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“River, I want to check you again and make sure everything’s okay. The nurse is going to help you roll back over so I can take a look.”
I squeeze River’s hand three times once she’s rolled onto her back. The doctor checks her progress, but this time her face drops when she looks back up at us.
“You haven’t dilated anymore. I could give you a dose of Pitocin to help speed it up, but with his heart rate being inconsistent, I don’t want to risk it.”
“Why isn’t she dilating?” I ask.
“The baby’s not dropping, which makes me believe the cord could be wrapped around his neck.”
“Oh my God,” River screeches.
“Or his shoulders are too wide,” the doctor adds. “He could be stuck.”
“What does that mean? Now what?” I ask, trying to keep my voice steady for River’s sake even though I’m panicking inside.
“I think the safest option right now is to start prepping you for an emergency C-section. If the cord is wrapped around his neck, it puts both you and the baby at risk,” the doctor explains.
River and I both look up at Evan for confirmation. I trust the doctor, but getting my brother’s advice is just as important to me. Evan nods and says he agrees it’s the safest option right now.
The next ten minutes flash by in a blur. I didn’t read much up on C-sections, stupidly assuming River wouldn’t need to go this route, so I’m hanging onto every word the nurse tells us.
Before they roll River’s bed out, I cup her face and kiss her. “I’ll be right there next to you, okay?”
Tears fill her eyes, and I swipe them away. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” she chokes back. “Hurry up and meet me in there.”
“I will.” I wink before pressing my lips to hers once again.
Once she’s rolled out of the room, I’m instructed to put a pair of scrubs over my clothes along with a scrub cap. Having Evan here is helping me stay calm, but inside, I’m freaking out. River’s about to have emergency surgery to get our baby out, and I’ve never felt this terrified in my entire life.
“She’s gonna be okay,” Evan reassures me. “Doctor Granger is very skilled at what she does. River’s in good hands.”
“She fucking better be,” I mutter under my breath. He leads me down the hall, and when Amelia steps out, she waves me inside.
“Good luck. I’ll be out here waiting,” Evan calls out.
I rush over to River who’s spread out on a surgical bed with her arms out. “Hey, baby,” I say softly, rubbing my hand on her head and dipping to kiss her forehead.
“I can’t believe this is happening,” she whispers. The doctor and nurses are already working on her, but there’s a small sheet hanging above River’s chest so we can’t see anything. “I know this is a routine surgery, but I’m scared.”
I want to comfort her, but at the same time, I’m as scared as she is right now. Regardless, I’ll always put her needs before mine no matter what.
“Do you remember that first song we slowed danced to in that bar?” I ask, that night feeling like it was a lifetime ago already, yet I remember it so vividly.
She wrinkles her nose, then nods. “‘Slow Dancing in a Burning Room’?”
“Do you remember what we said about the lyrics?”
“They were sad and tragic,” she says.
“Yeah, and that was the night I made you mine. I knew the meaning behind that song, yet I wasn’t willing to accept it was about us. A relationship ending that hadn’t even started, yet we took the risk. And look where it’s brought us now.”
She smiles up at me, an oxygen tube running under her nose and still looking cute as hell.
“I always think of that night when I hear it,” she admits.
“It’s a night I’ll never forget.” I rub my nose along her hairline, desperate to kiss her.
“To think it was only nine months ago.” Her eyes widen. “So weird.”
I chuckle. “Crazy what can change in just nine short months.” I wink.
“River,” Dr. Granger calls out. “You’re going to start feeling some pressure now, okay? I’ll have him out in the next sixty seconds.”
Holy shit. Sixty seconds.
“You’re doing so good, sweetheart,” I tell her, reaching for her hand closest to me.
“I hope he’s okay.” Fear evident in her voice.
I can tell she’s starting to tear up, so I rub my finger along her cheek.
“Everything’s going to be perfect,” I promise, squeezing her hand.
“Okay,” she says, barely above a whisper.
I can see the doctor’s movement as the nurses all shuffle around, passing Dr. Granger objects and removing them from her hands. They’re moving so fast, by the time I look down at River and back up again, she looks like she’s elbow deep inside her stomach.
