Across the front yard, Grant stepped off the porch, his face pale under the outdoor lights.

Brielle followed close behind him, clutching her coat tight, her eyes wide as she saw the government plates on the SUV.

“Tessa?” Grant called out, his voice cracking through the storm. “What is this? Who are these people?”

I did not look back at him.

Sergeant Miller helped me into the warm cabin of the SUV and closed the heavy door, shutting out the sound of the rain.

The ride to Fort Belvoir Community Hospital was a blur of red taillights and windshield wipers.

Every bump in the road sent a sharp, tight pain through my lower back.

When we arrived at the ambulance bay, two medical corpsmen were already waiting with a gurney.

They wheeled me quickly through the bright double doors of the maternity ward.

The smell of antiseptic and clean linen filled my nose as they transferred me to a delivery bed.

A nurse checked my vitals while another started an intravenous line in the back of my hand.