This Story's Going Somewhere

Chapter 27 - Patrick

    It was only a matter of hours before I came crashing through the front doors of the hospital. My dad was sitting in the front waiting area for me, and he stood up as soon as he saw me. As he marched toward me, I began to make for the elevators. "Patrick," he said quietly, not wanting to disturb anyone else, "Hold up."

    "Tell me on the way," I insisted, pressing the call button and staring up at the floor numbers as the elevator dropped down to us painfully slowly. "What floor is she on?"

    "Maternity is on floor six," my father said, "But Patrick, you need to listen to me."

    "I'm listening," I said, pulling him into the elevator with me as the doors slid open. I jabbed my finger roughly into number six, and shifted impatiently from foot to foot.

    My dad sighed, shaking his head. "She's supposed to be on her way to surgery right now," he told me, and for a moment, everything slowed down.

    "Surgery?" I questioned.

    "Yes," he said, frowning, "She needs an emergency c-section."

    Not wanting to dwell on my fears, and everything Nora had told me about her mother, I simply nodded and looked down at my shoes. She was strong. She would be okay, and so would the baby. The elevator doors opened again, and this time, it was my father pulling me through them. He led me down a series of hallways, until we came to room 638. My father stepped inside, but I froze in the doorway, already seeing  an empty bed, and my mother sitting off to the side of it, with tissues in her hands. I didn't even walk in. I vaguely heard my parents conversing, but as I turned my head to look down the hall, a deafening ringing filled my ears. I was panicking. I didn't know what made me look, but the second my eyes fell on a gurney, being wheeled in the opposite direction, my legs were moving before I could even process it. I rushed to the nurse's side, and then suddenly, a hand grabbed my arm. I wheeled around to find Nora's father. "They won't let me in," he was saying, and I was immediately confused. "You're the father, you have to stay with her, Patrick."

    Still confused, I nodded frantically and rushed to keep up with the gurney. I caught up again just as they were pushing her into the operating room. As the nurses and doctors got everything ready, I finally leaned over the bed and looked into the most beautiful eyes I'd ever seen. "Hey you," I whispered, and Nora forced a pained smile for me. She was terrified. "I'm here." I reached for her hand and she squeezed hard, her thin fingers nearly crushing mine, but I didn't care.

    "Don't leave," she breathed, frantically searching my face. I reached down and cupped my free hand around the side of her face, directing her gaze to my eyes as the doctors raised what looked like a blue tarp over her. It was shielding our view of her stomach.

    "I'm not going anywhere," I promised, my heart racing. "Nora," I said, even quieter, "We're having a baby. We're going to meet our son pretty soon." She nodded, but even my attempt to excite her didn't quell the fear in her eyes.

    Finally, a nurse came over to our side of the tarp to speak to us. "Okay, Mama," she said, happily, "We're about ready to begin. You're not going to feel anything, until we pull the baby out. At most, it will just feel like a little tugging, okay?" Nora nodded, and the nurse smiled at us both from behind her mask. "Dad, do you think you might want to cut the umbilical cord, when we get to it?"

    I stared for a moment, having never thought about this before. Nora was giving birth, the least I could do was help. I nodded, still nervous, and she smiled again before moving back behind the tarp. As she did, I leaned down and pressed a lingering kiss to Nora's forehead. Nora squeezed her eyes closed and swallowed hard.