A Fight to Remember

Extraordinary Together Pt. 2

Meredith Seattle January 2015

I was in a haze of pain and tiredness. A few minutes ago Derek had given me a few sips of water but it didn't seem to help any. Where was he anyway? I thought he was right here... "Der...?" I called out weakly. How long had it been? Not long... an hour maybe, since the pain. I felt like I was going to pass out. Blood loss. I must've lost at least a litre... and my baby... we hadn't even settled on a name. I rubbed my belly. "C'mon Flipper, stay with me, you don't get to die... you can't. Not after all the crap we went through already. You're it. You're the second chance... so no dying, and no brain damage, got it?"

A rustling noise and voices got my attention. Voices. Who?

"Sorry, it's really icy out there, the ambulance got stuck about a mile away. I walked, my partner is with the bus. I'm Deluca. Where is she?"

"Over here." Derek said urgently, his footsteps loud against the hardwood floor. Suddenly he was there.

"Derek," I whimpered. "It hurts..."

"I know... we're going to help you. You'll be fine." He jerked his thumb to the guy behind him, who looked sort of like a... musketeer. Gallant. "This is Deluca, he's a paramedic. We're going to get you on a stretcher-"

"No." I said, shaking my head. "I can't risk it. You can't move me, it might make things worse, and it'll take forever to get- Agh!" This pain was worse. And different. "Get the drugs," I gasped. "Get the knife- you have to- Ohhh... I can't- I can't- Derek-" I couldn't speak anymore. I just gripped his forearm, begging him.

"Mer- I, okay... okay. Deluca, ever perform an emergency C-section before?"

"Uh... I read about it? In med school?"

"Oh good, you're a med student. I'm a doctor, neurosurgeon actually. And you, Deluca, get to help me deliver our baby. Sound good?"

"Uh... okay."

"Okay."

I blearily blinked at my husband, feeling the hot prick of tears in my eyes. I was so tired and sore... and weak. But Derek eschewed confidence as he squeezed my hand and pecked me on the lips. "Okay, let's set up an IV, and then we're going to have to make some kind of epidural. Do you have Lidocaine in your bag?"

"Yeah, I got some here..." I heard D'Artagnan say, or what was his name again? Whatever. Derek rolled me carefully on my side and I felt the long pinch of the needle. A few minutes later, as the pain settled into more of a throbbing ache, Derek hovered over me, scalpel in hand. Oh God...

He swallowed, and I saw fear in his eyes, but he had to do it. No other way. Flipper could be dying in there. He hesitated, but I understood. This was his wife he was cutting into. This was his baby he was trying to save. It called for a moment of hesitation. I gave him a moment, but only a moment. "It's okay Derek, you can do this. You have to..." I choked out.

He nodded, traced the line he was going to cut into and then-

xxx

Derek, North Cove, June 16 2037

It had taken a couple of careful incisions, first through fat and muscle, and then the peritoneum. It amazed me how sudden my knowledge of anatomy just came to me. I pushed the bladder out of the way and exposed the uterus.

"Are you ready?" I asked a nurse- what was her name? I didn't remember. She nodded, the table for the baby was ready with clean cloths and suction. With a deep breath, I steadied my hand and gently inscised the uterus. There it was. The head. A mass of curly dark hair greeted me. Carefully, I slid my hand down... under, bringing it into position. "Okay, got it, got-" I smiled as the baby slid out. "It's a boy," I said, grinning,