“Baylor? What happened? Honey! Wake up,” Autumn cried, holding Baylor’s face. But then someone grabbed her too, pushing them both out the door.

“Sir, we need you to wait outside,” a nurse said, but he struggled, trying to get away.

“No! What is going on?”

“She’s bleeding, and the doctor needs to get it to stop. Please, don’t fight me. Just wait,” she said, finally getting him out. But as he went to go back in, the door shut in his face.

“I’m sure it’s fine, Jayden. It has to be fine,” his mother said, her voice trembling as he stared at the door, the noises of doctors and nurses working coming through it, along with the sounds of his son’s cries.

“She needs me,” he whispered as Autumn took him in her arms, holding him close.

“Let them work on her. It’s fine,” she said once more.

But seconds turned to minutes and still no word. Baylor had to be okay. He couldn’t do life without her. People didn’t die during childbirth anymore, did they? He really should have read that damn book Baylor told him to read. Closing his eyes, he covered them as he sucked in a deep breath, trying to calm his heart and his breathing. Though, it didn’t work.

Finally, the door opened, but it was only for a nurse to bring out his son.

His son. That should please him to no end, but he was shaking with fear for his wife.

Racing the short distance to the nurse who was pushing his son in his little bassinette, he stopped her. But she shut the door before he could get around her. “My wife, is she okay?”

“I don’t know, sir. They’re going to be out in a moment,” she said, but she wouldn’t look him in the eye. “Would you like to come with the baby?”

“I need to know about my wife. Mom,” he said, turning to his mother, but she was already there.

“Of course. I’ll go.”

“Okay,” the nurse said, still not looking Jayden in the eye, and that did nothing but fill him with dread. Standing alone in the busy hall, aware he was slowly but surely dying inside, Jayden wasn’t certain he’d made the right decision. Should he have gone with the baby? No. He needed to know about Baylor.

When the door opened, he had to take a step back as a nurse backed out, pulling Baylor’s bed with her. “Baylor,” he gasped, and when he saw the blood-soaked sheets, he cried out. “Oh God, is she okay?”

But none of the nurses answered him.

They just wheeled her as Dr. Flynn came out, pausing in front of him. “Doc, tell me something. Anything. Is she okay?”

“I don’t know yet. She’s lost a lot of blood. We were able to get the placenta out, but she won’t stop bleeding. So we are taking her to the OR for a transfusion and to see if there is a tear in the uterus or vagina that’s causing the bleeding. It could be a number of things, but I won’t know which until I’m there.”

All he heard was she’d lost a lot of blood.

“Will she be okay?”

“Jayden, I’m sorry, but I can’t answer that. Let me go work on her.”

She went to go around him, but he stopped her. “Please, I need her. She’s my life.”

Dr. Flynn’s eyes widened, and she nodded. “I know. I’m doing everything I can.”

“Can I come?”

“No, I’m sorry. You need to wait here.”

Moving past him, she ran down the hall, leaving Jayden with no promises at all. Swallowing hard, he covered his face as he walked backward into the wall, the hard surface giving him the support he needed. The fear of losing his wife took over his body. He couldn’t fathom what had just happened. Why was this happening? He loved her; she loved him. They were good people, donated to charity, went to church, and above all, they loved Jesus. They were so excited, and they had been through so much. Why? Why was this happening?

Squeezing his eyes shut, he whispered, “Please, Lord, take me instead. Take me. Don’t take her. I need her. We need her. My son and I. Please.”

He waited, needing some kind of sign, but none came.

“Jay, bro, you okay?”

Lifting his head, he saw Jude and Jace racing toward him, Markus on their heels. “Mom texted from the nursery. Told us what was going on. Are you okay?”

He couldn’t even answer them. He just fell into Jude, and thankfully, his brother caught him, wrapping his arms around him. He held him tight as Jayden let go, his sobs filling the hall.

“They don’t know what’s wrong. She won’t stop bleeding,” he cried, and then he felt Jace’s and Markus’s hands on his back.

“It’s fine, she’ll be fine. Baylor is the strongest girl I know. It’s okay, just breathe, bro. It’s fine,” Jude said, his own voice frantic as he held Jayden.

“Where is she?” Markus asked, and Jayden shook his head, backing away from Jude as he sucked in a breath, looking down at the floor.

“In the OR.”

No one said anything. They stood there awkwardly, waiting for something or someone to tell them what to do. He could feel everyone’s anxiety, his own most of all. Usually, he was the strong one. The pillar of the family. But right now, he was doing everything he could to stay upright and not fall to his knees to beg the Lord to protect his wife, to keep her here.

Finally, a nurse came up to him, her face full of worry. “Mr. Sinclair, there is a waiting room by the OR you can wait in.”

“Is she okay? My wife, Baylor Sinclair?”

“I don’t know, sir. Please follow me,” she said, looking away, and it felt off. Why couldn’t they just say if Baylor was okay? If she was going to be okay?

He couldn’t think that way. She was okay. She would be fine.

Together, the guys walked to the surgery waiting room, and while Jace and Markus sat with the rest of the family who had relocated from the maternity ward waiting room, Jayden stood by the door with Jude right beside him. He had a perfect view of the door to the OR from where he stood, and he wasn’t moving until he knew if his wife was okay. Looking back to Jude, he swallowed hard. Jude wasn’t the serious type, but he looked as stricken as Jayden felt.

Fighting back the tears, Jayden leaned his head against the door and said, “My boy is gorgeous.”

Jude nodded, his hand coming to his brother’s shoulder. “I heard.”