Baby Makes Six (16 page)

Eddie met his sister, Kit, Mary and Elsie at the door. “Thanks for bringing them back, Mel. I really appreciate it.”

“It was no problem.” As the girls scurried in, Mel peeked into the kitchen. “Where’s Shawn?”

“She’s asleep on a deck chair on the porch. Her back was hurting her a little bit. I think she’s been overdoing it.”

Looking concerned, Melanie said, “Want me to stay?”

He curved an arm around Mary’s shoulders. “Nah, we’re fine, aren’t we, girls?”

“Yep.” Kit said.

As the three of them began to show him the pictures they’d drawn and two rocks they’d found, Eddie waved off Mel. “Thanks again,” he said before picking up Elsie and inspecting her rock a little bit more closely.

An hour later Eddie was making a pot of fettuccini when Shawn came in. “Hi, everyone. Sorry I slept so long.”

Watching the noodles boil, Eddie said, “We’ve been playing dolls and cooking dinner.”

“That sounds like fun.”

“It has been. The girls said I can play dolls with them anytime I want.”

“You always were a man of many talents.” Her face paled for a moment. “Oh, my.”

He dropped the spoon he’d been holding. “Shawn?”

“Eddie, I think—” She gasped and clasped the edge of the kitchen counter for support.

His mouth went dry. He knew that look. He’d seen it three times before. “Shawn,” he said slowly, “Everything’s going to be okay. Just sit down. Kit, help your mother to a chair.”

“But, Daddy—”

“Do what I ask, Kit.”

“But—”

“Now, Kit.”

Shawn glared. “Don’t yell at the girls.”

“I’m a parent, too. Don’t tell me how to act.”

Mary tugged on his shirt. “Daddy, the pot—”

His patience snapped. “Girls, sometimes your needs have to take second place. All of us need to help your mother right now. Be quiet.” He strode over to Shawn. “Is your bag packed?”

“I…I think so.”

“You think so? Shawn, come on. Don’t you even have that organized?”

“Daddy!” Kit and Mary chimed in together.

“Quiet!”

Elsie started crying.

“Oh, shoot!” Shawn moaned.

“Daddy!”

“What?” His patience finally gone, he glared at Kit. “What can you possibly need right this very moment?”

She started crying, too. “The pot’s boiling over and Mommy had an accident.”

Her words stunned him. “What?”

Mary pointed to the range. “The water’s goin’ everywhere!”

Hastily grabbing a towel, he pulled the pot off the range, then turned back to Shawn. “Accident?”

Shawn looked almost in tears herself. “My water broke. I’m afraid Four is on the way. Right this minute.”

After making sure the burner was off, he strode over to Shawn and curved an arm around her. “Every other time, your water broke at the hospital,” he murmured. There was a definite edge to his voice.

She leaned into him for support as another contraction rocked her. “Things are happening fast, Eddie.” And though she didn’t say it, he knew she was worried.

Keeping one arm wrapped around her, he guided her to her bedroom. “I’m going to get on the phone. Can you slip on something fresh on your own?”

She nodded. “Then we need to hurry.”

Oh, yes, they did.

The next twenty minutes felt like two days. Two hasty phone calls located his parents, who were only ten minutes away from the hospital. They agreed to meet them there to help with the girls so Eddie and Shawn wouldn’t waste time waiting for them to come to the house.

Next, Eddie ordered the girls to the car, but none of it went as planned, as dolls and blankets and Shawn’s suitcase were almost forgotten and then retrieved. When Mary started crying and Shawn got paler as another contraction hit her hard, Eddie swore he’d never give Shawn grief about getting kids loaded in the van again.

The logistics of just getting the five of them taken care of were so hard, he was a complete basket case.
Deciding that pride was definitely overrated, he called Sal. “I need help,” he said the moment his lieutenant answered. “Shawn’s in labor, the girls are going crazy, and I’m worried sick. Things aren’t going like they usually do,” he continued in a rush. “This baby’s coming way too fast.”

“Where are you?”

“Shawn’s.”

To Eddie’s extreme relief, Sal remained calm and collected. “Hold on a sec, I’m calling for support.” Thirty seconds later he was back on the phone. “Okay. An ambulance and a patrol car will be at your place in three minutes, tops.”

“Thanks. I really appreciate it,” he said simply.

“We’re family. Tell that wife of yours to not even think about having that baby yet. No one wants to deliver Eddie Wagner’s baby on the kitchen floor.”

Least of all him! Eddie couldn’t believe it, but he chuckled. “I’ll keep that in mind, sir.”

Shawn called out to him just as he was clicking off. “Eddie? Eddie, we’ve got to go.”

He reached for her hand. “Change of plans. I called for backup. Sal’s sending over an ambulance.”

“I never thought I’d say this, but I’m glad.” Her eyes widened and she panted as the next contraction gripped her hard. “Four’s anxious.”

This baby was driving him crazy. “Four’s going to just have to settle down and realize that she’ll have to learn to be patient,” he said as he guided her to their bed and sat next to her. “With three older sisters, waiting is going to be part of her life.”

She smiled at his quip, though Eddie could tell it was all she could do to keep herself together. “Are you sure the ambulance is on the way?”

Holding her close, rubbing her back, he nodded. “I promise. Someone will be here any minute now.” He strained to hear sirens. “Any minute now.” Gosh, he hoped he was right.

As three little girls appeared at the doorway, he tried to keep his voice as upbeat as possible. “An ambulance is coming to take Mommy to the hospital. You girls need to go help and watch for it, okay?”

Miraculously, the idea of an ambulance sounded exciting instead of scary. Little cheers echoed down the hall as they scampered to the front window.

Eddie hoped he’d hear another cheer announcing the ambulance’s arrival very, very soon.

Another contraction gripped her. “Oh, Eddie. I’d forgotten just how much these hurt.”

Old birthing classes kicked in. “Come on, Shawn, breathe, honey,” he murmured, rubbing her back. “I know it hurts but you’re doing great.”

“Not so great!”

He couldn’t fault her. “It’ll be over soon. But hopefully not too soon, okay? I am not delivering this baby.”

Exactly three minutes later, three cops arrived, including his partner and a supremely efficient EMT.

While Cameron whisked the girls into the van and took over getting them to the hospital to meet Eddie’s parents, the EMT took Shawn’s pulse, chuckled when Shawn said the contractions were four minutes apart, then ignored almost everything Eddie said as she and another uniform guided Shawn to the waiting ambulance.

She looked over her shoulder to make sure he was coming. “Eddie?”

“I’m not going anywhere, honey,” he promised, meaning those words with all his heart. After climbing in and slipping to her side, he did his best to stay out of
the way as they took off and the EMT expertly started an IV. “I’m never leaving you again.”

Lord, he felt like such an idiot. So many times he’d found fault with Shawn for not being able to run things more efficiently. And now, when she really needed him, he could hardly function. He’d hardly felt more than a moment of guilt about calling the station and asking for support.

Shawn breathed through another contraction as the ambulance sped along.

“I would check her, but since the ride’s relatively short, I thought we’d wait,” the EMT explained. “But she’s close.”

Shawn glared. “You think?”

Eddie yelled out at the driver. “ETA?”

“Six minutes.”

“That’s too long.”

The EMT looked at him with sympathy. “Hang in there, buddy.”

Eddie bent down and kissed her brow. “What can I do?”

“Besides deliver this baby? Nothing. Except—” The words were lost in the middle of another contraction.

Even in Iraq, Eddie hadn’t felt so nervous.

With a screech, they pulled into the emergency entrance and Dr. Axman was at the door. Far more in control than Eddie, Dr. Axman barked out orders as Shawn was placed on a gurney. “Follow along, Sergeant,” Dr. Axman said. “You’ll need to get in scrubs, stat.”

“I’ll be right there, Shawn. I promise.”

He didn’t know if she heard him or not. Shawn was surrounded.

And, it turned out, so was he. “Everything’s going to
be okay, Eddie,” Sal said, clasping his shoulder. “You’ve just got to breathe deep and not worry. We got her here.”

Behind Sal, several other members of the squad looked on and nodded.

Eddie was momentarily stunned. “How did you all get here so fast?”

One of the guys—Eddie wasn’t sure who—chuckled. “How do you think? It’s all over the wires that you’re in labor.”

Torn between gratitude and worry, Eddie said, “Thanks. I really appreciate you guys coming out.”

Sal clucked his tongue. “Shawn’s going to appreciate it if you get your butt over to labor and delivery. If her expression was any indication, you might be having a baby this very minute.”

The ball in the pit of his stomach rolled and fell, crushing what little remained of his sanity. “Oh, crap! I’ve got to go.”

The guys surrounding him had the nerve to laugh. “Yes, you do, Wagner.”

Eddie didn’t spare them a glance as he ran down the hall, pausing only long enough to call out, “Baby!”

With a hint of a smile, the nurse pointed down the hall.

An orderly met him. “Scrubs, Sergeant.” Eddie stripped down in seconds, slipping into the blue cotton pants and shirt, then dutifully washed his hands thoroughly. Leaving his clothes in a pile on the bed, he tore into the labor-and-delivery wing. “Shawn Wagner?” he called.

Shawn herself answered. “Eddie?”

“Better hurry on up,” an attendant muttered as Eddie strode forward. “The doctor was looking for you.”

And then nothing else mattered, because there was Shawn, wrapped in thin cotton sheets and looking beautiful. “How’re you doing?”

She paused in her panting to glare. “I’m delivering the biggest girl imaginable, Wagner. How do you think I’m feeling?”

Dr. Axman looked up from the stool at the end of the bed. “Great question, Dad,” she quipped. “I would have thought you’d gotten smarter by now.”

“It never gets easy,” he said, reaching out for Shawn’s hand and gritting his teeth as she proceeded to squeeze the living daylights out of it.

If Shawn, Dr. Axman or the attending nurse had a thing to say about his perspective on the whole thing, thankfully no one said a word.

Instead, everyone became all business. Dr. Axman checked progress, Kellie, the nurse, assisted, Shawn panted and pushed, and Eddie stopped worrying about anything but Shawn and the baby’s health.

“I can’t do much more,” Shawn said. “Epidural.”

“You came way too late for that, Shawn,” the doctor said. “You’re going to need to be tough for Four.”

Shawn groaned.

Eddie gently wiped her forehead with a cool towel. “I guess we should’ve expected this baby to do what she wanted when she wanted, huh? So far she’s done everything she wanted when she wanted.”

Shawn didn’t reply, just kept panting and holding his hand in a death grip.

When they had a second of relief, the nurse glanced his way. “What happened? Things go too fast?”

“Yeah. I should have been watching over my wife a lot better.”

“No, it’s my fault,” Shawn panted. “I didn’t tell Eddie how close the contractions were. I didn’t want to worry him.”

Dr. Axman chuckled. “Did you forget this baby has
a mind of its own? Ah, here we go.” Smiling happily, she said the magic words. “Push, Shawn.”

Shawn pushed, Eddie supported her shoulders and tried to be encouraging. After a few more good pushes, a lot of coaxing and a few prayers, once again, there was another beautiful baby in the world.

As high-pitched squeals and cries filled the air, Shawn fell back against the mattress.

Then Dr. Axman started laughing.

That sure had never happened before. Eddie stood up. “What is it, doc? Is something wrong with our daughter?”

“Only that she has a penis.”

“Huh?”

All smiles, with the nurse’s help, Dr. Axman cut the cord, then wrapped the baby in a soft blanket and handed him to Eddie. “Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Wagner. You have a boy.”

As Eddie curved his arms around the little bundle, he looked into a pair of eyes that were already shaped just like his. The tiny baby stopped crying long enough to look right back at him. Eddie’s heart stopped. “Boy?”

Shawn glanced up at him as if she couldn’t comprehend a word that had been said. “Boy?”

“Oh, yeah,” he murmured.

His girls were darling. They were beautiful babies. But even at birth, they hadn’t looked like this little guy. He was sturdy and solid and screaming loud enough to wake the dead. “Shawn, honey…we have a son.” Without waiting another second, he laid him in Shawn’s arms.

Tears ran down her face as she cuddled the baby close. “Christopher Edward?” she asked.

“Whatever you want,” he replied. “I love the name.”

A
ND TWO HOURS
later, after the first feeding and after the nurses had taken Christopher away so she could rest, Shawn still could hardly believe it. “Did you ever imagine we’d have a son, Eddie?”

He brushed back her hair and pressed his lips to the spot on her temple he’d just uncovered. “Never. You did an amazing job in there, by the way.”

“I don’t want to do it again.” Looking up at him, she said, “One day soon, one of us needs to get fixed. I can’t have five babies. I just can’t.”

He stilled. “Does that mean what I think it does? You want to get back together?”

“It does.” Her eyes languid, she gazed at him with such love that it took his breath away. “I don’t want to be without you, Eddie. I can make it on my own, but I don’t want to.”

“Do you remember what I said to you in the ambulance? I’ll never leave you again, Shawn. Never.” Softly he added, “I still love you, you know.”