“That’s good. I want to see her, too.”
“They can bring her in. Do you want me to get someone?”
“What time is it?”
“It’s only about six. Still Christmas Day.”
She felt like it’d been a whole day or more, but it hadn’t. “Are you okay, Johnny?”
He pushed her hair from her cheek and tucked it behind her ear. “I’m fine, baby. More than fine. I love you. You scared me, Kat.”
She tried to laugh but it hurt. “Well, I scared myself too. I feel fine though.”
“Dr. Butler gave you meds to help stop the bleeding. Do you remember that?”
Kat frowned as she thought about it. “Yes, I remember. That’s one of the risks with giving birth so quickly.”
“She says you’re gonna be fine. The bleeding has already slowed.”
“That’s good. I think I’d like to see Elena now, please.”
Kat knew that Elena should have been in a bassinet by her bed, but with her complications from the birth the baby had been in the nursery instead. Now she should be able to stay—and Kat couldn’t wait for that all-important bonding time.
Johnny stood and smiled down at her so tenderly her heart ached. “Your wish is my command, Kat. Always.”
Soon, a nurse brought Elena and helped Kat put her in the right position for nursing. It took a little bit of effort, and a lot of wincing on Kat’s part, but the baby latched on and started to feed. Johnny stood by and watched, not saying much of anything. Kat looked at him from time to time, wanting him to feel like he was important to the process. He smiled at her and she smiled back, but she couldn’t help noticing he seemed a bit preoccupied at times.
At first, she worried that he was still bothered by everything that’d happened during the ride to the hospital, but that wasn’t really like him to dwell on something that was over, especially when it was safely behind them.
“Is something going on at work?” she asked.
He jerked the tiniest bit. It wasn’t obvious, but she saw it. She didn’t think anyone else would have.
“No, nothing at work. The world is fairly quiet. We’re still on missions, but nothing outside the ordinary.”
“You seem preoccupied.”
He shook his head, grinning ruefully. “I’m navigating new territory here. I’m at a loss, Kat. That’s all.”
She studied him, not quite believing his explanation but unwilling to push for more. Maybe he really was overwhelmed with the new father experience. Especially considering how it had begun. “I know it’s not the way we wanted it to happen. But we’re going to be fine. Hopefully we can go home in a day or two.”
He reached out and stroked a big finger over Elena’s cheek, then hers. “I hope so too.”
“You were amazing, Johnny. You got us through the worst of it. I’m so thankful you were there with me.”
He frowned hard as if a new thought had just occurred to him. “Shit, what if you’d gone into labor like that when I was at work?”
She reached for his hand and squeezed. “Hey, I didn’t. It’s over and we’re safe.”
He squeezed back. “Are you hungry?”
They hadn’t gotten Christmas dinner. All her plans to fix a turkey and trimmings had gone by the wayside. “Actually, yes.”
“Want me to go and see what I can find in the hospital cafeteria?”
If Riverstone were an ordinary hospital with an ordinary cafeteria, she might be a little worried. But it wasn’t. “Yes, please.”
“Do you want me to go now, or wait until you’re done feeding Elena?”
“Whatever you want, honey.”
He leaned forward and rested his chin on his hands where they lay on the bedrail. “Then I think I’ll go when she’s done. I want to hold her again.”
Kat smiled at her husband. She was sore and tired and more than a little stunned by the birth experience, but damn she loved her little family. “Merry Christmas, Johnny,” she whispered.
“Merry Christmas, Kat.”
16
December 26th
Mendez spent the night at the hospital in the recliner by Kat’s bed. They had a restless night with Elena wanting to feed every few hours and the nurses coming in to check vitals and monitor for jaundice, but by the time the next day rolled around and Dr. Butler came to check Kat out, she pronounced that Kat could go home later that afternoon or early evening so long as everything continued to look good. Apparently, the meds were doing the job and Kat’s uterus was contracting as it should. They were twenty-four hours from Elena’s birth, there had been no further complications, and Kat was in better physical shape than most women half her age.
At Kat’s urging he went home to make sure everything was ready for Elena’s arrival. She would sleep in a bassinet beside their bed for the first couple of months or so, then move to her crib at some point. Mendez didn’t know how old she had to be for that. He didn’t know much about it at all. He’d read as much of the baby book that Kat had given him as he could, but he realized now that he’d missed a lot of it due to work. He needed to catch the hell up and get with the program, didn’t he?
He showered and dressed in jeans and a navy henley, laced on hiking boots, and went into his home office to check email and to make sure everything at work was going well without him. Ghost answered on the first ring.
“Congratulations, General Daddy,” Ghost said with a well of humor in his voice.
Mendez laughed. “Thanks, Ghost. How’re things there?”
“We’ve had a couple of issues, but nothing requiring a general’s input. All is proceeding as it should.”
Mendez leaned back in his chair and tapped the keys with one hand. “I have faith in you. You know that.”
He should after Ghost had run a secret HOT HQ in Matt Girard’s basement a few months ago so they could assist Mendez in clearing his name and finding the real culprits who
