“Nathan.”
“Hmm?” he responded, not looking up from his laptop.
“Nathan,” Bella hissed, and now he could hear the try-not-to-panic undertone. He looked up to see her bracing herself against the doorframe. Her eyes were huge.
“Contractions?” he asked, rising quickly to get to her side. She nodded, visibly focused on trying to level out her breathing.
“Like before?” She’d had the Braxton-Hicks variety over the past few days.
“Nope,” she managed, sucking air in through her nose and blowing it out through her mouth. “I think...” another breath, “we need to go.”
Nathan raced up the stairs for the hospital bag they’d prepacked, then all but carried her to the car. He drove as fast as he dared and could tell by the way her tone shifted with each new contraction that the big day had arrived.
