Chapter 102

“Don’t panic,” Sabrina stood, taking control of the situation. “The go bag is already packed. I’ll call the doctor and then Spencer on the way there.” She delegated.
“No!” Will yelled. “Why him? Why does he get to be a part of this? Why do you need him and not me?”
“You’re driving,” Sabrina called to him. “Get her to the car!”
Will held his hand out to Emma and she moved away from him.
“Don’t touch me,” she breathed through the pain, cowering away from him.
“You two are not going to do this right now!” Sabrina yelled. “Emma, go with him. I’ll be right down.”
“I don’t want to,” Emma cried. The pain was becoming unbearable, but Emma didn’t want to move.
“Emma!” Sabrina yelled. “You don’t have a choice! Will, take her.”
“No!” Emma yelled back. At that point, she wasn’t even sure why she was fighting it so hard. She knew she had to go to the hospital. But she didn’t want Will to touch her. It was the hardest memory for her to let go of. His touch, the feeling of his skin against hers. She knew if she felt that again, it would be almost impossible to kick him out of her life. At random points for the months she was gone, she would swear she could feel the ghost of his fingers trail across her neck. His phantom lips kissing along her collarbone. If she reached out, her hands would touch the taut muscles of his chest. The way her nerves crackled and fizzed every time he touched her. Her cravings for him were insatiable at first. It took so long to get under control. If he touched her now, that would be it. All of her hard work would be undone.
Unknowing of her inner battles, Will went to her and scooped in her arms. That spark, that fire that had been missing in his life was ignited the second he touched her. He felt alive. The frayed edges of his soul felt relief. But neither had time to linger. Another contraction ripped through Emma’s body.
“Hurry!” Sabrina ordered. When Will and Emma were out of sight, Sabrina pulled out her phone. “Hey,” she said when he answered.
“What’s going on?” Spencer questioned. “Is he still there?”
“Yeah, he is. But, I need you to calm down. The baby is coming.”
“What?” Spencer sputtered. “Oh, okay. I’ll be there. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Okay.”
“Tell me something,” he said before hanging up. “Emma and Will… are they going to…”
“It’s his baby, Spencer. No amount of wishing it was yours is going to make that happen. See you at the hospital.”
Emma was quickly admitted and seen by her doctor.
“Well,” she concluded. “Labor has started. The baby won’t be coming tonight, but I want to keep you here. I’d say our little one will be here within the next 24 hours. I’ve set up an epidural keep you comfortable.”
“Thank you,” Emma whimpered. She was weak from pain.
“Thank you, doctor,” Will added.
“You’re welcome.” She looked at him with a discerning eye. “I haven’t met you before.”
“I’m the baby’s father,” he said, daring Emma to say something to the contrary. She gave him a knowing look.
“Ah, yes. Well saddle up. You’re in for a long night. I’ll be back in a while to check on you both.”
Sabrina walked in as the doctor left.
“What did she say?”
“No baby tonight,” Will sighed. “But, she wants Emma to stay in the hospital. The baby should come in the next 24 hours.”
“Okay. Let’s get comfy.”
“I’ll get us upgraded to a larger maternity suite,” Will stood and started to leave.
“No!” Emma said. “I’m fine right here.”
“I’m going to provide everything I can for you and my child. You’ll have the best of everything.”
“I said no!”
“Goddamnit, Emma! I’m trying to do what’s right!”
“What’s ‘right’ would have been if you hadn’t left me in the first place!”
“It’s what you wanted! Why are you fighting me on everything?”
“Because I don’t need you!”
“I’m not saying you do,” Will countered, trying his best to pretend that statement didn’t hurt. “But I am going to take care of you. And our baby.”
“My baby!”
“Our baby, Emma,” Will repeated. “Our baby. No matter how much you hate me, you can’t change the fact that I am that baby’s father. I want to do this with you, alongside you. Don’t use this child as a weapon against me.”
Emma gasped, and she wiped the tears off her face.
Ooh, that one hurt, Sabrina thought.
Will waited for a retort, but Emma didn’t say anything.
“I’m going to arrange a better room for you,” Will walked out.
“Is that what I’m doing?” Emma whimpered, looking over at Sabrina. “Am I using the baby as a weapon against him?”
“Em, you’re overly emotional right now with months of repressed feelings lashing out all at once,” Sabrina offered.
“Answer the question,” she sniffled.
“Kind of?” Sabrina said. “More like a shield.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Then don’t,” Sabrina placed a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “You aren’t thinking straight right now. You’re scared, hormonal, confused. It’s okay.”
“Why now?” Emma cried. “Why did he have to show up now?”
“Sometimes, destiny has a way of giving us things we didn’t know we needed. Your baby will need a father. And he’s here. To be with you. So, you can meet your baby together. He was shitty husband. Doesn’t mean he’ll be a shitty father. This is his second chance. Look at what your father did with his second chance.”
After a little while, Emma was transferred to larger, private suite. Sabrina helped her settle in and then excused herself to grab something to eat. She’s been privy to too many arguments between Emma and Will that should have been private. As she witnessed them, she understood how wounded they both were. She knew where Emma’s wounds came from, but Will’s pain was something else. It was something deeper than she feared even he understood.
Them being back in each other’s lives was not going to be an easy road. That road only had two destinations: Bliss or Ruin. But regardless of where they arrived, the journey was going to be long, difficult and painful.
“I’m sorry I yelled at you,” Will said.
Emma looked at him. She opened her mouth to speak, but started bawling. Will was stunned, frozen.
“I… I… I’m sorry,” she wailed. “This is just too much. I don’t know how to feel. I don’t know what feelings are real and what aren’t.” She kept trying to speak, but it only made her crying worse. Before either of them realized what was going on, Will was hugging her.
Emma melted into Will’s embrace. She felt safe as he held her, and everything wrong that happened between them melted away. Will felt peace as he held Emma. It’s where she belonged. Emma looked up at Will and saw he was looking at her. Time froze as the stared at each other. Their pulses raced; their blood rushed; the air around them sizzled. Touching her brought every moment back. Every moment his name fell from her lips as he brought her over the edge.
Emma felt her heart thrash in her chest. Despite everything that Will had put her through, she was always sure she was safe in his arms. His overwhelming ruthlessness concealed something loving and tender. She knew she should move away or push him off. He never touched her unless she wanted it. Move away from him, she told herself. But she couldn’t. No one had touched her like this in a long time. He was still the only one.
“The baby is kicking,” Emma whispered. She grabbed his hand and placed it on her belly. Will marveled at the sensation beneath her skin.
“That’s amazing,” he breathed. “I’m really going to be a father.”
“You are.”
Spencer ran down the hall, balloons and flowers in tow. He turned the corner and saw Will and Emma locked in an intimate embrace through the doorway. The sight pulled the air from his body, and he felt hot pain sizzle through him. He thought he had worked through his feelings for Emma. Thought that he was fine living as her friend. But he realized it was because he was convinced that William Stewart would never reenter her life. With Will back, there was no room in her heart for anyone else.
I should have made a move so much sooner, he kicked himself. There was once a small window of opportunity for him. They would have been amazing together. But he missed it and now it was too late. Will was the baby’s father, and there was nothing he could do about it. After watching them for another moment, he walked away with just his broken heart for company.