Beauty & the Blue Angel

“That’s it,” Alex muttered, scooping her up into his arms. “We’re outta here.”

Waiters, customers and kitchen staff called out good wishes as Alex headed for the front door. The hostess rushed ahead and held the door open for him, reaching out to give Daisy’s arm a pat as they passed.

Out on the street, Alex paused, Daisy in his arms, and looked to where the guys should have been waiting in their rental car.

Only one problem.

It wasn’t there.

And neither were the guys.

“Oh, man…”

“What?” Daisy lifted her head from his shoulder.

“I think the guys took off.”

“They left you behind?”

Alex grimaced and hitched her slight form a little higher in his arms. Amazing. Even pregnant, she was so slight, so fragile that she seemed to weigh almost nothing. But even as tiny as she was, it would be a long run to the closest hospital. Damn you, guys.

“Yeah,” he said tightly, finally answering her question. “We do that sometimes. Go somewhere, then abandon one of the guys to make his own way back to the base.”

“Why?”

He glanced at those blue-green eyes and lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “A joke. One I used to think was pretty funny.”

“Swell.”

Then she inhaled sharply and Alex felt her body tense. Terror rippled along his spine. He had to get her to help. Fast. “Cab. We need a cab.”

And since he needed one, naturally there wasn’t a single taxi to be seen. Ordinarily, a man could cross any Boston street by walking across the hoods of the cabs waiting in traffic. But not tonight. On this warm summer night, the air was still and so were the streets.

As horrible thoughts of running back into the restaurant to ask Sal for help raced through his brain, Alex realized exactly where they were. If he’d had a free hand, he’d have slapped himself in the forehead.

“No problem,” he said, “we’re good.” He started walking at a long-legged, hurried pace.

“Where are you going?” Daisy demanded, already seeing the lights of Antonio’s slip into the distance. The hospital was uptown and he was headed in the wrong direction.

“My sister’s place,” he muttered.

“Your sister?”

“Just a couple blocks away. She’s a registered nurse. She’ll know what to do.”

“Are you kidding?” Daisy dug her fingers into his shoulder and talked through a pain that seemed strong enough to tear her in half. “I know what to do. Get to the hospital and deliver this baby.”

“I know. I know. But there aren’t any cabs—”

“The ambulance—”

“Look,” he said as he kept moving, “we could go back to the restaurant and wait for the ambulance. Or we could go about a block and wait for an ambulance. My way, we’ll have a registered nurse there to help. Which beats having a busboy or Sal deliver your baby.”

“Okay, that makes sense.”

He gave her a squeeze and moved even faster. “Trust me, okay? It’ll be good. I’ll take care of you.”

“Why are you doing this? You don’t even know me.”

He looked at her. “Does it matter right now?”

She met those dark, deep eyes and heard herself say, “No. No, it doesn’t matter.”

As the next contraction rippled through her body, Daisy surrendered. She was in no position to hop out of his arms and race down the street, trying to find a cab on her own. Even if she’d wanted to. Which she didn’t. For some reason, it felt good having him near. Being held as if she were something precious. Someone to be cherished. It had been so long….

No, that wasn’t right. She’d never felt like this before. No one had ever cherished her. No one had ever truly cared. Not even the man she’d thought would love her forever. The man who’d given her a baby, then run off and gotten himself killed the moment he’d found out about the pregnancy.

She pushed thoughts of Jeff out of her mind. It wouldn’t do any good to go back down that road. That time was over and done, and a whole new world was about to open up to her.

If she could just make it through labor.

Alex moved quickly. Streetlamps haloed the sidewalk with a soft, ivory light and a cool evening breeze slid in off the ocean, lightening the humidity like a gift from God. Up and down the street, people went about their business, completely ignoring the tall man with a pregnant woman in his arms. A group of kids skateboarded around them like a wave cresting around a buoy, but Daisy hardly noticed. She was much too involved with what was happening to her own body to care about anything else.

“Hang on, okay?” Alex whispered. “It’s not far now.”

“Boy, I hope not.” Her fingers tightened on his shoulder again, then slowly, fractionally, relaxed. “I’m not an expert or anything, but I think this is it.”

“Yeah, I got that.”

“No, I mean now.” Daisy felt as though everything inside her was struggling to push its way out of her body. And in the classes she’d taken, that was pretty much D hour. D as in delivery.

“Oh man, don’t say that.” He glanced down at her and held her more tightly to him. “Please don’t say that.”

“This isn’t exactly how I’d planned to do this, you know.”

“I know. But it’s really close. I swear. Just hold on, okay?”

“The pains are coming so fast. Really strong, too.” She tipped her head to look at him. In the glow of the streetlamp, his face seemed to pale a little, but Daisy told herself it was probably a trick of the lighting. At least, she hoped so. She didn’t want to think that he was as scared as she was.

Heck, somebody should be in charge here.

“Don’t push.”

“What?”

“Breathe, breathe. Pant. You know.” Then he demonstrated, and Daisy had to laugh despite the pain lancing through her middle.

“And where’d you learn that, fly boy?”

“Hey, I have a TV. I’ve seen movies.” He grinned, but didn’t look down at her. Instead, he kept his eyes fixed straight ahead, as if he could see his destination and wasn’t about to be distracted from reaching his goal. “I know all of that stuff. Boil water. Pant. Don’t push. Push.”

“Well gee,” she said, with a laugh that drifted into a moan, “I feel much better now. I had no idea you were an expert.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t like to brag.”

“An unusual man.”

“Funny,” he said, sparing her a quick glance as he rounded a corner and quickened his pace. “Just don’t push anything out yet, whatever you do.” He glanced both ways at the sporadic traffic, before sprinting across the street toward an old brownstone. “We’re almost there. See? That’s it.”

Daisy held on to his broad shoulders and listened to the steady beat of his heart beneath her cheek. How strange. Two hours ago, she hadn’t known this man existed. Now, on the biggest night of her life, he was all that stood between her and delivering her baby on the street, alone.

And though she should have been worried—after all, he was a complete stranger—she wasn’t. There was almost a sense of peace in being held in his arms. As if it was where she belonged.

Okay, hysteria is probably not a good sign.

Where she belonged?

What was she thinking? Obviously, imminent birth put a strain on one’s faculties.

He stopped in front of the well-kept old brownstone, and Daisy smiled in spite of the pain. She loved these old buildings. There was so much character, so much history in every single brick. It was one of her dreams to one day buy a run-down place and bring it back to life, help it to regain some of its past glory. Just as someone had done here.

In the glow of the porch light, Daisy looked at the dark red front door and the petunia-filled window boxes lining the front windows. A tiny garden, bursting with colorful blooms, filled the postage stamp-size plot between the brownstone and the sidewalk. The combined scents of summer flowers swept into the air, and Daisy inhaled them with her next deep breath.

Alex climbed the short steps, reached out and punched a buzzer, holding the button down with a steady, insistent pressure.

“If you don’t let up on that button,” Daisy reminded him tightly, “they can’t answer, you know.”

“Right. Right.” He let it go and waited, tapping one foot on the concrete steps with a staccato rhythm that danced along his body and filtered into hers.

“Hey!” A disembodied voice floated out of the intercom. “Take it easy on the buzzer, huh?”

“Rita?” Alex’s voice finally sounded strained, and Daisy couldn’t help but be impressed that he’d managed to stay calm up until now. “It’s me. Open the damn door, will you?”

“Alex?” The unseen woman’s voice sharpened with concern. “What’s wrong? Are you all right?”

“Do I sound all right?” He shook his head, muttered, “Sisters,” then more loudly, he ordered, “Open the door, damn it.”

A buzz sounded and the door snicked open. Alex pushed it wider with his foot. Stepping into the foyer, he kicked it shut behind him, then looked straight up.

Daisy matched his gaze, staring up the stairwell, following the line of the polished wood banisters that swept up and up the center of the four-story building. At the third floor, a woman’s head suddenly appeared over the railing.

“Alex? What on earth is—” She broke off and gasped, so loudly that Daisy heard her sharp intake of breath.

“Rita,” he called, “help.”

“Oh my goodness.” She took in the scene in an instant and just as quickly began issuing orders. “Take the elevator, Alex. Go up to Gina’s apartment. It’s empty. I’ll alert Maria and we’ll meet you there.”

“Right.”

“Who’s that?” Daisy asked, shifting her gaze to his face again.

“My sister the nurse. We’ll call an ambulance and Rita can help till it gets here.”

“Okay, good.” Daisy glanced at the well-appointed reception area as he raced with her across the room. Overstuffed beige furniture was lined up against ivory walls. An ice-blue area rug lay in the center of the space, under a huge glass-and-oak table. Pale blue pillows were tossed here and there, giving the room a warm, inviting feel and the scent of fresh cut flowers filled the air. It was cozy, comfortable and peaceful.

But before she could notice much more, Alex was at the old-fashioned elevator, pushing back the iron gate and stepping inside.

“How old is this thing?” she asked warily as he stabbed the fourth-floor button and the elevator lurched into motion.

“Don’t worry. My dad made sure the elevator was brand-new and up to specs. He wouldn’t trust his girls to some ancient elevator. He just liked the antique look.”

“Glad to hear it.” Truthfully, though, Daisy was just glad there was an elevator. With the pain now a constant companion, there was no way she would have been able to climb four flights of stairs.

When the elevator stopped and Alex threw the iron gate open, the first thing Daisy saw was his sister’s sympathetic smile. “You poor thing. Don’t you worry about anything, all right? You’re safe.”

Strange, Daisy thought. But she’d felt safe since the moment she’d first seen Alex back at Antonio’s.

Three

Daisy barely had time to say hello before Alex’s two sisters had swept her off and planted her in bed. Which was just as well, since she wasn’t entirely sure she could speak without releasing the screams gathering at the back of her throat.

So she gritted her teeth and kept quiet as Alex left her in his sisters’ care. In just a couple of minutes, the two women helped Daisy into a nightgown and tucked her into what was apparently yet a third sister’s bed. The wide, brass bed creaked comfortably as she shifted higher onto the pillows and looked around the room. A large, cherry armoire stood against one wall and luxurious Turkish rugs dotted the shining wooden floors. It was a big, beautiful room. Nothing at all like her own small efficiency apartment.

“I don’t feel right about this,” she managed to say, and looked from one to the other of the women standing on either side of the bed.

The older of the two—Rita, that was her name—said, “Don’t you worry, Daisy. This was our sister Gina’s apartment, but she got married and moved out. For tonight, just consider it yours.”

“I don’t know…” But then the child within made another attempt at escape, and Daisy forgot all about feeling oddly out of place. Nothing was more important than the coming birth. Nothing.

“Do you want me to call anyone?”

Again Daisy looked at Rita. Her long, dark brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail and her chocolate-brown eyes were warm with concern. She smiled, and Daisy saw the resemblance between her and Alex.

“Sarah,” Daisy said. “My midwife. Number’s in my purse.”

“Got it,” the woman said. “Husband? Boyfriend?”

“No,” Daisy said. “There’s no one.”

Rita shot her sister a quick look, then said, “Okay then, I’ll call the midwife.”

“Try not to worry, okay? I mean, just concentrate on your baby,” the other sister, Maria, said, plumping the pillow beneath Daisy’s head as Rita hurried out of the room. “I know this must be hard, but honest to God, we’re gonna take care of you. And remember, Rita’s a nurse.”

“Thanks,” Daisy muttered as the last of a contraction faded into the soft haze that signaled not the end, but the beginnings of yet another, stronger pain to come.

Maria, a shorter, younger version of her sister, bustled around for a few more minutes. She tucked and untucked blankets, smoothed sheets and patted Daisy’s hand in a distracted, nervous sort of way. Finally, when she’d run out of things to straighten, she announced, “I’m going to go make you some tea,” and left the room.

This just wasn’t working out at all the way she’d planned it, Daisy thought. And she’d spent plenty of time planning for the birth of her child. She’d been to a clinic for regular checkups and had even arranged for a midwife to come to her apartment to deliver the baby. Sure, some of her friends had been aghast at the idea of her delivering at home. But a trained midwife was every bit as good as an obstetrician—especially when the mother was young and healthy, and no problems were expected. Sarah Lovell was an excellent midwife, warm and caring and far less expensive than an unnecessary hospital stay. Which was an important consideration for a single woman with limited health benefits.

Besides, Daisy had wanted to go through labor and delivery surrounded by familiar things. After all, she’d assumed that she’d be alone when giving birth, and at least in her own home, she’d feel safe…comfortable.

Instead, though, she was lying on a stranger’s bed, with even more strangers hovering over her, asking if she was all right. All right? She was so far from all right she wasn’t even in the same universe. Then Alex entered the room, pausing briefly in the open doorway. Her gaze met his and she felt a little bit better as she watched him cross the room in a few long strides. Funny how just a couple of hours ago she hadn’t known he existed. Now his was the only familiar face in a world gone suddenly very weird.

“How you doin’?” he asked, leaning over her and brushing her hair back from her face.

“I’ve been better.”

He smiled, and she thought, That’s easy for you to do. Then the next pain hit and she bit down hard on her bottom lip to keep a screech from erupting.

He took her hand, enfolding it in his. Just having him hold on to her helped, and she drew on his strength when her own started to ebb.

“Squeeze my hand,” she whispered through gritted teeth. The midwife had told her that during delivery she should try to keep her muscles as relaxed as possible, so she couldn’t hold on to him.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he said, but tightened his grip nonetheless.

“You won’t. Tighter.” His fingers clenched harder and it actually helped to distract her from the real spasms twisting her middle. Closing her eyes, she arched with the pain, trying not to fight it. Trying to remember that when this was all over, she would have her baby. She’d never be alone again. She would have someone to love. Someone who would love her back.

“Rita?” Alex turned to look at his sister as she hurried back into the bedroom.

“The midwife was out on another delivery. I left a message,” she said, forcing a smile for Daisy before looking at her brother. “Alex, go away.”

“What?”

“I want to check her progress. Leave.”

“No,” Daisy said, and could hardly believe she was saying it. But she simply didn’t want to go through this alone. His warm strength reached down into the cold, dark corners inside her, and Daisy couldn’t imagine letting go of that feeling. Not now. “Stay. Just don’t let go of my hand.”

Alex looked down into those pain-filled blue-green eyes and knew he wasn’t going anywhere. She seemed so small, so alone. And yet she faced each pain as bravely as any military man he’d ever seen. She didn’t back down. She didn’t scream or complain. She simply braced herself and rolled with each progressively stronger contraction.

He looked down at her small hand as his fingers tightened around her fragile bones and a part of him wondered at the strength in her. Alone. No one to help her. No one to help raise this baby. She faced it all bravely—even though she was going through the biggest moment in her life surrounded by strangers.

“I’m not goin’ anywhere, Rita.”

Rita scowled at her brother, then smiled at Daisy. “It’s okay. The midwife will get here eventually. But until she does, we’ll do fine. I’ve helped to deliver lots of babies and even done a couple on my own in the ER. Mothers and babies are doing nicely.”

Good to know. Very good, Daisy thought as another pain crested and she arched her back, riding it as though it were some invisible bucking bronco in a rodeo.

Her world became nothing more than the pain and Alex’s grip on her hand. Nothing else mattered. Nothing else registered. Not Rita’s tender hands or whispered words of encouragement. Nine long months had come down to this one moment in time.

Daisy’s brain raced, trying to stay one step ahead of the pain, trying to remember that every contraction brought her one step closer to being a family. That any minute now she’d be holding her baby in her arms and the pain would be only a memory. Oh, she wished it was just a memory.

But that sense of peace hadn’t hit her yet. What she needed at the moment was a distraction. Any distraction.

“Talk to me.” She looked up at Alex and forced the words through gritted teeth.

He grabbed a nearby chair and drew it close to the bed. Sitting down, he kept a firm grip on her hand and said, “Sure. What should I talk about?”

“Anything. Everything.” She sucked in a greedy gulp of air. “Just talk to me.”

“Right.” Alex shot a glance to the foot of the bed, where Rita was stacking clean towels and arranging a lamp for the best possible light. Maria was in the other room, probably pacing a trench in Gina’s carpet. He shifted his gaze back to Daisy, smiled and started talking.

His words flowed over her, creating wonderful pictures that took her out of the lovely bedroom, away from the body-twisting agony of labor and into worlds and places she’d never seen before. She could almost see Alex at the commands of a navy jet. She nearly felt the G forces of takeoff and the meteoric rise as the jet climbed toward heaven. She sensed the freedom that flying gave him and she heard the joy in his voice as he described being a member of the navy’s elite flight team, the Blue Angels.

He painted word pictures for her and she saw the incredible stunts he and his team performed miles above the earth. She could hear the oohs and aahs of the crowd as they stared, transfixed, at the intricately choreographed maneuvers the pilots made. And she sensed his regret that his time on the team was over. But the stories he told, the magic in his voice, were enough to take her mind off the torment in her own body, and for that, she’d always be grateful.

“I’ll be reassigned when my leave’s up,” he continued, leaning in close to her, making her concentrate on his words rather than the pain. “Don’t know yet where I’ll end up, but—”

Daisy nearly flew off the bed. A sudden, desperate urge to push grabbed her and she clutched at Alex’s forearm with a frantic grip. “Oh…oh God. Something…something’s changed. It’s different now. And…I think it’s coming and—”

“Rita…”

Already in position, Rita lifted the edge of the thin blanket covering Daisy’s legs, and when she straightened up again, she had a determined glint in her eyes. “Okay, honey. This is it. The baby’s crowning.”

“Oh, God.” Finally. Her child. So close. Daisy’s arms ached to hold it.

“Whatever it is,” Rita added with a quick smile, “it’s got a lot of hair.”

Daisy’s breath hitched and tears stung the backs of her eyes. Her baby. A tiny person. Almost ready to enter the world.

And she had to help.

“Have to push,” she said. “Have to push now.”

“You can’t. Not yet. Just breathe, Daisy,” Rita told her. “Let the baby ease down. It’ll do most of the work now, if you just try to relax and let it.”

“Relax?”

“I know,” Rita said with a short laugh. “Easy for me to say. But you have to try. Pant. Short, sharp breaths. You can do it, Daisy.”

“You can,” Alex said, standing up to lean over her, drawing her gaze to his face. “You’re plenty amazing, Daisy. You can do this.”

She didn’t want to. She wanted to push. She wanted the miracle over already. She wanted the pain to stop and her baby to be born. Oh God, she wanted to get up out of her body and run away.

Daisy twisted and writhed on the bed, planting her feet and rolling from side to side with the pain.

“Just a little longer, Daisy,” Rita said. “You’re doing great. Everything’s terrific. Just a little longer. Be tough, okay?”

“Push,” she whispered between pants as the driving, instinctive urge grabbed hold of her and demanded to be obeyed.

“Soon.”

“Now.”

“Look at me, Daisy.” It was Alex’s voice again, and she turned her head to look at him. Staring into his dark brown eyes, she concentrated on the way the light seemed to fill them, how warmth pooled in their centers and radiated toward her. “Concentrate on me, Daisy. You can do it. It’s almost time. You’ve been great and now it’s almost over. Just stay strong.”

“Alex…” She said his name with an exhaled breath and it felt almost like a prayer.

Seconds ticked past into eternity and Daisy fought her body’s instincts, trying to hold in the life fighting to get out. It made no sense, she thought wildly. It’s time. “Have to—have to—”

“Okay, here it comes,” Rita said, then added the most beautiful words Daisy had ever heard. “Push, Daisy. Push hard.”

She did and felt her body tighten, grow stronger, as if a closely reined-in Thoroughbred had suddenly been turned loose and allowed to run. Pressure built to an unbelievable level until she heard Rita say, “Okay, now wait. The baby’s turning. Pant, Daisy. Don’t push. Hold on, hold on.”

Alex stayed in her line of vision, forcing her to meet his gaze. She stared up at him and wondered how he’d come to be such an important part of her life in a few short hours. He was here. Sharing this moment with her. Making it his own as well as hers. And though she knew that it was only because they’d all been caught up in an emergency and that this sense of closeness wouldn’t last, a part of her wished it could. Wished that somehow Alex and she were connected by more than a chance meeting at a restaurant.

“You’re doing great,” he said, and smiled in admiration. “Just hang on a few more minutes.”

“I can’t,” she said, knowing it was true, feeling it down to her bones. She just couldn’t do this for another minute. It was too hard. Too much. She wanted to stop now. She wanted to close her eyes and sleep. She wanted this to be over.

“Oh, yes you can.” He leaned down closer until his face was just a kiss away from hers. “Daisy, I think you can do anything.”

“One thing you can do,” Rita said loudly from the foot of the bed, “is push. A couple more big ones will deliver your baby, Daisy.”