Beauty & the Blue Angel

“Oh my goodness.” She took in the scene in an instant and just as quickly began issuing orders. “Take the elevator, Alex. Go up to Gina’s apartment. It’s empty. I’ll alert Maria and we’ll meet you there.”

“Right.”

“Who’s that?” Daisy asked, shifting her gaze to his face again.

“My sister the nurse. We’ll call an ambulance and Rita can help till it gets here.”

“Okay, good.” Daisy glanced at the well-appointed reception area as he raced with her across the room. Overstuffed beige furniture was lined up against ivory walls. An ice-blue area rug lay in the center of the space, under a huge glass-and-oak table. Pale blue pillows were tossed here and there, giving the room a warm, inviting feel and the scent of fresh cut flowers filled the air. It was cozy, comfortable and peaceful.

But before she could notice much more, Alex was at the old-fashioned elevator, pushing back the iron gate and stepping inside.

“How old is this thing?” she asked warily as he stabbed the fourth-floor button and the elevator lurched into motion.

“Don’t worry. My dad made sure the elevator was brand-new and up to specs. He wouldn’t trust his girls to some ancient elevator. He just liked the antique look.”

“Glad to hear it.” Truthfully, though, Daisy was just glad there was an elevator. With the pain now a constant companion, there was no way she would have been able to climb four flights of stairs.

When the elevator stopped and Alex threw the iron gate open, the first thing Daisy saw was his sister’s sympathetic smile. “You poor thing. Don’t you worry about anything, all right? You’re safe.”

Strange, Daisy thought. But she’d felt safe since the moment she’d first seen Alex back at Antonio’s.

Three

Daisy barely had time to say hello before Alex’s two sisters had swept her off and planted her in bed. Which was just as well, since she wasn’t entirely sure she could speak without releasing the screams gathering at the back of her throat.

So she gritted her teeth and kept quiet as Alex left her in his sisters’ care. In just a couple of minutes, the two women helped Daisy into a nightgown and tucked her into what was apparently yet a third sister’s bed. The wide, brass bed creaked comfortably as she shifted higher onto the pillows and looked around the room. A large, cherry armoire stood against one wall and luxurious Turkish rugs dotted the shining wooden floors. It was a big, beautiful room. Nothing at all like her own small efficiency apartment.

“I don’t feel right about this,” she managed to say, and looked from one to the other of the women standing on either side of the bed.

The older of the two—Rita, that was her name—said, “Don’t you worry, Daisy. This was our sister Gina’s apartment, but she got married and moved out. For tonight, just consider it yours.”

“I don’t know…” But then the child within made another attempt at escape, and Daisy forgot all about feeling oddly out of place. Nothing was more important than the coming birth. Nothing.

“Do you want me to call anyone?”

Again Daisy looked at Rita. Her long, dark brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail and her chocolate-brown eyes were warm with concern. She smiled, and Daisy saw the resemblance between her and Alex.

“Sarah,” Daisy said. “My midwife. Number’s in my purse.”

“Got it,” the woman said. “Husband? Boyfriend?”

“No,” Daisy said. “There’s no one.”

Rita shot her sister a quick look, then said, “Okay then, I’ll call the midwife.”

“Try not to worry, okay? I mean, just concentrate on your baby,” the other sister, Maria, said, plumping the pillow beneath Daisy’s head as Rita hurried out of the room. “I know this must be hard, but honest to God, we’re gonna take care of you. And remember, Rita’s a nurse.”

“Thanks,” Daisy muttered as the last of a contraction faded into the soft haze that signaled not the end, but the beginnings of yet another, stronger pain to come.

Maria, a shorter, younger version of her sister, bustled around for a few more minutes. She tucked and untucked blankets, smoothed sheets and patted Daisy’s hand in a distracted, nervous sort of way. Finally, when she’d run out of things to straighten, she announced, “I’m going to go make you some tea,” and left the room.

This just wasn’t working out at all the way she’d planned it, Daisy thought. And she’d spent plenty of time planning for the birth of her child. She’d been to a clinic for regular checkups and had even arranged for a midwife to come to her apartment to deliver the baby. Sure, some of her friends had been aghast at the idea of her delivering at home. But a trained midwife was every bit as good as an obstetrician—especially when the mother was young and healthy, and no problems were expected. Sarah Lovell was an excellent midwife, warm and caring and far less expensive than an unnecessary hospital stay. Which was an important consideration for a single woman with limited health benefits.

Besides, Daisy had wanted to go through labor and delivery surrounded by familiar things. After all, she’d assumed that she’d be alone when giving birth, and at least in her own home, she’d feel safe…comfortable.

Instead, though, she was lying on a stranger’s bed, with even more strangers hovering over her, asking if she was all right. All right? She was so far from all right she wasn’t even in the same universe. Then Alex entered the room, pausing briefly in the open doorway. Her gaze met his and she felt a little bit better as she watched him cross the room in a few long strides. Funny how just a couple of hours ago she hadn’t known he existed. Now his was the only familiar face in a world gone suddenly very weird.

“How you doin’?” he asked, leaning over her and brushing her hair back from her face.

“I’ve been better.”

He smiled, and she thought, That’s easy for you to do. Then the next pain hit and she bit down hard on her bottom lip to keep a screech from erupting.

He took her hand, enfolding it in his. Just having him hold on to her helped, and she drew on his strength when her own started to ebb.

“Squeeze my hand,” she whispered through gritted teeth. The midwife had told her that during delivery she should try to keep her muscles as relaxed as possible, so she couldn’t hold on to him.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he said, but tightened his grip nonetheless.

“You won’t. Tighter.” His fingers clenched harder and it actually helped to distract her from the real spasms twisting her middle. Closing her eyes, she arched with the pain, trying not to fight it. Trying to remember that when this was all over, she would have her baby. She’d never be alone again. She would have someone to love. Someone who would love her back.

“Rita?” Alex turned to look at his sister as she hurried back into the bedroom.

“The midwife was out on another delivery. I left a message,” she said, forcing a smile for Daisy before looking at her brother. “Alex, go away.”

“What?”

“I want to check her progress. Leave.”

“No,” Daisy said, and could hardly believe she was saying it. But she simply didn’t want to go through this alone. His warm strength reached down into the cold, dark corners inside her, and Daisy couldn’t imagine letting go of that feeling. Not now. “Stay. Just don’t let go of my hand.”

Alex looked down into those pain-filled blue-green eyes and knew he wasn’t going anywhere. She seemed so small, so alone. And yet she faced each pain as bravely as any military man he’d ever seen. She didn’t back down. She didn’t scream or complain. She simply braced herself and rolled with each progressively stronger contraction.

He looked down at her small hand as his fingers tightened around her fragile bones and a part of him wondered at the strength in her. Alone. No one to help her. No one to help raise this baby. She faced it all bravely—even though she was going through the biggest moment in her life surrounded by strangers.

“I’m not goin’ anywhere, Rita.”

Rita scowled at her brother, then smiled at Daisy. “It’s okay. The midwife will get here eventually. But until she does, we’ll do fine. I’ve helped to deliver lots of babies and even done a couple on my own in the ER. Mothers and babies are doing nicely.”

Good to know. Very good, Daisy thought as another pain crested and she arched her back, riding it as though it were some invisible bucking bronco in a rodeo.

Her world became nothing more than the pain and Alex’s grip on her hand. Nothing else mattered. Nothing else registered. Not Rita’s tender hands or whispered words of encouragement. Nine long months had come down to this one moment in time.

Daisy’s brain raced, trying to stay one step ahead of the pain, trying to remember that every contraction brought her one step closer to being a family. That any minute now she’d be holding her baby in her arms and the pain would be only a memory. Oh, she wished it was just a memory.

But that sense of peace hadn’t hit her yet. What she needed at the moment was a distraction. Any distraction.

“Talk to me.” She looked up at Alex and forced the words through gritted teeth.