DINO

I knew it. Sooner or later this incident was going to bite us on the ass and there was no sense in calling Terry. He'd get all flustered and pace until I got there anyway. I had to tell him face to face. Bridgid was involved now. They knew who she was and they knew she was his woman. Why the fuck did she have to walk into the office on that day? To tell you the truth, I'm glad she did or I might not be here today, but now she's as much a target as any of us.

I was half asleep when I drove by the Inn. If not for the lights of a passing ambulance, I might have driven off the road. This Outfitters place was less than a mile away so it shouldn't be hard to find now. I could see the sign. There it is, Morgan Outfitters. I wonder if they'll change the name to Thorne someday soon.

I pulled into the drive and checked out the shop but it was locked up tight. There were some lights on at the house and I figured they must be there. Couldn't say I blamed him for this, nice digs, fine woman and all. I sure hope it all holds out for him. My heart went up in my throat when I found the front door of the home wide open. I called out but no one answered.

"Terry? Bridgid? Hey, Thorne, where are you, buddy?" What the fuck was going on here? It didn't feel right to me. I checked the entire ground floor out, living room, den, and kitchen. It was all in order; in fact it looked like they were just moving in. Then I came across something really strange. The pantry that shot right off the kitchen looked as if something had gone on in it and there was a big puddle of water right in the middle of the floor. What the hell?

Leave it to me to think the worst. Water, floor, ambulance? Jesus Christ someone was in labor and odds are it wasn't either of the Thornes. Damn it I knew I recognized the car following that ambulance. Guess I'm driving to the nearest hospital. Thank God for cars with OnStar.

JOHN

Jesus, thank God B had the presence of mind to call an ambulance. I don't think anyone was calm enough to drive my wife at that point, not to mention I'd hated to see Terry's leather seats ruined, ya know. Poor Riles was freaking. They were strapping her on the gurney and she kept trying to sit up.

"I don't need an ambulance. I'm just having a baby!"

I gave the tech a worried look. "Hey man, we lost a baby last October, seven months in."

"Well, little lady," he smiled and patted Riley's shoulder. "That pretty much seals the deal. Why don't you just relax and enjoy the ride."

I climbed in and held her hand. She was scared; it was all over her face.

RILEY

No, it wasn't a pleasant ride, the siren is annoying and the ride was pretty bumpy. No I didn't like being shuffled through emergency with all the bells and whistles and I hated all the fuss. But then again…

After months and months of doing my best not to overdo, sitting on my growing ass and playing game after game of spider solitaire, trying to eat right, sleep enough and remain sane, there it was…show time and I could feel myself freaking out. But at least I wasn't alone. John promised to stay with me through this. I was still hurt, still mad, but I can't tell you how much it meant to me to have him there.

They settled me in the labor suite, hooked me up to like ten machines and started an IV before the nurse smoothed the sheets and smiled. "Ready for hubby?"

Now there was a loaded question. I nodded just as my belly began to tighten. That contraction seemed easy compared to what I'd been feeling so far, but I focused on relaxing and breathing so well, I didn't even notice John had joined me.

"Hey baby," he said softly, kissed my brow and dragged a chair close. He eyed everything around me and sighed. "You're gonna do fine, Riles. Just fine."

Maybe it was the hitch in his voice, that streak of worry that's always so obvious in his eyes that hit me, I'm not sure. But I'd been really working hard to believe that this time it was all going to be perfect. Easy, peesy. I suddenly knew it wasn't going to be quite so easy and that there was always a possibility that something could go wrong, no matter how healthy the pregnancy had been. And how healthy had my pregnancy been? I was a raving lunatic most of the time, making John and everyone around me crazy. Why did I do that? Was it really hormones?

But that fearful look in his eyes told me something different. I was nuts because I was scared and ignoring it. Scared to death and now I was at a point where I had to face it. I cleared my throat. "John?"

His eyes were trained on the monitor. "Hold that thought, baby. Just breathe through it."

What the hell was he talking about? Breathe through…oh! The monitor told him before my body even told me. That contraction had me gritting my teeth.

"Sweetheart, you gotta breathe through it. It'll help."

Well hell, he should know. Three kids with Donna. Donna. Donna. Damn, now all I could think about was our current dilemma. "John we should talk about everything."

"Hey there, Riles!" Damn, it was Doctor Conklin, all smiles with a clipboard in his hand. "Looks like we made it to the finish line, huh?"

Not funny, I was thinking as the next contraction grew and grew. He and John talked then I noticed John slink behind the privacy curtain.

"Let's take a look see," the doctor said sitting on the bed and sliding the sheets aside. I just shook my head like crazy, I was panting through a contraction and there was no way he was taking a look see right then. At least, that's what I thought. "Come on, let's see where we are." His fingers slid inside, pressed and pushed and the pressure finally subsided.

"What do you mean, we?" I groaned and he chuckled.

"Not too far yet. Might be a while, Riley. Just two centimeters. John," he called, "Come on in."

Finally alone again, I tried once more. After all, if it was going to take a while, maybe we could talk things through. "John. Tell me about - "

"Here we go!" A cheery nurse trotted in, her arms full. "Got extra pillows for you, a pitcher of ice chips and I brought this," she held it up proudly. It was a goofy bobble head downhill skier doll. "Isn't he cute? Perfect for your focal point during contractions. Now, you know where the button is to call us. Are you warm enough?"

"Yessss."

"'Cause I can bring you another blanket."

"Nooooo."

"Well then, I'll just leave you two alone," she smiled and the bulk of that smile was directed at John. Even through the oncoming pain I could feel my blood start to boil!

TERRY

What the bloody hell is Dino doing here? It's not that I'm not happy to see him, just a bit surprised. Bridgid didn't follow me when I nudged my head his way and got up to greet him. Odd that. I left her in the waiting area and walked up to him.

"Mate, how'd you hear about the baby so fast?"

"Haven't you figured it out by now, Terry? I've got a sixth sense. It comes to me sometimes when I least expect it."

He gave me one of those man hugs and a smart arsed look.

"Yeah right, mate, and it comes to you wearing fish nets and smelling of Shalimar. What's going on, really?"

"First off, how's Riley doing?"

"She's still in labor. No word yet. John's with her, long story there, mate. You're turn. I know you, Dino. You don't show up out of the blue without some sort of reason, not without prior notice or, should I say warning."

"Very funny but listen to me, what I have to say is very serious. Let's go outside, have a smoke."

This worried me. I looked back at B and nudged my head toward the door and held up my pack of fags. She nodded and I reckoned she didn't mind. Dino didn't start talking until we lit up but what he had to say nearly stopped my heart. First off, I was more than pissed off that Bridgid never told me what happened in New York but the worry superseded it all. Some of our files were uploaded before she got to the office that day and it was a major breech of our security. I could only imagine what they wanted this information for. It not only put our clients at risk, it put us at risk.

"Dino, why didn't you tell me this sooner?" He knew I was angry.

"I was protecting her."

"By protecting her in her lie to me you put us all at risk. Brilliant. I've never seen you fuck up like this." Something must have gone on between them and I planned on getting to the bottom of it. I knew it couldn't be the obvious. He'd never, she'd never fuck around. It had to be something else.

"I'm not asking for a pass. She saved my life. If she didn't walk in when she did, they'd have killed me and Debbie. Grant was way behind her, Terry. What would you have done? This is not the concern right now; we're dealing with a major sleeper cell here."

My heart was pounding in my chest. I knew exactly who he was talking about and it was me they were after not Dino when they came to the office that day. They didn't know I was in Vermont, not then but according to him they knew a lot more now. He'd gotten a message from a competitor's field op who was interrogating a capture. Apparently this bloke offered to trade some info he felt was valuable enough to save his arse. Lucky for us we have friends in the business.

"I've got to send Bridgid away."

"Yeah, good idea."

"I'll send her to the Caymans. Can you go with her?"

"You still trust me, Terry?"

"With my own life." I meant it too.

"I'll get a hold of Grant. Let him know what's shaking."

JOHN

God sakes, I wanted to help her. She was right, we did need to talk but with the constant interruptions, nurses, the doctor and contractions every three minutes, it was tough to carry on an intelligent conversation…especially the one we needed to have. I started with the important stuff, the simple stuff that really needed touched on first. After all, I'd been out of the Inn for almost a fucking week.

"Jesus, we never went shopping for the stuff we need, baby," I groaned. "Diapers and things. We should've had that already."

"I'll take care of it." She didn't say we'll take care of it, she said I'll take care of it.

"And I wanted to get that stroller put together, too."

"John, don't worry about it," it was a whisper and my heart ached.

Time crawled on and on and I kept checking my watch. Damn, it had been over six hours already. According to Doc Conklin, she hadn't dilated further than five centimeters in the past three hours and I could tell he was getting concerned.

I tried not to watch the monitors, it seemed to make her even more nervous but from the corner of my eye, I could see that bright line start to climb. Damn, this one was gonna be a whopper. Riley groaned, rolled to her side and grasped the edge of the bed tight. I rubbed hard at her lower back. Man she was having a rough time at this. When it was over, I could see the tears welling. She panted then drew in a relaxing breath and looked into my eyes.

"Shh, you're doing fine, baby. Just fine."

"John, what if I can't do this?" Crocodile tears rolled down her temples and I pressed a cool cloth to her brow.

"You can. I'm here. I'm with you, sweetheart. We'll do it together. You're not alone, Riley. I'm here," I soothed.

"John, I have to say something."

Oh fuck, I felt my heart drop. I was sure she was gonna tell me it was over, that we were finished forever and already my mind was spinning with the arguments I needed to make.

"Can I say this John? Please?"

I nodded. "Sure."

"I want to forget what you did. I want to get through this. John," she gasped and cried a little harder. "I love you so much and I might be crazy, but I need to forgive you and forget about it. Can we do that? Can we forget what you did?" She sniffled.

"God sakes, Riley. That's just it. I didn't do it. I've been trying to tell you I didn't do it. I got close but fuck! I couldn't. I love you; I couldn't ever do that to you. Ever."

Riley blinked then slowly her swollen lips smiled. "You didn't do it? You didn't sleep with that girl?"

"No, I didn't. Jesus, I'm a fuck up for getting so close but I could not do it."

Her hand rose and tugged my neck. Man, kissing her was like fucking heaven. Jesus, I wasn't gonna lose her. I wasn't!

The next contraction was brutal. She actually cried out but we got through it. We got through it together and I was holding her close when Doc Conklin walked in. She'd just whispered my favorite words…

"I love you, John Biebe. I'll always love you."

RILEY

He didn't do it. He didn't. My God it was like I was suddenly alive again…and in the middle of giving birth to boot. We chuckled when the doctor walked in. That guy had such a sense of disruptive timing.

"So, how you doing, Riley?" he asked, checking over the chart and sitting at the edge of the bed. "You look tired, sweetheart."

"I'm great," I smiled. "I'm really great, not so tired. I'm fine."

"Well, let's see where you are."
He pulled the sheets aside and John held my hand tight, refusing to leave. "We'll wait for your next contraction to see," and all our eyes turned to the monitor. "Here it comes."

It was so strong I never felt his examination. John coached me through my breathing and I was proud when it was over. We did good that time. I grinned. "So?"

Doctor Conklin stood, removed his exam gloves and sighed. "Nothing. Still at five. Listen, I want to have a set of x-rays done, Riley. I need to see exactly where this baby is and why he's not advancing. It'll just take a few minutes and we'll have our answers."

"What could be wrong?" John asked, his hand tightening over mine.

"Maybe nothing. But we may have miscalculated his size or position. Don't worry. Baby's heartbeat is strong, he's healthy. The worse case scenario is that we may opt for a C-section. But don't even think about that until we get the x-rays."

BRIDGID

I wonder how Riley is doing. Odds are she's got John by the balls with a good downward pull by now. Poor guy. God I hate standing around waiting. I could use a smoke but I feel kind of odd talking to Dino. I wonder if he told Terry that we'd buried the hatchet. He'll be a little angry with me for not letting him know but I guess he'll get over it. Aw well, scratch the smoke, it looks like they're coming back inside. Terry doesn't look too happy. I bet that son of a bitch of a red head told him. Prick!

"Bridgid, you hear anything yet?"

"Nothing yet." I guess I better say hi to the prick. "Dino, how you doing?"

"Good, honey. Hey, I'm going to let you two talk. I need a cup of coffee. I'll bring some back for you."

Terry wouldn't even look at me as Dino walked away. I had to be the one to break the ice.

"What were you two chin wagging about?"

"You."

"And..."

"You know."

"Terry. I'm sorry. I should have told you."

"You're bloody well right you should have told me. Bridgid, if you only knew how much trouble this has caused. I'm not going in to it now but as soon as we get home we're going to have to make some arrangements."

What did he mean by that? Was he going to leave me because I didn't tell him about my meeting with Dino or was it because we tangled with those whatever they were in his office?

"You don't understand, Terry. I didn't want you to worry."

"I'm more worried now than I've ever been in my life. Dino is going to take you away for a little while. Just until I get things sorted."

Now I'm confused. "What are you talking about? I don't understand what you mean by sorted."

"Those people who were in the office when you got there were not just run of the mill burglars, Bridgid. They were looking for me. They want me to ..."

I'd never seen that much stress on his face before and it was killing me. He seemed to be swallowing back the words and I needed him to finish the sentence.

"They want you to what? Tell me."

"They want me to assassinate someone. Someone I've protected before."

"Oh, my God. No, baby. No. We'll figure something out. There has to be a solution." I put my arms around him and he held me so tight it almost stopped my breathing. "I love you, Terry. Nothing's going to happen to you."

"That's not what I'm worried about, B. I love you. Don't ever forget it, and don't ever keep anything from me again."

"I promise." Shit, we couldn't let John and Riley see us like this, not on such a happy occasion for them. Things would be okay. I was sure of it. Terry would see to everything.

TERRY

"I need a goddamn cigarette."

John just about scared the shit out of me. I gave B one of those looks that said 'easy, love'. We had to keep everything status quo right now.

"What's going on with Riley?"

He filled us in without sparing a single detail.

"C-section ain't that bad, mate. No worries. C'mon. I'll have a smoke with you. B, you coming?"

"No. I'll take a pass, wait for Dino." Her smile looked real enough but I knew.

John and I went outside and here I was again, hammering another nail in my coffin. He needed it but it was kind of amusing how he coughed after the first drag.

"Won't be long now eh, mate, your son will be here?"

"Dino's here? Yeah, won't be long. Damn what's with this C-section stuff?" He flicked an ash from the cigarette and kept on going. "I'm worried. They said she's not dilating. Is something wrong? Is something wrong between you and B, Terry? Uh, never mind. They're doing some kind of x-ray or ultrasound or some shit like that but they wouldn't let me stay. Like I had nothing to do with this?"

I'm really glad he didn't wait for any answerers from me. I reckon he had us sussed out but he was too nervous and excited to think too straight. I'm really happy for him. Someday it'll happen for me but John and Riley deserve some happiness. He's a fucking wreck but he seems to thrive on it.

"John."

"What?"

"Don't ever change, mate." I gave him a good pat on the back. I was just about to tell him how fond I was of him when the auto doors opened. Bridgid waggled her finger at us.

"Hey, John. Riley is back in the labor suite. You can go in now. You'll need to get into your greens, 'cause the little man is getting anxious to come out."

RILEY

John wasn't happy to leave, but they weren't letting him go upstairs with me. It was actually kinda cool though. My whole bed rolled. They pushed me out of the room and down to hall. We waited for the elevator and I struggled with another contraction. The bed bumped into the elevator then bumped back out three floors up. It thudded against a pair of swinging doors then finally came to a halt next to one of those freezing cold metal tables. It was a real feat getting me off the bed attached to all those wires and tubes.

Then I had to lay still. Got another contraction and growled like a dog. The technician laughed from behind his wall then started again. Apparently my little contraction episode had ruined his pictures. He took several shots. On my back on my sides and even standing up. Now that was fun. It seemed like the pains were coming faster and faster but it was probably just because John wasn't with me. We'd developed a kind of routine.

Back into the bed, bump here, thump there, onto the elevator and off the elevator. By the time I was settled in the labor room again I was positive that those pains were right on the heel of the one before.

"Ohhhh," I gasped. "They're coming faster! I know they are!"

Doctor Conklin rushed in, checked again and laughed. "Never fails, you've made it Riley. You're at ten. The x-rays aren't even developed yet. Where's John?"

"He went to the waiting room," I gasped between pants.

The next forty minutes seemed to be the fastest and hardest forty minutes of my life! But with John at my side, everything really turned out perfect.

Our son born at 4:32 AM on June 17, 2007. Baby Terrence Nathan Biebe was 6 pounds 12 ounces and 21 inches long. He screams like a trooper and already peed on the nurse. Just three minutes old. John was impressed.