And Baby Makes...?

Chapter 12

I watched in horror as Sam lost her balance and fell towards the water.

"Sam!!" I screamed, reaching out as I approached the bridge railing.

I looked over the edge and saw as Sam's body hit the water.

"Jen!" I heard. "Jen! What happened?!"

"She fell! Tyler! She fell off the railing!" I sobbed.

"Call 911. Call them right now!"

I got off the phone and called 911 and explained what happened.  They said they'd have people here right away. The operator stayed on the line with me as I watched Sam's lifeless body get carried away by the river's flow. I sank to the ground and sobbed.

After what felt like hours but was probably only a couple of minutes, a police officer was by my side trying to get my attention. 

"Mrs Joseph?" She was asking.

I looked up.

"We need you to tell us what happened," she said. I breathed in a deep breath and related the story again. Why Sam might have run. How I'd tried to get her attention but instead caused her to fall. The officer told me there was already a search and rescue team on the river looking for Sam. I started sobbing again. The officer took me over to her cruiser and sat me down. She asked some more question, and asked if there was anyone I wanted to call. I thought of Erin and called her. I told her what had happened and what was happening now. I told her where I was.

She said she'd be right over.

The officer and I sat in the cruiser as she talked to me. All I could see was Samantha's body being carried away by the river. It wasn't a far fall and the river was pretty deep. Lots of people boated up and down the river in the summer. But was it deep enough?  It could also be rocky in areas.

Erin was by my side before I knew it. I hardly remembered getting off the phone with her.

"Jenna, it's Erin. I'm here. Has there been any news?"

I looked at Erin and burst into tears.

"She fell!  I think I killed my daughter!"

Erin wrapped me in a hug.

"Shh, shh. It's going to be okay," Erin said.

The radio crackled to life and the officer turned up the volume.

"14-92. We've got eyes on a body on the river bank. Looks like it got caught on a tree in the water. Marine Unit responding,"

"10-4, 14-92. I've got the mom here. Radio back with confirmation of the identity if possible," she said.

Erin hugged me tighter.

"It's going to be her and she's going to be okay," she said to me. I burst into tears again. They'd said they found a body. Not a person. A body.

"Jen?" I heard Tyler's voice.

"Tyler?" I looked around. He couldn't be here. Apparently he'd called Erin's phone because I wasn't answering mine. She had it on speaker.

"Jen, what's happening?"

"She fell. They found a body but they haven't said if it's her yet," I sobbed.

"I'm coming home. We've cancelled the last few shows and I'm coming home, Jen," Tyler said. I burst into tears again.

The radio crackled to life again but I couldn't listen. I didn't want to hear that my daughter was gone.

"Jenna," Erin said. "Jenna, they've got her. They're taking her to the hospital."

"What? Why?" I asked. You don't take dead people to the hospital.

"They found a pulse. She's alive, Jenna. She's pretty hurt, but she's alive," Erin said.

I didn't understand the words. But the officer got Erin and I into the car and drove away from the park.

"Where are we going?" I asked. "I need to be here if they find Sam!"

"They found her, Mrs. Joseph. We're going to the hospital."

I didn't understand. I couldn't comprehend the words being said to me.

We pulled up to Nationwide Children's, a place I'd seen too many times already, and Erin and the officer helped me out of the car and into the emergency room. I was running on autopilot.

"Mrs. Joseph?" A voice got my attention. I looked up and saw a nurse in front of me.

"Yes. I'm Sam's mom," I said.

"Great. The doctors are just working on her now. I'll come find you when we have more information, okay? Can I get you anything?"

I shook my head. There wasn't anything I wanted besides Sam to be okay.

I'm not sure how long we sat there before a doctor came out of the emergency department doors looking for me.

"Yes?" I asked, jumping up. "Is Sam..."

I couldn't finish my sentence.

"She's in critical condition right now. We're sending her up to the ICU. She's sustained a head injury, a skull fracture  and several contusions. Her left arm is broken and it looks like she inhaled quite a bit of water. We're booking an MRI to see if there are any structural anomalies or damage.

I'm sorry, Mrs. Joseph. Samantha is in a coma right now," he explained. "Right now, only time will tell how her recovery will go."

I sank to the ground and sobbed. I didn't think I had enough tears left to cry.

Just then I felt the baby kick. I touched my stomach and silently prayed both my children would be fine.