“Hey there, sexy mama”, Maxton says as he comes into the kitchen. He steps beside me and kisses my temple. His hands land on my belly as always. “How’s my two favorite people?” he asks.

“Good, my back’s hurting a little, but I think it’s from washing and folding all of those clothes.” Nicole threw me a shower last weekend and I spent all day yesterday washing them and organizing the nursery. We are all ready for our little man to arrive.

“Kens, you need to stay off your feet. Come on.” He takes my hand and leads me to the living room. He helps me down on the couch and places a pillow behind my back. He places another on the table and props my feet up on it. “You need to relax and stay off your feet,” he scolds me.

“She’s nesting,” Nicole says from behind us. Bright follows behind her. “We brought dinner,” she says, pointing to Bright who is holding up two pizza boxes.

“How you feeling, mama?” Nicole asks, leaning over the back of the couch to rub my belly.

“Like I’m as big as this damn couch,” I groan.

“You, my darling wife, are beautiful. That’s my son that’s cooking in there, so watch what you say. You might hurt his feelings,” he says, winking at me.

I laugh at his antics. I read somewhere that the baby will recognize our voices when he’s born and made the mistake of telling Maxton. He now talks to my belly more than he does me. It’s sweet and makes me fall even more in love with him every day.

“So does my nephew have a name yet?” Bright asks. He sets the pizza boxes on the table. Nicole places a bag with paper plates and napkins beside it.

“I’ll go grab some drinks. Don’t spill the deets without me.” She skips off to the kitchen.

“I think so,” I tell Bright, “but we’re waiting until he’s born. Maxton seems to think we need to see him, hold him, before we make our final decision.” I roll my eyes playfully. I happen to think it’s adorable how involved he’s been and how serious he’s taking this issue. I can still hear his words the first night we talked about names.

“Babe, this is serious stuff. Our kid is going to be called this the rest of his life; it’s got to be good. We don’t want him to be made fun of.” The look on his face when he said it was priceless!

“So, really, how have you been feeling?” Nicole asks, handing each of us a bottle of water.

“Good. My back has been hurting today, but I think it’s because I over-did it yesterday. I got all the clothes washed and the nursery organized. We are ready for this little guy any time now.” I smile at the thought.

“You have, what, a week to go?” she asks.

“Five days,” Maxton and Bright say at the same time.

Nicole and I both look at them. “It’s my baby,” Maxton says. “What’s your excuse?”

Bright shrugs. “Well, not only do I hear about it at work, I’m excited to meet the little guy. Maybe I can get my fiancée to set a wedding date and we can work on one of our own,” he says. His eyes locked on Nicole.

She sits back in her chair and studies him. “Whenever you’re ready, I’m in,” she replies.

“I get to pick?” he asks her.

“Yep.” She pops the p, challenging him.

Brighton looks at Max. “Your little man is due in less than a week. You good in thirty?” he asks. I smile, knowing what they’re talking about.

“Absolutely.” Max grins.

Bright turns to Nicole. “Max is going to marry us. We figured we both fell hard and that’s only fair. You’ve got thirty days. Tell me what you need and I’ll do it. I can even plan the whole thing, just needs to happen in thirty,” he says, taking a big bite of pizza.

We all burst out laughing and I have to pee again. “Ugh. Babe, I have to pee yet again, can you help me up?” I ask Max.

A slow trickle runs down my leg. At first, I’m embarrassed thinking that I actually pissed my pants. Then it hits me. Back pain… my water just broke.

“MAXTON,” KENSI SAYS my name and the sound of her voice has me giving her all of my attention, “my water just broke.”

Any guy would freak out and, to be honest, I am just a little, but I don’t let her see it. Instead, I smile at her and kiss her forehead. “We finally get to meet our boy.” I turn to Bright. “Go get the car. Nicole, my phone is on the kitchen counter; can you call her OB, it’s under Kensi OB, and let them know we are on our way? When you’re done, call her dad and let him know.”

“What about the bags?” Bright asks.

“Already loaded,” I tell him.

Trying like hell to stay calm, I say, “Let’s get you to the car, beautiful.” I place my arm around her and help her out the door. Bright is in the driver’s seat and Nicole hops in beside him. Kens and I load up in the back and off we go. She’s fine until about five minutes from the hospital when she screams out in pain.

I don’t say anything; I offer my hand and she squeezes painfully. I rub her back with the other hand, trying to soothe her. There is nothing I can say that will make it better and nothing I can do to take the pain away. I read in an online forum that I just need to be there to offer whatever she needs.

We finally pull into the ER and there is a nurse waiting for us at the entrance. Kensi’s doctor had called ahead, letting them know we were on our way. Taking good care of my girl, it’s what I like to see.

She hits the button for the elevator and takes us to the third floor to delivery. We already pre-registered with the hospital, so we didn’t have to deal with it today.

“I need you to change into this; do you need me to help you?” the nurse asks.

“No,” she grits through her teeth. “Husband.”

I grab the gown and wait until the nurse leaves, shutting the door behind her to help Kensi change. Not too long after, the doctor comes in to check her and appears to be surprised. “Kensington, how long have you been having back pain?” he asks her.

“It started yesterday,” she pauses to let another contraction pass, “and has been pretty consistent since then. I just thought I had worked too much on the nursery getting things washed and put away.”

“You’ve been in labor. You are already dilated to five centimeters. Any longer to get here and we would have missed our opportunity to give you an epidural,” he explains.

“Well, get with it, doc,” she retorts as another contraction hits.

The next half hour or so is a flurry of activity. The anesthesiologist comes in to administer the epidural and her pain subsides. However, from the way that the monitor is going crazy, her contractions are coming faster than ever. Nursing staff bring in a bed with lights for the baby as well as blankets and a slew of other items needed to bring my son into the world.

When the doctor finally comes back in, he checks her yet again. He smiles when he says, “It’s time, Kensington. Dad, I need you to hold one of her legs. I’ll have one of the nurses assist with the other. Kensington, when I tell you to push, I need you to bear down as hard as you can.” He watches the monitor and when it spikes, he says, “Push.”

This goes on for I don’t know how long, and I can tell she’s exhausted. “All right, Kensington, one more big push and you can meet your son,” he encourages her.

“You got this, baby. One more big push and he’s here. We finally get to meet him,” I whisper in her ear.

She nods once. “Now,” the doctor says and she bears down with every last ounce of energy in her.

Not seconds later, I hear his cries fill the room. Kensi lies back against the pillow and a gorgeous, yet tired, smile crosses her face. Never has my heart felt so full. The doctor offers for me to cut the cord and I decline. My eyes are full of tears and I’d be afraid I would hurt him. I tell him this and he assures me that this will not happen. With a shaking hand, I take the scissors and cut the cord. Nurses whisk him away, cleaning him up, and I focus on Kens. “You did it, Kensi. You did so well. Thank you, I love you so much.” I ramble on and on, not knowing how to tell her what I feel in this moment. What this means to me to have them both.