Expecting it All (Punishment Pit #7) - Livia Grant Page 0,17

her eyes. He watched as she relaxed enough to fall into a fitful sleep.

Derek stood guard for the next three hours, relieved about every minute of rest his wife got as she slept through the contractions. The sun was coming up, the room brightening, when a particularly long contraction finally woke Rachel up with a start.

The on-duty nurse examined his wife and declared her fully dilated. "Are you about ready to push?" The nurse pressed the call button, and within a minute another nurse arrived.

"I called Dr. Taylor. He's in his car already. He'll be here in about ten minutes, and then the action will really start."

While they waited, several personnel came and went, making sure everything was ready for the upcoming main attraction. Through it all, Derek stayed focused on Rachel. He'd learned he could do diddlysquat to help medically, but he took solace in knowing he was the most qualified person to keep the new mother calm.

"How are you feeling, baby girl?" he asked.

"Scared." Her voice quavered.

"Don't be. Everything is going fine. It won't be long now."

"Thank you."

"For what?" he asked.

"Everything. I know how hard this is for you."

He grinned. "Me? You're the one about to push a baby out of your body. I think you win in the hard category."

"That's not what I mean."

"I know. I'm fine," he said.

The next hour went by in a blur. Derek took orders from the doctor and nurses as they helped Rachel pull off a miracle.

At 7:03 a.m. on a chilly November morning, Derek and Rachel Parker became the proud parents of a perfect six-pound, seven-ounce baby boy. Michael Andrew Parker arrived ready to show off his impressive lung capacity, filling the room with the most wondrous sound in the world; the cries of a healthy baby.

Tears welled in the tired Dom's eyes as the nurse handed him the snipper to cut the umbilical cord. Within seconds, they had Michael placed in Rachel's arms. Something happened to Derek Parker in that minute, when he first looked down on his wife holding their baby son, happy tears streaming down her face. He'd been so apprehensive, and yet they'd made it through the delivery with a perfect outcome.

The room was full of people who delivered babies every day as their job, and yet they all stopped to enjoy the sight of the new family bonding. It was easy to see why they had chosen their profession, because it seemed they never got tired of witnessing the miracle of new life.

Despite the full room, Derek was surprised when Rachel turned to him with bright eyes. "He's perfect, Daddy. He has your nose."

Derek couldn't resist. "Poor thing. I'm so proud of you, baby girl."

As if he felt left out, Michael chose that moment to open his eyes. His young son stared into his father's eyes as if he could see inside Derek's soul.

"Welcome to the world, Michael. You're the luckiest kid in the world. You've got the most amazing woman as your mommy," Derek said.

As if he understood, the left corner of the infant's mouth went up in a lopsided smile, most likely brought on by gas, but Derek took it as a sign.

Maybe this fatherhood thing isn't going to be so bad after all.

Chapter Four

Rachel

"Did you remember the diaper bag?" Rachel hated the harpy sound of her own voice.

"Yeah, it's on the credenza over there." Her husband pointed to the corner of the hospital room that she couldn't wait to get out of.

"Did you remember the car seat?"

"Yes, dear." Now he was patronizing her.

"How about the winter romper my sister got him? It's so cold out. I don't want him to catch a chill."

Derek stopped packing up the items the hospital was sending home with them. "I have everything. Relax, baby."

Rachel couldn't shake the panicked feeling she was forgetting something important. "There are just so many things to worry about. I don't want—"

Derek pulled out his best Dom voice. "Rachel! You don't need to worry about anything. I have everything, and what I forgot, we can buy later."

She wasn't sure why she was so nervous. As she prepared to leave the hospital, she felt like she was going to jump out of her skin. Michael was officially one day old.

Rachel glanced at the thick stack of discharge instructions she'd been given by the nurse an hour before. Yep. That was around the time she'd started to panic.

When I leave this hospital, Michael is going to depend on me for everything. I don't take care