Chapter 116: Finale

“You’re dilated to eight, so not much longer now.” The doctor’s voice lowers when Eloise starts to cry. “We’ll try to hold off for as long as possible. Any idea how much longer the father will be?”

“At most, another hour or two,” Bryan says, keeping his tone optimistic.

“That should be doable.” The doctor’s chair squeaks as she leans forward. “Just let me feel around and make sure…” That’s all Edson hears before he breaks out in a sweat, and everything goes black.

The fog clears, and Edson finally returns from the bizarre nightmare. His stomach rolls as he comes to. He has to blink a few times to clear the blurriness. Bryan is in a chair across the way, and his smirk tells Edson something happened.

“Nice of you to join us.” He laughs but stops when Eloise stirs in her sleep. “You have a little boo-boo on your head, so the OB wants you to take it slow.”

“Huh?” His skin feels funny on the side. He reaches up and feels a Band-Aid.

Damn! Everything comes rushing back.

“So, tell me something.” Bryan leans back in his chair. He loves this moment. “How can you stitch a guy’s stomach together but can’t handle a woman’s cervix being examined?”

His mouth goes dry as he flops his head back. “Don’t.” He was going to lose his stomach.

He laughs again but drops the topic, thankfully.

“Nicholas landed. He should be arriving any time now.”

“Thank fuck!” That helps his head. He clears his throat and manages to lean forward and get himself in check. “How is it you’re so calm through all of this? Did you read that book she kept trying to get Nicholas to read?”

He shrugs. “Eloise isn’t the only woman in my life.”

This piques his interest. “I’ve never seen you date.”

He rises from his seat to check the contraction that just began. Eloise’s eyes flutter. “I didn’t say they were people I’ve dated.”

Edson knows Bryan well enough not to push, but he can’t help himself. “How many girlfriends have you had?”

“A few.”

“You love any of them?”

A strange look flickers over his face, but he continues to read the chart as if he doesn’t hear. “I wish Pierce would get here.”

“Me too.” Edson stands and looks out the window, happy his stomach decided to settle.

Thirty minutes later, Eloise is in tears from the pain and the realization Nicholas might not make it.

Bryan is beside her while Edson tries to entertain her with his impressions of Simba. She loves that cat as much as Dyke hates him.

Simba does pick on him a lot, but Edson thinks it’s because he always keeps his room locked and won’t let anyone in, including that cat.

Dyke has a closet obsession with something he won’t share with them. Only Edson knows that once in a while, there is a package from his mother, and he will only open it alone.

Suddenly, the door flies open, and a frantic Nicholas race inside. As soon as he touches Eloise, she sobs in his arms.

“I’m here now, baby. It’s okay.” He kisses her head over and over. “I’m here.”

“I didn’t think you were going to make it.”

“I wouldn’t have missed this for the world.”

Bryan smiles at Edson, and they both leave quietly.

To say he is relieved he’s off duty is an understatement. He sags into a chair by the nurse’s desk and tries to shake off the idea that a baby is about to be squeezed out of her.

Bryan leaves to give everyone an update. Edson joins him after a few moments.

After three more intense contractions, Eloise slips off to sleep, and Nicholas rubs his face, trying to play catch up with the last six hours. When he spots the guys, he heads out to the door to find coffee.

Edson’s hand lands heavily on his shoulder, giving it a tight squeeze. “Eloise’s a fighter, and it stands to reason that little spitfire in there will be a fighter too, just like Mama.”

He grins, making Nicholas feel like he’s got a whole extra set of balls right now. “Besides, you think any of those doctors would piss off the Green Beret in the delivery room?”

Bryan hands him a fresh cup of coffee as if he had read his mind.

“Thanks,” he sighs and downs about half of it in two sips.

The time ticks by, and every minute, Nicholas looks through the door to make sure Eloise is getting rest. This is tiring for all, so any sleep is really what she needs.

Nicholas is beyond beat, which is odd because he can usually be up for sixty-some-odd hours and still have no problem functioning. But this…this is different. This is his love and his child. His mind slips away, momentarily blurring the colors on the wall.

Edson glances at Nicholas through the garage window. The corner of his right eye is bleeding, his lip is cracked, and his arm hangs loose.

Nicholas watches as Edson’s mother grabs a chair and lifts it above her head. He lunges forward, kicking in the window, but by the time his eyes adjust, he sees Edson unconscious on the floor.

His mother smashed a chair over her son. A mother. It’s disgusting. Nicholas pushes her out of the way and drops to his knees, feeling around Edson’s body.

Please be okay!

He quickly shifts his gaze to Edson, who is devouring his third bag of cookies. They’ve been through a lot together, and this is the start of their newest journey. He’s so glad his best friend is here.

“Excuse me, Daddy?” A nurse peeks her head out the door. She looks like a pixie. “It’s time.”

“Go make me an uncle.” Edson smacks his shoulder. “Seriously, give Eloise a kiss for me.”

“Me too,” Bryan calls.

“Yeah.” Nicholas finds himself grinning.

Eloise is exhausted from pushing for the past hour. She’s ready to go, but the baby is stubborn and has decided it doesn’t want to show itself.

“Okay, Eloise, I need you to push!”

“I have been,” she sobs but digs her elbows into the mattress, pushing with all her might.

“I can see the head,” the doctor announces. “I just need one more to get the shoulders out.”

The defeat is evident on her face. She can barely keep her eyes open. Nicholas blocks the doctors from her line of vision and holds her head between his hands. Her eyes fluttered open.

“I know you’re tired. I know you want to sleep, and you can, but I need you to get our Fritter out of you so we can know what we’re having.”

Her face lights up, and he knows this gives her the extra energy she needs. She draws a deep breath and pushes, and within moments, a tiny shriek comes from down south.

Eloise cups her mouth and waits for someone to say something. Her eyes lock onto Nicholas’s while seconds that feel like hours tick by.

A nurse whisks the baby off to the side and starts clearing its airway.

“No matter what, you don’t leave its side,” Eloise pleads with him.

He gives her his most serious face, one he knows she loves. “Do you know who you’re talking to?”

“I love you.” Her hand touches his five o’clock shadow. “I love you so much.”

Just as he leans in to kiss her, the doctor comes to the bedside and gives them their first look at their child.

“I would like you to meet your baby boy.”

Nicholas half laughs and half cries as his tiny black eyes find his. “A boy.” He reaches for the little bundle and cradles him in his arms. Bending down, he shows Eloise his handsome face.

“Hello, sweetheart.” Eloise’s tears stream down as she raises a shaky finger to touch his cheek. “You are going to be one loved little prince.”

The beaming doctor holds up a chart. “Do we have a name picked out?”

“Achilles,” Nicholas blurts.

Eloise gasps. “Really?”

He takes her hand as he balances their baby in the other. “Really.”

“All right. Achilles Pierce, it is.”

Nicholas smiled brightly at Eloise before their lips met. When he moved away, he whispered, “I love you so much.”

Tears fell from Eloise’s eyes as memories started to fill her in. She never thought that she would have this moment in her life. “Thank you, Nicholas.”

THE END.