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They have to be okay.
As soon as we arrived at the hospital and told the ER staff that Alley was pregnant, they rushed us up to the labor and delivery floor. My body roared inside with the unfairness of them making me wait in the waiting room and not be right by Alley’s and my baby’s side. They were mine to protect and leaving that in someone else’s hands left me feeling pained and angry. I prayed they would do right by the two most precious people in my life.
Looking around the room I took in the small Christmas tree in the corner, its twinkling lights flashing, as Christmas’s carols played in the background, and thought about what I had planned for us that day. How could it have gone so wrong?
It wasChristmas.
A time for family and friends, giving, and celebrating. This was not supposed to be happening. And yet it was.
It was a somber few minutes alone until Kace walked in and joined me. He had dropped us right out in front of the emergency room, and I brought Alley in while he parked. In record time he’d located a spot and found his way up to the waiting area, his normally joking demeanor long gone. In its place an air of worry and sympathy surrounded him.
“Landon, remember this is Alley. She’sstrong,” he said to me, resting his hand on my shoulder. “And afighter. She and the baby are going to be okay.”
He was right, Alley was the strongest woman I knew, and she would fight with all she had. I just prayed that history wouldn’t repeat itself and that her strength would be enough. We knew then that we didn’t always have control over the things that happened. But this time I was here with her. She hadn’t freaked out and pushed me away. Instead, she’d grabbed onto me with both hands, making me promise it would be okay.
It was a promise I hoped to keep.
Just then, a rush of people charged the room, a commotion of voices searching for answers. When they saw me and Kace, they ran over. Every one of our friends was there, except for Jurnee’s parents and the kids. Christmas or not, I should have known they would be there. That’s how it always was with us.
“I can’t tell you anything,” I told them, blowing out a frustrated breath. “They wouldn’t let me go back with her.” A vision flashed before my eyes of her face full of pain and her hand reaching out, pleading with me to go with her. It had killed me and stolen the air from my lungs.
We waited for what had seemed like a lifetime but must have been a couple of hours, and just when I thought Braxton and the other guys were going to throw their weight around and demand answers, I heard my name being called.
“Who’s here for Alley Abbott?”
Looking up, I saw a doctor standing at the edge of the room and my heart beat uncontrollably as I stood, along with everyone else. “I am.”
A chorus of voices followed suit as I walked toward him, all our friends following right behind me. The doctor looked around at the large group of people, a small smile touching his lips at the crowd. He wouldn’t have smiled if things were bad, right?
“I’m Landon Abbott. Her husband,” I told the man.
Everything seemed to have slowed down while I waited for him to tell me what was going on. My senses were on overdrive.Boom, boom, boom,my heart pounded,as I heard a clock ticking, my friends breathing quickly, and the music still playing softly in the background.
My sister, as well as Alley’s best friend, and on top of that a nurse, bulldozed her way through the group and was at my side. She could clearly see I was upset and floundering, so I appreciated the added support.
“I am Summer, his sister. I am also a nurse. So please explain to us what exactly is happening so we can put my brother’s mind at ease and make sure Alley is okay,” she said in a no-nonsense tone.
The doctor had a shocked look on his face at her rant, but then carried on and did what Summer had asked. “I’m Doctor Wilde, an OBGYN here at the hospital and I have been treating your wife over the last few hours,” he stated. “After getting her stable, going over her preliminary blood work that had already been performed, as well as looking at her symptoms along with her high blood pressure, we are sure your wife has early stages of Preeclampsia.”
The pulse in my neck pounded and my body tightened.
“What exactly does that mean, are she and the baby going to be okay?” I asked him urgently.
“This is a very serious condition if left untreated and can become fatal for both mother and child. So, with how she is feeling now and her previous miscarriage, we feel it is in her best interest to deliver the baby now by an emergency C-section.”
My heart cracked wide open at the mention of her losing our Hannah and I couldn’t imagine how scared my wife was right now wondering if she would lose this baby too. We hadn’t even named her, deciding to wait until her birth. A part of me knew deep down that Alley was a little scared to do that, making things a hundred percent real and having the chance that she too could be taken away. But she also was determined the right one would come when she looked at our baby for the first time.
Please let us get the chance to name her.
“Is it safe for them since she isn’t due until the end of next month?” I asked.
“Alley is far enough along that we can safely deliver now. Not doing so would be harmful. After we deliver the baby, the condition will go away for Alley. We contacted her doctor when she arrived, and she is on her way. We will be prepping her for surgery now and once we are ready, someone will come get you to help you get changed so you can be with your wife when we deliver your child.”
My breath whooshed out of me as relief rushed through me that I would be with them soon. “Thank you, doctor,” I said, shaking his hand that he had reached out.
And with that he turned around and disappeared through the doors.
When I turned around, Jurnee, Summer, and Gemma rushed to me and wrapped their arms around me. Their love for Alley, the baby, and me, sank deep down and gave me the strength to believe it was going to be alright.
