“The anesthesiologist.  I went for the drugs, baby.  I’m sorry.”

“Stop apologizing.  We talked about this.”  He kisses her forehead, and then her lips.

“How is everyone out there?” I ask.

“They’re excited and nervous.  I would have been back sooner, but Isaac and Stacy showed up, and then the rest of your brothers and Sam and Mark all wanted to hear the status update from me directly, so I was on the phone with them for a little while.”  He sits back and watches the contraction monitor.  The needle starts to go up again, but Natalie doesn’t even flinch.

“It doesn’t hurt anymore?” I ask.

“I feel a little pressure, but no, the pain is gone.”

“Good,” I smile at them both, and realize I haven’t checked my phone all day.  I pull it out of my purse and wake it up, frowning when I see eight missed calls and five text messages.

I check the texts first. The first one is from Mrs. Glover.

Email is sent. I hope your family is well.

I breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that Nate got the documents he needed on time, then check the messages from him.

Hey baby, breaking away for lunch do you have a minute to talk?

I’m going into a meeting, won’t be available the rest of the afternoon.

Are you okay?

Please call me.

Shit.  He’s worried.  I haven’t even thought about calling him since I got the call about Natalie.  I should have called him.  I check the voice mail.

“I’m worried.  Jenny said you ran out of the office this morning because of an emergency, but she hasn’t heard from you.  I can’t reach you on your cell or the house line.  Please be considerate and let me know you’re okay.  I can’t pack up and go home tonight to check on you. Call me.”

I hang up and glare at my phone.  I don’t like his tone.

“Hey guys, I’m going to go find a quiet spot and call Nate real quick.  He’s been trying to reach me all day.  Don’t have that baby without me.  I’ll be right back.”  I kiss Natalie’s cheek and walk down the hall to a small, empty waiting room.  Our family must be out in the larger one near the hospital entrance.

I scroll down to Nate’s name and press send.

“Julianne,” he sounds relieved and pissed at the same time.

“Hey, can you talk?”

“Yes, I’m at the hotel.  Where the fuck have you been?”

“Don’t yell at me.  I’m at the hospital.”

“What’s wrong?  Are you hurt?” His voice is suddenly panicked and I feel like a shit.

“No,” I respond, my voice calm now and soothing.  “Natalie’s in labor, Nate.  I’m sorry I didn’t call.  I got the call this morning at the office after I texted you, and I raced here to meet them, and I’ve been with her ever since.  It’s been a long day.  Still no baby.”

“Is she okay?” he asks.

“Yeah, she’s doing great.  Luke is too, surprisingly.  It shouldn’t be too much longer.”

“You should have called.” His voice is cold again, and I’m tired, and I do not need this right now.

“I already apologized.”

“I’ve been worried. Also, what the fuck happened to the report I asked you to send me?”

“What are you talking about? I finished it and asked Jenny to send it for me because I forgot to hit send on the email before I ran out of the office. She sent me a text and said that it was done.” What the hell happened to my report?

“I got it, but it was half-assed done. That’s not like you.”

“That report was perfect, Nate. I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.” I run my hand through my hair in frustration.

“When I’m out here alone I need to be able to depend on you to do your job in the office, Julianne.”

“You’re not alone. Ask Carly to fix the fucking report, Nate. She should be earning her paycheck while she’s with you.” Now I’m just fucking pissed off.

There’s silence on the other end of the line, and finally, Nate responds with a deceptively quiet, “What are you talking about? Carly isn’t in New York.”

“But you sent for her.”

“Why would I do that?” his voice is raising and I take a deep breath.

“Clearly there’s been a misunderstanding,” I say as calmly as possible.

“Obviously.”

“Look, Nate, I’m sorry.  I need to get back to Natalie.  I don’t have time for you to get protective and bossy and needy on me today.”

“That’s what you think I’m doing?” He asks and I cringe at the hurt in his voice.

“That’s exactly what you’re doing.”

“No, Julianne, I’m not being bossy or needy.  I have been worried about the woman I care about because I couldn’t reach you today.”  I’ve hurt his feelings.

“Nate,” I sigh and rub my forehead.  “Maybe we should just talk when you get home.”

“What are you saying?” His voice is hushed and nervous.

“I need to deal with this right now and you need to focus on the deal out there.  I’ll be in the office tomorrow to help you from there, and I’ll try to clean up the damn report mess and get it to you asap. We’ll just talk about the rest of it when you get home.  I don’t have time for this relationship bullshit right now.”

“That’s what we are to you, Julianne?  Bullshit?”

Fuck.  No!  This is all coming out wrong, and I need to get back to Natalie!

“I have to go.”

“If that’s the way you want it, fine, but know this, baby; you’re only off the hook because I’m three thousand fucking miles away and can’t get to you right now.”

“Jesus you’re such a caveman, Nate.”

“Text me later and let me know you’re safe.  I’ll talk to you tomorrow night.”

“I thought you were staying until Thursday?”

“I changed my mind.”  The line goes dead and I hang my head.  I shouldn’t have been so mean to him.

I walk back into Natalie’s room and all hell has broken loose.

“I was only gone for five minutes.  What the hell?”

Natalie’s feet are in stirrups, and the doctor is sitting on a stool between her legs.  There are two nurses bustling about the room, and a baby cradle with a heating lamp has been wheeled into the room.