“Michael?”

His wife’s soft, sweet voice filtered through his panicked thoughts. He turned to see her watching him, her eyes shining with love. She put her hand on his arm and then leaned into him, nestling her swollen body close to his.

“It’s going to be okay,” she whispered.

How like her to be the one comforting him when he should be doing everything in his power to offer her reassurance.

He smiled and squeezed her close just as her body went tense and a low moan slipped from her lips.

“Let’s get you comfortable,” he said in a husky voice laced with emotion.

“I’ll go watch for the others,” Lauren said anxiously. “Seth and Dillon seemed . . . stressed.”

Lily smiled as Michael guided her toward the bed. “I just bet they did. Poor guys.”

Michael kissed her forehead and then helped her settle down. He gently pulled her gown to her waist so he could see if she was crowning. God, he hoped she wasn’t. Not yet. He at least wanted the others present before their baby slid into his waiting hands.

She bent her knees and spread them, giving him access. When he got a glimpse, he sucked in his breath. Oh shit. She was crowning. Not hugely, but the baby’s head was right there.

He felt light-headed. His hands shook. Hell, he didn’t have anything.

“Lauren, get me my med kit! It’s on the counter. And blankets. I need blankets and some water to clean Lily and the baby when we’re done.”

“Is it time?” Lily asked, her body tensing once more. “Oh God, Michael, I need to push. What’s happening? Is the baby coming now?”

He lifted his head so she could see him over her belly. “Yes, honey. It’s time. But I don’t want you to push yet, okay? I need to get a few things. It’s going to be all right. I swear it. Okay? Trust me?”

Her eyes glowed warm as she blew out the rest of her breath in a whoosh. “I do trust you, Michael. You won’t let anything happen to our child.”

“Or to you,” he said softly. “You’re my life, Lily. Our life. I’ll go to hell and back to keep you with me. Never doubt it.”

She smiled and nodded. “I love you too, you know.”

“Yeah. I do.”

Just then a commotion sounded in the living room, and Michael breathed a huge sigh of relief. Reinforcements were here.

Seth and Dillon burst into the bedroom, a crazed look in their eyes.

“What the hell is going on?” Dillon demanded. “Lauren said she’s having the baby now.”

Seth went immediately to Lily’s side, his forehead creased in concern.

“That she is,” Michael said calmly. “I need you both to not freak out and give me a hand here. There’s no way to get her to the hospital in time. The baby will be born right here in our bedroom.”

Dillon looked deranged, but then he made a concerted effort to collect himself. His hands were shaking violently, though, as he went to Lily’s other side.

Seth took Lily’s hand and curled his fingers around it. Then he kissed her temple, fear stark in his eyes.

“What do you need us to do?” Seth asked hoarsely.

“Lauren is getting my med kit. I need a suction, scissors to cut the cord and something to tie it off with. We also need some blankets to wrap the baby in and something to clean up the baby and Lily afterward.”

“I can do that,” Dillon said. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. We’ll do this. Okay?”

Despite the contractions wracking her body and her fighting the urge to push, Lily laughed. “I’m fine, guys. Really. I can do this. We can do this.”

“Where the fuck are the dads?” Seth muttered. “They’re the ones with all the childbirth experience.”

Lily laughed again. “That’s so funny. One would think you’d be looking to your mother at a time like this, and instead you want to know where the hell the dads are.”

“Mom didn’t deliver three babies at home,” Dillon said in a disgruntled voice. “The dads did.”

Lily rolled her eyes. “She didn’t? What exactly do you call pushing a kid the size of a small watermelon out of her womb?”

“How can you joke at a time like this?” Seth asked, the panic rising in his voice.

“It’s either laugh or cry,” Lily said. “I’m scared to death!”

Dillon and Seth immediately looked contrite. They gathered in close to her, kissing her and offering reassurance.

“We’re assholes,” Seth said. “Sorry, honey. But don’t be scared. Between the family we’ll get this baby safely here.”

She reached up and stroked his cheek. “I know we will.”

Another sound came from the living room, and Michael realized that his mom and the dads were here. Relief soared. Hell, he had a medical degree. He’d delivered every kind of animal imaginable, and yet he was relieved that his fathers were here. But they’d always been his rocks. Mom and the dads.

“Need help, son?” Adam said from the bedroom doorway.

Holly Colter shoved Adam aside and hurried for the bed, where Lily sat propped against the pillows. She took Lily’s hand from Dillon and squeezed reassuringly.

“It’s going to be okay, baby. The dads are here, and they have more experience with childbirth than most women do!”

“That’s what I’m counting on,” Lily said just before she went silent as another contraction hit.

“I can’t hold off any longer,” Lily panted. Her face was red with strain and her cheeks puffed outward as her entire body coiled into a knot.

Lauren rushed in with all the things Michael had asked for, and Ryan took them from her and began arranging them on the side of the bed.

“Tell us what you want to do, son,” Ethan said. “Though I have a feeling our young lady here planned it this way, and she probably wants you to deliver her child. If she talked to your mother at all, then the idea would have been planted that this baby would be born here.”

Holly’s lips tightened and Lily flashed a guilty smile.

“Busted,” Lily murmured.

“Is that what you really want?” Dillon asked as he wiped her hair from her brow.

Lily glanced up at Dillon and then to Seth and finally at Michael. “Yes,” she said quietly. “I want our child to be born here. Delivered by his fathers. I want our children to grow up in this house just like you all did in the house you were born. I can’t think of a better way to usher in the next generation of Colters.”

Tears gleamed brightly in his mother’s eyes. The dads were no less affected. Adam wiped at his face before lowering his hand to touch his wife’s shoulder.

“Then that’s what we’ll do,” Seth said, kissing Lily again. Then he looked up at Michael. “What do you need us to do?”

“Stay there and support Lily,” Michael said. “Hold her, support her, talk to her. Encourage her. She needs to push now so our child can be born.”

In the distance he heard Callie’s and Max’s voices. Knew they were here. Satisfaction gripped Michael. Lily was right. What better way for their child to be born then right here, surrounded by parents and grandparents. Aunts and uncles.

“Help me,” Lily said, breathless as she struggled upward.

Seth and Dillon went into action, propping her forward like she wanted. They each wrapped an arm around her back, anchoring her in place.

Adam quickly went to work sorting through all the things Lauren had brought in. Michael spread a blanket over the mattress and tucked it under Lily’s bottom. The baby’s head bulged, pressing forward, stretching Lily as it prepared to make its entrance into the world.

“Okay, honey. Bear down with this next contraction okay? I need you to take a deep breath in, hold it and then count to ten.”

Her face reddening, she sucked in a breath and then leaned forward, her chin nearly to her chest. Beside her, Dillon began counting.

“Too fast, Dillon. Slow down some,” Michael said. “I don’t want to rush things and I don’t want her pushing too hard. She’ll tear. Let’s just take things nice and easy and let the baby come in his own time.”

He locked gazes with Lily and then his brothers. This was it. The woman they adored beyond reason was gifting them with something more precious than anything in the world. She’d struggled and overcome so much adversity in her young life, and he was determined that she never go down that road again.

When Dillon got to ten, Lily slumped back against Dillon’s and Seth’s arms, her breath escaping in rapid pants.

“This hurts,” she ground out.

Dillon pressed his lips to her temple, his face a wreath of agony on her behalf. Dillon looked as helpless as Michael felt. He’d do anything to spare her this pain.

He’d been so absorbed in monitoring her contraction and the progress of the baby’s head, that he hadn’t even noticed his mom and the dads had made a discreet exit. Panic nearly overtook him again, and he was tempted to call the dads back. Or at least Adam. Not much rattled him. Except when it came to Holly.

Lily leaned forward, sucked in her breath, and Dillon began to count again.

“That’s it!” Michael said excitedly. “It’s coming! I’ve almost got the head. Don’t relax until I tell you, honey.”

The warm, gooey head slipped into Michael’s waiting hands. And then Seth was there, handing Michael the suction and a blanket. Michael suctioned the baby’s airway, and then the most wonderful sound he’d ever heard. The baby let out a soft wail that echoed through the room.

“Okay, Lily. Just one more push, honey. Can you do that for me? The baby will be here. Just one more push.”

Her body heaved, and then she bore down and the baby slid easily into Michael’s grasp. He stared down in befuddlement at the squirming, sticky baby in his palms.