From Here to You

by McGuire, Jamie

  I lowered my chin, staring down Shawn. “Now we all have a reason to get to the hospital.”

  Shawn’s other friend lunged at Darby, grabbing a fistful of her hair and yanking her back toward the car.

  Darby cried out, reaching for her hair.

  “Get…get back!” he said.

  “I’ll cut off that fucking hand if you don’t let her go right now,” I said, yelling the last part.

  “Let her go, Terry,” Shawn said, still holding his hands out.

  “Get back!” Terry said again. He let go of her hair, but produced a gun from behind him, pressing the barrel against Darby’s neck.

  “You’re outnumbered,” Naomi said. “Leave the girl. Get in the car and leave. Now.”

  Terry and Shawn traded glances. Todd was wheezing.

  “Let her go, and I’ll tend to your friend,” Martinez said. “His chest cavity is filling with blood. He’s closer to suffocating every time he takes a breath.”

  “Nobody fucking move!” Shawn yelled.

  Darby’s face morphed as pain took over her body. She cried out, startling Terry. Sloan squeezed his trigger, and Terry jerked back, a bullet slicing through his heart. He fell against the car, a crimson smear left behind as he slumped to the ground.

  I signaled for Darby to crawl to me, keeping my sights on Shawn.

  “Darby! Don’t you do it,” Shawn growled.

  Darby froze. She was nearly panting, but she closed her eyes tight and then continued. I walked a few steps toward her, keeping my gun on Shawn, and helped her to her feet, hugging her to me.

  “You okay?” I asked, kissing her temple.

  She looked up at me, tears in her eyes but a relieved smile on her face. “I’m better now,” she said, breathing hard.

  I held her to my side, letting her put all her weight on me.

  “Get your hands off her!” Shawn yelled. “She’s mine!”

  “Martinez,” I barked. Martinez broke formation to attend to Darby, setting her on the ground and checking her over.

  “Put that gun down, pussy,” Shawn said.

  “You wanna go?” I asked. “You wanna find out what it’s like to fight someone who hits back?”

  “Trex, don’t,” Darby said through her teeth. “He’s got…” She groaned, doubling over.

  “Put the gun down. Just you and me, jarhead.”

  “Trex,” Darby warned. “He’s…” She grunted and then yelled through the pain.

  I put my Glock on the ground and walked toward Shawn. “This is going to hurt like hell, but just remember…I warned you.” I threw the first punch with every bit of pent-up rage I’d had for him since I’d met Darby. My fist connected with Shawn’s jaw. Blood burst from his mouth as his head was knocked to the side, but he righted himself, then looked at me and smiled with dark red teeth.

  I didn’t notice it at first, the subtle stinging in my side, until Darby cried out.

  “You won’t have her either,” he said, pulling the knife out slowly and then jabbing it in again and twisting.

  He was knocked backward with a bullet to the shoulder, and as he came at me again, his head jerked to the side. Naomi held Vicky in front of her, the barest whiff of smoke rising from the barrel. Shawn fell to the ground with a thud, and I stumbled back, the sting growing to searing pain.

  I fell next to Darby. It was quiet for a moment, the ringing in my ears the only sound, and then suddenly all there was was noise.

  Martinez ripped my shirt and scrambled for his pack.

  “Trex?” Darby said. Sweat beaded on her forehead. Her hair was soaked. She looked exhausted.

  “Sit back,” Kitsch said, helping me lie back against his pack.

  “It’s just a flesh wound,” I said, feeling warm blood pour out of my side.

  Martinez frowned. “It’s more than a flesh wound, jackass. What the hell was that?”

  “Always the hero,” Naomi said, unhappy.

  “Just patch me up. Let’s get Darby to the hospital.”

  “Trex?” Darby said, reaching for me.

  I took her hand and kissed it. “I’m okay, baby. I’ve survived worse than this. Let’s get you to the hospital so we can meet our little girl.”

  “Let’s get you both there,” Kitsch said, watching Martinez work with a frown.

  Martinez carried Darby, and Sloan hopped in the truck bed to make room. I crawled in the back seat with Darby and Martinez. Kitsch drove, and Naomi took shotgun.

  “You hanging in there?” I said, wiping back the wet hair that was plastered to Darby’s cheeks.

  “I’ve been better,” she said through clenched teeth. “How about you?”

  I shook my head and snarled my lip. “Doesn’t even hurt.”

  She breathed out a laugh, then leaned forward, a string of curse words streaming from her mouth.

  I raised my brows and looked up at Martinez.

  “They’re just a couple minutes apart,” Martinez said. “Darby, can you do me a favor? Reach down, see if you can feel her head.”

  “What?” Darby said.

  “It’s forty minutes to the closest hospital,” Martinez said.

  “That’s at normal speeds,” Kitsch said. “I’ll have us there in twenty.”

  “Darby,” Martinez said, his voice cool and calm. “Reach down and feel if she’s crowning.”

  Darby pushed against the floor with her feet and reached down into the black slacks she’d put on for work the night before. She shook her head. “Close, but not yet.” She looked at me and smiled. “I can feel her.”

  I kissed her forehead. “Hold tight, baby. We’re almost there.”

  “Fifteen minutes out,” Sloan said.

  Darby took a few breaths and then leaned against my shoulder, closing her eyes. She was exhausted. I’d lost so much blood, I wasn’t too far behind.

  “Stay awake, Trex,” Martinez said, slapping my cheek a few times.

  “I’m not going anywhere,” I said. “I’ve got a dinner date with a couple of pretty girls.”

  “I’m sorry,” Darby said, taking shallow breaths.

  I shook my head and began to speak, but Martinez cut me off.

  “Darby, you’re going to hyperventilate if you don’t get your breathing under control,” Martinez said.

  “In through your nose,” I said, taking one with her even though it hurt like a bitch to take a deep breath. “And out,” I said, exhaling for five seconds. “Again…good, that’s good.”

  Darby cried out, clenching her teeth and leaning over, her usually smooth, honey-blond hair tangled, soaked with sweat at the roots. “Trex,” she said, her voice strangled. “Help me.” She began to cry. “Please help me.”

  I held her hand and squeezed. “Kitsch!”

  “Six minutes!” he yelled back.

  I could feel the truck surge forward, and then I heard a subtle pop and then a gush, like someone had poured out a pitcher of water onto the floor.

  “Water broke,” Martinez called. “Darby, let’s get your slacks off. We might be delivering in the truck.”

  “No,” Darby whimpered. “I can’t, I…”

  “Darby?” I said, keeping my voice calm. “We’re all here for you. Martinez is a medic. It’s going to be okay.”

  Darby looked at me from under her brow, then nodded. She lifted up, and Martinez helped her out of her slacks, then her underwear. Naomi turned around, placing her jacket over Darby’s legs. As Darby leaned against me, Martinez took a quick look, then his eyes darted straight to me.

  “Try not to push and we can make it to the hospital. Relax your body between contractions, and as much as you can during.”

  The truck bounced as we entered the drive of the Cogdell Memorial Hospital, and Kitsch blew past the business office, down a strip of road, parking under an overhang. Everyone jumped but me, and then my door was yanked open. Naomi helped me out, and Martinez carried Darby into the emergency room entrance.

  “We need medical!” Martinez yelled.

/>   A small group of nurses ran outside, and I listened to Martinez explain Darby’s and my statuses. Darby was seated in a wheelchair.

  “Wait,” she said. She pointed to me. “He’s the father. I need him with me.”

  The nurses traded looks, and one rushed to get another chair. I reached for Darby’s hand, and she took it.

  “What’s your names?” the nurse behind Darby asked as they pushed us through double doors.

  “Scott Trexler,” I said. “She’s Darby.”

  The blonde pointed to herself. “I’m Deirdre. This is Leslie,” she said, nodding to the smiling brunette.

  “I’m a Trexler to-be,” Darby said.

  I squeezed her hand. “Yeah, you are,” I said with a smile.

  They wheeled us into Exam Room Two, helped Darby into a gown, and into the bed.

  “First baby?” the nurse asked.

  “Yes,” Darby said.

  “First stab wound?” she asked me.

  “No, actually,” I said.

  All the women in the room traded glances, including Darby.

  “He’s a Marine,” Darby explained.

  The nurses nodded with understanding, continuing to work.

  Deirdre cut my shirt off, using the tear Martinez started as a guide. “Oh my goodness,” she said, lifting the bandage. “Your friend has medical experience, I’m guessin’?”

  I nodded. She had the same accent as Darby and it made me smile. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

  “Those are pretty ugly. You’ve lost a lot of blood.” She looked at Leslie. “We should put him in Exam Three.”

  “I’m gonna hang out here until I see my daughter brought into the world, and then you can take me where you need to take me.”

  “Trex,” Darby said.

  “I’ve been dreaming about this moment for months. I’m not missing it.” I held my hand against the bandage. “I’ve been far worse off than this.”

  Leslie hesitated. “The doctor ain’t gonna like this.”

  “I think she’ll be more interested in the story,” Deirdre said. “I know I am.”

  Darby held her breath, then cried out. Leslie checked her for less than a second. “She’s crowning.”

  Both nurses went into action, setting up the stirrups and a side table. I struggled to wheel myself closer.

  “I’ll help,” Leslie said, pulling me backward so I was sitting at Darby’s side.

  I grabbed her hand and kissed her knuckles. “You’re going to do great, honey.”

  “Well, hello,” a woman in blue scrubs and a white lab coat said as she entered the room. She stood at the sink for quite a while washing her hands before putting on gloves and then sitting on a stool, scooting it forward until she was sitting between Darby’s legs. “I’m Dr. Barnes. Looks like I’m going to be delivering your baby in a few minutes.” She scanned me, looking over her rectangular glasses. “Should be a good story at birthday parties.”

  Deirdre stood on one side of Darby, Leslie on the other, and when it was time to push, they picked up Darby’s feet and pushed her knees toward her stomach, their palms against the soles of her feet. When it was time to rest, they returned Darby’s legs to the stirrups. I held my breath with each push, counting with the nurses. In the thirty or so seconds Darby could rest, she would turn and smile at me.

  “I love you,” she said. “I don’t know what I was thinking. I wasn’t thinking. I was just ma—”

  She yelled and pushed, and Deirdre and Leslie grabbed her feet again, counting to ten.

  “You’re doing so good,” Leslie said.

  “So good,” Deirdre said, nodding. She looked at me. “Stop holding your breath, or you won’t be conscious when the baby is born.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” I said, taking a deep breath and blowing it out.

  Six pushes, and Maddie’s little face popped out. Six more pushes, and the rest of her little body slid out all at once like a pea from a pod. Dr. Barnes put Maddie on Darby’s stomach while Deirdre rubbed Maddie’s tiny body with a receiving blanket.

  I waited for her first cry. It seemed to take an eternity, but finally, Maddie took a big breath and the most beautiful sound I’d ever heard filled the room.

  Darby laughed and cried, and I did, too. This tiny, slimy, pink baby girl with dark, wet curls plastered to her head was trembling and screaming on Darby’s belly, and I felt honored to be a witness to it.

  Darby looked up at me with a bright smile, the hours of pain she’d just endured instantly forgotten. I pecked her lips twice, then smiled as I watched the nurses work.

  “She’s a little early,” Deirdre said.

  “Is she okay?” Darby asked.

  “Right as rain,” Deirdre said with a smile.

  “Are we cutting the cord?” Dr. Barnes asked.

  I looked to Darby for the okay, and once she nodded, I took the scissors from the doctor and snipped between the two clamps like she directed. “Holy shit,” I said. “That just happened.”

  “Indeed,” the doctor said. “Good job, Dad.”

  I breathed out a laugh, feeling tears burn my eyes. I was a father. I was Maddie’s father.

  Deirdre clamped the cord and wrapped Maddie in another receiving blanket before placing her gently in Darby’s arms.

  “Oh my gracious,” Darby said to Maddie, touching her tiny nose and then her miniature fingers. “You’re here.”

  “Christmas baby,” Leslie said, perching her wrists on her hips.

  “Look what you did,” I said, touching Darby’s cheek, watching her coo and whisper sweet nothings to Maddie. “Definitely going to have to change out that birthstone,” I said with a smile.

  Darby looked up at me, her smile turning to worry. “You look pale. Dr. Barnes, you should take a look at Trex’s wounds.”

  I blinked, suddenly feeling tired.

  “I feel kind of weird, actually.”

  “Trex?” Leslie said. Her voice sounded like it was underwater.

  “Trex?” Darby said. “What’s happening? Oh my God! Help him!”

  “Trex?” Leslie said at my side. She grabbed my wrist, taking my pulse. I wanted to talk, to tell them I was okay, but nothing worked.

  “Let’s get him to Exam Three! Now!” Dr. Barnes yelled.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Darby

  When my eyes peeled open, I instinctually reached over to Trex’s side of the bed. It only took a second to remember he wasn’t there. I clutched his pillow and pulled it to my chest, hugging it to me, breathing him in. His was my very favorite smell, now tied with the way Maddie’s hair smelled after a bath.

  I could hear her cooing through the baby monitor, the crib mattress crackling under her as she moved. I let go of the pillow and sat up, letting my feet hang over the side. Maddie loved getting up before the sun, just like Trex. Even though her birth had been surrounded by death, she was still a bright light in the darkness; despite losing Lane, and even Shawn, and…I closed my eyes, refusing to think about the rest.

  I slipped my feet into my house shoes and swiped my robe off the end corner of the bed, wrapping it around me as I made my way across the hall to the nursery. The house was nearly silent, seeming even bigger than it did before. Now that Shawn and his friends weren’t a worry, I was even more free. No one could ever hurt me or Maddie again.

  I pushed on the wooden door of her nursery, the dim light from the kitchen pouring in. Maddie’s crib was empty.

  “Good morning, Mommy,” Trex said softly, holding Maddie against his chest. He was rocking her, gently petting the little bit of blond hair on her head. She was so tiny and relaxed in his arms, her inch-long fingers wrapped around one of Trex’s.

  I leaned against the door jamb, crossing my arms. “Having fun without me, I see,” I whispered.

  Maddie shifted, turning her head toward my voice.

  “We were trying to let you sleep in. Bad dreams again?”

  I shook my head. “Since the senator helped make sure there were no charges fi
led against any of you, they’ve been less frequent. It’s my boobs. They’ve become alarm clocks.”

  “Good about the dreams. Not sure about the boobs.”

  Maddie whimpered.

  “Uh-oh. Someone wants breakfast,” Trex said.

  Trex stood, and I held out my arms. We switched places, and I lay Maddie across my lap, lifting my shirt and effortlessly latching her on to my breast. Trex handed me a pillow, helping me to situate it under the baby while she suckled. He handed me two burp cloths, and I put one over my shoulder, the other under my nursing bra to keep from making a mess on the other side. We were already a well-oiled machine.

  He bent down to kiss me. “How about breakfast for you?”

  I sighed. “Anything. I wake up feeling starved nowadays.”

  “Eggs and bacon coming right up.” His socks scooted across the carpet, and then he stepped out into the hall. His footsteps were barely audible, but I could hear him rummaging around in the kitchen as quietly as he could.

  I looked down, meeting Maddie’s gaze. She was all me: my eyes, my chin, my bone structure. I wished I had my baby photos so I could show Trex just how much she favored me, but he didn’t need convincing. “Good morning, my love,” I cooed, pushing back on my feet to rock us back and forth.

  Trex had taken two weeks off work for paternity leave, but everyone was off work for New Year’s Day, and we were expecting all of our friends over for a visit. Trex’s entire team was coming, and so were Hailey and Trex’s parents, Stavros and Ander, the Alpine hotshots, and a few from other crews that I’d gotten to know from Black Mesa and the Craig crew. J.D., Carly, and their girls were also on their way. I hadn’t seen Carly since she dropped me off at the Killeen, Texas, bus station. I was eager to hug her and thank her. If it weren’t for Carly, I wouldn’t be in this room with my daughter, my boyfriend cooking for me down the hall. It was more likely that I wouldn’t be in this world at all.