The contractions started at 3 AM on a Tuesday in March, exactly eight months after our honeymoon ended.
I'd been having what the doctor called "practice contractions" for weeks, but this was different. This was the real thing, sharp and insistent and impossible to ignore.
"Kai," I whispered, shaking his shoulder gently. "It's time."
He went from dead sleep to fully alert in about two seconds. "Time? Like, actual time?"
"Unless you want to deliver this baby yourself, yeah. It's time."
What followed was controlled chaos. Kai calling Dr. Chen while throwing clothes into the hospital bag we'd packed weeks ago. Elena appearing in our bedroom wearing a bathrobe and carrying what appeared to be a thermos of coffee. Marcus pacing in the hallway, asking repeatedly if there was anything he could do to help.
"Dad, for the third time, we've got everything handled," I said through gritted teeth as another contraction peaked. "Just... maybe call Logan? He wanted updates."
