Norman persisted in signing a couple more autographs, regardless of his friend's grip, who was getting more and more insistent and trying to snatch him from the arms of his fans.
He always remained a little displaced when he saw the tears of those girls and felt his heart tighten at the thought of not satisfying them with a picture or autograph.
The bodyguard worriedly checked his mobile phone, trying to get in touch with the driver, to keep him ready to go. The driver had already called him several times, but the clamor of the crowd and above all the maximum attention that he had to hold in those moments had been so much, that he had failed to respond.
"Norman... Let's go!", hetold him more firmly, taking him by the waist and freeing him from the grip of a lady who was no longer young but wild.
"Yes..."
The bodyguard spotted the large black limousine with the darkened windows, which was waiting for them across the street. Of course, if he had waited for Norman, they would have stayed there until the next morning but he had to go now.
After ten minutes of deafening screams and hysterical cries, the bodyguard decided to take the situation in hand and grabbed him by the shoulders, dragging him away and unleashing the wrath of hundreds of people.
"Hurry!"
The actor reproached him laughing, as he greeted his delirious audience with a final nod.
"Do you know what time it is?"
The bodyguard continued to hold him close, followed a short distance from two other security guards, who would then climb into a second car behind them.
Norman was tired, but the euphoria continued to keep him on his feet. Not even that night would he sleep but at least not because of nightmares.
He now squeezed the small golden statue.
"And now what do we do with this?", he asked jokingly to his friend, approaching the car.
"Oh, if you give it to your wife I'm sure she'll break it on your head for the whole time you made her wait!"
They exchanged a knowing look and the man opened the door for him, looking around to make sure there was nothing strange, apart of course from a crowd of journalists and fans who were trying to rush to their car. It was all a matter of their speed...
"Finally, but where the fuck did you go? Didn't you see that I called you?"
He immediately attacked his colleague, who looked at him without understanding and turned to Norman.
There was something very strange in the man and in all that situation. The driver sat in his seat and clutched Y/N's hand, which clung to him without making a sound.
"What is going on in here?"
"What do you think? Do you know how long I've been trying to call you? I certainly couldn't leave her here alone!"
Norman looked worriedly at his wife's pale face and immediately recognized the grimace.
"Y/N?"
The woman struggled to open her eyes but the pain was too strong to distract herself. It was the driver who intervened in her place, not leaving her hand even for a second.
"When she arrived, it was just a bit strange, then the situation got worse in a few minutes. I tried to convince her to go to the hospital but there was no way... She preferred to wait for you!"
"It's... It's too early!"
The woman's suffering voice made its way through the excited breaths.
Everything was going too fast compared to their daughter's birth and neither did know what to expect now.
Norman grabbed her hand, freeing the driver so he could get back behind the wheel.
"Okay honey... Get comfortable now, try to take deep breaths... You know it could be a false alarm! Maybe you just have to start over with the medication..."
Y/N shook her head decisively and almost started to cry, letting the driver answer once more.
"No Norman, that's no false alarm..."
Norman followed the man's gaze and noticed the car's interiors. There was no doubt, the waters had already broken and this could only mean one thing: It was definitely too early.
"Oh shit!"
The bodyguard let out that exclamation, bringing a hand to his face. He was easily impressed by that sort of thing and felt like he was about to faint at the thought.
"I ruined your evening... And the car...", Y/N complained, looking for her husband's eyes.
"But who cares about the evening? We have to go to the hospital right away!"
Norman turned directly to the driver, gesturing for him to go and concentrating on his wife, who was now sitting up, clinging to the seat in front of her.
The pain did not leave her a moment of respite, there were no relevant intervals between one contraction and another, and she felt that she would not last any longer.
"Come on... Drive!"
They were only a few yards away from the spot where they parked, when the driver slammed his hand violently on the wheel, cursing the endless line of cars and all those fans, who were blocking the passage to see their idols.
Y/N and Norman realized that it was not over, the flashes of the cameras tried to penetrate the privacy of the black glasses to steal more images, not even imagining what was happening.
The woman hid her head against the seat in front of her, trying to manage the pain and Norman was forced to look down, hiding in turn under the brim of the hat offered by the bodyguard.
"Shit! We can't get stuck here in the middle of all these people!"
The man was losing his patience and was watching the camera flashes, which blinded him, with increasing anger.
Y/N's eyes met her husband's for a moment, begging him to do something as she dug her nails into the seat.
"Give me that jacket!"
"What?"
The bodyguard turned in their direction, thinking he hadn't heard right.
"Take off that fucking jacket!"
Of course. If the side windows were black and you could only guess who was inside the car, the space between the driver and the passenger allowed you to spy on the seats through the windshield.
The man's huge jacket obscured the crack a little and Y/N could finally stop hiding.
"Tey to get comfortable... Soon we'll be there!"
Yet he knew that as they proceeded, they would not get anywhere.
He helped her stretch out on the seat, holding her in his arms just as he did every night, and Y/N clung to his neck, hiding her face in it with every wave of pain.
"Breathe...", he encouraged her once more, casting a worried look in front of him.
"Norman!", Y/N's moans increased, as did the strength of her grip. "I can't..."
"Of course you can! You can, darling..."
He pushed her hair back from her sweaty forehead, trying to breathe with her. He didn't even know how to help her now, it was all so different from the other time and he was stuck inside a fucking car, with a prize, which he didn't give a damn about any more and that probably had already rolled between the bodyguard's feet.
"Enough... Call the fucking police!"
The bodyguard's eyes stared at him in disbelief.
"The police, Norman?"
"Yes, go and call the officer of the agents who are in front of the theater. They will clear the way for us. They are forced to do so!"
"They will probably only call an ambulance..."
"No, there are too many people for such a thing. Tell them we need them to escort us to the emergency room immediately!"
So the bodyguard decided to get out of the car and retrace the few meters that separated him from the entrance.
He could not believe that Norman's fans went crazy even as he passed by, asking him to bring gifts to the actor.
He wandered with his eyes along the barriers, looking for a uniform and finally he spotted a bold-looking young policeman.
"Hey you! I need to know where your boss is... Its urgent!"
"Hey you, what? Who are you to stay here inside the security perimeter?"
"The head of security of Norman Reedus and Y/N Y/L/N! We have an emergency on board!"
The cop looked down, showing a wry smile on his face.
"Of course... Norman Reedus wants to pass in front of the line and we have to flatten the red carpet! And then, who tells me that you really are their bodyguard?"
Than noticed that the young man's hands were caressing the orderly weapon, as if to threaten him.
"Listen, I don't have to discuss it with you. You'll take me to your boss and we'll handle it!"
He was trying hard not to lose his temper in front of so much arrogance.
"What if I don't? I've always hated guys like you... You think you can afford anything, just because you lick the ass of people with a lot of money!"
That was too much. The bodyguard took him by the collar of his blue shirt, drawing him to himself.
"Listen to me, kid... This uniform does not make you immortal. When you have chosen to wear it, you have put yourself at the service of the community, not above it and believe me... You will go too far with this attitude. Now... I'm their bodyguard, and believe it or not, I have a gun bigger than yours and I also know how to use it much better than you. I need to talk to your boss. Immediately. Over there is the wife of Norman Reedus who is about to give birth to twins almost two months in advance. Now, do you think you can get me to talk to someone to escort us to the nearest hospital?"
The boy was speechless, as if hypnotized by the two cold eyes.
"Sure... Of course... Follow me!"