“That was a big one.”

From where I sat in the hard molded-plastic hospital chair, I nodded, clutching Naomi’s hand. Her hair was damp with perspiration, and her entire body trembled with the effort to ride the waves of pain that came with each contraction.

“Are you sure you don’t want to take something? It might not be too late for that epidural thing,” I offered, glancing over my shoulder to see if I might catch the eye of a passing doctor or a nurse who could come in and help us.

But Naomi shook her head. “No. I’m good,” she insisted. “It’s not going to be too long now. I’m starting to feel the urge to push, and that means that the end is in sight.” She tried to laugh, but then another contraction hit and the sound became a strangled moan as she tried to get back into her breathing pattern.

I hated seeing the woman I loved in pain, even though I knew it was for the best cause imaginable. Naomi had driven herself to the hospital about five hours ago; I’d been on my way back to Florida from Washington and had rushed to her side the moment we had landed, arriving just after Alex and Cal.

The last month had been an intense whirlwind of activity and travel and adjustments. I’d insisted on taking Naomi away the week after the election; we’d spent four days in South Florida at a beach-front resort, just enjoying ourselves and each other. Taking a break like that was the smartest move I’d made so far because there hadn’t been a moment to breathe since.

I was either in Washington or on a plane coming or going—or I was buried in the transition process at my new office in Crystal Cove. I’d worked with Jude and her husband Logan to find the perfect space in an old house just a few moments from Naomi’s home.

Moving into my fiancée’s place had been just one of the big decisions we’d made recently. It simply made sense; we both loved the property, and I wanted to make Crystal Cove my Florida base. We were keeping my grandparents’ estate, hoping to donate it to a local botanical society in the near future. The house was too big for us, and I knew my grandmother would especially appreciate the idea of her home enriching the local community.

After January, Naomi and I would be living most of the time in a lovely townhouse in Georgetown, but we still planned to spend a lot o time in the Sunshine State. In addition to Naomi’s work at the AJ Portman Foundation and her girls, I knew I wanted to spend as much time as possible with my constituents.

And, of course, Naomi wanted to make frequent visits to Lulu and whoever this new baby would be.

“Okay, we’re back.” Alex and Cal, who had stepped out a few minutes ago to check on Lulu, hustled through the doorway. They each took their place, standing on either side of Naomi’s bed. “Did we miss anything?”

I shook my head. “Not really. A lot of contractions. And they seem to be right on top of each other now.” My voice was tense. “She’s not getting much time to catch her breath between them. I asked her if she might want some pain meds—”

“But of course, she said no,” Cal finished for me. “Alex and I are all in favor of a pain-free birth, believe me. But Naomi insists that she wants to do it her way.”

The woman in the bed grimaced. “It’s easier like this in the long run,” she mumbled. “Better for the baby. And I push better when I don’t have—oh, here comes another one.”

The three of us men held our collective breath, watching the monitor as it tracked the sharp rise of the contraction and then breathing more easily as it began to ease down.

I glanced at Alex.

“If you guys want me to step out since this is your day, I can wait down the hall,” I offered. “I just figured I’d sit with Naomi while you were talking with Jude and Lulu.”

Cal shook his head. “Don’t be silly,” he chided me. “You’re part of this too, you know. You’re not getting away from us that easily. Besides, Naomi will get through labor better if you’re by her side.”

“Also, we love you,” Alex stated matter of factly. “Like Cal said, you’re part of this family.”

“Thanks,” I said, clearing my throat, trying to tamp down the emotion that roughened my voice. “Ah, was Lulu okay? I mean, when you dropped her off with Jude?”

Alex laughed. “Oh yes, she’ll be fine,” he assured me. “She was trying to sweet-talk Jude into taking her Christmas shopping so that her little brother would have gifts under the tree. You know that kid, she’s always got an angle.”

Naomi laughed. “Told you—” she managed between pants. “—that this baby was going to be here before Christmas. January – my ass.”

“We believed you,” Alex assured her. “There are plenty of gifts and even a stocking for baby bean.”

A nurse strolled into the room. “Hello, folks,” she trilled. “Time for a cervix check here. Got to see if we’re getting close to go time!”

Cal, Alex and I all moved to the other side of the room, pointedly not looking at the bed. None of us even tried to make small talk as we heard the snap of gloves and Naomi‘s groan of pain as the nurse performed the exam.

“Whoa.” The nurse sounded surprised, and all three of us men jumped.

“Well, this little one is going be here sooner than we thought.”

She hurried from the room briefly and then returned in a hurry, beginning to take apart the bed and change it into something that look like a medieval torture contraption.

“What is she doing?” I whispered.

Cal patted my shoulder. “Don’t worry. She’s just breaking down the bed to make it easier for Naomi to push,” he explained. “It’s all going to be happening pretty fast, I guess.”

Moments later, a woman who introduced herself as April the midwife hustled in. She pointed to the three of us with one eyebrow raised.

“Okay, gentlemen,” she announced. “We’re gonna get real busy real quick here, so you three need to decide who’s going to stay down at the action end and who’s going to stay at the head of the bed with Mom. And then don’t move after that. We don’t need anybody getting in our way at a crucial moment.”

“I’m going stay up here next to Naomi,” I said. “That way you two can see your baby as soon as he’s born.”

“Sounds like a plan,” the midwife agreed. When Naomi growled, her face contorting, April shooed us with her hand.

“Like I said, get ready. This is happening now.”

She wasn’t wrong. I had just made my way over to stand next to Naomi and grip her hand when she curled herself up into a ball, her face turning the brightest red I’d ever seen. She mustered all the strength in her body to work together and moments later, delivered a screaming, messy baby boy into the world.

April caught the little guy just in time and laid him on her stomach. After a few emotional minutes, Cal cut the umbilical cord, and the midwife handed the wrapped, squalling infant to Naomi.

“Oh, no,”  she protested, gesturing toward Alex and Cal. “He’s their baby. They get to hold him first.”

“Yeah, but you just did the hardest work we’ve ever seen anybody do to bring him into this world,” Alex said, his voice rough with emotion. “You get to hold him and take a look at him first. Thanks to you, we’ll have the rest of our lives to gaze at that adorable face.”

Together, Naomi and I started down into the confused and unhappy face of the little guy who moments before had been inside Naomi. I couldn’t help marveling at the miracle here. It was easy enough to think about birth in hypothetical terms, but seeing it happen blew my mind.

Naomi kissed the baby’s head and let him hold her finger for a moment before she beckoned to Alex and Cal to come closer.

“Here you go, guys,” she said with a half laugh, half cry. “Now your family is complete.”

Cal gathered up the infant, and he and Alex stepped away from the bedside, worshiping their new infant son.

I brushed Naomi’s swept-damp hair back from her face and kissed her forehead.

“Baby, you’re a rockstar,” I marveled. “I always knew it, but seeing you just now . . . I just have to say that I didn’t think I could love you more, but somehow I do.”

She smiled sleepily, her eyes blinking slowly.

“I feel like I could sleep for a week. Or maybe a month,” she admitted. “I’m so glad I could do this for Alex and Cal, but Mitch, I’m so glad it’s over, too.”

I laughed softly. “I’ll tell you the same thing you said to me the night of the election. This one part might be over, but really, everything is just beginning.” I kissed her fingers. “We’re just at the start of the rest of our lives together.” I smiled at her, hoping she could feel how much I loved her. “And Mimi, I can’t wait.”

“I can’t wait, either,” she whispered. “I love you, Mitch.”

My heart expanded until I was sure it would burst from my chest, and I found myself blinking back tears.

“I love you too, sweetheart. Forever.”