Page 87 of My Girlfriend is Not the Father

‘Hey there.’ A man in blue scrubs pushed the wheelchair next to her. ‘Looks like we might be in labour. Did your water break?’

‘Well, I didn’t spill a milkshake on this dress.’ Lucy pointed at the bottom half of her stained gown. ‘It broke about forty-five minutes ago.’

The nurses guided her into the wheelchair and a barefoot Jade followed them up the sidewalk.

‘I’m sorry, but you have to park your car,’ the man said.

Jade’s head frantically shook. ‘I am not leaving her.’

God, I love this woman. Lucy reached for Jade’s hands. ‘It’s okay. The pain is at like a two. Go park and meet us up there. You don’t want to hold someone else up if they’re having an emergency.’ She kissed the top of Jade’s hand. ‘I’m totally fine.’

That was the largest load of bullshit ever to leave Lucy’s mouth. Everything was on fire. Her head was hot, burning from the inside out. Her belly raged, and her knees trembled. Nothing about this moment was fine.

Jade pulled her lips into her mouth. ‘Where are you taking her?’

‘Triage in labour and delivery, sixth floor.’

‘Got it.’ Jade planted a kiss on Lucy’s forehead. ‘I’ll see you in two minutes, tops. Okay? Don’t worry about a thing.’

‘I’m good. Go.’

As the electric hum of Jade’s car took off, Lucy rolled into the hospital with two strangers. Independent her whole life, right now, she felt alone. She wanted Jade to hold her tight and tell her everything was okay. She wanted Drew and Mason and her dad to answer the doctors’ questions, because one thing was certain ­– she couldn’t do this alone.

The receptionist checked her in at record speed. As Lucy stuffed her ID back into her wallet, another cramp seized her stomach. Oof. That one kicked things up a notch, a solid 2.5, and she clocked the time. Fourteen minutes since her last one. She restarted the timer.

Several nurses surrounded her. One helped her into a gown as the other tapped on her keyboard. ‘Chart says you’re 33.5 weeks. Is that accurate?’

Even though she already knew how early she was, hearing the nurse say it, fear flooded Lucy’s system. She blinked at the vitals screen, hoping it would provide a magical message saying everything was fine. ‘Is the baby going to be okay?’

The nurse showed no reaction. ‘Right now, let’s focus on you. But we’ll do everything for your baby.’

That’s not a yes! That was not anywhere near a ‘baby is going to be fine’ type of reassurance. Lucy lowered herself onto the stretcher, and soon, wands and ultrasounds and blood pressure cuffs had been efficiently attached to her various body parts. ‘Wait, it’s not my baby. Is that in the chart?’

The nurse cocked her head, eyes narrowed. ‘What?’

‘I am not the mother!’ Lucy yelped, then leaned back as spots overtook her vision. Did they know she was a surrogate? Did that change something somehow? Do they have all the paperwork? And where was Jade?

A knock on the door came from behind the curtain. ‘Permission to let Jade Hudson in?’

Thank God. Tears filled her eyes, again, for the millionth time. ‘Yes, yes. And when Drew and Mason get here, let them in. They’re the dads.’

Jade burst into the room and wrapped Lucy in her arms. Lucy shook against Jade’s familiar scent and comforting touch. Several breaths later, her racing heart had calmed somewhat. ‘What happened to your dress?’

Jade tugged at the dangling spaghetti strap hanging from her arm. ‘Your fierce grip from when I helped you out of the car.’

None of this was how tonight was supposed to go, nor how the birth story was supposed to go. ‘I’m so sorry about tonight. It was such an important event for you and this … I should have offered for you to stay.’

‘Darn.’ Jade rested her hip against the cot. ‘I really should have called you that Uber and met you here after the ceremony.’

‘Really?’

Jade let out a small chuckle and tucked a piece of hair behind Lucy’s ear. ‘Lucy, I’m totally kidding.’ She pressed her lips against Lucy’s forehead. ‘There is nowhere else I’d rather be. Truly.’

The nurse strapped a blood pressure cuff on Lucy’s arm again and watched the vital machine. ‘Blood pressure’s good.’ She recorded the information. ‘We’re going to roll you down to labour and delivery. Questions before we go?’

Only a million. ‘How long until I push?’

‘Hard to say. Could be an hour or twenty-four hours. We won’t know until we check your cervix and see if we need to boost contractions.’ Her index finger scrolled across the mouse. ‘Have you thought about pain medication? There’s nothing in your charts that indicates your wishes.’