The Heart Always Wants More (Completed)

Chapter 22

Val took in a breath through her nose and released it through her mouth. Through each subsequent breath, the contraction's intensity increased.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" she exclaimed, adjusting her sitting position for relief that continued to elude her. "God, this hurts so bad."

"I know, baby. Just keep breathing."

"I need Joe," she said, leaning her head against Cherie's shoulder.

"He's on his way, sweetie."

***

Before Vince could bring the vehicle to a complete stop, Joe had jumped from the passenger seat. He ran up to the door and burst through it, yelling his wife's name.

"Val! Val, baby, where are you?!"

"Joe!"

He followed the sound of Val's voice to the family room and took to her side.

"Baby," he said, sitting on the opposite side of her and placing a hand on her belly, "I need to get you to the hospital, alright?"

"OK," she said, nodding.

He helped her from the sofa and escorted her out to his SUV. After Cherie and Vince had collected her overnight bag, the group headed for Lakeland Memorial.

***

"What's up, Roman Empire? I just got home and The Big Dog and the queen are in the hospital now. Looks like the twins are on the way. I'm a lil' nervous, but excited."

He flashed his phone to Val, catching a shot of her sleeping.

"Mama's got some meds, so she's gettin' a lil' rest," he said, turning the camera back on himself. "Stick around, guys. I'll be back with another update soon."

Joe quickly uploaded the video to his Twitter account and leaned back into the chair next to Val's bed.

"Need anything?" Cherie asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Nah, I'm good," he said, swiping a hand over his face.

He stretched his long legs out in front of him, crossing them at his ankles. The soft thump of the fetal Doppler monitors began to further relax him and his eyelids soon grew heavy. Just as he started to drift off, a nurse entered the room to check Val and the babies' vitals.

"How's everything looking?" he asked.

"Everything's good. Nice strong vitals on all three. We'll let her get some more rest, and then the doctor'll be in to check her."

"Alright, thanks," Joe said, nodding his acknowledgment.

Over the next three hours, Joe watched Val sleep as the nurse continued to make periodic checks on her and the twins. Val soon awakened as the effects of the spinal epidural began to diminish a bit and the contractions intensified and became more frequent.

"What's up, guys? Big Dog's back, again. We got some exciting news coming outta the Empire. Mama's up now, and things are gettin' down to the wire. We're at about, um, eight centimeters now, a hundred percent effaced, and the water just broke. Hopefully, the next time I talk to you guys, we'll have a couple of new additions to the Roman Empire, so stay tuned. Anoa'i strong. Yezzir," Joe concluded, flashing the Shaka sign before ending his video.

He uploaded the video to his Twitter account and grabbed Val's hand just as his mother entered the hospital room.

Patricia greeted Cherie and Vince, then turned to Val and Joe for an update.

"You guys ready?" she asked, resting her hand on Joe's shoulder.

"Hell yes," Val said, her voice laden with fatigue.