"Oh, please hurry!" Patty begged her husband as they dashed to the hospital.

"I am driving as fast as I safely can," Anton replied, stepping hard on the gas pedal and cruising through a yellow light.

At last they reached the hospital, where Anton dropped Patty off at the entrance and went in search of a parking spot.

A wheelchair was brought for Patty, and she was admitted and taken up to the maternity floor. Her contractions were coming regular and strong now, so much so that she had to bite her lip to keep from crying out every time a new one hit her.

Please, Anton, please get here soon! she begged silently.

Intense pain overwhelmed her as she was vaguely aware of being transferred from the wheelchair to the bed. A nurse's face swam into her line of vision.

"When did your contractions start?" The nurse's voice sounded like it was coming from far away.

"After d-dinner!" Patty gasped.

"How far apart are they?"

"I don't know!"

Strange hands moved her clothing aside, invading her body. "She's already dilated eight centimeters." The voice sounded fuzzy, distant. Are they talking about me? Patty wondered.

"I'm here, PR." A strong, steady voice - Anton's - pierced through the haze. She felt his hand on her arm, and everything was suddenly all right.

"Anton..."

"I need you to breathe, sweetheart." Something smelled funny, a chemical smell. The room spun around and around, and then everything went blank.

It happened much more quickly than it had the first time. One minute he saw the top of the baby's head, and the next thing he knew, his newborn son was lying in his hands. A son!

He cleaned the child and placed him on a scale. Five pounds, four ounces. A bit small, but he was completely pink except for a bluish tinge to his hands and feet, and from the way he was screaming, he seemed to have a healthy set of lungs. That was what Anton had been most worried about. A high Apgar score meant a good prognosis, and relief swept through Anton as he diapered his new son and placed him into an incubator.

Anton saw that Patty was still sleeping peacefully, her vitals were normal, and the blood loss didn't seem to be excessive. She was ready to be wheeled into recovery. He clasped her hand and smoothed the damp hair back from her forehead with the fingers of the other hand.

"Ich liebe dich," he whispered.

Patty blinked as the room slowly came into focus. Was it over? Was the baby all right? She turned her eyes to see Anton sitting beside her, grinning ear to ear, and a warm blanket of comfort settled over her.

"Is it - is it all right?" Her mouth felt like sand paper, and her voice was barely a whisper.

"Everything is fine, PR. We have a healthy new son."

"I'm glad." She tried to smile. "He wasn't supposed to come for another month."

"He is a bit small, but his lungs are healthy, and he is fully developed. You can see him very soon."

"We need to tell Anna." Patty chuckled. "She wanted a baby sister."

Anton smiled. "I am sure everything will be fine. I will call her in a little while. Right now, I am happy just to be here with you."

Anna was eating breakfast when the telephone rang and Elizabeth answered it.

"That's wonderful! How's Patty?...I'm so glad!...she's eating breakfast right now...sure, just a sec..."

"Anna, your father wants to talk to you." She held the receiver out to Anna, who grabbed it.

"Hi, Daddy!"

"Hi, Anna! You have a new baby brother!"

"But I wanted a baby sister!"

"I am sorry about that, but God sent you a baby brother, and He wants you to be happy."

"What's his name?"

"His name is Simon Eric Reiker. Simon was your great, great grandfather's name, and your grandfather's name is Erickson."

"Does he have long hair or short?"

Anton laughed. "All babies have very short hair right after they're born, Anna. You did."

"Does he have blonde hair and brown eyes like me?"

"Right now his hair is black and his eyes are dark blue, but that might change. You will meet him in a week when I take him and your mother home from the hospital. Are you and Laura and Max having fun?"

"Yes, Daddy. Last night we watched The Lone Ranger and heard the story about the Gingerbread Man."

"I am glad you are having fun. I will see you when we get home. I love you, liebchen."

"I love you too, Daddy."