The Struggle Of Our Lives

Chapter 22: Discharged

I've got this.

As I sat there, my head still on Lotte's shoulder, I could ever so softly hear her heartbeat. "May I hold her?" I asked.

"Terry, she is your kid, you don't need to ask me to hold her." She smiled. I sat upright and looked at her, surprised. "But she's your baby!"

"Yeah, but I'm not her mom, you are. You're just as entitled to hold her as any of us are. I love her, and I know you know that, but she's all yours, and I'm glad I can finally be an older sister."

Her actions were surprising to me, as I truly realized how far her mind was beyond her years. She never failed to impress me, even as she was so young. I thanked her for her support, but I assured her that she may always change her mind if she wished to truly act as her mother.

She gently and carefully handed September to me, and placed a small cloth over her, acting as a baby blanket. She stood up slowly and groaned at the sound of her back popping back into place.

"Wait, what do you need?" I asked, wondering why didn't have me help her. "I just need to pee again. Theo could you help m-" Not even as the words left her mouth did Teddy shoot up and place himself next to Lotte, with his left arm supporting her back, and his right supporting her forearm for her to place her weight on.

"Why di-" She interrupted me as she took a few pained steps to the bathroom, "You, need to spend some time with your kid." I laughed a little and sighed at her stubbornness, a trait she definitely acquired from me.

Soon, the twins managed to waddle together to the bathroom and shut the door behind them. I looked down at the small bundle of human in my arms and admired her beauty. She came out with a little bit of hair on her head; the few strands she had were thick and very curly.

She was very small, a detail I just could not get over. She still could not open her eyes, but I could see that she was trying to. I was beyond excited for the day when she could look at me and smile.

I heard the sound of running water and turned back to the bathroom, as I saw the twins exiting the small room. Charlotte hobbled out of the room, still using Theo as a crutch. I got up and went to help her to the bed, but she slapped my hand away, jokingly. "I've got this!" She laughed. I studied her wobbly frame, as she reached out to her bed rail for support. "Lotte, you just had a baby. Don't push yourself! You might pull something and stay in that bed forever." I replied, half-jokingly.

 She finally got onto her bed and sighed as she replaced the ice pack on her stomach. "I know, I know... I just don't want to be a burden." I was already back on my cot and placed September back into her bassinet. I immediately sat on the side of Lotte's bed and held her hands in mine.

"Lotte. You are never a burden on me or anyone. You never have been." Teddy sat across from me and agreed. We turned to him and noticed how serious he was. "We will always help you. You're not a pain, I promise," he said. Char sighed and agreed. I let go of her hands and asked, "Do you need anything? Are you hungry? I know I am." 

She thought for a minute before replying "yes." I stood and walked over to my phone, which I left on my cot, to find the picture I took of the Hospital's menu. We went through and found that most of their food was just weird or unappetizing. We ended up deciding to order sandwiches from the Subway in the café. I got my usual 3 cheese and 3 meats on flatbread, with 6 raspberry cheesecake cookies for us to share. Then, Teddy got a buffalo chicken melt, and finally, Charlotte decided on two bowls of chicken noodle soup.

As I typed these down on my phone so I wouldn't forget, I made small comments like, "good choice," and "oooh that sounds good." I kissed them both and walked over to Tember to give her a tiny kiss on the nose. She stirred as a result and moved her arms up to push me out of her way. I giggled at this and poked her palm with my finger. Surprisingly, she grasped my finger and squeezed it. The twins saw this and leaned forwards to witness the cute moment. I was on the verge of happy tears, until she eventually let go, and I was able to go get the food. 

..

Finally, It was time to leave the hospital. We packed all of our things and thanked everyone who took care of us. Because Lotte had just given birth, the staff made her leave in a wheelchair. She held onto September, and Theo pushed her as I talked to the staff and checked out. The nurses had given us some advice for taking care of Char during her recovery, like using disposable underwear (which they gave us), taking ibuprofen, and nursing pads for her bra to keep from leakage. We thanked them for all of their words of wisdom and encouragement, and soon we were back home. I had bought Lotte and September a bunch of stuff, like a baby sling and a crib.

We had decided that for the time being, Lotte would stay in the fort we built for privacy and a space for her and the baby. Theo and I had put the yellow crib together a few days prior to her due date, and placed it in the corner of the room where we used to keep our suitcases during our early years.

When we got home, I carried Lotte to her room, and Teddy put Ember in her new crib. We left them to get some rest, while the two of us hung out before dinner.