Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad-Chapter 761 : False Labor

*Elio*

Car horns blared behind me as I anxiously tapped my fingers on the car wheel, driving faster than the speed limit through the highway as I bypassed car after car, overtaking them and doing whatever I needed to go faster.

I had no doubt pissed off a dozen people at this point, but I didn’t give a shit. Sweat dripped from my brow as my heart raced triple its usual beat and goddamn the trip was taking so much longer than normal.

During Anna’s panicked call, she had put Cat on the line for me so I could hear her voice. “We’re heading to the hospital,” Cat had said, groaning in pain over the phone. “I’m okay. Meet me there when you’re free.”

I couldn’t even remember what I had said back to her, or if I said anything but I had broken out into a cold sweat in the middle of the meeting with the company’s shareholders, something that I knew was important. But how could she think I would do anything but rush after her after hearing something like that?

That I would prioritize my work over her? A stupid meeting over the health of the love of my life and our child? I was as equally pissed off as I was panicked and not one person stopped me as I rushed out of the meeting hall.

I knew Leo would cover for me, even as I drove to the hospital at a speed that would get me arrested. Even if a local cop had stopped me, it would have done nothing but irritate me further. I couldn’t help but think that something was wrong.

I’d read a few of Cat’s pregnancy books, mainly the parts on what she should and shouldn’t eat and how to care for her through the pregnancy. I didn’t read a single goddamn word about childbirth but I knew one thing–Cat was not nine months pregnant.

I knew she shouldn’t be going into labor. The only explanation was that something had gone wrong with the pregnancy.

I should’ve stayed home, I berated myself in the thoughts as I swerved around a slow semi-trunk. ‘I should’ve been there with her and taken care of her, but I went to the stupid meeting anyway.’

She was still recovering from being shot and now this....

Leo was right.

I really couldn’t care for my wife and baby at all.

“Dammit!” I slammed on the brakes as the light turned red, only a turn away from the hospital and I grit my teeth, tapping my hands on the steering wheel impatiently. Self-loathing invaded me like a parasite, digging deeper and deeper and I knew it wouldn’t stop until I saw that Cat and the baby were safe.

That I hadn’t failed to protect them.

Once the light turned green, I turned into the large parking lot, finding the first place to park. I barely remembered to lock the car before I rushed into the ER. The nurse at the front desk looked unfazed, with dark circles around her eyes as I slammed my hands against the desk.

“My wife came in here. Caterina Leone,” I demanded.

“One moment please.” She gave me a dead-eyed polite smile, typing away on her computer.

If it was any other situation, I might’ve been impressed by her ability to shift into that customer service tone while sleep-deprived.

“Emergency Room 102. Right through here. I can have someone show you in a moment–” Before she could finish, I took off, and I barely heard her heaving an exhausted sigh as I ran through the doors she’d pointed to.

I glanced at the numbers above the rooms until I found 102. The curtains were pulled completely shut but I could hear murmuring. As I dashed in, my eyes searched across the group of people.

Anna was sitting in the guest chair, a surprised look on her face as I burst in while Matilde was on the other side, not even paying me a glance as she held her daughter’s hand tightly. In the middle, halfway lying down but her upper body supported up by the bed, was Cat.

She was pale with sweat on her forehead, and her eyes so full of pain locked on mine. And despite everything, I saw her pained expression melt away into relief as soon as she spotted me.

“Cat,” I breathed, dashing forward past Anna to be by my fiance’s side and she hummed as I gently pulled her head into my chest, pressing a kiss to the top of her hair. She was in pain, but she was okay.

“I’m okay,” she whispered into my chest, sounding raspy, but I wasn’t going to believe that until the doctor confirmed it himself. “The doctor should be back soon. The baby–”

She cut off, delving into a sob and I kneeled, tenderly holding her cheeks as I made her look at me.

“She’s okay, Cat. I know she is. She’s strong, just like her mother,” I said determinedly, showing her a confidence I didn’t feel,

But it seemed to work as she nodded, brushing away the tears and leaning her head on my shoulder.

I set my jaw, feeling terrified despite all my bravado because I knew that she needed me to be her rock right now, but I couldn’t erase the fear that we would never get to hold our little girl.

“Excuse me, Ms. Leone?” a voice called out from behind the curtains, followed by a little knock on the wall. “It’s Dr. Ayles. May I come in?”

“Yes,” Cat answered hoarsely.

She pulled back from me, leaning against the bed. I didn’t let go of her hand though as I stood anxiously by her side.

The curtains opened and an older gentleman clearly in his fifties or sixties with a soft smile entered, in a white lab coat with a name tag and a stethoscope around his neck.

“Hello, Ms. Leone, I’ve talked with the nurses who took all your vitals,” he said as he took a seat on the stool, using his nametag to open up the computer files. He gave us a reassuring smile, “We looked over your vitals and charts, including the ultrasound, and I’m happy to say that both you and the baby are okay.”

“We are?” Cat’s eyes went wide as I breathed a sigh of relief, holding her hand to my face as I kissed her knuckles. “But I was feeling so much pain–”

“Ah, yes, I have no doubt you have been.” Dr. Ayles chuckled and then scooted over to us. “And I won’t downplay those. What you’ve experienced is what we call a false labor.”

“Braxton-hicks?” Matilde shot up, looking unsurprised like she might’ve already guessed it.

“Similiar but no,” Dr. Ayles assured her, then he turned to Cat. “You’ve experienced what we call prodomal labor, which are contractions that don’t result in cervical dilation or real birth. It’s very much like a precursor labor, which happens often in the third trimester like you are. Think of it as your body preparing you for real labor.”

“So it wasn’t real?” Cat frowned.

“No, the contractions you felt are very much real and I’m sure very painful. Braxton-Hicks are much weaker and not as consistent as what you’ve experienced. A lot of our nurses consider prodromal as the closest thing you can feel to actual labor without being in it.” Dr. Ayles explained. “You haven’t felt any in the last few minutes, right?”

“Yeah, they stopped a bit ago,” Cat confirmed.

“That’s good. That means they are likely over for now. Prodromal labor produces those contractions very consistently–every sixty seconds–and once they stop, it’s unlikely they will happen again. If they do, however, feel free to check in with your OB/GYN or with us here.”

Cat sighed in relief, fully relaxing into my shoulder as she placed a hand over her stomach, rubbing softly with a smile. “She’s okay,” she murmured to me.

I frowned, though, glancing over at Dr. Ayles. “Is there a way to better manage her stress for the next few weeks so this doesn’t come back?”

“Stress?” Dr. Ayles frowned then lit up with a chuckle. “No, no. Prodromal isn’t caused by stress. It’s completely normal to experience it, though not every woman will. It may or may not happen again, but odds are against it. Ms. Leone and the baby are perfectly fine and healthy, and she’ll give birth in a few weeks. In the meantime, I would like you to take it easy, okay, young lady?”

I grit my teeth, still not completely convinced but Cat nodded happily. Dr. Ayles left to check us out of the hospital.

Seeing that Cat and the baby were safe and I was here, Anna left too, promising to take Cat out sometime before the baby came on another day.

I stepped out as Matilde fussed over Cat, helping her to get dressed out of the hospital gown as I called Leo. It didn’t even ring before he answered.

“Hey, is Cat okay?” Leo blurted.

“Yeah,” I said. “False labor.”

“Oh, that’s good news,” Leo said. “I covered for you in the meeting but they’re not happy. We’ve rescheduled for next week. I take it you’re not coming back to work for the rest of the day, right?”

“The doctor said the false labor wasn’t brought on by stress but–” I grit my teeth.

“Yeah, I get it. You want to stay home and pamper your sweet little fiancee. I can handle everything from here, so go ahead.”

“Are you sure?” I confirmed, feeling bad leaving it all to Leo. “You can send anything digital to me and I’ll take care of it online.”

“Nah, it’s good.” Leo laughed. “I like Cat. She reminds me of my little sisters, so make sure she’s well taken care of, okay? Your baby girl too.”

“Thanks, Leo.” I smiled, glad to have a friend like him by my side. “And about Cat... you were right, you know? I... regretted it.”

“I know,” he said smugly. “And don’t worry about it, man. Someone’s gotta knock some sense into that dense skull of yours every once in a while, and that’s why I’m paid double what everyone else is. Though, if you really wanted to thank me, a vacation to the Bahamas wouldn’t be–”

“Bye, Leo.” I rolled my eyes, hanging up. I had to admit though, I felt a weight lift off my shoulders after apologizing.

We were good.

I headed back in, happy to watch Cat sign the discharge papers. Matilde left Cat to me and I drove her home. She started to look better as soon as we left, her cheeks flushing back with color and despite Cat protesting that she was feeling better, I was still going to pamper her to my heart’s content.

I drew a bath for her upstairs as soon as we got home, making sure it was the right temperature, throwing in rose petals I had bought just for this, and lighting candles. I opened up some of her favorite sparkling water, pouring it into a wine glass.

Cat humored me, a smile on her face as she let me undress her and help her into the tub. I gave her a massage, even washing her hair for her dutifully. My mind did slip into the gutter a few times but I controlled myself, making sure today was all about making her feel as beautiful as possible.

After the bath, Cat took a nap in my lap. I set everything up for a fancy dinner, letting the cooks know to make it full of Cat’s favorites. I watched the last few minutes of Cats’ favorite movie still on the screen, absent-mindedly running my hands through her hair as she slept with her head fully in my lap.

“Hm, Elio?” Cat stirred for a moment, not even opening her eyes.

“Yes?” I asked, preparing to get her anything she wanted if only she asked.

“How was work?”

Dammit. I sighed, giving her a helpless smile. She was always too kind to me–too sweet and warm and loving, and she always put others first before herself. I knew that but it never stopped surprising me.

“Don’t worry about work,” I whispered. “Not tonight, okay? It’ll be there later, but I want to spend my time with you right now, okay? Just a nice night with the two–no, with the three of us, okay?”

“Sounds nice.” She yawned, snuggling into my thigh with her hands grasped around my shirt, “Can you play the movie again?”

“Of course.” I obeyed, restarting the movie and leaning down to press a kiss to her face. “Anything my queen wants.”