Page 51 of Power Play (Titans Hockey #2)

Chapter forty-seven

Lacey

I bolt upright in bed, shedding who knows how many heavy arms. I have no idea what caused this huge surge of energy, but I went from dead asleep to awake and wired.

Suddenly, an elastic band in my belly pops.

Oh, shit.

I waddle/squirm/leap off the bed and barely make it to the bathroom before what feels like a gallon of water slips from me and splashes on the bathroom floor. I sit on the toilet as my hard stomach contracts and more water escapes.

A mass of limbs and naked flesh wrestle to get through the doorframe to the bathroom. In half a heartbeat I want to laugh at the sheer amount of sexy man flesh pressing against each other, but in the second half of my heartbeat a cramp so painful grips my stomach and pushes the air from my lungs.

My low moan spurs the boys into action.

"Get dressed. Garrett, hospital bag. Ben, start the car. I'll get her dressed and to the car."

Ben and Garrett hesitate, not wanting to leave me.

"Go!" Scott shouts.

That pushes the boys to move. I'm wet, my water's broke, and I'm fucking terrified.

I look up at Scott, tears already in my eyes, when he shakes his head. "None of that. You're going to get up. We're going to change you into clean PJs and get you in the car. The drive to the hospital is short. And then the doctors will know what to do."

I exhale a shaky breath.

"Oh... okay..." I'm shaking as I stand. He strips me quickly but carefully, tossing the soiled bottoms into the bathtub.

This would have been terrifying to do alone. I would have done it, but it would have been awful. Gratitude more than I've ever felt before overwhelms me that I have such an incredible support system.

The boys have been trying to beat it into me since day one that I have love and support, and I'm starting to understand and accept it. But moments like these still overwhelm me. And maybe they always will.

Scott tugs on some of his oversized sweatpants and I can't help the small smile that escapes. Even now he needs to mark me, own me somehow. At this point, I don't care. He owns me fully.

I grip onto his arm tightly as he walks me to the garage. Another contraction doubles me over and I can't move. I can barely breathe. I've had Braxton Hicks contractions for a month, but these are unlike anything I've ever felt. They're like Braxton Hicks with a knife stabbing into my stomach.

Scott helps me gingerly into the backseat. Ben's driving, Scott takes shotgun, and Garrett is in the backseat. He maneuvers me, so I lay on my back, my head in his lap, my knees bent.

When Scott shuts the door, Ben takes off.

I focus on my breathing. Garrett strokes his fingers through my hair. Another contraction and I groan.

"Three minutes," Scott says. And Ben guns it. My contractions are three minutes apart. Oh, God .

I focus on my breathing and breathe through my contractions until Ben slides into an Emergency Room parking lot.

I get out of the car, determined to do this. It might be hard, and it might be scary, but I don't have any other choice. At the end of this long and scary road, I'll get to meet the two little people I've spent the last nine months growing. And then it'll all have been worth it.

We're just about to enter the door when a contraction grips me so tightly my legs give out and I go down. I don't know who I'm gripping, but I'm gripping flesh, hard.

After the contraction passes, I stumble the next couple of feet until I'm ushered into a room with a bed. Nurses and doctors swarm around me. Someone - one of my men - tells them how far apart my contractions are.

Monitors are hooked up. I'm stripped and placed in a hospital gown, but not before another blindingly painful contraction consumes me. This has to be wrong. Something has to be wrong. There's no way a woman would willingly go through this much pain and sign up to do it again.

I groan through my contraction, unable to breathe, unable to think, unable to speak. Fuck breathing through the pain. There's no way breath and this pain can exist at the same time in my body.

"Something's wrong," I groan out, my eyes pinched shut.

But then, in a blur, I've got a black belt on my belly, a blood pressure cuff on my arm and an IV in my vein.

"Nothing's wrong dear," says a warm female voice next to me. "We've got two strong heartbeats, and your contractions are perfect. Did you have pain management in your birth plan? "

Why the fuck is she asking me? I can't remember my own name right now as another searing bolt of pain tears through me. I whimper, wanting to crawl out of my skin if it means getting away from this pain.

"Yes. Epidural. Now." Scott barks from somewhere in front of me. His voice is calm but laced with unmistakable authority. As the contraction subsides, I let my head fall against the bed. I can't do this. I can't do this. I can't do this.

I try to breathe and relax while I have the time before the next contraction. But I'm maneuvered into a sitting position and turned so my legs hang off the side of the bed.

I groan, low and guttural, as another contraction hits me. I'm holding someone's hand so tight I'm sure I'm breaking the bones in their hand, but no one screams besides me, so I really don't care.

I'm told to hug a pillow and then feel a needle enter my spine. It's painful, but like a bee sting compared to a forest fire next to these fucking contractions.

But then... relief.

I blink open my eyes, finally taking in the room around me. "Ohhhhh, my God!"

A nurse chuckles at me. "Yeah, it's always better when the drugs kick in."

I laugh and look at my men. Scott's standing to the left of the bed, his brows furrowed in worry and anger.

"I... I’m okay now." I reassure him and reach out a hand for him.

He takes it and kisses it, but his brow doesn't relax.

So, I reach over my other hand and try to smooth it down with my thumb.

"We'll page Dr. Marley and let her know you're here. "

Ben thanks the nurse and then turns back to me. I see him rubbing his hand. "I'm sorry," I whisper, grabbing his hand and kissing it.

The next two hours progress easily. Now that I'm not in pain, the contractions are coming hard and steady, but I can't feel a thing. We watch hockey highlights on the tiny TV in the corner. Scott calls Craig and Siobhan about the news, while Ben and Garrett text the rest of the team.

Suddenly, I hear raised voices coming from the lobby. Scott nods at Garrett to go check it out. The heavy door closes behind him, muffling the sounds, but it sounded like an agitated woman. A woman who sounded scarily like my sister.

My eyes widen in fear, and I look at Ben, still holding my hand. He shakes his head. "He won't let her get near you. Trust him."

The voices get closer to the door, and I can hear my heart rate increase on the monitor.

"That's my sister!" I hear Tracey shout.

"And that's my wife ," Garrett shouts back, before shouting for security to remove her.

There's more of a scuffle, and Scott stands, ready to fight, when Garrett comes back into the room, shaking his head.

"Fucking Tracey," he mutters under his breath, but when he looks up and sees my worried face, he softens.

"She's being removed. She won't be allowed in the hospital anymore.

Sneaking you home, though, might be tricky. "

Just then, Dr. Marley comes back in and checks to see how far along I am. She pats my thigh happily. "Alright, little miss, it's time to push. You ready to meet your babies?"

I bite my lip, look at my men, and nod. I can do this. We can do this.