Crap.
Rapid Italian shouts echoed down the hall and I bit back a laugh, wondering how exactly this was going to go down.
Three very anxious Monterran men were suddenly in my room, two of them at my side as the third went to Lemon. None of them seemed to realize that they were all speaking Italian, and though I had learned quite a bit since meeting this gang two years ago, I still didn’t know how to translate any of this stuff. The girls rushed in and all three were rambling on in a mixture of English and Italian, and I thought Violetta was ordering the others to get my bag and make sure everything was there, but I wasn’t positive.
“English, y’all,” Lemon finally announced loudly. “Kat’s brain is not working well enough to translate your jabbering.”
“Thanks,” I told her, straightening up and turning to Nico, who looked almost as terrified as I felt.
He immediately had my arms in his grasp and was looking me over as if he expected to find bodily injury. “Bella, are you all right? What happened? What can I do?”
I mirrored his hold on me and grasped his arms. “I’m fine. My water broke and contractions are happening. We need to go.”
Rafe put an arm around my shoulder from behind me. “What do you need, Kat?”
I smiled up at him weakly. “Gelato?”
He barked a laugh and kissed my cheek. “Maybe later, sorella. I think there’s a few things you need to do first.”
I heaved a sigh and looked back at Nico, who had cupped my cheeks and was stroking softly. “Probably. Promise me later?”
Nico smiled and shook his head. “Rafe will take you on twelve illicit gelato dates after you have the baby, I promise.”
I grinned up at him, keeping my eyes on his, my stomach clenching with anticipation at his words ‘after you have the baby’. Holy frak, this was happening. I glanced back at my brother-in-law. “Rafe?”
“You got it, Kat,” he laughed.
I nodded once. “Okay. It’s baby time.”
“Finally!” Dante exclaimed, coming over with his arm around Lemon. “I thought you’d be pregnant forever!”
“Shut up, Dante,” the entire room said together.
Violetta came over to us, my bag over her shoulder. “Here are your things,” she said, grinning excitedly. “Better go!”
I took it, only for Nico to take it from me. “Okay,” I answered, my voice wavering a little.
Nico wrapped his arm around me and steered me towards the door, his steps far outpacing my short shuffles, but somehow he was steady at my side.
The girls all beamed and followed us, Rafe dashing up ahead to tell Aria what was going on, as she had stayed downstairs with Dominic. Lemon and Dante would come with us, and Lemon was telling me all of the arrangements she had made, but none of them registered, except that Giacomo was taking care of it.
I really didn’t need to know anything else.
Another contraction hit, this one feeling like the worst menstrual cramps times five thousand three hundred and twenty-four with a Charlie Horse style flair, and I clamped down on my lips hard and paused in our group shuffle to lean against the wall, waiting for it to pass. I buried my face into my arm and bit down a little, trying to ignore the panic that the pain was like this at the beginning.
The girls shrieked my name and started to rush to me in concern, but Nico barked something in Italian at them and they stayed back. His hands smoothed up and down my back as he murmured to me. “Breathe, bella. Breathe through it.”
I nodded, exhaling slowly, trying to ignore the various clenching parts of me.
“I’m fine,” I said, my voice muffled by my arm. “I’m fine.”
“We know that, honey,” Lemon soothed, laying a hand on my arm. “You’re doing great.”
“You look awful,” Dante chimed in.
Someone must have hit him, because I heard him grunt, which made me happy.
The pain passed and I lifted my face to look up at Nico. “I think we’d better hurry,” I whispered.
His eyes widened a little and he nodded at once. “Let’s go, then.”
I replied with a nod and a sigh, pushing off of the wall. “Game on.”
Dante flashed a proud grin. “That’s the spirit. I’m driving.”
Nico and I shared a panicked look. We were doomed.
Thankfully, Rafe reappeared at that moment. “Car’s pulled around,” he panted as he loped up the stairs. “Giacomo is talking with the hospital now, Lorenz is waiting outside, and Mother and Father send their love and best wishes.”
“Grazie, Rafe,” I managed, now holding onto Nico with white knuckles.
His eyes lit up with a teasing look that contrasted with his reserved demeanor. “Prego, Kat.” He glanced at his brothers, then back at me. “Let’s get the Queen to the hospital, huh?”
As if on cue, all three sprang into action and literally swept me off my feet, one on each side and one behind me. I clutched Nico’s neck in panic, which made him laugh, and I could feel Dante laughing against my back.
“Put me down,” I ordered half-heartedly, laughing myself.
“No,” all three said at once, and the girls cheered behind us.
I rolled my eyes and called, “Lemon?”
“Uh uh,” she said loudly. “I am not commenting on this stupidity because it is actually getting you out faster. Shut up and let the pretty men carry you.”
I dropped my head back, and it landed squarely on Dante’s shoulder. “Frak,” I groaned.
Another contraction hit and I tensed with a cry, my hands clenching into both Nico and Rafe sharply, drawing pained noises from each.
“Move along, then,” Dante barked, not teasing anymore. “Come on, move.”
And move we did.
“That’s it, that’s it, that’s it, good job, Kat.”
I sat back against the bed with a harsh pant, my chest heaving. “Thanks.”
Lemon dabbed at my forehead with a rag she’d managed to pick up from somewhere. “Pity you’re still only at a two,” she teased.
I swiped her hand away. “Shut up. Go away.”
She grinned and looked over at Nico on the other side if me. “Man, she’s getting meaner.”
He shrugged, smiling. “It’s been an hour, she’s tired.”
“And you don’t know I’m a two,” I retorted, squeezing Nico’s hand. “I could be at a six.”
Lemon gave me a hard look. “Uh uh. Not that fast, chica.”
“And you got your MD from…?”
Dante laughed shortly and patted the seat next to him. “You had better come over here, Limone. She bites.”
I closed my eyes and sighed, swallowing hard. I hadn’t been here that long, it was true, but every contraction felt like it could be the last one, and I thought my body was going to combust from the pain. I hadn’t screamed yet, but it was getting closer and closer. I wanted to be composed and restrained, a woman of poise and strength.
If this didn’t get going, poise and strength were going to take a flying leap off of a building into a landfill of dirty diapers.
I felt Nico’s cool hands on my face, stroking and pushing my hair back. “How are you, cuore mio?” he asked softly, his voice tinged with worry.
I opened my eyes and looked up at him with a tired smile. “I’ve been better,” I replied in as bland of a tone as I could make it. “It feels like someone is grabbing my muscles and yanking, then holding. My body is trying to wring the baby out of me.”
He made a face and kissed my brow, probably more because there really wasn’t anything he could do, and not a whole lot to say. I felt bad for him, knowing what a doer he was, and he tried to do everything for me anyway, but this was something I had to do, and he had to watch.
Poor Nico.
I barely managed not to snort. Poor Nico? Poor me!
My doctor came into the room just then and said, “Buon Natale, Your Majesty!”
I looked up at Nico with a gasp. “It’s Christmas Eve!”
<
br /> He smiled crookedly. “It is… It has been all day.”
I shook my head sharply. “No, no, no, I am not having a Christmas baby.” I glared down at the doctor. “You had better tell me I’m progressing, this baby is coming TODAY.”
He looked up at me with a twinkle in his eye as Dante and Lemon slipped out of the room so he could check me. “I will tell you what I can, ma’am, but aside from medication, there is no way to make you go faster.”
I growled in my throat and propped my feet into position so he could check me, letting Nico take my hand and interlace our fingers in an attempt to calm me.
“Three,” the doctor said after a moment. He looked sympathetic, but still smiled. “You are progressing, but it could be a number of hours.”
I glanced up at the clock. Five o’clock. That gave me a good seven hours. I could certainly get a baby out in seven hours, no problem.
Never mind that my contractions were still three to four minutes apart, even though my water had broken.
I could do that.
I set my jaw and nodded at the doctor while Nico left my side to speak with him in soft and rapid Italian. I stared at the ceiling, trying to gauge what my body was doing, how I was feeling, and how to speed things up.
I was in pain, but I was okay. The pain was ripping across my mid-section, but so far I’d been able to breathe through it fairly well. I’d already called my mom and Sue Ellen, and both of them had been delighted and squealing, and I was glad I wouldn’t have to deal with that now.
There was no squealing from this point on.
I looked down at my belly and adopted the most stern, maternal look I could conjure up. “Now you listen to me, child,” I ordered with the best queenly tone I had in me. “I am your mother, and I am telling you that you are coming before that clock hits midnight, do you hear me? There is no alternative. I will do what I can, but you need to meet me halfway. Got it?”
The response was a ripping contraction that surprised me with its force that I threw my head back and let loose with an odd sort of roar mixed with a whimper, and it whirled Nico around faster than anything else.
“Katerina,” he half cried, half soothed, coming back over. “Kat…”
“Hold my hand,” I gritted, clenching my teeth and opening my hand spasmodically. “Hold it.”
He did so, and I immediately squeezed hard, gasping a short release of air.
“Wow,” Dante commented as he entered the room, immediately going over to the machine to watch. “This is a good one. Go Kat.”
I ignored him as best as I could, knowing he wasn’t trying to be annoying, just trying to amuse me, which, at this moment, was really annoying.
Slowly, carefully, I let the rest of the air out and eventually relaxed my hold on Nico.
He kissed my hand and started rubbing it. “I’m sorry.”
I raised a brow at him, wondering how he could still look gorgeous after a long day of preparations, still striking in his blue button up shirt, rolled at the sleeves, open at the collar, and his hair just the slightest bit messy. He was perfect, and he deserved a perfect partner.
Too bad he had me.
“What are you sorry for?” I asked, shoving my thoughts away.
He lifted a shoulder in a half shrug. “I’m not sure. It seemed appropriate to state, however.”
That drew a smile out of me and I touched his cheek. “Sweet. It’s going to be a bit, why don’t you and Dante go see if there is better food this time around?”
Dante obviously heard the unspoken message in my words and he met my eyes, nodding once. “Good idea,” he said brightly, his tone contrasting sharply with the look in his eyes. “Come on, King, let’s greet your loyal subjects in the cafeteria.”
Nico shook his head at once. “If you think I’m leaving you for one minute…”
“Go away,” I interrupted, smiling and touching his face again. “I need to chat with Lemon and I need you to not be here when I do.”
His lips parted to protest, but no words came out. Then his mouth closed and his brow furrowed. “I don’t like this,” he muttered.
Lemon clicked her tongue. “Just for a minute, Nico. Dante and I can’t stay long, not if we want to keep up appearances. Everybody knows she’s in labor, and we have dinner tonight, and the mass…” She shook her head. “Gimme a minute with her, okay? Then it’s all you.”
Nico never looked at her, but kept his perfect eyes on me. “Five minutes,” he finally said.
“Ten,” I countered.
He shook his head and looked severe. “Fine,” he muttered. “Ten. And then you are all mine for the rest of the night.”
I somehow managed to breathe and swallow, but I was pretty sure my brain and heart stopped at that. “Why does that not sound as fun as it normally would?” I said weakly.
He and Dante laughed and then were gone, and Lemon took up her seat on my other side. “I thought they’d never go,” she commented, grinning at me. “So useless at these times.”
I tried to smile but couldn’t quite manage it.
“What’s up, sweetie?” she asked, sobering immediately. “You look like you’re going to cry.”
“I might,” I whispered. And with that admission, my eyes burned and my throat closed up.
Lemon smiled a little and took my hand. “Kat, it’s okay. This sucks. I remember.”
I nodded with a sniffle. “It’s more than that. I just… What if I can’t do this?”
That earned me a scolding look beyond anything I’d ever seen Lemon give. “Stop that. If I can be a mom, so can you. You’re going to be way better than me, and I’m convinced that once Eva figures that out, she’ll start running to you instead of me. Besides, it’s too late now.” She flashed a devious grin. “You are a mom, Kat. And you worked pretty hard to get there. So stop with the ‘what if’ and just roll with it. The next few hours are going to be brutal, hon, and your negative energy here is going to make it worse.”
I snorted and gave her a look. “Negative energy? Are you a big yoga chi master now?”
“Lord, no,” she said, sitting back in her chair. “I’m just trying to get you to conserve energy so you can push when the time comes.”
I bit my lip a little. “Does it hurt?”
“Yes.”
“Stupid question?”
“Yep.”
I tilted my head. “You regret getting the epidural?”
“HECK no.”
I groaned and leaned back against the pillow. Then the contraction hit and I gasped loudly, holding my breath and willing it away.
“Oh, for pity’s sake, Kat, let it out,” Lemon half begged. “You’re making me feel horrible, and you’ve been trying to get this kid out for a month. Go for it, or get the darn epidural.”
“No!” I whimpered loudly, shaking my head. “No drugs.”
“I know, I know,” she replied, shaking her head. “I think you’re dumb, but I know. I get it.” She glanced at the monitor. “Almost done.”
“I know,” I sighed as the pain subsided.
Lemon sat there for a long moment. “Craziest thing you did while pregnant.”
I laughed once. “Try every pin about inducing labor. Except castor oil.”
Lemon choked a laugh and covered her mouth. “Seriously?”
I nodded. “All of them.”
“And I thought I was bad for reorganizing the entire east wing when I was nesting,” she mused, folding her arms over her striped sweater.
“That was you?” I’d noticed the change a few weeks ago, and it really did look good, but I had no idea it had been Lemon.
She nodded proudly. “I did good, huh? Funny how that worked. And since I was on self-imposed bed rest…”
“Pretty sure that was your craziest thing,” I pointed out.
“…all I had to do was order people around,” she finished, completely ignoring my interruption.
I smiled at her and shook my head. “You’re crazy.”
&nb
sp; She smiled back. “Says the woman who tells her baby not to be a Christmas baby.”
“We have an understanding,” I replied with an indignant sniff. “Lots of women speak to their unborn children.”
Lemon raised a brow. “Yeah, and none of them arrange delivery dates with them.”
“Christmas is different,” I mumbled.
“Are we still on that?” Dante asked as he and Nico reentered the room. “Give it a rest.”
“Goodbye, Dante.” I waved and indicated the door. “Have fun tonight and don’t slip on the ice.”
He grinned at me as only Dante could. “Then I could hurt myself and come be your roommate, Kat. Wouldn’t that be fun?”
“A riot,” I returned with a nod. “Now go away.”
He came over and hugged me, kissing me on the cheek. “Ti amo, sorella,” he murmured gently.
I patted his cheek and smiled. “You too.”
Lemon hugged me tightly and only said, “Send me pictures.”
I nodded against her and let her go, waving as they disappeared.
Nico watched me for a long moment, standing at the foot of my bed. He looked powerful and gorgeous, like a GQ photo shoot that would make all pregnant women everywhere have unrealistic expectations of expectant fathers.
I started to shift restlessly under his gaze. “What?” I finally asked, feeling uncomfortable and fat and sore already.
“We are having a baby,” he said slowly. “Right now.”
I managed to smile at that. “Are you ready?”
“Probably not.” He smiled tightly. “Probably far from it. But I am absolutely ready for whatever the next chapter of our life brings us because I have you at my side. So long as I have that, I don’t care about anything else.”
Be still my melting heart and my screaming ovaries. I clamped down on my lips and held out my hand. “I love you.”
He took my hand at once and kissed the back, then turned it over and softly pressed his lips to my palm. “I love you, too,” he whispered against the skin.
I could feel another contraction building and I didn’t think I could keep quiet this time. I moved my hand to grip his shirt and pulled him closer to me. “Don’t leave me,” I whimpered, tensing up.
He shook his head firmly. “Never. I’m right here.”
The Royals of Monterra: Royal Delivery (Kindle Worlds) Page 13
