too. Plus let's not forget about your BP. What happened today is enough to send it through the roof."

"But she's in labour. She's more important than I am now!" I argued.

"No, she's not. You scaled down a storey building, raced through a forest and got hit by a fucking explosion while being pregnant, so don't tell me she's more important than you now," he snarled, pulling me closer.

"I can't feel anything. I just have a few scratches, and my legs are probably swollen," I frowned, gesturing to my legs littered with small cuts from small twigs and bushes I brushed by as I ran to the cabin.

Other than that and being covered in soot, I was ok.

My whole body hurt too, but he didn't need to know.

"What if you’re hurt internally? What if adrenaline is stopping you from feeling anything? I don't want it to wear off before we know something is wrong. You've been through too much today that no pregnant woman should ever have to, so please, just do the check-up," he begged and touched my belly. "I get that you care for Blair and her baby, but I don't want you to neglect yourself and ours. You can't love her more than you love yourself. So please, Iris, let them do a full body check-up on you."

My lips parted, but the concern and worry etched on his face snapped them shut.

And he was right. I wasn't a superwoman; I had been through hell today, and I couldn't pretend that I was okay.

Even if I wanted to choose her over me—which was stupid—I would never put her over my baby. My child came first before anyone.

"Fine. I'll check myself in," I nodded.

"Thank you," he smiled and kissed me. "Once we're sure you're alright, you can go see Blair."

"Ok."

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

"Excuse me, which room is Blair Graff in?" I asked the nurse at the receptionist table.

"Aren't you a patient here?" She scrunched her brow.

"Yes, I am, but my sister was brought into the hospital a few hours ago from delivery, and I want to see her," I replied.

"A few h— oh!" She exclaimed, her eyes widened, and she leaned closer. "Are you the ones connected to the um... Paul Graff case?"

"Yes," I nodded, trying not to cringe. It wasn't even up to a day yet, and the rumour had started.

"That's crazy. I heard that you guys survived being burnt alive. Is that true? You must be happy now that Paul has been arrested. He—"

"Paul has been arrested!" I gasped.

"Uh-huh. Don't you know?" She asked, and I shook my head.

I had just woken up from a well-needed nap, and Gordon had only told me he needed to take care of a few things before he left.

"Don't gossip on the job." Another nurse smacked her on the head.

"Hey! I—"

"Mrs Graff is in room thirteen," she said.

"Thank you." I nodded and walked away, my lips threatening a large grin.

Paul had been arrested! Already! No, I couldn't get excited yet. I needed to confirm from Gordon first.

"I said no!" Blair yelled as I opened the door, and I winced.

Didn't she just give birth? How did she still have so much energy?

"What's going on?" I asked as Blair sat on the bed, glaring at the nurse.

"Mrs Graff is refusing to see her c—"

"I don't want the damn hell spawn! I'm never accepting it as my child!" She barked.