Macie's Story

10

(January 28th, 14 days old)

"She also had a blood culture done last night and her white blood count is back within normal range, which means she's clear of infection and it also means she's stable enough to be taken out of the incubator and moved, if you guys would like to hold her properly." Isla says, catching both the detectives by surprise.

Their eyes widen and Jay's mouth opens agape. Hailey's the first one to speak, her words coming out quickly.

"We can hold her?" She repeats what had just been said and it earns a smile from the nurse in return.

"That's if you want to, of course."

Jay and Hailey both nod fast simultaneously and it erupts a laugh from the nurse as she points to the chair beside the incubator. There's a brief look that the couple share before Jay steps out of the way, allowing Hailey to sit herself down while Isla removes the top of the box.

Hailey shifts nervously as she watches the nurse prepare her daughter to be moved and as if being able to read her mind, Jay gently rests his hand against her shoulder, squeezing it softly.

"It'll be okay." He reassures.

As she slowly picks her up, Isla nods. "And I'm right here with you, too. I promise you won't hurt her doing this, it's actually a great bonding experience for both of you, and it's a really positive thing for her also," she says and as she steps to where Hailey was sitting, she glances up at the detective. "I'm gonna put her into the neck of your shirt, Hailey, so you're skin-to-skin, it'll keep her nice and warm too."

Isla gently lowers the infant down into the neck of Hailey's shirt, placing her down on her mother's chest and ensuring that none of the wires were awkwardly placed. The moment she felt the little added weight sit on her chest, Hailey sucked in a breath and refused to let it back out again. With the nurse's help, Hailey got her hand on her daughter's rear-end to keep her up, while Isla supported her head. The nurse gently placed another blanket on top of the shirt for an extra layer and kept her gaze trained over her shoulder and focused on the monitors.

Hailey looks down at the small frame resting on her chest, feeling the soft, fast breaths she was taking and she finds herself smiling at the quiet grunting noises she was making.

She's so immersed in staring down at her daughter, who was taking in her surroundings slowly and resting her hand flat on her mother's chest, that she almost didn't hear Jay whispering her name beside her. She quickly looks up to meet his gaze and she sees his eyes glazed over, a smirk on his face as he jerks his chin forward slightly.

"You need to breathe." He reminds her and she lets out the breath she had been holding in without realizing.

She puts her focus forward as she feels Jay squeeze her shoulder once again and after watching the nurse for a beat, nerves seem to get the better of her as she asks, "Is everything okay with her?"

The question gets Isla's attention and she looks over at the detective and nods. "She's good."

Hailey can't help the little glance she sends to the monitor as she swears her heart momentarily stops when she sees the decreasing number on the screen. "Her heart rate is going down."

Isla sends a brief look back over her shoulder before she sends Hailey a reassuring smile. "She's just fine, she's calm."

"What?" Hailey furrows her eyebrows together.

"She can feel your heartbeat, she recognizes your voice, she feels safe." Isla responds and Hailey instantly feels her eyes beginning to sting as she quickly looks back down to the infant, who's eyes were just starting to close again.