Two in a Million | Auslly

Twenty Three: Ava & Alex

"Are you guys taking off already?" she asked. "I thought you weren't due for another few days."

"Well," Ally faked a laugh. "This little one had other ideas. My water just broke." Ava toddled over to her, motioning for Ally to pick her up, but she just grinned. "Ava, mommy and daddy have to go now. Can you give me a kiss goodbye?" She bent down to kiss the top of Ava's head. Her daughter reached her pudgy hands up and planted a sloppy kiss on Ally's cheek. "I love you, baby, we'll see you soon. Okay?" Austin picked Ava up, giving her a quick kiss as well before handing her back off to Penny.

"Be good for grandma," he said as he opened the front door for Ally. As they went down the sidewalk, Ally thought she heard her daughter crying, but it stopped as soon as Penny shut the door. She couldn't help but feel extremely guilty about how fast they had to leave, but also knew it wasn't their fault, and that they would see her soon.

/

12:15 p.m.

Ally whimpered in pain as another contraction came. Austin reached for her hand, wincing when she squeezed it, but said nothing, just stepping on the gas harder. The dial went up to 70 miles per hour, then 75, then 80. Austin glanced in the rearview mirror and to the right side of the car, looking for any cops that might be around.

"Breathe..." he muttered as he flipped the turn signal on and changed lanes. Ally groaned and squeezed harder, which made Austin yelp a little. She shot him a look, and he gulped.

"Sorry. It's just... you're hurting my hand."

Ally said nothing, looking over at him again as if to say "I don't want to hear it." Austin nodded, looking straight ahead, focusing on the road.

"Sorry," he said again. "We're almost there. See? Five more miles to go. We can make it. We got this." Austin tried as much as he could to make himself sound confident, but the truth is, he wasn't. He was completely terrified.

Ally sighed as the contraction passed. "Yeah." She looked straight through the windshield out at the road, and there was silence between them as the next contraction came about five minutes later. Austin did what he could, letting her squeeze his hand the whole rest of the way, whispered encouraging comments, but he still felt extremely guilty there was nothing he could do to relieve her pain.

/

12:30 p.m.

Austin pulled into the hospital parking lot and up to the emergency room entrance to find a few nurses standing there with the wheelchair, waiting for them. He had called just a few minutes before they'd arrived, and evidently the staff had prepared quickly for their arrival. He parked the car and helped Ally carefully step down from the passenger seat while the nurses rushed over with the wheelchair. She exhaled shakily as she sat down, and Austin gulped, knowing that he'd dodged a bullet by trusting his instincts and speeding up, even though he knew it could have gotten him in trouble if any police had been around. He was willing to risk a speeding ticket any day, if it meant Ally and the baby were safe.

Austin walked alongside the nurse who'd been pushing Ally in the wheelchair throught the front entrance. They were immediately met by Dacia, their main nurse from last time, in the front of the lobby. Austin's breathing was ragged and uneven by now, and he had both duffel bags around his shoulders.

"Hey," he greeted, leaning down to Ally. "How're you doing?" he whispered. Ally looked over at him; he could see the fear and worry in her eyes. He nodded, grabbed her hand and squeezed it. She squeezed back. Sometimes words didn't need to be said.

Dacia led them into the elevator, up the stairs to the third floor, and into the nearest open delivery room. Several other nurses came in to transfer her to the bed, and Austin took his place on the left side of her, stroking her forehead as the nurses bustled every which way. They all strapped gloves on, and some worked to get the station ready for the baby on the other side of the room while others frantically threw tools on a tray. Dacia grabbed a wand that was connected to the computer beside the bed, squirted some gel onto Ally's stomach, and smoothed it out so she could get a better look at the baby.