Book Club

Finished Result

Emily collects the papers and reads aloud, "Penelope: girl, Derek: girl. Spencer: girl, Me: girl, JJ: girl, Aaron: girl, and the odd man out, Dave with boy."

"What can I say? I like to switch it up sometimes," Dave sits back in his lawn chair.

Emily pulls out the cannon and backs up with Derek beside her. With Derek standing next to her, she counts down, "3, 2, 1..." BAM! The cannon pops, and confetti flies everywhere.

Penelope shrieks, "IT'S A GIRL!"

Dave shrugs his shoulders and is the first to hug the expecting couple. Everyone comes together for a group hug. The party disbands and everyone goes home with small gift bags containing candy pacifiers and seeds that say 'Watch Me Grow.'

Derek works his available nights and days away on the house, hoping it will be done by the baby arrives. Soon enough, the day has arrived. They invite everyone over to the house to throw a housewarming party. Derek and Emily greet everyone at the newly painted red door. Emily shows them around the house, sort of like a tour, whole Derek finishes cooking.

Derek sits at the end of the table with Penelope on his left and Emily on his right. Aaron sits at the other head of the table with David on his left and JJ on his right. In between Dave and Emily sits Spencer. As they eat their Cajun Buffalo Chicken Skewers with green beans on the side, Emily notices the baby is kicking more than usual, "Derek, you weren't kidding when this kid could be a soccer player."

Penelope looks at her belly, "You've dropped!" The table looks at Penelope with confusion, "That means your baby is getting into position to be delivered."

Emily starts to panic, "I'm not ready, I mean I am 40 weeks exactly, but I'm not ready."

"Remember what the doctor said?" Derek tries to calm her down, "You've been carrying high, which means at the end the baby drops. It doesn't mean you are going to deliver right away, it could take weeks."

"I remember, I remember," Emily slowly takes deep breaths. Emily puts her napkin on the table from her lap and announces, "This darn baby is sitting right on my bladder. I'll be right back."

She gets up and walks towards the downstairs bathroom when Penelope notices a stain on her beautiful blue dress, "Blood! Emily, you're bleeding!"

Emily turns around in shock and sees a pool of blood on her chair. She freezes, everybody freezes except for Derek. Derek rushes and grabs his coat as well as keys. He takes Emily by the hand and runs for the door, "Thanks for the amazing housewarming party, but we are going to Patterson Memorial. You can leave the mess."

The two run out of the house. JJ mentions while in awe, "No way I'm leaving this mess while they go to the hospital. Why don't you guys go with them and Spencer and I will stay and clean up." Everyone nods their head and does their duty. Dave, Aaron, and Penelope race towards the door.

Meanwhile, in the hospital already, Derek and Emily check-in and meet with a nurse named Heather. Heather kindly explains, "We are going to do some tests, but I am very sure this is placenta previa. Placenta previa is a condition in which the placenta lies very low in the uterus and covers all or part of the cervix. The cervix is the opening to the uterus that sits at the top of the vagina. Placenta previa happens in about 1 in 200 pregnancies. Does that make sense?" Emily and Derek nod their heads timidly. She goes further, "Normally this would lead to bed rest, but since today is your due date, I think a c-section would be more beneficial."

Emily nearly has an internal panic attack, but calmly says, "I'd like to take with Doctor Gibson, please."

Heather nods and walks out of the room, then no less than three seconds later, Doctor Gibson walks in. He says the same thing as Heather, "We are going to run some tests, but I am confident this is placenta previa. Placenta previa is a condition in which the placenta lies low in the uterus and covers all or part of the cervix. The cervix is the opening to the uterus that sits at the top of the vagina. Placenta previa happens in about 1 in 200 pregnancies. Normally this would lead to bed rest, but since today is your due date, I think a c-section would be the best option."

Emily's heart sinks, "Okay, okay. I'm okay." She tries to calm herself down and asks, "Is testing necessary since you are just going to take her out?"

"Yes, it is. This could affect pregnancies you have in the future if you choose to. If you would rather not, I can't force you to test." Doctor Gibson explains.

Derek asks, "Is there anything else it could be?"

Heather and Gregory look at each other and sigh. Heather goes on, "It could just be heavy bleeding. Either way, it is safest to have a c-section as soon as possible."

Emily and Derek soak up the knowledge given to them and think. Both say at the same time, "Do the tests."

Gregory mentions, "This will only take a minute or two at most. Then we can go to the OR and prepare for this lovely baby girl."

Emily watches the ultrasound machine turn on and scan her abdominal area. Emily looks for microexpressions with Heather and Doctor Gibson. She sees none. Their composure stays the same. The doctor hangs up the doppler and says with a straight face, "For once in my career, I was wrong."

Emily waits for the next sentence, but he stops there, "What?"

"Just heavy spotting and bleeding. Nevertheless, I'd like to have the c-section," Gibson claims.

Emily nods yes consenting to the c-section. Emily is rushed to the OR on the floor below. Derek texts Penelope the details of the diagnosis and the c-section. Emily holds out her hand for Derek to hold. Derek grasps her hand and smiles, "We're having our baby."

"We're having our baby," Emily smiles and a tear rolls down her cheek.

Soon enough you can hear the Doctor announce, "Delivery complete. Baby girl born at 6:08 pm." Emily squeezes Derek's hand as she sees a small human being brought over to her.

Heather calls out as she walks over, "20 inches, and 7.5 pounds." Heather lays the baby girl in Derek's arms. Derek starts to cry, "My little girl." Emily holds the crying baby's hand. The baby squeezes Emily's finger tightly and she smiles, thinking about how perfect her life is. Derek lightly says the baby's name, "-