Piper shook her head and when she glanced up at him, big wet tears fell from her sweet eyes. Erik’s heart skipped a beat as he leaned forward, pressing his lips to her nose. Picking her up, hoping he made it look easier than it actually was, he carried her to his Yukon. Thankfully Karson had left the passenger door open and Erik was able to place her carefully inside the big SUV.

“This isn’t your car,” she said as she took in some deep breaths.

“I traded in the other one for this one,” he said quickly before shutting the door and rushing to the driver’s side.

“Erik!”

Erik paused to see Elli, Fallon, and Audrey running toward him.

“Call me when you get to the hospital. We are leaving in a bit,” Elli said with a worried look on her face.

“We’ll be there after the wedding,” Fallon said in a rush as she waved to Piper.

“Tell Piper we love her!” Audrey yelled with tears rushing down her cheeks. “We’ll be there as soon as we can.”

“Okay,” Erik said, opening his door, but as he got in, Elli called out, “Erik! You make sure you take care of her!”

Erik smiled, then muttered, more to himself, “I intend to for the rest of my life.”

He slammed the door, started the engine, and drove off. Piper was taking in deep breaths as she squirmed in the seat, holding her middle. “Oh, it hurts.”

“I’m hurrying,” he said as he sped down the dirt road to the main highway.

“Why did you trade in your car? You love your car,” she said through breaths.

He looked over at her and smiled. “This is true, but it was small. This one is big enough for Dimitri, me, and hopefully you.”

“Erik, this one is big enough for the whole Assassins team.”

It wasn’t the comment he wanted but he still found it funny. His laughter filled the car until she started screaming; it scared him so bad that he almost drove the truck off the road. Taking her hand in his, he rubbed his thumb along her palm as she took in deep breaths.

“Baby, try that breathing thing from Lamaze,” he suggested.

Piper leaned her head back against the seat, taking in quick breaths as she squeezed his hand. “I haven’t been to the class since you left.”

He looked over at her and could see the fear on her face. She was freaking out and he knew he had to do something to calm her.

Bringing her hand to his lips, he said, “Well, I’m here now; we got this. No big deal.”

She looked over at him, her eyes dripping with tears as she slowly nodded her head. Looking back at the road, Erik pushed on the gas, rushing to the hospital. Scared wasn’t the word that could even describe how Erik was feeling. He was terrified.

When they were almost to the hospital Piper exclaimed, “Oh my God, I don’t have my bag!”

“We’ll worry about the bag afterward,” Erik said quickly, pulling into the parking lot.

“I didn’t call my sister. Reese needs to be here, and my mom and Harper, too,” she said through agonizing gasps. He was close to running over a group of old ladies when he finally stopped the car close to the emergency entrance.

“Sweetheart, let’s get you inside, then we’ll do everything else later,” he said as he waited for the group of ladies to pass by. “For f**k sakes! Move it!” he screamed, making Piper jump. “Shit, I’m sorry, you know what, f**k it,” he said putting the car in reverse and parking it in an available space. Jumping out, he rushed to help Piper.

“Wait,” she said, gasping for air. “I think I might be able to walk.”

“No, come here,” he said, taking her in his arms. She was wet but he didn’t care; all he cared about was getting her inside. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she leaned her head on his shoulder as her body trembled. Kicking the door shut, he rushed across the parking lot to the emergency entrance.

“Almost there, baby,” he said, as he stepped up his pace to a full run. Her nails were digging into his neck and he felt like she was close to drawing blood. He silently thanked Shea for all the drills he had made Erik run because without the endurance it built, he was convinced he wouldn’t be able to carry her like this.

Busting through the doors, he announced, “My wife is having a baby.”

Two nurses turned and then everything was a blur. Erik watched as they took Piper from him, put her in a wheelchair, and wheeled her down the hall. He tried to keep up, but he felt like he couldn’t breathe and at one point as they fired question after question at her, he had to lean against the wall to catch his breath.

Today wasn’t supposed to be baby day; today was supposed to be get-Mommy-to-be-with-Daddy-forever day.

The nurses were fast as they got Piper into a pink gown, then into the bed before hooking her up to some machines and sticking her with needles. As he leaned against the wall in her room, trying to stay out of everyone’s way, Erik realized that this was the moment when he could prove that he loved her more than anything in this world. No matter how hard it was, he had to be her rock. He had to be the encourager, the one who would help her get through this. He could tell that she was hurting and that she didn’t do well with pain, so he would be there, just as she had been there for him.

“Told you you’d go early.”

Erik looked at the doorway to see the Abercrombie & Fitch model who was posing as a doctor. Erik still wasn’t convinced that guy was a doctor, or g*y, for that matter. He had everyone fooled, but Erik was onto him. One wrong move and that dude’s perfect grin would be destroyed. When he turned and flashed Erik that perfect smile, Erik came off the wall and was by Piper’s side in seconds.