Kitty went into labor on a cold, drizzly day in January. She was stocking shoes when she felt a gush of water flow from between her legs, soaking the carpet.

"Oh, no!" she squealed, dashing for the restroom as several customers stared in curiosity. A few seconds later, she heard knocking at the door.

"Kitty? Is everything OK?" asked Shannon.

Kitty started to cry. "My water broke!"

"Oh my God! Really?" Shannon went to the office and looked up Anne's telephone number. Kitty had listed Anne as her closest relative.

Anne was at work when her boss told her there was a call for her in the office.

"This is Shannon at the shoe store," she heard. "Kitty just went into labor. Can you pick her up and take her to the hospital?"

Anne sighed. "I suppose I'll have to." She told her boss what had happened, and he said of course, she could take time off to drive Kitty to the hospital.

Anne arrived at the shoe store to find Kitty sitting in the office, hunched over in a chair, staring at her with huge, frightened eyes.

"Well, are you ready to go?" asked Anne.

Kitty nodded and followed her back outside to her car, doubling over in pain with every contraction.

Anne dropped Kitty off at the hospital's entrance, then found a parking space, came back for her, and helped her inside. The nurse took one look at Kitty and brought a wheelchair for her right away, while Anne stayed in admissions, answering as many questions as she could. When she was finished, she rode the elevator up to the maternity ward. She asked what room Kitty was in and found it. She entered the room to see her cousin lying on her side in bed, hooked up to several monitors, groaning.

"How is she?" she asked a nurse.

"She's dilated four centimeters," the nurse told her. "It'll probably be sometime tonight."

"All right," said Anne. "I'm going back to work. Let me know if anything unexpected happens."

"Please don't leave me!" Kitty moaned.

"I have to go back to work," Anne explained. "Don't be afraid. You're in good hands."

As she left the hospital, she patted her rounded abdomen. Just a little over three more months to go. Everything seemed fine so far. Her baby was growing normally, and its movements inside her were regular and strong. She'd heard horror stories in which everything had gone fine until something unexpected had happened near the end, like the umbilical cord getting wrapped around the baby's neck. Every time she thought of those stories, she shuddered and tried desperately to think of something else.

When she got home, the delicious aroma of beef tips smothered in gravy hit her nostrils as soon as she entered the house. She walked into the kitchen to find Louis standing at the stove, wearing an apron. She hugged him from behind as she kissed his cheek.

"That smells so good!" she said.

"It'll taste even better," Louis replied.

"You're really spoiling me today!"

He grinned. "There's nothing I like to do more!" They kissed.

"Kitty went into labor today,' she told her husband. "They called me at work and told me. I had to leave to take her to the hospital."

"Good of you to do so much for her," Louis remarked.

"She doesn't have anybody else, and she did kind of bring this on herself."

The following morning, Anne stopped by the hospital to check on Kitty on her way to work. She went to the maternity ward and asked about her.

"Katherine Howard?" The receptionist punched in the name on her computer. "Oh, yes. She gave birth to a baby boy at 4:32 this morning. Mother and baby are both doing fine."

"Can I see her?" asked Anne.

"Sure."

Anne entered the room to see Kitty sitting up in bed, holding her newborn, who was swaddled in a white blanket with green and pink stripes. She smiled when she saw her cousin.

"Come on in," she said. "Would you like to hold him?"

"Oh, yes!" Anne sat in a chair beside the bed, and Kitty handed her the warm bundle. She gazed down into the tiny, red, wrinkled face, the unfocused eyes blinking as they gazed back at her.

"Oh, you're perfect!" Anne murmured. She looked back at Kitty. "Have you decided what to name him yet?"

"Edmund Thomas, for my father and grandfather," Kitty told her.

Anne visited with little Edmund for as long as she dared. It was with a sigh of regret that she handed him back to his mother.

A couple of weeks later, Anne answered the telephone and heard Kitty's sobs.

"Oh, Anne, it's so awful!" Kitty wailed. "Henry is gonna try to take my b-baby away!" He's ordered blood tests to determine paternity, and if Edmund's his, he's gonna sue me for c-custody!"

"Well, you knew this might happen." Anne simply couldn't find the words to comfort her cousin.

"If he sues me for custody, you know he'll win," Kitty continued, her words coming in a rush of desperation. "He's got so much money! And all I've got is my job at the shoe store."

"Well, try to think positive," said Anne. "Maybe the blood test will show he isn't the father, and even if he is, maybe you can get joint custody, or at least visitation rights."

"I doubt it," Kitty replied. "You know Henry. He'll want to take him completely away from me."

"Well - " Anne knew Kitty's words were true. "It's too early to panic just yet, Kitty. Try to calm down and tell yourself everything's gonna be all right."

"Thanks, Anne. I feel better now."

"Sure. Anytime." She hung up the telephone, then turned to Louis. "That was Kitty. She said Henry's ordered blood tests on the baby. She's afraid he's gonna take him away from her."

"I'm sorry." Louis couldn't think of anything else to say.

"I told her to try to stay positive, but I know she's right. If the baby does turn out to be his, he'll fight for custody, and he'll probably win."

Louis gave a wry smile. "Kitty doesn't always make the best of decisions, does she?"

"You can sure say that again! And this time, the welfare of a child is at stake."

Louis held his arms out to her, and she went into them. As he held her tight, all her worries seemed to just melt away.