“Damn, another one! I’ve still got a week to go, and this kid is making me crazy already!” Lisa exclaimed loudly, trying to be heard over the music.
“Are you having them this close together?” Racheal questioned, turning towards her. She’d noticed that Lisa kept putting her hand on her stomach an hour ago, but she hadn’t really paid much attention until Lisa had made that comment.
“Yes, damned kid.” Lisa grimaced.
“I think you’re in labor, Lisa!” Racheal said, with dismay.
“Nah, this stuff’s been happening off and on for the last week. Doc calls em braxton something or other.” She let her hand fall from her stomach still watching Molly and Tracy, who were now singing a duet to the song that was blaring from the speakers.
“Braxton hicks.” Racheal told her as she turned back to look towards Tick and Vivi. They were wrapped around each other like two octopuses. Well there’d be no help form that quarter. Racheal was almost sure that Lisa was in labor, they needed to get her to Doc’s before she ended up having this baby in a freaking night club.
“Lisa, I think those contractions are too close together to be braxton hicks, hon.” Racheal had seen quite a few labors in the Slums. The whores sometimes couldn’t afford to buy the birth control needed to protect against unwanted pregnancies. Pearl had assisted a few of the women to the hospital, so Racheal knew the signs to look for.
“Oh pooh, it’s too early! I’m telling you, I’m not in labor.” She glared at Racheal, Racheal knew denial when she saw it and the woman was in denial.
“Okay, if you say so.” She agreed with Lisa, who nodded her head. Worried about Lisa, Racheal wished Tiny was here with her. He always knew how to talk people into doing what he wanted. He would have had Lisa already bundled off to Doc’s in under a minute.
“I do!”
Molly and Tracy came stumbling over, nearly falling down, which caused the prospect who’d been pretending to dance near them almost have a heart attack. Now, that was kind of a funny look on what anyone else would have though was a tough biker. The six foot, bearded man with bushy hair, and meaty frame had looked as if he was going to cry because the boss’s woman might get a tiny scratch.
Knowing how Bone was about Molly, Racheal couldn’t blame the man. Bone was scary when he went into protective mode. It had worried her at first when she’d noticed that he became violent when someone threatened to even hurt Molly’s feelings, but after months of watching, she realized that he would never turn that anger on Molly, as Eugene had on her.
“Shots!” Molly cried out, causing Racheal to chuckle at her drunken demand. Shit, Molly was gonna regret this in the morning. Racheal had been in her shoes more times than she could count, which was why she was almost sober tonight. She hated the headaches that came with indulging.
“Umm…maybe more shots are a bad idea, Molls.” Racheal said, trying to be the voice of reason. Not that she thought her friend would listen.
“I want SHOTS!” Molly demanded, of the bar tender, a middle aged man named Sal, who began getting shots for the group ready with a shake of his greying head.
Making eye contact with the large man, who’d been following them around most of the evening, she held her phone up nodding to the girls who’d already collapsed onto stools at the bar. The man nodded taking out his phone with a relieved look, good now he would call Bone to tell him and the other men to come get their women. Looking at Lisa, who smiled at her, laughing at the two other women who were already knocking back shots, she feebly smiled back, still worried. Brandy, the sweetbutt, and Katie had come over and they were also knocking back shots. Sal, Katie’s father, was glaring at Katie, and he handed her a glass of water instead of a second shot. Watching her glare at Sal then reach over, grabbing Brandy’s shot, she downed it, Racheal wanted to laugh. Yep, these girls were going to regret this in the morning.
Twenty minutes and ten shots later, Racheal was getting worried about Lisa who seemed to be gripping her stomach every two minutes now. Where were those men, she wondered, maybe the prospect hadn’t called them like she’d thought.
Still watching Lisa with dismay, she was relieved to see the door of the bar open and Bone, Slim, Stick and Tiny entered the bar looking around. The men saw them at the bar; Racheal felt relief fill her at the site of Tiny walking towards her. Lisa was leaning back on the counter with a death grip on the edge; Brandy and Katie were having a war over the peanuts that they were sharing, while Molly and Tracy took another shot, with gleeful shouts.
The men neared and Tiny reached out to slide his arm around her waist to pull her to him, but she shook him off. Moving towards Slim and pulling him aside.
Tiny was surprised when Racheal pulled away from him making a beeline for Slim. At first it pissed him off, but then he realized she was gesturing towards Lisa with a worried expression.
“Your old ladies having contractions about two minutes apart and has been for the last ten minutes.” Racheal told him without any delicacy. The man paled as he looked to were Lisa sat holding her stomach.
“Why the hell didn’t she call me?” The man demanded, trying to move around Racheal in order to get to her. Racheal’s hand on his arm stopped him.
“She doesn’t realize. No need to panic her, we’ll just take her out to the car and get her to Doc’s. She doesn’t need either one of us panicking.” She met the man’s eyes with her own determined ones. Racheal could see the man was frightened for Lisa even as he nodded. Releasing him, she let him walk up to Lisa who allowed him to help her from the stool. Tiny came up and this time she allowed him to wrap an arm around her waist.
“Everything okay?” He asked. Knowing that something was wrong from her erratic gestures and worried expression just not sure what. He waited for her to say something.
“Yeah, let’s follow Slim and Lisa to Doc’s.” She whispered meeting his eyes. He watched her for several moments, then nodded.
Realizing that Lisa must be in labor, he watched Slim, who looked a little apprehensive as he wrapped his arm around Lisa, helping her from the stool. Tiny squeezed Racheal to let her know he understood.
“Okay.” Tiny waited until Bone gathered Molly and Stick took hold of Brandy and Katie. Dog walked up taking his wife out to the dance floor having entered while Racheal was distracted with Lisa and Slim.
“I’ll meet you at the cage, darlin’.” Tiny called over his shoulder walking out onto the dance floor to speak to Dog. Bone was already lifting Molly onto his shoulder with a laugh as she tried to fight him.
“We’re going home, Baby. Your gonna be sorry for all this drinking when you have to go to work tomorrow, so let’s get you home to sleep it off.” He carried her out of the bar towards the truck he’d driven over. Racheal followed him outside. Slim was already helping Lisa into the truck, Racheal headed over to them quickly. Still wondering what Tiny was doing inside, she stood behind him. Slim turned after shutting the door seeing her, his eyes were filled with panic.
“I need to get her to Doc’s can you meet us there in a bit, please? Molly was her birth coach. I don’t know how to do that shit. She wanted someone who wasn’t going to make her freak out. Please?” He ran his hands through his hair making it stand up at odd angles.
“Slim, it’s going to be alright. I knew Molly was her coach and I can help her. I’ve done it before.”
Racheal watched as he nodded looking relieved then moved to the other side of the truck. As he cranked the engine, she turned back towards the bar. Tiny exited, followed by Dog and Tracy, who stumbled laughingly into Dog. Tiny walked towards Racheal, scooping her in the direction of the car she’d driven to the bar tonight.
As Tiny started the car, he asked. “So, how long has she been in labor?”
Racheal was no longer surprised that Tiny correctly read the situation. “About an hour and a half, Slim’s freaking out.” Racheal sighed as they drove towards Doc’s.
“Dog’s going to try to sober up Tracy. Till he can it’s just
us to take care of them. How did she not realize she was in labor for an hour?” Tiny asked, puzzled. They were pulling up behind Slim’s truck.
“I don’t know. Denial?” Racheal replied, just as confused by Lisa’s refusal to accept her situation as Tiny was.
They walked up the porch, Tiny holding her hand giving it a gentle squeeze to reassure her. They entered Doc’s cabin to find Lisa screaming at Slim.
“You know it’s too early for me to be in labor, Slim! Why are we here?”
“Sweetheart, your contractions are barely even minutes apart! You’re in labor and when Doc gets out here in a minute he will confirm it. Now, go lay down on the exam table!” Slim roared back at her. His hair was standing up at odd angles and he looked like he was going to panic at any second.
“This is all your fault!” Lisa bellowed, looking at him, her finger pointing at him accusingly.
Racheal shared a look with Tiny, almost laughing at the ridiculousness of the argument the couple were engaged in. Smiling and sharing an intimate look with Racheal, Tiny moved farther into the room drawing the couple’s eyes to them. She nodded to Tiny letting him know that she wanted to calm Lisa a bit, so he needed to distract the other man. He nodded back, moving to distract the other man without question. She really did love how easy that man made her life.
Chapter 10
Tiny grabbed Slim’s arm as he moved with the man by pulling on his arm. Slim started to protest until Tiny said in a hushed whisper. “Let Racheal calm her down then you can go in to be with her man. She needs to calm down so that she can focus her efforts were they need to be so she can get through this.” Relieved when the man nodded, following him to the other side of the lobby without further conflict, he ushered him away.
Entering the front room Slim sat down in a chair, then popped right back up, pacing the room. Tiny leaned on the wall near the door ready to stop the man if he tried to return to the exam room. Slim began running his hands through his hair causing it to stand up even more making him look even more like a madman.
It wasn’t long before Doc came rushing by from the back were his room was, and a few minutes later Stacy came rushing in from her own room still in her pajamas. Tiny watched Slim sit down again as the door opened and Trick and several other club members entered. Follow a few minutes later by Bone and a rowdy Molly.
He almost laughed watching her lean into Bones side playing with his ear and kissing his neck. Bone pulled her over onto his lap to hide his boner. Stacy flew by a few minutes later on the way into a storage room stopping long enough to yell at Slim. “Get your ass in there! She isn’t doing this alone! You made that baby asshole.” Then rushed by without waiting for him to reply. That Slim just followed her order without a reply let him know that man was still frazzled.
Tiny watched as several more club members entered, Dog and Tracy among them. It may seem to some that it was odd that thirty or so bikers showed up for the birth of a baby, but Tiny knew that it was because when the world had first imploded they’d needed that many men at a birth to assure the couples safety. In those days there hadn’t always been a safe place for the club to live, and now, it was a tradition, a way to celebrate.
Seeing Tank enter and make a beeline towards Bone with a grim expression Tiny moved towards Bone too, knowing that something was wrong. As he neared the group, Tank looked up at him, then continued.
“They had a fire tonight at the Dixon farm. They’re searching for the man who set it now. It was about an hour ago. Thank goodness someone saw it before the whole farm went up. We lost some of the wheat, but not a lot.” Tank was muttering in a low voice to Bone. Molly was sleeping on his shoulder having passed out a few moments ago.
“Shit!” Bone growled lowly trying not to wake Molly. “Go over there and handle it take Tiny with you.”
“I’ll go with you.” Trick muttered as he stood.
Nodding, Tiny moved to where Rock stood beside Pretty Boy and Log. Taking the man aside he growled.
“Do not touch her, but you keep my woman here while I go handle this little problem understood?” Tiny demanded glaring at the man.
“I don’t want your woman, Tiny. There nothing but trouble. I only screw the sweetbutt’s and then only if they understand the rules.” Rock stated with a grim expression.
“Good, tell my woman that I’ll be back in a little while to get her.” Tiny moved back over to Tank and Trick who were still talking to Bone. Ten minutes later, the three men left.
“Lisa, we should get those jeans off so that when it’s time you’re ready.” Racheal quietly suggested to her, as Slim was ushered to the front room by Tiny.
“How many times do I have to tell you people that I AM NOT IN LAB… oh, shit!” Lisa looked down at her pants, which were suddenly soaked.
“Oh, shit! I’m in labor!” Lisa paled, and Racheal rushed closer to help Lisa before she passed out from her panic, she gently pushed the other woman towards the exam table. Racheal knew that things would go fast now; she needed to get the woman prepared.
“Let’s get these pants off you, honey.” Racheal calmly uttered, helping her onto the table. Then she began to help her take off the baggy jeans Lisa had been wearing. Waiting for the panic she knew was coming. Realizing that the woman was in denial because she was frightened, Racheal wanted to get her calm.
“I can’t have the baby it’s too early! I’m not ready, we have another week!” Lisa whispered, still a little shocked she was having her baby a week early. Racheal sighed, this was what she’d been afraid of. Lisa was freaking out.
“Sweetie, it will be okay. You’re not ready, but he is.” Racheal helped Lisa to lie back on the bed, trying to sooth the woman’s panic. Doc entered in a t-shirt and jeans, smiling.
“I hear we have an impatient little one. Now, let’s see where we are shall we?” Doc moved over to the exam table checking to see how Lisa was. A woman entered as he looked and began to move around the room getting things ready. She looked disheveled, wearing a pair of Red Devils pajamas and tennis shoes with her hair in a haphazard ponytail.
Doc turned to her smiling. “Get the scanner so we can check the baby’s heart rate, and bring in the pain blocker for Lisa.” Racheal was surprised that they had the pain blocking machine for Lisa. She knew that it was hard to get that kind of equipment outside the wall.
“How do you have pain blockers?” She asked, puzzled.
“Ah, Slim bought it for the club a month ago. He wanted Lisa to be comfortable. Tiny, Bone, and Dog helped him acquire it.” He was hooking up equipment and moved to Lisa who was now holding Racheal’s hand in a vise like grip, that she allowed knowing the other woman needed the reassurance. She wasn’t surprised that Tiny had helped get the pain blockers. He always seemed to be a step ahead and he was always willing to help out. Doc asked Lisa a few questions about how long she’d been in labor, and if she knew how far apart the contractions were.
Lisa lay in the exam bed looking shocked, with her bright pink hair limply lying beneath her as she answered the questions. Slim entered the room still looking like a mad man, walking to Lisa’s other side he took her hand in his own. Whispering that she’d be okay, in a desperately demanding voice, that made Racheal’s heart squeeze at the love it contained. The man was obviously hurting along with his woman, as Lisa waited for the pain blocker to be brought in. Stacy, the woman wearing the pajamas, entered with the pain blocker machine, wheeling it to the bed and hooking Lisa up. Racheal could see the relief that almost instantly covered her face. She watched Slim, seeing him coo at Lisa in an intimate display, making her feel like an intruder in their private moment.
She wanted to leave the room to give the two lovers their privacy, but Lisa still had a death grip on her hand and wouldn’t let go. So, she stayed even though she felt like she was intruding.
Things went quickly after that, and thirty minutes later Slim was holding his new son looking awed. Lisa lay exhausted on the bed glowing with joy. Racheal laughed, thinking
of the crow of triumph Slim had let out when his son was finally delivered, about ten minutes ago. Slim kissed Lisa’s forehead gently, whispering for her to rest.
“I’m gonna show all those assholes my new boy!” He gruffly bellowed. He held the baby moving towards the door to the lobby area. Racheal followed him after hugging Lisa, who promptly fell asleep. She entered behind Slim, surprised to see that the room was filled with bikers. Dog was sitting near the door smiling, as Slim stood before him holding his son. Tracy was cooing to the baby, holding her arms out to hold him.
Slim reluctantly allowed her to take the baby from him, but hovered close. Bone was on the couch nearby with a sleeping Molly leaning against his side. He grinned at her, returning the smile, she looked around searching for Tiny. Rock, Duck and a few men she didn’t know where also leaning or sitting around the room. Brandy was standing with Stick waiting for her turn to hold the baby. Tiny was not anywhere inside the room, this made her heart sink a bit. She wondered where he’d gone, had he left without telling her goodbye. That was very unlike him, but he hadn’t known how long she’d be in the room with Lisa. It still upset her to think he’d left her here without at least letting her know.
Rock walked over, standing close to her, he whispered. “Looking for Tiny?”
“Yes.” Racheal nodded, looking up at him expectantly.
“He had to go help Trick and Tank. There was an issue over at the Dixon farm that needed to be handled tonight. It couldn’t wait.”
Racheal wanted to demand to know what had happened, but she knew that the man would only tell her so much about issues with the club. It didn’t escape her notice that it was where Bone had sent Tessa. Not that she thought Tiny would cheat on her. She knew that wasn’t something that would happen. Tiny was too honorable. It was that she didn’t want him to have to deal with the issues the woman would try to cause if Tessa knew that he was there.
Claiming Racheal Page 7
