47. Oliver

Within seconds of leaving my brothers, I rush down the halls of the hospital, heading to the maternity ward. The nurses let me know which room Eva's been taken to, so I head there now, footsteps echoing on the sterile tile floors.

Eva is sitting up in the hospital bed when I arrive, and a nurse is getting her vitals. She's strapped to a bunch of monitors, so she can't move, but she reaches out a hand, grabbing mine and squeezing tightly.

"I'm here," I tell her, trying to be calm and reassuring. "I'm here. Everything is okay."

Eva arches a little, the pain picking up. "She's coming whether we like it or not," she tells me. "They say it's too late to stop it. She'll be okay, though, right?"

"Of course she will," I tell her, leaning down to kiss her on the forehead. "You kept her safe until it was safe for her to come out. She's going to be completely protected."

"I'm sorry I didn't fight Declan," Eva says, her voice hoarse. "He took me, and I was too scared to fight."

"Hey, you did the right thing," I tell her. "When you're all better, and the baby is a little older, Ryder and I will show you how to defend yourself if something like that ever happens again."

"It had better not," she says, grimacing as another wave of pain hits. "I'm not ready to deal with being kidnapped a third time anytime soon."

"Hey, you told us you were fine with the line of work we did," I tease, moving to get a damp cloth to wipe over her brow. "Did I forget that?"

The nurse has me move to a chair so she can check on Eva and monitor her. "You're four centimeters," she informs us. "You've got a while to go before it's go time."

"God, this is so not worth that one wild night," Eva complains. "I wanted to have fun on my birthday, and look where it got me."

"It brought you to us," I point out. "Me and Ryder and Theo. You came into our lives and managed to drive us completely crazy within days of meeting you. Now look where we are. We're having a baby together, and we just defeated our biggest enemy."

"I'm sorry Declan got away," Eva apologizes. "It's my fault for being in labor."

"Shh, don't even think like that," I tell her. "You have no idea what might have happened if we hadn't gotten out of there. He could have hurt or killed any one of us. Now we have a chance to take him down with help from the police, since kidnapping you is a federal crime."

Eva sits up a little more, putting her hands on her belly as she breathes through a contraction. "You're only saying that because you want me to feel better."

I smile and shake my head. "No, I'm saying that because it's true. I'd rather have you safe and here in the hospital than in that cabin a moment longer than necessary. We were lucky that our baby girl decided now was the right time to come into the world."

Eva's face scrunches for a moment before relaxing, and she smiles a little. "That's right. I keep forgetting that after all this pain is over, we get to finally meet her."

"She's going to be beautiful, just like her mom," I say, moving my hands down to rub over her back in slow circles. "And she's going to be feisty like her dads."

"She's going to be spoiled rotten," Eva says, chuckling. "An entire manor to grow up in. Imagine it."

"Maybe with some brothers and sisters so she doesn't get too lonely?" I offer.

Eva looks up at me, expression widening. "You'd want more?"

"I think that is definitely something we'd be interested in, yes," I agree. "There's four parents for one kid right now. Surely, we have enough backup for at least a few more?"

Eva looks down at her belly. "Maybe let's focus on getting this one out first," she says. I smirk and rub a little harder into her back.

The monitors beep in the background, letting us know that things are progressing well as we sit together, working through Eva's laboring process.

I keep Theo and Ryder updated, and then Ryder appears with Aunt Bridget.

"I'm here now, sweetheart," Bridget says as she enters. "Oliver, you can leave now."

"Aunt Bridget, please don't send him away," Evangeline pleads. "He's been so good at helping me through this."

"Are you sure?" Bridget asks, sitting over on a chair in the corner of the room.

"If that's what she wants, that's what she gets," I say, trying not to act too smug. Bridget may be a whirlwind, but the only person who's ever even come close to getting her to back off is Eva.

"I need him," Eva says, reaching out to hold my hand again. I let her squeeze it while I keep rubbing her back, trying to help lessen the pain. "He's important to me. All three of you guys are. I haven't said it yet, but I love you, Oliver."

"I love you too, sweetheart," I say, looking down into her beautiful blue eyes. "You totally captured my heart the second I saw you. That's why I was so prickly at first, because I was scared to fall in love so fast."

Bridget snorts from the corner, but I ignore her and rub circles into Eva's hand with my thumb.

"Do you mind going and getting me some ice chips?" Eva asks her, giving her a wide, pleading look. Bridget nods and stands up, heading out to go find her some. "I just wanted a moment alone with you," Eva confesses.

She squeezes my hand again. "I couldn't say everything I wanted to say with her here, but I just want to say that you and Ryder and Theo are the best thing to ever happen to me. I grew up so alone and sad, and I felt like I had no purpose. Now I'm with you, and I have an amazing job with your aunt, and we're having this baby, and I feel like for the first time in my life, I have hope for the future."

"I feel the same," I confess. "After we lost our father, things seemed bleak and the world felt like it stopped spinning. You brought color into our lives. You brought unwavering kindness and compassion for us when we really needed it."

"I love you," she says again, and I lean down and kiss her gently.

Bridget returns with the ice and kicks me out of the room for a while. I head into the waiting area and call Ryder, letting him know she's still got a way to go. Ryder popped home to let out Aunt Bridget's new Springer Spaniel puppy, but he'd be coming back soon.

Theo is still with Daniel when I call, and it looks like they're no closer to finding Declan yet. There's a worry that he might have planned to flee the country, so I let Theo go to deal with things.

When I return to the room, Eva is looking a little more frazzled. Bridget gives her a kiss on the forehead and breezes out of the room. "She's all yours," she says. "Take good care of her."

"I convinced her that you were the best choice for my labor partner," Eva admits. "I love Bridget, but I need you here."

My heart leaps into my throat. "Oh, Evangeline," I whisper. I feel touched, my pulse racing. "Are you sure? Many women want their mothers or a mother-figure with them at a time like this, and…"

"It's you I want right now," Eva says firmly. "Now come over here and rub my back again. Your hands are much stronger than Bridget's."

I chuckle. "I see why you want me. It's not for my comfort but for my big hands."

"And your strength," Eva jokes.

I start rubbing her back again, and she exhales, a sigh of relief falling from her lips. "Already feeling better," she admits.

"I'm glad," I say. "I was thinking about something while I was gone, and I wanted to talk to you about it."

"Oh?" Eva asks, glancing at me.

"Yep. I was just thinking about what all of us have been through together and how there's not really any better way to test the bonds in a relationship. We've weathered the storm, been through hell and back and survived. If we can get through this, we can get through anything. I think maybe that means we should get married."

Eva's eyes widen and she does a double-take. "Married?" she asks, a crack in her voice. "Are you… are you sure?"

"I am," I tell her. "I'm serious. You're everything the three of us want, and we'd be honored to have you as ours, forever."

Eva starts to say something but then stops, a contraction hitting her, and she pants, trying to breathe through the pain. The monitor starts beeping loudly, and one of the nurses rushes in to check on her.

"Okay, you are fully dilated, Mama," the nurse says, moving the bed up. "The doctor will be coming in to help you deliver. We need to get you ready."

After that, everything happens so quickly that my proposal is all but forgotten in the moment. I rush out to tell Ryder what's happening, and we call Theo, urging him to drop what he's doing and get here quickly.

Still, even as I head back into the room to stay by Eva's side as she prepares to bring our baby into the world, the question lingers in the back of my mind. Will she say yes?