Page 34 of The Billionaire's Baby
The phone was moved away and she felt a cuff being put on her arm and the medics began asking her a series of questions. It was a rush of activity as they prepared to take her to the hospital. Suzie and Mason came home amidst the mayhem and she could hear Remy trying to comfort a very upset Suzie.
The medics couldn’t give her anything for the pain, and Lynette rode in the ambulance with her, comforting her the best she could and yelling at the medics to hurry. Lynette was the strongest person Adira knew and she was terrified when her friend broke down into sobs. At the hospital, Dr. Schiller was waiting and assessed her in the ER. Favian rushed in and dragged the curtain back and security was on his heels trying to restrain him.
“You better fucking knock me the fuck out because any man who gets between me and my wife right now is risking their own life.” His voice was a frenzied roar.
Adira began to sob and cried out, “Favian! Please let him through.”
“Let him go right now,” Dr. Schiller commanded the security and then she lowered her voice. “Favian, you need to hold it together. She’s terrified and hurting. We need to keep her as calm as possible while I go through my examination.”
“Just let me be with my wife.” His voice broke on the words.
When he took her hand and kissed it over and over again, Adira turned her face to him and he rested his forehead against hers. “Mi amor, I’m here. I’m not going anywhere. You let Carrie take care of you.”
“That I will do. We’re going to have to take the baby early,” Dr. Schiller said.
“No, no, it’s too early. He has two months left!” Adira said in terror.
Dr. Schiller leaned over and met Adira’s gaze with warm hazel eyes. “Adira, there is something called a placental abruption going on in there from the fall. It means the placenta that is nourishing the baby has torn away partially from the uterus wall and he’s not getting the nutrients and oxygen he needs anymore. If we don’t take him now he won’t make it.”
“What are his chances outside the womb this early?” Favian asked thickly.
“He has an excellent chance. It will be dicey at first because his lungs won’t be as mature as we want them, but he is thirty-two weeks along and I’ve seen babies as small as twenty-five weeks make it,” Dr. Schiller said. “Now you have to go to the waiting room, Favian. I’ll be putting her out completely and you can’t be in here. I’ll come out as soon as we’re done and we have him in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.”
“You said he,” Adira said between her tears. “It’s a boy?”
“You’ve been saying he now for weeks too, Adira.” Dr. Schiller smiled. “Now let’s make sure he gets to meet his mommy and daddy.”
Adira looked at Favian who had tears in his eyes. “We’re having a son—our son.”
He kissed her hand as they began to wheel her away. “You fight hard for both of you, Adira. I love you.”
She held on to his hand as long as she could until the distance tore their fingers apart. She heard him yell again, “Adira, I love you!” She replayed his words over and over in her head as they prepped her for an emergency C-section. She took a deep breath and the medicine to make her sleep sent her gently into unconsciousness.
Two hours later, she was waking up in a maternity suite and the first thing that she noticed was how empty she felt. She ran her hands down her stomach and the familiar bump was now the soft expanse of flesh that was left after a birth. So empty and the feeling of being alone made her cry out, “Where’s my baby, where’s my baby?”
Favian took her hand. Lynette’s eyes were red from crying, Remy’s face was grim and she expected the worst.
“Is he gone? Is he dead?” She could feel herself slipping into the place where grief would take over and she had no idea how she’d find her way out. How do parents survive the loss of a child? she wondered vaguely as a fist of grief froze around her heart and she wanted to close her eyes and never wake up. The world would never be the same.
“Adira, take a breath. Jesus, mi amor, take a breath!” Favian cupped her face. “He’s in the NICU and so far he’s doing good.”
Thank you, thank you, thank you, she sent up in prayer. “Have you seen him?” Adira grasped his hand.
“Not yet, but Dr. Schiller has given us an update. His lungs are weak and they have him in the specialized incubator under the UV lights to keep him warm and to help his liver produce the enzymes he needs so he won’t be jaundiced.” Favian squeezed her hand. “He’s small—two pounds, three ounces—but he’s a fighter like us.”
