The Struggle Of Our Lives

Chapter 20: September

The day I had been dreading finally came. The day Charlotte was expected to give birth. The two of us had discussed our options; the possible ways we could raise the baby. We talked it over for weeks on end, some days, Lotte said she wanted to raise the baby as our sibling, while others she changed her mind and said she'd like me to raise the baby as my child.

A few weeks ago, we came to a mutual decision for me to raise the baby as my own. We had received news from the hospital giving Charlotte her prenatal care that we could come in for an ultrasound to determine the baby's gender, and so we quickly scheduled an appointment with the hospital to get the ultrasound.

After getting Charlotte in the bed, and putting the cold jelly on her stomach, a doctor took a strange remote and used it to scan her belly. After a while of doing this, the doctor turned the small TV screen to us and showed us the baby for the first time.

After some debate between her and another doctor, they agreed that Charlotte was having a girl. She began crying, but not in the way Trinity did when she saw Char for the first time. She was smiling.

"You excited?" I asked her. She laughed a little bit and exclaimed, "Yes!" We laughed along with her, and I assured her that I was very proud of her. She thanked me, and we went to Wal-Mart and bought little girls clothes. I've never been a huge fan of the "pink is for girls" rule in clothes, so we got onesies in every color of the rainbow. After all, Charlotte's favorite color was a "boys" color.

I was forcefully snapped out of my thoughts when I felt Charlotte squeezing my hand with a force you wouldn't expect out of an 11 year old girl. She was screaming and almost crying. I couldn't begin to understand the pain she was going through. I tried to give her words of assurance but my words fell on deaf ears, not that I blamed her.

I was at her side while Teddy sat in the corner of the room. Normally, doctors wouldn't let people in the delivery room, but Charlotte begged for us to stay. There were several doctors in the room, two were down by Lotte's feet in the uncomfortable-looking stirrups, while the other two were at her sides. The one near the screen showing her vitals was keeping track of her pulse and blood pressure, while the other had her hand on Char's leg, also shouting supportive words.

Charlotte looked to be in complete agony. I didn't know what to do. Sure, I had read online about what you should do when someone is giving birth, but all the advice left my head when I realized she was going into labor. Thankfully, she had only been in active labor for about an hour, and by the time we got to the hospital, the doctor examining her said she was already 8 centimeters dilated.

I was thankful we got to the hospital when we did, but I was still beyond terrified for Charlotte. It was around this time I remembered how nightmarish pregnancy was. As she screamed and writhed on the table, my mind went blank. All I could think of doing was putting a wet rag on her forehead to try and cool her down. At that point, she was sweating bullets and it did not look comfortable at all to be sitting in a pool of your own sweat. I quickly ran a nearby cloth with cold water and placed it on her forehead.

Her face appeared to be less of a tomato shade of red and more of a warm pink. I thought back to when we first talked to the doctor about her situation several months back. He explained that because of her decreased blood flow, it'd be very dangerous for her to have an abortion. We processed the information and agreed that it was for the best.

When asked about keeping the child, Lotte answered the doctor before I could say anything. "If we're able to, I'd like to keep the baby." She instantly turned to me and I gave her a sad smile. "I agree." I stated to the doctor.

He also urged us to talk to the police about what had happened. He even gave us numbers to call and websites to visit. All the resources came in handy, and we were due to have a court case a few months after Charlotte had given birth. Until then, the police were notified and had a "chat" with the school district and finally, Dennis Jones got fired for inappropriate behavior with minors.

Charlotte was offered therapy for what happened, and Teddy joined her in it, as he had been very affected by the events as well.

Suddenly, I felt a much harsher squeeze from Lotte's hand. I looked over to the doctor, and sighed in relief. He was preparing to ask the labor nurse to bring over towels and a pair of really big scissors that I assumed were for cutting the umbilical cord.

"One final push!" He called out. Charlotte continued crying out in pain, as I tightened my grip on her hand. "You can do this! You're so close!" I assured her. She visibly tensed one final time, and cried out. "You did it!" He exclaimed. He quickly got a better handle on the baby and asked the nurse next to him for the supplies on a rolling tray table.

She pushed over the tray and used the umbilical scissors to cut the cord. The doctors quickly swaddled the baby and handed her to Charlotte. "Congratulations! It's a healthy baby girl!" He announced. Lotte leaned forward slightly to reach out for the baby, and held her to her chest. She was crying a little harder this time, but I could tell they were happy tears.

"I'm so proud of you, Lotte." I said.