Free Season of Passion by Danielle Steel Page B

the race along with her and feel the winner's ribbon give way on her chest as she crossed the finish line and won. She was winning now. You could feel it in the room. She even smiled once, briefly between two mammoth pains. The smile darted away, but its aura remained.
    The nurse buzzed again, and this time the door opened quickly and two nurses in what looked like blue pajamas appeared with a gurney. Doctor's waiting for us in two. How's she doing? They looked relaxed and unconcerned, and for a moment their attitude reassured Felicia, but Kate seemed not to notice them at all. The nurse at her side waited between pains to look at the two nurses in blue, and then gave them a wide, easy smile.
    We're ready. Very ready. Right, Kate? Kate nodded, and for the first time in a while, her eyes searched for Felicia. She found her quickly, and started to talk. But she had to wait for another pain to pass before she could speak, and then the two nurses used the few seconds they had between pains to shift her to the gurney. But she was anxious for Felicia, who was quick to step to her side.
    Come with me' please, Licia '
    Now?
    I want you ' It was suddenly much harder to speak. As though all her air were cut off during the pains. Fresh rivers of sweat broke out on her face and ran down her neck, but she wouldn't let go of Felicia. Please ' when the baby comes ' you too. Felicia understood. But oh God, why her? The nurses were with Kate, they knew what they were doing. They could help her more than she could. But there was no denying that look in Kate's eyes.
    Sure, love. You just keep busy with what you're doing, and I'll be right with you holding your hand. She was already walking beside the stretcher, as it was rolled down the hall. The nurse striding quickly beside Kate raised an eyebrow in Felicia's direction.
    Are you planning to be in. the delivery room?
    There was only the tiniest second of hesitation, and then her answer was firm. Yes. Oh Jesus. Her stomach turned over again, but she couldn't let Kate down.
    Then you'll have to scrub and change your clothes.
    Where?
    In there. The nurse nodded at a door. The nurse on duty will help you. Meet us in delivery room two.
    Two?
    The nurse nodded distractedly as Kate arched her back in pain and forgot Felicia's presence. Hold on, honey, we're almost there. Not yet. Not yet Just as soon as we get you on the table. And then she was gone, and Felicia disappeared into the appointed door to scrub and change.
    She emerged less than three minutes later in sterilized blue pajamas and rubber-soled grounded shoes, and ran nervously down the corridor toward delivery room two. The nurse in the scrub room had told her where it would be. She pressed a floor buzzer and the door automatically swung open. She was careful to keep her hands and arms away from contact with any surfaces, as she had been told. Once in the delivery room she could hold Kate's hand, but she couldn't touch anything before that, or she'd have to scrub again, and she didn't want to keep Kate waiting that long. It had already seemed like hours. She caught a glimpse of herself in a narrow glass panel and almost grinned. She looked like a character in one of the medical shows on television, her hair tightly wound into a knot and covered with a blue cap that looked like a shower cap. She even wore a little mask. Christ, what if someone took her for a nurse? It was a horrifying thought as she walked into the delivery room, and then she realized that no one could take her for anything but a tourist. The pros were busy getting organized, and Kate was already draped with white sheets. Her legs had been strapped high in the air. To Felicia it looked primitive and cruel, but Kate didn't seem to notice. She kept lifting her head now, as though there were something to see. And for a moment, Felicia felt a small thrill run through her as she realized that maybe there was. This wasn't just Kate's ordeal anymore. It was an event, a happening, a