The doctor’s words hit me like a fucking punch to the gut, and I collapse right back down onto my chair. His words are a jumbled mess in my brain that keeps repeating itself over and over again.
Placental abruption. Fetal distress. Emergency C-section.
Fuck!
“Make sure he does everything possible to save my wife and child, or I’ll fucking level this place to the damn ground!” I growl.
The man doesn’t bat an eye at my words. Everyone in here is probably used to being threatened at least once a day by someone in the Mafia. Though we do pay them more than they would ever dream of making at an actual hospital, so there’s that.
“I assure you that Dr. Wilson is doing everything possible to ensure that both your wife and baby are safe.
“B-but… If it comes to choosing, make sure you fucking save my wife!” I command. I hate that I even said that because I want both of them, but if there’s a moment where they have to choosewho to save, I want them to save my wife. I can’t fucking lose her. She’s my entire world, and I don’t want to live a second without her in it.
“Understood,” the doctor says, nodding.
“Thanks, Doc,” I tell him as he turns to leave.
A moment after the door closes behind him, it opens again, revealing both my parents rushing in.Shit! I didn’t even remember to call them.
My mom makes her way over to me and pulls me into her arms for a hug.
“I’m sorry I didn’t call. Everything happened so fast and I?—”
“It’s fine. We understand. Aldo made the call for you,” she says. I look over to where Aldo’s sitting and give him a grateful nod.
“We brought you a change of clothes. Go wash off all the blood from your body,” my dad says when he’s next to me.
“I-I can’t leave. What if?—”
“We’re here, son. We’ll stay right here and wait for any updates while you clean up. She’s in the operating room, remember? So, they might take a while there. Besides, you don’t want to meet your daughter for the first time covered in blood, do you?”
Damn, the man really knows how to get through to me because, of course, I don’t want to meet my daughter covered in blood.
“Okay. Okay. You’re right. I’ll go take a shower really quick,” I say, grabbing the bag they brought with them and walking down the hall.
I already know where the extra rooms are for instances like these, when we walk in here covered in blood. When I walk into the bathroom, my hand shakes as I try to unbutton my shirt.
My mind goes back to my wife. I remember the way she looked when we found her. Tired, in pain, but she also had a look of relief on her face. She had clung to me as if I was her lifeline.
Dear God! I just hope that she pulls through the surgery because I’m going to die without her. I can’t lose her. I just can’t. I refuse to believe in any reality where we don’t grow old together.
I take a quick shower and get dressed so I don’t miss anything. When I get back to the waiting room, it’s quiet. No one is saying a word as we all wait.
I sit and run my hand through my hair. I should’ve found her sooner and gotten her out faster. Maybe if I had, then things wouldn’t be so uncertain right now.
Maybe if I was faster, then she would have been fine to deliver our daughter without going under anesthesia. Then again, I think she would have still needed a C-section because of her injuries. I let out a sigh, still mad at myself because I can’t help but think that I failed them both.
My leg is shaking up and down as we continue to wait. It feels like I’ve been waiting here for a lifetime, but it’s only about five minutes after I come back into the waiting room when the doctor comes back in.
“Mr. Andretti,” he says and pauses while I hold my breath, waiting for whatever news he’s about to give me. “Everything moved quickly, and we were able to deliver the baby safely. The nurses are cleaning her up, and then they’ll take her into the nursery. If you’d like to follow me. I just wanted to give you an update right away.”
“Yes, please,” I say, walking behind him. “What about my wife? Is she okay?”
“Your wife made it through the operation. Though the doctor is still in the operating room with her. We need to deliver the placenta, control the bleeding, and stitch everything back up,plus we also need to tend to her other injuries before we bring her out of the OR.”
“Okay. Thanks for the update and for everything you’re doing, Doc,” I tell him.
Just as we step into the nursery, I hear it…
