Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 120 -

~Four months later~

Весса.

"I can't do this," I panted as the pain of contractions ran through me. "Goddamn it, Neal! Drive faster!"

There was nothing like being woken up at three in the morning by a soaked bed only to realize that your water had broken. At first, the pain was nothing more than slightly uncomfortable and feeling extra heavy below, but as time gradually went on, the pain began to spread.

"I'm going as fast as I can, Becca."

"It's f*cking not fast enough!" I screamed out as a cry of pain radiated through me.

"Becca, in and out. In and out," Allegra said, soothingly, as she placed a cold cloth against my head.

I did as she said and continued the breathing exercises that the native island woman had told me to do in my classes, but it didn't matter how much breathing I did, the pain was horrible.

F*ck having a natural birth... all I wanted was the damn pain medication the doctors had promised me. One prick of a needle, and all my pain would be over. The problem was that the place where I got the needle of happiness happened to be forty-five minutes away.

My fault honestly. I had picked the most secluded of homes in New Zealand as our forever home, and it wasn't anywhere near a hospital... unless I drove forty-five minutes away. "Women who do this naturally are f*cking insane!" I cried with tears rolling down my face.

"It's okay," Allegra laughed. "I can see the hospital in the distance. We're almost there."

Nodding my head, I held on. I held on for the life that was about to be brought into this world, and also for the love I had to give. So much had changed in four months, and to think I was about to bring the final step of my life into the world was incredible.

I was scared, and more than anything, I wished that James was here to see this, but I had hope he was here in spirit. That he was looking down upon us with open arms and loving eyes watching as I brought his child into the world.

As soon as Neal pulled the car into the emergency driveway, he put it in park, and jumped out, running inside as Allegra tried to help me out of the car. I could hear Neal yelling for someone to help which both Allegra and I found amusing. "Bless him for acting the way he is." Allegra chuckled as two nurses came running out to us with a wheelchair in tow.

"I know you would think that he hadn't been prepared for any of this. He read enough books for the entire household," I replied as one of the nurses gestured for me to take a seat in the wheelchair.

"How far apart are your contractions, dear?"

Allegra stepped forth with a notebook and shoved it into the woman's hands. "Two minutes apart, and growing closer. She has been in active labor for an hour now."

"An hour?" the woman said with wide eyes as if shocked by what Allegra was saying.

"Yes, an hour. I know how to keep track. I went to all the classes with her." Shrugging her shoulders Allegra rolled her eyes as if irritated the woman would even question her.

I wasn't sure why the woman found that weird, but when she looked at the other nurse she turned her gaze back to me. "Is this your first child?"

"Yes, what does that have to do with anything?" I pushed out as my panting started again going through another contraction. "Can we get the medicine now?!"

They didn't bother to keep talking as they quickly rushed me into the hospital and up to the maternity ward. My panicked state was made widely known. Especially when I got into the labor room, and they informed me I was almost ready to push... and not allowed an epidural.

"What?!" I screamed as I felt the need to push. "No, no no." I shook my head back and forth as I cried out in pain, my back arching as I felt the need to push.

"Come on now dear. Let's take a look and see how it's going down there."

With my legs propped open, and the blanket pulled back, I heard a small fit of laughter escape her. "What is it? Why are you laughing?" "Because I can see the jet black hair of a baby's head."

"What?!" I cried out. "You can?"

"Yes, dear. On your next contraction, I want you to tuck your chin to your chest and give me a big push. The biggest you can give me."

My eyes gaze towards Neal who stood off to the side for moral support. He hadn't thought that I would want him in here, but he had been wrong. "I need you."

It was the only thing I had to say for him to be at my side without hesitation. "It's okay. You've got this, sweetie."

As the contraction came, I did as the woman said and pushed. I had expected more pain like I had been having, but what I didn't expect was the pain that this brought forth.

Screaming louder than I ever had, I pushed as the lady said until, finally, the pain disappeared and the sound of a baby crying echoed through the air. I gasped for breath collapsing upon the delivery bed with my only desire being that I wanted to sleep.

However, as I looked at Neal, I watched the tears that filled his eyes slowly slide down his face. "Are you okay?" I asked him, watching as he quickly wiped them away.

"Yeah, I just never saw something like that before."

The women in the room laughed at the same time I did. My hand reached up to brush against his cheek as the head nurse wrapped the babyin a towel, bringing the baby towards me. "Congratulations sweetie. You have a beautiful baby girl."

I couldn't believe it. The moment that she laid my daughter within my arms, I cried. She was the most beautiful thing that I had ever seen, with little puffy cheeks and rosy pink skin. "She is so beautiful," I whispered.

"She looks just like her mother, so of course she is," Neal replied as he gently touched her head. "She also looks like her father though. Look at all that jet black hair."

This was a joyous moment between us, and as the nurses finished cleaning me up, I couldn't help but feel the void inside me slowly filling. The void that had been created the day that James had died.

*****

Neal.

I had contemplated the day that Becca would have the child for quite some time, and through every single step that she needed me, I was there. Through every class, shopping trip, through every bit of decorating and moving from the States to New Zealand, I was there.

There had been so much stuff that had happened in the last four months when it came to moving over. One of the major things being that we indeed had found out that Sara, the nanny, had other motivations behind her when it came to actually taking care of Taliana's child.

The woman in question was actually known for trying to take babies from wealthy families. Kidnap them after forming a bond and then raising them for a bit to turn around and sell on the black market or even hold for ransom. She was a criminal mastermind, and after all the digging I had done, I had found out she had many aliases and looks. It was no wonder James had missed it.

She was dealt with though... having met a very untimely death.

It wasn't me that had landed that blow to the woman, but in fact, another woman irate with how evil someone could be to a child.

Someone who had failed to protect me once upon a time and refused to fail again.

After that moment, Becca clung to Tally's child, feeling nothing but guilt or remorsefort the fact that she hadn't been there any sooner to protect the babe from the woman who was trying to prey upon him. After three months of dealing with that situation, Becca was finally open to the idea of hiring a new nanny for the child, one that was very well vetted by Allegra and I.

The last thing we expected, though, was for Becca to end up going into labor early.

"Why don't you finish getting cleaned up, sweetie, and I'll go tell Allegra the good news?"

Becca nodded her head at me with a smile on her face as I turned quickly making my way out of the room and out into the lobby where Allegra was waiting. Unfortunately for her, only one person had been allowed to come into the back room with Becca as she gave birth, and Allegra had been adamant that that was me.

"Oh my God, is she okay? Is the baby okay?" Allegra quickly stammered out as she stood to her feet, running over towards me.

"They're both doing perfectly. She had a little girl who looks just like her father."

Tears flowed down Allegra's face. She hadn't ever really considered having children, but over the past two months, she had been hinting more and more to the fact that she wouldn't have minded actually having a child of her own.

It might have had something to do with all the time she spent with Tally's baby and also the time she spent with Becca getting prepared for her child coming into this world.

At the end of the day, I was happy to know my sister was willing to move forward with her life. She deserved it after years of putting her life on hold for me.

"Can I go back and see her?" Allegra asked me, and slowly, I nodded my head. If anybody should be in there right now, it would be Allegra. She had given up so much to be able to stand by mine and Becca's side.

"Yeah go on. I'm going to go make a quick call. They are in the process of getting her cleaned up, and then the lady said something about moving her to a more private room."

I didn't have to tell Allegra twice for her to quickly disappear through the double doors, down to labor and delivery. When she did disappear, though, I stood silently to myself as I pulled my phone from my pocket, hesitating on the call that I was about to make.

It was something that Becca didn't know, and neither did Allegra, but James and I had been in communication over the past three months, and as promised, I had been filling him in on every little detail that was going on.

I loved Becca, but it didn't take a genius to realize that no matter how much she cared about me, I would never be able to replace James.

Not that I was trying.

So instead of fighting it, I would let her love me as she chose to. But I would also remind myself on a continual basis that, at the end of the day, the child wasn't actually biologically mine, and any father, no matter the situation, should not be revoked of his rights, if he chooses to try and be a father.

At least, unless there was a good reason for him not to see the child.

Even if James being a father was more complicated than we would have hoped for, part of me wanted to help him. Even if it was impossible for him to be present.

Dialing his number, I waited as the phone rang twice and a gruff voice answered.

"Hello? Neal, what are you calling me for? Did something happen?"

Letting a heavy breath escape me, I pushed aside my personal feelings. "Yeah, it sure did. Congratulations, Daddy, you just had a little girl."