The Kings IV I

44

four months later

Fred

I swerved into the nearest parking place, getting out of my car as quickly as I could. I grabbed my coat and ran to the door at full speed.

"Excuse me, excuse me, excuse me," I said, squeezing through the people crowding the doorway.

I ran inside the hospital, earning a glance from the lady at the front desk.

"My wife's in labor!" I yelled, running to the elevator.

I erratically pressed the buttons, impatiently tapping my foot.

"God damn it," I cursed, finding the staircase. I ran up quite a few flights of stairs, and lost count while doing so.

I busted through the door when I made it to the women's floor, looking around at the near empty waiting room.

I seemed to calm down when I saw Lena standing there, a smile on her face. "Hi."

"Hi," I sighed, gripping my hips, "where is she?"

"805," she answered, leading me to Alexis's room.

"Be quiet," she whispered, looking back at me.

"Yeah, okay," I said.

I opened the door and a let out a sigh of relief. "Hi."

"Hi," she greeted.

I wrapped my arms around Dad, chuckling. "This is it! I'm about to be a dad."

He patted my back, chuckling. "Yeah, you are."

"How fast did you drive to get her here?" I asked, pulling away from him.

He jutted his bottom lip out, shaking his head. "N-not fast."

"He was on, like, 120," she muttered, leaning her head back against the bed.

"I got her here, that's what matters," he said.

I smiled and knelt down beside her, grabbing her hand. "How are you?"

"Ready to pop these kids out, how about you?"

I chuckled, standing up. I cupped her face and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "The jet pilot just picked your parents up thirty minutes ago."

"How long?" She asked, looking up at me.

"About three more hours, I think?"

She leaned her head back, nodding. She couldn't make out words, and I felt her grip tightening around my hand.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Contraction," Adora said, gently rubbing my back.

"Can I do anything?" I asked, looking down at Alexis, "d-do you-"

"Stop talking," she firmly said, her eyes meeting mine.

I nodded. "Got it."

Her head fell back against the bed, and she let out a breath. "I-I don't know that I'm going to make it three hours."

Adora rubbed her hair, smiling. "You pop those kids out whenever you need to, sweetheart."

Alexis nodded, her bottom lip pouted out. She squeezed her eyes shut and I turned away from her, sighing.

"Does it normally hurt?" I asked, looking over at Dad.

He tilted his head over, his eyes in thin slits. "I don't think it feels good."