Rebecca experienced her first contraction on July third at precisely 2:33 in the afternoon. A fact she decided to keep to herself until the contractions were either five minutes apart or she could no longer hide the pain from those around her.
She made this decision for one very important reason: Seth. He had two days off for the holiday, and would arrive at Rebecca’s sometime the evening of the third. She very much wanted the man she loved, her future husband, to be present when their baby was born. So…she figured she’d hold off as long as possible and hoped like crazy their impatient daughter would comply.
All went well for a while. Neither Rebecca’s mother nor sister noticed anything amiss. Seth’s parents didn’t, either, when they stopped in at four. Grady and Jace, her designated watchdogs until Seth appeared, arrived together at six, and that was about the time Rebecca knew she’d likely have to ask them to drive her to the hospital. Her contractions were eight minutes apart, dropping from ten in less than an hour.
By 6:30, pain and pressure stretched across her abdomen every seven minutes, by 7:00 she was down to six-and-a-half. Seth, she knew, was over two hours out, and as she sat in her living room with Grady and Jace, she tried—oh, how she tried—to act normal.
Unfortunately—or fortunately, as the case might be—Grady had gone through this before, and he began to watch Rebecca very curiously at the 7:13 mark. Her fault, she supposed, for stopping midsentence to suck in her breath while gripping her belly.
Jace, as she’d learned from their encounter in January, was also a very observant guy. When Rebecca’s next contraction rippled through her stomach at 7:19, he noticed. Probably due to her tiny—really and truly miniscule—yelp of pain.
The brothers looked at each other and had some sort of Foster-mind-meld moment that somehow didn’t surprise Rebecca in the least. Without saying a word, Grady retrieved a notepad and pen from the kitchen to track her contractions while Jace climbed the stairs and returned with Rebecca’s overnight bag. Then, both brothers calmly and methodically retook their seats.
By 7:52, Rebecca’s contractions were coming every six minutes. She was uncomfortable, overheated and heading straight for grumpy without passing go. Grady suggested they leave for the hospital and Jace quickly seconded that motion. Rebecca testily explained that she far preferred to stay home until her contractions were five minutes apart, and unless something really wonky happened, Seth would show in plenty of time.
At 8:04, Rebecca’s water broke.
And okay, perhaps this fell on the childish side, but she was embarrassed to tell Grady and Jace. The idea of discussing something so intimate with either of them, regardless of how much she might like them, was too much. Way too much.
Except…well, again, both men had proven to be very observant. Another strange mind-meld moment occurred, and without one word of warning, Grady hauled her up in his arms and Jace grabbed a handful of towels and her overnight bag, and she was on her way to the hospital.
They stood in for Seth until he arrived, helping Jocelyn with everything from rubbing Rebecca’s back to spooning ice chips in her mouth. Jace kept Rebecca entertained in between her contractions, while Grady kept her calm through them. One by one, other Carmichael and Foster family members pooled into her room and joined in the effort.
It was crazy to the nth degree, but it was also…warm and comforting.
When Seth flew into Rebecca’s hospital room, his eyes wild and full of love—so much love for Rebecca—she almost forgot she was in labor. Well, until the next kill-me-now contraction rolled in. He held her hand, whispered words of love and support, found little ways to make her laugh and gave her strength when she didn’t think she had any left.
Shortly after midnight, the nurse kicked everyone except for Seth out of Rebecca’s room. With fireworks blasting outside the window, Grace—lovingly and appropriately named after her two uncles—entered the world. She was perfect in every way: ten fingers and toes, a very healthy set of lungs and dark blue eyes that Rebecca felt sure would one day be a matching set to Seth’s.
Later that day, when the Foster and Carmichael families took turns meeting Grace, Rebecca was reminded again of the terrible mistake she almost made. Her daughter had grandmothers and grandfathers and uncles and aunts, all of whom would cherish and love her.
The circle enlarged by one six weeks later when Levi Foster, Grady and Olivia’s precious and beautiful son was born. Rebecca cried when she met her first nephew, when she stared into his eyes. Connections were…miraculous. She was a mother, an aunt, a sister and a daughter. Soon—before the year was out—she would be a wife. Seth’s wife.
And that made her one exceptionally lucky woman.
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