Her Boy [A Benson Fan Fic]

Twenty-Five

Olivia's body shook as Casey sat by her head in the operating room. The nurses tried to get Olivia to calm down, but she was too far gone and her little girl was in distress. 

"I-i wanted to give birth naturally," Olivia whimpered, as Casey's fingers gently brushed tears from Olivia's cheeks.

"I know, honey. Plans don't always happen, like you never planned to be a mother of two at this point in your life," Casey replied.

"Did I hurt her? It's my fault, right?" Olivia sniffled. The room was loud with machines beeping and the doctor dealing out orders. All Olivia could think about was the moment her daughter was delivered and if she'd be silent. 

"Olivia, your baby girl went into distress due to your panic attack. She is almost here and you'll be able to hold her soon," A nurse spoke, as she peeked over the sheet and looked at Olivia.

"What if she dies?" Olivia cried. Casey quickly placed her hands on Olivia's shoulders before resting her forehead against Olivia's.

"She's not gonna die, Liv. That kid has been through so much already, a little distress won't harm her. Okay?" Casey encouraged, yet she was unsure herself. The c-section was taking longer than expected, and she was worried it was because the baby had passed.

///

The baby girl cried when she was born, but wasn't breathing well. A group of nurses rushed the baby to the NICU to be examined as the doctor finished up with Olivia before sending her to the recovery wing. Olivia wasn't allowed visitors at first, so Casey went downstairs and looked through the gift shop as she waited for Fin to return her call.

"Novak?" Fin sighed.

"Hey, Fin. Uh, the baby is here."

"Really? How are they?" Fin demanded.

"Olivia had to have an emergency c-section. She was having a panic attack, and the baby went into distress... Liv is in a recovery room and the baby was rushed to the NICU."

"NICU? The baby is sick?" Fin asked, his voice growing quiet. Calvin was in an interview room as he worked on a drawing for his mother and baby sister.

"She wasn't breathing well. They haven't told me much, but I pray she pulls through. Olivia was already beating herself up for letting herself get so worked up. All she wanted was a natural delivery and instead had emergency surgery."

"Fuck," Fin swore, and Casey sighed deeply as she picked up a stuffed bear. She ran her fingers over a silky ribbon wrapped around its neck.

"Yup. So, can you keep this information from Calvin? I don't want him to be all freaked out about his sister being sick and Olivia having surgery."

"I don't know how good I'll be at that, but I'll try. Just keep me updated, okay?"

"Of course."

///

The next morning Casey walked into Olivia's hospital room with a bouquet of flowers and a bag with her favorite soup. Olivia was staring at the empty wall across from her bed, her hands folded over her swollen, bandaged belly.

"Hey, honey. How are you doing?" Casey asked, as she shut the door and moved to the bed.

"I still haven't met her yet," Olivia whispered.

"You'll meet her soon. You need to recover and she-"

"She had a medical emergency last night, Casey. My baby isn't breathing by herself right now and they don't know why. It's like she wasn't born at term, but is more of a premie. I'm so angry, but there is nothing I can do. I can barely walk and my chest hurts. I hate myself, Casey," Olivia mumbled. She ran a hand down her face before closing her eyes tightly.

"Let me see if I can pull some strings-"

"You are just an ADA! What strings can you pull?!" Olivia spat, before groaning as she held her belly and started to cry.

Casey moved closer to Olivia before caressing her hair and kissing her forehead softly. 

"You have gone through so much over the last several months, and I'm incredibly sorry that everything happened. You are strong and need to keep moving forward. Don't give up now, especially since your daughter-"

"Hadley. Her name is Hadley," Olivia whispered.

"Hadley needs you, Liv. She needs her mommy more than anyone else. We can make it through this together, and I'll even let you beat me up if that helps," Casey breathed. Olivia looked up at her friend and nodded slowly.

"Have you checked in on Calvin?"

"I saw him this morning. He and Fin went out for dinner last night and they drank root beer floats. This morning they had steak and eggs, plus he had milk with a splash of coffee in it," Casey smiled.

"Does he know?" Olivia whispered.

"He knows that his baby sister is here, but he won't be able to meet her for a while. He wants to video call you tonight."

"He came up with her name. Hadley Isabella Benson. Isn't it cute?"

"It's adorable, Liv!" Casey beamed. Olivia shifted uncomfortably in her bed before reaching for the call button. 

Casey watched her in confusion until a nurse walked in.

"How are you doing, Olivia? Do you need something for the pain?"

"Nope. I need a wheelchair and a push down to the NICU."

///

Olivia fought the nurses and her doctor until they allowed her down to the NICU. As they put the brakes on the wheelchair, Olivia leaned to the side and reached into her daughter's incubator. Her fingers caressed Hadley's soft skin that was bruising around the IVs.

"So what happened?" Olivia asked.

"Your daughter's lung collapsed. We were able to re-inflate it, but she is still very weak. We put a feeding tube in and we are hoping she'll be off everything soon," the doctor explained. 

"Do whatever you can to save my baby, okay? I know that is your job, but I'm not letting my own stupidity kill my daughter."

"What?" the doctor questioned.

"If I hadn't freaked out over her worthless father, I would have given birth to her how I wanted. We'd be in my room snuggling and I'd be able to nurse her. How often can I sit with her? If I can't, can Casey?" Olivia asked. She was going to take charge of this situation, even if it tired her out.