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“Goodnight, ladies,” Nurse Grey said with a smile.
“Goodnight, and thank you,” Brittany said. “For everything.”
“Congratulations, Miss Berry,” the nurse said. “She’s a beautiful baby.”
A younger nurse entered the room. “Oh, Lena, you’re still here?”
Nurse Grey nodded. “Just on my way out. I need to get home to make sure Mama gets her meds.”
“How is your mama,” the young nurse asked as she took the baby from Brittany and laid her in the bassinet.
Nurse Grey’s lips pressed together. “She doesn’t remember me at all.”
“Nurse Grey’s mother has Alzheimer’s,” Brittany said.
“I’m so sorry,” Jenna said. “It has to be hard.”
Nurse Grey nodded. “No one really prepares for this—mentally or financially.” She shrugged. “Life is full circle. She cared for me when I couldn’t care for myself as an infant and child. It’s my turn to care for her when she can’t care for herself. Speaking of which…I’m outta here.”
The older nurse left.
“Do you want me to take the baby to the nursery?” Nurse Smalls asked.
“Not yet,” Brittany said. “I want my sister to get to know her a little better.”
“Buzz me if you or the baby need anything. I need to check on the other new mothers.” Nurse Smalls left the room.
“I have to run by admissions first,” Jenna said. “Will you be awake long enough for me to get there and back?”
Brittany yawned again. “I will.”
Jenna shot a worried glance at Brittany. “Will you be all right alone with the baby?”
Brittany draped an arm over the side of the bassinet and stroked the baby’s cheek. “I’ll be okay. She’s asleep. I can stay awake until you get back. I want you to get to know your niece before we descend on your little cottage.”
Jenna hadn’t thought past the idea that she had a niece to even consider taking her sister and the baby home. Her little three-bedroom-one-bathroom cottage had been all she’d needed when she’d come to live there and had taken the job of regional agent for the tiny FBI outpost.
The addition of one more adult and an infant…well, they’d just have to make do. Jenna wouldn’t say no to her sister and the baby in their time of need. No matter how many times she’d bailed Brittany out of financial and relationship disasters, she was the only family she had left. Her lips lifted as she stared down at the tiny baby. Okay, so now, Brittany and her baby were the only two members of her family she had left.
“I’ll hurry,” Jenna promised and slipped out of the room, letting the door swing closed softly behind her.
Angie Smalls, carrying a Styrofoam cup with a straw, turned a smile her way as she entered a room several doors down from Brittany’s.
Jenna passed a slim young man wearing a gray maintenance coverall with a hospital ID card dangling from a clip on his pocket. He carried a wad of sheets to a large canvas laundry basket on wheels and dumped them inside before ducking into one of the rooms.
A heavily pregnant woman in a hospital gown and bright yellow hospital-issue socks leaned against a man as they walked the length of the hallway. She stopped, curled her arm around her huge belly and bent over. “That was a good one.”
The man glanced at his watch. “The contractions are coming faster. Not long now.” He rubbed her back a few times and whispered, “Have I told you how beautiful you look?”
She snorted, the sound cut off as she doubled over again. “Yeah, right,” she hissed. “Shut up and get me back to the room.”
“Yes, ma’am,” the man said with a grin.
Jenna shook her head. Delivering a baby wasn’t for the faint of heart. Based on the woman’s expression, the pain was significant.
Brittany had gone through labor and delivery without someone she knew and loved. She couldn’t blame her for wanting to keep her baby girl. After nine months carrying her and a traumatic delivery, she had to have developed feelings for the little being.
Jenna took the elevator down to the first floor and stopped at the admissions desk, where she filled out paperwork, wondering how much having a baby cost. Since Brittany didn’t have a job and wasn’t one to think too far ahead, Jenna would bet she didn’t have insurance.
