The guard looked left and right before he hastily snatched the money. “Yes, sir.”

Turning his attention back to Emma, he helped her out of the car. She grimaced as she stepped onto her feet. “Lean on me,” Aidan instructed as she took a tentative step onto the curb.

With one arm wrapped around her waist, Aidan led Emma through the mechanized double doors and into the ER lobby. She gripped his hand tighter and from the expression on her face, he could tell the pain was worse. “Just a little further, Em,” he said.

At the registration desk, he eased her down into a chair. When the clerk didn’t come up immediately, he banged his fist on the desk. “Excuse me, but she might be in preterm labor here!”

The receptionist nodded to a nurse. “We’ll go ahead and take her on back.”

“Thank you,” Aidan said.

A nurse came out of the doors with a wheelchair. Aidan helped Emma to her feet and then helped her over to sit down in the wheelchair. When he started to go back with them, the receptionist called to him. “You can’t go back until we have all of her medical information.”

“I’m already pre-registered here through my OB/GYN,” Emma muttered, through teeth gritted in pain.

“Then he’ll have to stay until we get the insurance information.”

Aidan stared helplessly at Emma as she handed him her purse. “My cards are in my wallet.”

He raced through the paperwork. Most of it he left blank, hoping they already had it since he didn’t know it. The irony wasn’t lost on him that Emma may be carrying his child, but he had no idea if she had ever had any major surgeries or childhood illnesses. Just as he started to punch the button to open up the doors, someone cleared his throat.

It was the security guard. “Fuck!” Aidan cried. Several people in the waiting room looked up at him. Digging his keys from the pocket, he sprinted past the security guard and to his waiting car. Tires squealed as he pulled around the entrance and back-tracked it to the available parking deck.

When he got back inside, he punched the button on the Authorized Personnel Only doors. His gaze spun desperately around the hallway of rooms. Feeling an odd sense of deja vu from earlier in the day, he was just about to flag down a nurse when Dr. Nadeen appeared before him, his face tense with worry. “She is in room five,” he said.

Although he hated to say it, Aidan mumbled, “Thank you.”

He threw open the door to find the curtain pulled. The sound of a baby’s heartbeat echoed off the walls. “Em?” he cried.

“I’m here.”

He raced forward, throwing the curtain aside. At the sight of Emma in stirrups and a doctor between her legs, he froze. “Aidan,” she urged, motioning him to her side. The insistent tone in her voice caused him to move quickly. He sidestepped the doctor and went to her side. He grabbed up her hand and squeezed.

“I’m sorry. I had to fill out all this paperwork and then go move my car.”

“It’s okay.”

He shook his head. “No, it’s not. You shouldn’t have had to be back here alone. You needed me.” He gazed down at her. “I needed to be with you.”

“You’re here now. That’s all that matters.”

Aidan couldn’t stop himself from leaning over and kissing her forehead. He would have to give the hospital props. They had been there barely twenty minutes, and Emma was already outfitted in a hospital gown and was being seen by a doctor. He couldn’t help but wonder if it was not only the seriousness of her condition, but also Dr. Nadeen that helped matters along.

The doctor, whose white coat had “Dr. Pendleton” embroidered in blue, rose off his stool. “You can come out of these now.” Emma eased her legs out of the stirrups as Dr. Pendleton slid the table back down for her. After he tossed his rubber gloves in the trash, he turned to face them. “Even though you were experiencing preterm labor, you’re not dilated, and your cervical plug is still intact.”

At what Aidan assumed was his blank expression, Dr. Pendleton said, “Those are good factors. I’m going to have a nurse come in and administer Turbutaline, which will stop the remaining contractions you’re experiencing. I’ll come back in and do an ultrasound to see how your baby looks. From his heartbeat, he seems to be a little agitated, but that could be from the uterine walls contracting.” He turned to go to the door. “Since you’re condition is now stable, I’ll be back in a little while to check on you.”

Aidan’s legs didn’t feel like they would support him any longer, so he collapsed into the chair by the bed. Relief washed over him. For the moment, it appeared that Noah was going to be okay, and in turn, Emma was as well.

“Thank you God,” Emma murmured.

A commotion came outside the door. “What the—”Aidan began before Casey and Connor burst inside the room.

CHAPTER SIX

“Em!” Casey cried, hurrying over to the bedside. She wrapped her arms around Emma and squeezed tight. “What’s the verdict?”

“For now, I’m okay, and Noah’s okay. Some preterm labor, but they’re able to stop it.”

Casey and Connor both exhaled noisily. “Thank goodness,” Connor said.

A nurse interrupted by coming in to administer the shot of Turbutaline. She eyed everyone before shaking her head disapprovingly. “You really shouldn’t have such a crowded room. You need rest and relaxation.”

“Please don’t make them leave. They are relaxing to me,” Emma protested.

She tsked before sticking the needle into Emma’s IV. “Dr. Pendelton won’t like all these people in here, disturbing you, and he’s about to come back in to do your ultrasound.”

“We’ll step outside for a bit,” Casey said diplomatically.

“Yeah, we don’t want to get you in trouble,” Connor agreed.

When Aidan didn’t budge, Casey shot him a look. “I’m staying with Emma and my son,” he replied tersely.

“Whatever,” she snapped before starting for the door. She and Connor were about to go out when Dr. Pendleton swept inside. They pressed themselves up against the far wall. Without a hello or an admonishment to the over-capacity room, he proceeded to do the ultrasound. Emma felt slightly comforted seeing Noah’s form on the screen. His heart rate had thankfully calmed down. “He looks like he’s planning on staying inside for awhile,” Dr. Pendleton remarked before turning off the machine.