The warden’s eyes went soft for a few short seconds before he said, “She’s fine from what I could tell.”
Then a blue screen replaced the black screen on his computer.
“There,” he said. “Now we wait for her to answer.”
Nerves wracked my body as I waited for the video chat to connect.
And when it did, it was to see Beckham’s face on the screen.
She was sweaty, looked utterly pissed, and it was aimed all at me.
“This is all your fault,” she growled as she stared at me, eyes firing. “I can’t believe you got me pregnant, Trouper Aoki!”
For the first time since she’d left last month, I smiled.
“Hey, baby.”
“I’m ten centimeters dilated,” she gasped. “This is my doula, Arlene.”
I didn’t take my gaze away from my wife’s sweaty face.
“Are you in pain?” I asked.
She narrowed her eyes. “This feels like the seventh circle of hell.”
I would not laugh.
But I wanted to.
“What about your family?” I asked, glancing around the room.
Her eyes filled with tears.
“I wanted you to see,” she whispered. “If they were here, it would’ve been a madhouse, because my…”
She paused mid-sentence and cried out, hunching over her belly.
“Push, Beckham,” the doula, Arlene, ordered.
I assumed that Beckham did, because she curled up with a purpose this time and her face went red.
She was having my baby.
Right now.
And her parents weren’t there with her because of me.
I felt like an utter loser.
I should never have taken this away from her.
I covered my face with my hands and prayed for the first time in what felt like a long time.
I prayed that she would make it through this. That nothing bad would happen. That both her and the baby would be okay.
That nothing would happen to her while she was alone.
I opened my eyes to her falling backward onto the bed she was in. She looked over at me with exhaustion in her eyes.
“One and done, Troup. One and done.”
I laughed at that, wishing I could pull her into my arms and place a kiss onto her cheek. Her upturned lips.
“Next time, I’ll be there,” I rasped. “It’ll be different.”
She closed her eyes and smiled. “You are with me, Troup.”
Her words made the raging fire inside of my heart calm just a small amount.
Enough that I could enjoy this without tainting it with my foul mood.
Fifteen minutes of pushing later, and she was in the home stretch.
“Come on, baby,” I encouraged, leaning forward so that I could get as close as I could. “Last push. Get him out.”
And that was exactly what she did.
In one last push, our baby slid out, pissed as hell and looking exactly like me.
Dark hair, lightly bronzed skin, slightly upturned eyes.
God, he was my exact replica.
The blood and gore was all Beckham, though.
Which I told her, causing her to laugh.
“Shut up!” She snickered. “Oh, he has a headful of black hair just like you. I’m going to have two of you with awesome hair!”
Tears filled my eyes as I watched Beckham get cleaned up right along with the baby.
And later, when the doula had left Beckham and our child for privacy, I leaned forward until my head was nearly touching the screen.
“We did good, Troup,” she whispered.
“How much did he weigh?” I asked, belly tight with nerves.
“Six pounds, three ounces. Eighteen and a half inches long,” she whispered. “He’s perfect.”
I licked my lips.
“What are you naming him?” I asked.
Her grin was wide. “I’ll tell you in the morning.”
After another thirty minutes of visiting, I looked over at the warden and realized he’d been rather patient with me.
“I love you, Beckham,” I said softly. “Get some sleep, okay?”
She smiled tiredly at me.
“Love you, too.”
Five minutes later, I was standing and offering my hand to the warden.
He took it and shook it, not looking the least bit offended that I’d taken him from his bed in the middle of the night.
We walked together toward the door.
“You know,” Warden Stanley said. “There’s not one single thing in this world that I wouldn’t have done to get my granddaughter back. I would’ve lied, cheated, stolen or killed anybody, and I do mean anybody, to get her back. I wouldn’t have cared about the consequences.” He tilted his head slightly. “That’s why I’m giving her everything that she needs from you. She gave me part of my soul back, and I will continue to give her everything I can just because she did that for me.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “You protected her. You showed her that you were willing to go to jail for her. That guy might’ve been your friend, at least until he did the unthinkable, but she was yours to take care of. Your friend violated that, tainted it. You deserved to get back what he took.”
With that, I was escorted back to my cell.
• • •
The next morning, I could barely contain my excitement as I was escorted to the trailer that I got to meet my girl in once a month and this visit just happened to be the day after she gave birth.
This time, I’d get to meet my girl and my son.
I all but ran up the stairs and yanked open the door.
When I found her on the couch, passed out, I stilled.
I’d expected her to be awake.
The baby in the car seat wasn’t awake, either.
I shakily bent down and looked at the new life that we’d created together. That Beckham had brought into this world all alone.
He made a squeaky sound that caused me to smile.
I unclipped the buckles and clumsily pulled him out of the carrier.
The moment he was in my hands, I felt like my soul had literally left my body.
For the first time in a long time, Beckham wasn’t my first thought anymore. The baby boy that was mine was.
“He’s perfect,” she whispered.
I looked over at my wife who was now awake. “I agree. He is.”
“He looks just like you,” she grumbled, pouting so cutely that I had to smile.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “He does, doesn’t he?”
She rolled her eyes. “That’s okay. His daddy is the most handsome man in the world. I’ll allow this.”
I took the seat on the couch next to her, and she curled into my side, her face resting against my bicep.
“What name did you decide on for him, baby?” I asked.
“Hiro.”
I felt the breath leave my lungs.
Not because I hated it, but because I loved it.
I looked down at our son and smiled. “I love the name Hiro.”
Her breath hitched. “I’m not telling my family his actual name yet. I want that for just us until… until you’re out. He’ll go by Kase until you’re there.”
I felt something squeeze my heart tight.
God, I didn’t want her to lie to her family.
But this little guy in my arms? I would do absolutely anything for him and his momma. If it made her life easier not to say anything, who was I to contradict her? I’d already fucked up enough by not being there when she needed me.