We're Having a Baby

Chapter 7

"Vic, you feeling okay?" Travis asked. His eyes were glued to the EKG that she was connected to ever since she was admitted, and he was seeing a sudden spike in her heart rate and BP. "You don't feel light-headed or dizzy?"

"I feel weird, I don't know how to describe it..." She replied, blinking her eyes a few times in an act to try and dispel some of the weird feeling. It's not like her chest was tight, or she felt like she was going to pass out, but something just didn't feel quite right and she couldn't quite pinpoint it.

"I'm uh, I'm gonna find Dr. DeLuca." He left the room quickly.

She shook her head and looked to Emmett and Theo and they all rolled their eyes. Yeah, they were both worried about her vitals, but they both just thought it was just the toll of labour on her body. But Travis being Travis, he needed all the answers. He couldn't just sit there.

As another contraction came and went, a sudden beeping began to sound. Not from Vic's monitor, but from the babies'. "Dr. DeLuca?! You've got to come quick!" Emmett shouted.

Carina and Travis both heard his yell from down the hall. They looked at each other so urgently and bolted towards her room, Carina taking a look at the fetal machine. It showed that baby B, their little girl, was experiencing an alarmingly low heart rate. "Okay, it looks like your little girl's heart rate isn't stable." She took the paper that was being printed out and showed it to everyone in the room, pointing at the low and jagged line that was being generated. "She's not getting enough oxygen, Vic."

Vic looked at Emmett first, panic in his eyes. She couldn't even turn to Travis, who was probably self-combusting as Carina continued to speak.

She wheeled over a chair and sat down. "Okay, I'm going to do a quick vaginal exam before we proceed-" She paused and found something really concerning. "Can I get some help in here?!" She shouted and some nurses came running in so fast.

As they had a really urgent conversation, the four people were beginning to panic. Emmett was comforting Travis, whilst he was holding Vic's hand and telling her she and the babies were going to be okay. Theo stood back but Vic knew he was praying for her - he was just giving the expecting parents their space to feel all their feelings.

"Victoria, unfortunately, you have cord prolapse, which is limiting the oxygen supply to your babies. Your little boy seems to be coping currently, but your little girl isn't doing well at all. We're going to have to do an emergency c-section to get them out." She explained and felt 4 pairs of eyes stare at her with so much anxiety. "Don't worry, we're going to work very fast to get your babies out safe and sound."

"Is there- is there not any way to deliver them vaginally? A C-section is major surgery, and Vic has her heart issue..." Theo thought out loud.

"You are correct. As always, major surgery has its risks, but I feel like if we leave them in any longer, there'll be even more risks for both Vic and for the babies." Her second explanation was cut short by yet more beeping - a push to get Vic into surgery. "We really need to get going." She said with urgency in her voice.

"Dr. DeLuca," A scrub nurse knocked on the door, calling the OB out for a second. During that time, Theo was busy trying to comfort Vic, whilst Emmett and Travis were silently suffering in the corner. They were both paralysed with fear.

She walked in again soon after and started to unlock the gurney so she could be transported. "The OR's going to be too full with all of you in there along with operating and NICU staff." She said as they all began to walk down the hallway. "I'm really sorry, but we can only allow one person to come in with you, Vic. We're going to put you under general anaesthesia anyway since we can't wait for an epidural to kick in, but I'm sure one of the babies' fathers would love to be in the OR with you when they get born."