Raptor (Fury Vipers MC: Dublin Chapter #2)

10. Mallory

Chapter 10

Mallory

Three Months Later

I wince as another pain rips through me. God, did it have to be today? I'm in labor. There's no question about it. My contractions have been happening on and off all day, and they're getting more intense as the day wears on, not to mention they're happening more frequently too. I reach for my cell and hit dial on Ma’s number. For the past three months, she's been working from the office only once a week, ensuring she's home with me the majority of the time. Today, of course, had to be the day she's in the office, and she's not called me back despite the thirty missed calls she's had from me.

That night when Micah made his threat to me, Ma packed us up and moved us to the outskirts of Dublin. With a city with over a million people, it was easy enough for us to hide. Thankfully, Micah hasn't made an appearance since that night, and I know that's down to Ma hiding us. She's extremely careful to ensure that she's not followed when coming home from work or the grocery store. She's doing everything she can to ensure our safety and I love her so much for doing that.

"Ugh," I groan through the contraction. "Ma, please... God, please answer the damn phone."

I'm not going to be able to drive myself to the hospital and there's no way an ambulance will get to me in time. God, I really need my mam. Once again the phone goes to voicemail, and I'm left wondering what the hell I'm going to do. There's no way in hell I'm going to give birth at home. I'm scared enough as it is. I won't—can't do this alone.

I decide to do something I promised myself I wouldn't do. I call Jess, knowing Micah could be watching, which means she could end up being caught in this mess. Either way, I have no choice. She's my only option right now. I'm just praying she'll answer.

"Hello?" I hear her soft voice say, and I sob in relief. "Mallory?"

"Hey," I whisper, letting her know it's me. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"What's wrong?" she asks. "Is everything okay?"

"Not really. Ma's at work and I'm in labor. I need to get to the hospital but my contractions are coming quickly. I won't be able to drive myself."

"I'm on the way," she assures me. I can hear her walking. "Mav's let me use his car if I need it. So far, I haven't needed to, but today I will. Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I say, grateful that I have her to talk to. "Are you sure you're okay to come?"

I hear her little laugh. "There's nowhere else in this world that I'd rather be. I'm in the car now and I'm coming."

Relief washes through me. God, what did I do to deserve a friend like her?

"I'll call you when I'm outside. Do you have everything packed?"

"Yes," I breathe. "I have the bag by the door waiting. I'm ready to go."

"Excellent," she cries. "I'll be there soon. Are you still staying in the same house?"

"Yeah, we're still here."

Jess has no idea why Ma and I left the house in the city and moved to the outskirts. She had Maverick check in on me and they discovered the house was empty after Ma and I left. We'd left our cells there in case Micah was tracking them. Thankfully, Jess hasn't really questioned it. I told her that Ma wanted to move due to it being better for the baby and the house having an office for her to work out of.

"See you soon. Today's the day we get to meet Shay."

My heart's racing, but the joy that fills it with her words is overwhelming. Yes, today is the day we get to meet my son. This is the day I've been looking forward to for so long. It's kind of hard to imagine that it's finally here. But I'm excited to meet him. We're all calling him Shay, and it's something that I love. I've known since the moment I found out I was having a boy what I wanted to name him. I wanted to name him after his father, Shane.

"I'm hanging up now, but I won't be long."

"Thank you. Drive safely," I urge as we end the call.

My cell starts to ring the moment my call with Jess finishes. Relief unlike any other hits me when I see Ma’s name flashing on the screen.

"Ma," I answer. "Finally. God, are you okay?"

"I'm so sorry, love. I've been in meetings all day. Is it time?"

She doesn't need to be told. She already knows. "Yes. I'm sorry for all the calls."

"Hush, sweetie, it's okay. I'm on my way home. How are you doing?"

I cry. "I’m scared. I didn't think you'd make it. I've called Jess. She's also on her way."

"I would have always made it, Mallory. I wouldn't have missed this for the world. I'm about fifteen minutes from home. When I called, you were on another call so I left work instantly. I shouldn't be too long. Just let me know if you're not okay."

"I'm fine, Ma. I promise. Just scared and overwhelmed."

"That's to be expected. I'll be home soon. Love you, sweetie."

I close my eyes and let her words sink over me. "I love you too. Drive safe."

I waddle over to the front door, putting my cell into my bag so that it's ready for when I leave. My stomach tightens, and within seconds, a huge pop sounds, followed by a loud, gushing sound. Shit, my waters have just broken.

I glance down at the puddle at my feet and wonder why the midwife lied to me. She told me it wouldn't be a big gush like in the movies, rather just a small trickle. I call bullshit because right now I'm standing in what's akin to the bloody river Liffey.

Thankfully, I'm able to clean up the mess and my feet, but I don't have time to change. A car is pulling up out front. I peer through the window and see it's Ma’s car that's parked out front. She doesn't turn off the engine. Instead, she slides out of the front seat and races toward the house. "Mallory, are you okay?" she asks as she opens the front door.

"Yeah. I have some towels to put on the seat. My water has broken," I tell her, breathing hard as I waddle toward her. "I don't want to ruin your seats."

Ma smiles at me, pulling me into her arms. "It's okay. The interior can be washed. Are you ready?"

I nod. "Ready as I'll ever be. Is Jess here yet?"

"She parked out front while I parked in the drive. Let me help you into the car," she says softly as she takes my arm and leads me out of the house, stopping to pick up my hospital bag on the way out.

I get into the car and smile when I see Jess is already sitting in the seat beside me. She helps me to put on the seatbelt. "You're not alone."

I grin. "No. I should have never panicked," I say with a laugh. “But damn, Ma left it late."

Jess giggles. "She wanted to make you sweat. Jayne always loves to be the drama."

"I do not," Ma says from the front seat as she drives out of the driveway. "But either way, today is the day. I'm going to be a granny. I'm so damn excited."

Jess nods. "I'm going to be an auntie. I can't believe it's finally here. How are you feeling, Mal? Stressed, excited, overwhelmed?"

"Before I called you, I was all three. Now I'm excited, scared, nervous, and overwhelmed. The stress has gone now that you're both here with me." Before I can thank her, a contraction rips through me and steals my breath away. I try to breathe through it, trying my hardest not to scream out loud, knowing Ma will be upset and worried if I do. Instead, I bite my lip and try to breathe through my nose.

"That's it," Jess encourages me. "Like that, deep breaths. In and out. Breathe through it."

I glance at her, wondering where the hell she learned that.

She gives me a sheepish smile. "Um, I may have been taking online Lamaze classes in case you needed me."

"Oh Jess," I whisper, completely blown away by her. "You're amazing."

She lifts her shoulders and shrugs. "Hardly. You'd do the same for me. In fact, you've done a lot more," she says softly so only I can hear her. "You're my best friend. We're closer than sisters. I'm here for you whenever you need me, just as I know that you are when the tables are turned. It's going to be okay."

Jess holds my hand as Ma drives us to the hospital. The contractions are now every four minutes, as timed by Jess. The fear that I had is intensifying as the pain of the contractions gets worse. Holy hell, how do people do this more than once? I'm about ready to lie down and call it a night. It's bloody sore.

"You're doing amazing, Mallory. Honest, you're so damn brilliant," Jess praises, and I want to cry at the pride in her voice.

"Ma, how much longer?" I ask through gritted teeth.

"We should be at the hospital in ten minutes or so depending on traffic."

I let out a harsh breath. Damn it, that's not what I meant.

"Um, Jayne, I'm pretty sure Mal meant how long until she has the baby?" Jess clarifies for me.

"How am I to know?" Ma asks as she stops at a red light. She turns to face me. "Sweetie, everyone is different. This is your first baby and it could take a while."

I shake my head. "It hurts," I tell her. "It's only going to get worse. I don't want to do this anymore."

Jess' fingers brush over my hair. "You're doing amazingly. We'll be at the hospital soon and we can get you the good drugs."

I sigh as I turn to her. "Promise?"

Jess laughs and nods furiously. "Promise. There'll be something you can take that'll help ease the pain, right, Jayne?"

"Oh yeah. When I had you, I had all the good stuff. It'll depend on how far you're dilated to see what we can get you."

"Everything," I hiss as yet another contraction hits me. "It seems quicker than four minutes," I yell as the pain once again takes my breath away.

"That's because it is," Jess says, still running her fingers over my hair. "There's two minutes."

"Ma," I cry, horrified. "Please don't let me give birth in the back of your car."

I can hear the laughter in her voice. "Don't worry, love, you won't. We'll be there soon."

"If all else fails, keep your legs closed. That should stop the baby coming, right?" Jess asks, glancing between Ma and I.

"Don't think it works like that, Jess," I say, trying to catch my breath. "The baby comes when it wants. We have no say over the matter."

"It'll be okay," she promises me as she continues to try and help me relax.

"We're here," Ma says as she parks in front of the hospital. "Jess, run in and grab a wheelchair. There's no way Mallory will be able to walk. Once you have that, you take her to the maternity ward and I'll park the car." Ma's all business, and I'm so damn grateful that she is. She's taking charge and leading the way. I don't have the capacity to do that right now. I'm in pain and I'm exhausted. The contractions have been coming since around ten a.m. this morning and it's almost six in the evening. I just want this over with and then I can have my little boy in my arms.

It doesn't take Jess long to have a wheelchair ready for me. With the help of her and Ma, I'm out of the car and sitting in the chair with my bag on my lap. I grip hold of the arms of the chair as yet another damned contraction racks through me. Ma presses a kiss to my head. "I'll be as quick as I can," she promises me.

I don't want her to go, but I know she has to park the car. She climbs into the driver's seat and pulls away from the curb. I watch as she drives away from the entrance and toward the car park.

"Ready?" Jess asks once my contraction is finished.

"Yeah," I say, my voice a little wobbly. I'm wondering just how the hell I'm supposed to give birth when it's so damn painful already. I know everyone has a different pain threshold, but mine must be nonexistent. I've never had to deal with physical pain. I had no idea what to think going into this. Ma tried to forewarn me about the pain, but nothing could have prepared me for this.

We get to the maternity floor and it seems as though it's all hands on deck.

"Mallory," my midwife, Claire, says as she gets me situated on the bed. "We just need to see how far you're dilated."

I nod. My hand is tight in Jess' grip. My girl isn't letting go of me. I'm so damn grateful she's here.

"She's in pain," Jess tells her. "Is there anything you can give her when the contractions hit?"

The midwife checks me out. "I'm sorry, but we'll only be able to offer gas and air at this time. Mallory's close to ten centimeters dilated, which means she's too far along for an epidural."

"Give me anything," I cry as another contraction hits.

I hear Claire laugh as she sets me up with the gas and air machine. She walks me through how to use it, and the moment I inhale deeply, I feel as though I'm floating. It doesn't take all the pain away, but it makes it bearable. The door opens to my room and Ma walks in. I sob. I'm so glad she's here that I actually begin to sob.

"It's okay," she promises me as she comes to stand by my side. "You're almost there."

"She's almost ten centimeters dilated," Jess informs her.

"Yes," Claire says with a smile. "Are you all ready?"

I nod. I'm more than ready for this.

Seventy-five minutes later, I have a beautiful baby boy in my arms. There may have been a lot of curse words and threats made to Raptor's appendage while I was in the throes of labor, but now that I'm holding my baby in my arms, I feel so content. God, I can't believe I'm a mam now.

"Wow," Jess says in awe. "That was beautiful. Thank you for letting me be a part of it. I'm so in love with my nephew."

"I wouldn't have had it any other way," I assure her. "Thank you for being here with us."

I glance down at my son, who's fast asleep against my chest, and know I'll do whatever it takes to protect him from anything that threatens to harm him.