Chapter 7 - An Early Arrival
The stress of the last forty-eight hours had taken its toll on my body.
I was sitting in the base commander's office, finalizing my temporary leave, when a sharp pain shot across my lower abdomen.
I gasped, grabbing the edge of the mahogany desk.
The commander, General Hayes, immediately stood up.
“Emily? Are you alright?”
Another wave of pain hit, stronger this time. I looked down.
My water had just broken, pooling on the polished floor.
“I think,” I breathed through clenched teeth, “the baby is coming. Early.”
Within minutes, the base was in motion.
This is what Mark never understood about the military.
We are not just coworkers. We are a family. We protect our own.
An ambulance transported me to the military hospital on base.
The nurses and doctors moved with incredible speed and efficiency.
General Hayes personally ensured that a security detail was placed at my door.
No one gets into a military maternity ward without clearance.
Hours passed in agonizing pain.
I held Tyler’s hand before they took him to the base daycare, promising him I would be okay.
I was exhausted, but I was surrounded by my true family.
My second-in-command, Major Davis, sat by my side, feeding me ice chips.
“You got this, Colonel,” Davis encouraged. “You've led troops through worse. A baby is just a very small, very loud recruit.”
I managed a weak laugh before another contraction hit.
Outside the hospital, Mark was arguing with the military police at the gate.
“My wife is in there! She's having my baby!” he screamed in the rain.
The MP stood firm, checking his clipboard.
“Sir, you are not on the approved visitor list. Colonel Carter has explicitly denied you entry.”
“I have rights! I’m the father!”
“You have the right to turn your vehicle around and leave the base, sir. Or you will be arrested for trespassing.”
Mark pounded his hands on his steering wheel, weeping in the rain.
He missed the birth of his daughter.
At 11:42 PM, little Margaret Carter took her first breath.
She was small, pink, and absolutely perfect.
Holding her to my chest, listening to her strong cries, I cried for the first time since this ordeal began.
Not tears of sadness.
Tears of absolute victory.
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I had my son. I had my daughter.
And I was finally free.
