Baby Fever

by Landish, Lauren

  Susan claps, tears springing to her eyes as she rushes over to hug me. “Congratulations, Nicolas! That’s fabulous, honey!”

  Sam offers a hand-crushing shake and pats my shoulder. “Well done, Son. I had a feeling, the way you were talking out in the big woods.” Before I can reply, he squeezes down a little more warningly while giving me a mean hard-eyed look. “You’re doing right by this lady, aren’t you?”

  I smile through the pain, glad I’ve been drinking my milk or else I might have a broken hand right now. “Well, I’m damn sure trying. It was a little rough at first, as you can guess. The first meeting again when I walked in to find her five months pregnant . . . yeah, that was a little dramatic. She thought I wouldn’t want to be part of the baby’s life, but we got it all straightened out. Now, I’m looking forward to it being the three of us. I’m moving to Great Falls permanently to be with Rose, and ADRENALIN is working with me to help make that happen. I’m just riding out my lease on my old apartment and already arranged for a company to send me what I want from there and donate the rest to the Salvation Army.”

  Sam nods and gets up to pour the after-dinner coffee. “Well, if you got a guy that’ll come all the way out here, I’ll work with whoever you recommend. Don’t you worry about a thing.”

  I shake my head, getting up to help clear the dishes. “Nah, if you don’t mind, I’d like to stay the primary contact on your account. I won’t be able to travel much, especially at first, but a trip out here every once in awhile sounds like the reprieve I need from city life. Also, no buttering you guys up, but this place is just about next door to paradise in a lot of ways.”

  Sam nods knowingly, handing me a steaming mug. “Sounds good to me, but if it’s too much, you just let me know. I sure like the gear you left and appreciate the deal we’ve got, so if you need to stay closer to home, we understand. We had babies once too.”

  Susan clears her throat, tossing a dish towel over her shoulder as she prepares to wash up. “All right, boys, if you’re done with the business chatter, I have a question . . . when are you getting married and do I get to meet the baby?”

  I laugh, feeling heat rush to my face. “Well, I’ve been living in her house for a couple of months now, working remotely to be there as we get ready for the baby, but we need to make it a little more official, if you know what I mean.”

  Susan’s eyes are shining like diamonds as she nods. “I know, and I can understand that. But I want to know all your plans, about the baby, how you want to do the proposal, wedding . . . all the good stuff.”

  Sam chuffs, rolling his eyes as he takes the dish towel from his wife and starts running water. “You two go on. This could take you all night. About the only things that can make my tough as nails spitfire wife go all gooey are weddings and babies. Back when we lived in town, she’d watch these Hallmark movies every day, same damn story with different characters every time. Now she just reads them.” He leans in to whisper, even though Susan can hear every word, “At least I don’t have to listen to them anymore, and the books seem to get her going, so that works out just fine for me.”

  I laugh along with them, happy to bear witness to their love. When their eyes come back to me, I continue. “I am planning to propose, but figured I’d wait. We’re moving about as fast as you can, and I don’t want to overwhelm her. I do plan on visiting a jeweler in Portland before I fly back to Great Falls though. Just gotta plan when I’m going to pop the question, so not a word to anyone.”

  Susan mimics locking her lips and throwing away the key. “My lips are sealed.”

  I laugh and sit down on the couch. “We’re naming the baby Amelia, and her room is already painted pink, like a Pepto-Bismol bottle got tossed all over the walls. I know that sounds cliché, but Rose loves it, so I do too. Best of all, she’s got a good group of friends that rally around her, and a helper in her shop so that she can take off for several weeks after Amelia is born. It’s not where I ever saw my life going, but now that it’s here and it’s happening, I can’t believe how amazing it is.”

  Sam and Susan smile back at me, delving into a long story about how their son, Mason, had met the woman of his dreams. She’d hated him for being backwoods, but he’d eventually won her over, and now they live in the small town we’d shopped at today with their five kids. Sam laughs. “Trust me, keeping up with those five as they go running through the woods . . . the first time I let them, their mother was worried they’d get eaten by a bear or something, but I told them with all the noise they were making, the bears were heading over the mountains as fast as their legs could take them.”

  His story gives me pause. I might be excited about Amelia, but the thought of five kids gives me a good dose of fear, and somewhere deep inside, I hope that Rose doesn’t want quite that many. Maybe one or two more, but definitely not five. I don’t want to raise a basketball team. I mean . . . we’d have to have a chain of Mountain Roses and I’d end up having to take Wes’s job to afford that.

  * * *

  Sam and I spend the next few days running maintenance checks on every piece of gear he’s got, checking his soon-to-be broken out ATVs from bumper to bumper, restringing fishing reels, and replacing a ski on one of the snowmobiles.

  It’s dirty, hard work but I enjoy it. Being outdoors, making sure that Sam has what he needs to be successful and safe, and generally being useful in a way that pushing papers around doesn’t make me feel. This is a sort of life I could certainly get used to.

  We chat as we work, and Sam’s full of little nuggets of wisdom. “You know what will keep you in your lady’s good graces?”

  “Tell me,” I reply as I oil a drive chain. “Figure you, of all people, might know, from what I’ve seen.”

  Sam chuckles as he checks a length of rope for wear and tear. “When your baby’s born, you’re gonna be tempted to swap turns getting up when she cries. You’re gonna have days at work that’ll make getting up at two in the morning seem like the toughest thing ever. But don’t you do it. You drag your carcass out of bed when you’re home . . . it’ll pay off.”

  “Pay off, huh?” I ask, and Sam chuckles.

  “Chances are she’ll need to be fed or need to be changed. You can’t feed her, but you can sure take her to her momma since she’ll be the one staying up to do the feeding. And you can dang sure change a diaper. Lord knows I did my fair share of diaper duty once upon a time.”

  I store the advice away for later, sure that he knows what he’s talking about if his marriage has lasted this long and is as good as it appears.

  Sam finishes the last few inches of rope inspection and makes a quick coil of it, looking over to see if I’m done with my assignment too. “You ready? Let’s run these babies.”

  It’s great to take the ATVs out, heading out along the paths Sam’s created as he shows me some hidden treasures along the property. The caves, huge trees, and a surprising hidden pond are amazing to see, and the machines run smoothly, not a single hiccup after our maintenance and care.

  “They’re purring,” I comment as we come to a stop overlooking the pond. “Let me guess, your old ones were cranky as hell the first days of spring?”

  “You could say that—” Sam says, but before he can finish, his radio squawks.

  “Sam? Come in, Sam.” It’s Susan, and Sam cuts off his engine. I follow suit, the silence somehow sounding ominous after the pleasant drone of the engines earlier. I shiver, suddenly feeling the chill wind on my throat.

  “Susan?” Sam asks, picking up the radio. “What’s up, honey?”

  The radio static quiets before Susan continues. “Mason just came out from town, said he got a call from a fella named Wes who’s looking for Nicolas. You boys need to come on in.”

  She doesn’t say as much, but I feel a knot in the pit of my stomach and my hand trembles on the controls of the ATV. There’s only one reason Wes would go through the trouble of calling Sam’s son to come find me out in the sticks. “Rose . . . something’s wrong.”
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  Sam meets my eyes, nodding once as I see he’s come to the same conclusion. “All right, Son, keep your head. We’re gonna get you back as quick as possible, but these woods and these machines ain’t made for racing, so hold it together.”

  Rose

  The hospital room is bland, but I don’t care. I’m focused on Dr. Stevens. “Everything looks stable . . . for now. Your bleeding has stopped and the baby’s heart rate is perfect, no signs of distress. Sonogram shows that there’s a tiny separation of the placenta, but we’re doing what we can for now to keep that baby inside you for a little longer.”

  I swallow my fear, knowing that Dr. Stevens is good at what he does “Okay, but what does that mean? What do I need to do?”

  He gives me a reassuring smile. “The prescription is very simple, but also very difficult for someone like you. Bed rest, and plenty of it. In fact, I’m admitting you to the hospital for monitoring, and you’ll be here until you deliver.”

  I gasp, unconsciously struggling to sit up. “Umm, until I deliver? Couldn’t that be weeks from now? I mean, I’ve got so many things that need to get done, and I’m hardly—”

  Doc puts a calming hand on my shoulder, shaking his head gently. “And you have one of the best support systems in place that I’ve ever seen. This does increase your chances of delivering a little earlier, but mostly, we’re just going to keep the contractions at bay as long as we can.”

  “What dangers are there for her?” I ask, reminded that this is about Amelia, not the boutique or anything else.

  “Even in the worst-case scenario, if you gave birth today, odds are really good that she’d be fine and just have a little growing to do before she went home. The best thing you can do to keep her inside, though, is to be calm, stay in bed, and let us help you.”

  I nod, glad for his fatherly bedside manner as he walks out. I grab Brad’s hand. He’s been with me the whole time. “Thank you.”

  He turns to me, his voice a little deeper than his usual airiness, and I know I’m talking to ‘Real Brad’, not ‘Fabulous Brad’. “You’re fine. Jelly Bean’s fine. I’m here and Nic’s on his way. Just breathe.”

  I try to believe him and trust that everything is going to be fine, but inside, I’m freaking out. I curl up into a ball, protective around my hospital-gown-covered belly. “Brad . . . I can’t lose her.”

  He leans down, wrapping his long arms around my shoulders and rubbing my belly. “Listen up, Miss Amelia,” he says in a lighter voice, closer to his normal voice, “you are not done cooking yet, little princess. And as excited as I am to meet you and spoil you rotten, you’re not ready. Get a little bigger and then you’ll be able to handle all the love your momma, daddy, and Auntie Brad can surround you with. Mmmkay?” He keeps talking, the words becoming a soft murmur as I feel myself doze off.

  When I wake up, it’s nine hours later. Brad’s gone but left a note that he’ll be back, and I realize that I’ve been here since last night. It’s been sixteen mind-numbing hours of constant, droning beeps, half-understood voices over intercom systems just outside the door to my room, and far-off alarms that both bore the shit out of me and fill me with a dreadful terror. “How can I deal with this shit?” I ask the room. “I’ve potentially got weeks of this to look forward to.”

  I steel myself. I can handle some boredom to make sure Amelia stays safe. Of course I can. I’d do anything for her. I guess I’m glad that Brad finally had to go home. He probably really needs a shower and some rest. So for the first time, I’m alone with all of this.

  Questions swirl in my head. Could I have done something wrong? Could I have prevented this somehow? I know that Dr. Stevens said that my working had nothing to do with what happened, but there’s a little part of me that still feels guilty. Worried about getting a damn mannequin dressed when my baby was inside me? Fucking stupid idiot.

  My brain races on to negotiating, begging my little Jelly Bean to stay inside and promising that I’ll meet her soon, but not too soon. I promise her that I’ll be the best Mommy in the whole world. I rub my belly, feeling the little flutters as she seemingly answers me, and I smile.

  Suddenly, the door flies open and Nic races in, dropping to his knees at my bedside. He’s a mess, hair disheveled like he’s been running his fingers through it, a few days’ scruff on his face, and rocking dirty flannel that honestly kinda smells. “Oh, my God, baby. Are you okay? I’m so sorry I wasn’t here. Amelia, how is she?”

  He’s rambling, stuttering as the words rush out. It reassures me, and I realize that part of what I smell is sweat and pine tar. I wonder if he’s even taken a chance to change his boots since getting the news. A man who’ll race across the country to get to me . . . he’s the man for me. I take his hands, looking him in the eye to get him to calm down and focus. “I’m fine. Doc says Amelia is fine and that I just need rest.”

  I can see the relief rush across his face, and then he presses his cheek to my belly, looking up at me. “I was so scared, Rose. I thought I was going to lose you both. Are you sure you’re really okay?”

  I nod, tears in the corners of my eyes to see him so upset, but also my heart swelling knowing that he’s so concerned about us. “Really. We’re okay, and you’re here now. Speaking of, how’d you get here so fast?”

  He smiles, but it’s wavering. “I was out with Sam, miles out in the forest when his wife called on the radio. Sam’s son arranged for me to grab a chopper to Portland, where I grabbed the first flight back here, landed, and got here as fast as I could.”

  I smile, cupping his scratchy cheek. Not his normal look, but there’s a part of me that likes it. “Sounds like you’ve had a busy day. I’ve just been lying here, taking naps.”

  I’m trying to lighten the mood, but Nic isn’t having it. “I’m truly so sorry I wasn’t here, and I promise I won’t ever leave you again.”

  “Nic,” I reassure him, stroking his messy hair and pulling out a pine needle, of all things, “you’re not gonna be by my side every second of every day. These things happen, but we’re going to get through this together.”

  Somewhere deep inside me, the damn that’s been holding it all back bursts and I cry. Nic climbs up in the bed with me, probably against the hospital rules but who gives a fuck, and we lie face to face, the roundness of my belly surrounded by our protectiveness and love.

  Nic wipes my tears, kissing my forehead and reassuring me. Eventually, the fear subsides and I feel the calm resolve that we’re going to be okay.

  Our first unexpected hiccup as parents, and our people came to our aid, supporting us, and Nic and I are stronger than ever, knowing we’re in this together.

  Nicolas

  Three weeks. Three weeks of daily hospital visits that Trey coordinated to make sure Rose was never alone for more than an hour at a time.

  Three weeks of entertaining Rose with cards, puzzles, books, and talking about everything under the sun and then some. Three weeks of Rose and I spending time side by side in her hospital bed, or me sitting in the chair next to it, each with a laptop as we work. I’ve spent time checking in with my team as they continue business as usual. Doing a business Skype meeting in a hospital room is only unusual the first time. After that, everyone’s been cool. I finally had that talk with Wes and we’ve worked out a way for me to manage our sales force from Great Falls on a permanent basis so I can be here as much as possible. I’ll still have to take some quick trips, but he understands and agreed that as long as ADRENALIN’s goals are met, he doesn’t care if I’m working from headquarters or in my PJs at home. That was a huge weight off our shoulders as I feel confident I can be successful here, and Rose knows I’m staying by her side. I got word out to Sam and Susan that we’re okay. The next time he goes into town, he’s supposed to give me a call.

  For her part, Rose has been doing the accounting duties and window shopping for future orders for the shop. She calls Devon every afternoon for an update and Devon seems to be handling the whole thing like a pro. She’s d
one so well that Rose has already given her a promotion to assistant manager, although technically, she has no employees to manage, but she got a well-deserved raise with the title.

  Surprisingly, the whole thing has gone exceptionally well, considering how scared we all were at first. Rose hasn’t had any more contractions or bleeding, and it’s just become our new normal, a type of waiting game where we try to function while never leaving bed.

  That sounds like some kinky version of heaven, but it’s definitely not. Rose’s body aches half the time, my back feels like shit until I’m halfway through my workouts, and quite frankly, trying to get things done with the background noise of a hospital blows.

  Thankfully, our little crew is helping out too. Today, Ana is going to sit with Rose after she finishes her shift while I go handle some top-secret business outside the hospital.

  Ana comes in, looking tired but still with a smile on her face. “Hey, guys, guess what I just saw?”

  “Treat a man who somehow accidentally ended up getting a full can of beer shoved up his ass?” I joke, knowing that after being on her feet for twelve hours, she’s gotta be exhausted. “Or was it a remote control?”

  “Very funny,” Ana says, sticking out her tongue as she lays out food, breakfast for Rose, dinner for herself. “Actually, it was a Bluetooth earbud up the nose. Guess there are drawbacks to those wireless systems.”

  I laugh, giving Rose a kiss and Ana a hug before leaving. While Ana is on Rose duty, Brad and I have plans to sneak out for a little surprise. I’d begged his help in choosing a ring for Rose, considering my first choice of the jeweler in Portland is a no-go.

  I feel confident that I know what she’ll like, but when her best friend is a fashionista with an eye for detail and the finer things, I’m not going to discount his expertise.