"I do."
I smiled at that, seeing the corner of her full lips twitch with a faint one of her own.
I moved beside her again, leading us the rest of the way. With all the pain she was in, I had to lift her legs inside the truck for her. Once I got the door closed, I damn-near ran around to the driver's side and hopped in. Air filled her lungs and left her mouth as I fastened her seatbelt. The second I was done, I had her hand in mine again. The contractions continued to come hard and fast, but she didn't panic anymore. When they came, she simply squeezed my fingers and breathed through them.
Pulling up in front of the hospital, I valet parked instead of leaving Brynn alone, waiting inside the lobby, while I found a space. The guards at the door got her into a wheelchair right away and took us up to Labor and Delivery where the nurses got us registered and into a room immediately. When I remembered that my family was either already in the waiting room or on their way, I shot Luce a quick text so she could let everyone know we made it and then Brynn had my complete focus again.
"Ok, so we're just going to check and see how many centimeters Mom is dilated." I glanced over at the nurse as she slipped into a pair of latex gloves. She smiled and the excitement I'd been trying to contain rose even more. This was it; the moment we'd been waiting so many months for, the moment that had changed me even before it arrived.
The smile the woman wore broadened when she finished checking Brynn. "Well, she is definitely ready to go. We're going to get Dr. Rubino here, so we'll get Mom prepped and ready for pushing in the meantime."
Brynn nodded and then we were left alone again.
I leaned in and kissed her forehead. "If there's anything I can do, just say the word," I reminded her, hoping she knew there was literally nothing she could ask me for that would be too much.
She rubbed the side of her stomach and breathed, pointing at the bag I carried in for her where it rested right beside my own. "I have a hair-tie in the side pocket," she said. "Can you help me pull my hair up? It's making me uncomfortable."
I went to her things and found what she needed right away. When I made it back to her, she leaned up so I could gather the length of her hair to put it in a bun, honing in on my limited skills from the few times I'd gotten Izzy ready for school back when Marcela used to work nights.
"That better?"
Brynn nodded as she exhaled through her mouth, instinctively finding my hand again right after.
I liked that, how she found comfort in me being close. Her nerves seemed to settle despite knowing this would get harder before it got easier. She might not believe this with all she'd be going through in just a little while, but … she was going to be fine. That strength of hers was something to marvel at.
I thought back to when this all began, how, even before I got my act together, she was prepared to face this head on all by herself. And had I never come to my senses, there was no doubt in my mind she still would've gotten through this. Alone. With or without me.
… but thank God it didn't go down like that.
She didn't deserve that. We got into this together; it was only fair that we got through it together. With all I'd seen Marcela deal with as a single mom, I cringed at the idea of that being Brynn-struggling to be our daughter's everything just because I was being selfish and thought I wanted my freedom. But now … all I wanted was her. I would've missed this. All of it-the pleasure of getting to know and fall for her, the chance to be a father to our little girl.
Everything.
At the thought of just how close I came to missing what I now knew to be the start of the best moments of my life, I could've kicked myself. Luckily, I wised up and stepped up to the plate. And what was even luckier; she was patient with me.
She had no clue what thoughts were going through my head, but she smiled when I kissed the back of her hand.
More people came in and out of the room. There was one last ultrasound to check the baby's position, someone else was in to strap monitors to Brynn's stomach, and another came in with an IV for fluids. There was so much going on between all the people in and out, and with Brynn's contractions, I couldn't keep up with what wire went to which screen or alarm.
Brynn and I were both glad to see Dr. Rubino when she arrived. A familiar face in the room calmed my nerves-nerves I was trying to hide from Brynn because she didn't need to know I was a little on edge, too, right now.
"Looks like today's the day," Dr. Rubino said excitedly, clasping her hands together when she reached the side of Brynn's bed. "How's your pain on a scale of one to ten?" she asked next.
Brynn thought for a moment before answering. "Mmm … about a seven, bordering an eight."
Dr. Rubino patted Brynn's arm sympathetically. "Well, I know it's not easy, but I'm gonna take good care of you. Promise," she said with a smile. "Plus, looks like you've already got all the support you need right here with you tonight," she added when she glanced up at me.
Brynn nodded, agreeing, squeezing my fingers a little.
"I'm just going to step out for a moment, but when I get back, it'll be go time, okay?"
"I'm ready," Brynn responded, surprising me with those words, but I was happy to hear she was thinking positively now.
When the room cleared out again, it was easy to hear my phone from across the room, going off like crazy in my bag where I put it when we arrived.
The sound of Brynn's laugh brought my eyes to hers. "Marco … It's fine if you leave my side for a second," she teased. "Trust me; I'm not going anywhere."
Since she called me out, I went to answer the call on the last ring, but didn't leave the room. "Hey, Ma."
"Any news?" she asked, sounding anxious.
I let out a breath. "Not yet, but the doc just got here. They're gonna have her start pushing soon."
She relayed the message to my sisters. Of course, they started chattering and asking a million questions in the background before my mother's voice came back through the phone. "You'll call as soon as something changes?"
"As soon as I'm able," I assured her, knowing I wouldn't be able to contact her immediately.
"I understand," she said back. The noise level in the background didn't quiet, though, and I asked if all that commotion was still coming from my sisters. They were loud, but damn … it sounded like a stadium full of people in my ear.
"It's coming from everyone," Ma answered, confusing me a little.
"Everyone?"
"Yes, your father and I, Bel, Rosie, Max, your sisters, Justin, Logan, Carlos," she clarified. "Everyone."
I didn't expect that. The guys, my brothers, were here, too. When I sent the messages that was just so they'd know what was going on. I definitely didn't expect them to get out of bed to come here.
But I should have known they wouldn't miss this.
"All right, well tell everybody I'll give an update as soon as there's something new to share."
Content with that, my mother let me go and I went right back to Brynn.
Dr. Rubino returned and things seemed to speed up from there. It was almost like I was dreaming. In a way … I suppose I kind of was. Brynn had her feet propped up in the stirrups and several nurses were on standby. However, even with all of them in the room, it still felt like it was only Brynn and I in here.
With each push she squeezed my hand and I didn't let go. I was right there the whole time for whatever she needed-wiping the sweat from her forehead and the tears that ran down her face. Watching her fight through it all gave me a whole new level of respect for her as I realized there was absolutely nothing this woman couldn't do. Of all the amazing things I'd seen in my lifetime, none compared to the sheer will and determination I saw in her in this moment.
"One more big push, Brynn. Come on," Dr. Rubino said from the foot of the bed.
Brynn groaned, exhausted from the ordeal, but she was almost there. I kissed the top of her hair and brushed my thumb across her cheek, pushing away the fresh tears that ran down them. "You're doing so good, babe. Just a little more."
She nodded and took several deep breaths to gather herself. A rush of excitement filled me from head to toe at the thought of it being a matter of minutes, maybe seconds, before our little girl got here. As I stood there watching, holding my breath, Brynn went for it. I mean … really went for it. While acknowledging that this was most likely the hardest thing she'd ever done in all her life, I realized that this was the very moment everything in mine changed. This exact moment. Right now. Everything else had been nothing but preparation for the life to come. Everything I learned-good and bad-everything I had in me, everything I'd been through was all for this.