Chicago Med/-/ Bruises

13 /-/ twins

2 month later.
Connor's POV:
"Come on Rory," I encourage.
Aurora pants, sweat dripping down her head, "I can't babe."
"You can Aurora." Her OB exclaims
Aurora is currently in Labor and starting to deliver.
"Come on honey." I pat her forehead with a towel to dry it, "you've got this."
She pushes again.
"The head's out. One more." The OB encourages.
Aurora pushes and screams. I stroke the back of her hand softly. Cries erupt. The first baby is wrapped up and handed to me.
"Hey buddy." I gently smile before holding Aurora's hand as she pushes again.
This one is taking a lot longer.
"Somethings not right, get me the vaginal ultrasound." The OB exclaims
She does a quick ultrasound.
"Dammit." She exclaims
"What?" I ask
"The baby is feet first. This can happen when the babies were in the same placenta. Pass the baby to Carla for me?" The OB looks to me as a nurse walks over.
I pass him my first son.
"What now?" I ask
"I need you to pull her legs back till her knees are at her chest." She orders,
I do so. Rory pushes again. It takes a while but soon our second son is born. I am given our first son and Aurora is passed the second.
"You did it baby." I smile down at Aurora.
"Barely." She smiles before looking down at our other son in her arms, "somethings wrong with him, he's turning blue."
The OB looks at him, "He's cyanotic. Angel, bag him."
She takes him from Aurora's arm and places him in bassinet. A nurse starts bagging him. I pass our other son down to Aurora and put an arm around her shoulder.
"What's going on?" I ask
"I'm not sure. Let's get him up to NICU." She orders and they rush the bassinet out of the room.
"What's going on?" Aurora starts sobbing.
"I don't know sweetie," I kiss the top of her head, "which one is this going to be?"
"This is Cohen." She whispers, "Cohen Bryce Rhodes."
"Ok." I reply softly
A nurse comes in, "we'd like to take your other son to get cleaned and dressed. What's his name?"
"Uh, Cohen Bryce Rhodes." Aurora passes Cohen to the nurse.
"Great, Cohen will be back soon. And the doctor will be down as soon as she can to discuss your other son." The nurse lays Cohen in a bassinet and leaves.
I notice Aurora start to zone out.
"What's going on in your pretty brain my love?" I ask her
"Ethan Luke Rhodes." She mumbles, "we might not get to use his name."
"Hey, baby, no negativity. Ok?" I tell her
She looks at me saddened, "but what if he doesn't survive?"
"He will, if he's got your genetics, he'll be fine. You were in a coma 3 months and still gave birth to a healthy girl who is now 10 months old." I tell her, "he will be fine."
She nods softly. Soon Cohen is brought back in. He is crying.
"Cohen." Aurora reaches for him
I lift him up gently and place him in Aurora's arms.
"Cohen Bryce Rhodes was born at 8:32am on January 13th, 2018." The nurse reads over the birth certificate, "weighs 7 pounds and 7 ounces. He is a healthy little boy."
I nod, "thanks. Will the doctor be back soon?"
"Hopefully." She exits the room
Just after, the doctor comes in.
"How is he?" Aurora asks
"Your son has some congenital heart defects. Tricuspid Atresia, Atrial septal defect and a Ventricular septal defect." She explains
"Oh my god." Aurora gasps, tears falling down her face.
"Where do we go from here?" I ask
"Uh, we'll have to do multiple surgeries to treat the Tricuspid Atresia, and for the two septal defects. The Atrial defect is very small, hopefully it will close on it's own but we'll do follow ups around once every two months for it. The Ventricular defect, it is quite large so we will need to do a surgery to close it when he is around 4-6 months." The doctor explains, "we'll need to keep him in NICU for about 1 month. Once he is around 1 weeks, we'll do the first surgery for the tricuspid Atresia. The second surgery will be when he is around 2 months, then we'll go from there. He'll likely need to be monitored. Doctor's appointments every few days once discharged."
"Can we see him?" Aurora asks
"Yes. I'll go get a wheelchair for you. Your husband can hold Cohen, that's what the nurse said you named him. We might be able to let you hold your other son." The doctor exclaims
"His name is Ethan James Rhodes." I tell her
"Alright, I'll be back in a minute to take you to Ethan." She leaves the room
Aurora passes Cohen to me. The doctor comes in and gets Aurora in a wheelchair. She pushes Aurora as I carry Cohen. We go up to the NICU. We go into a room and see Ethan hooked up to monitors. I hold back my tears. The doctor walks over to Ethan. She carefully lifts him up and places him in Aurora's arms. She holds him softly and places a gentle kiss to his forehead. She cries softly
"I'll leave you guys now, feel free to feed him as well. Any family can come visit you. We're moving you up here anyway. We like to have one parent always with the child. We'll get a nurse to bring up all your belongings. And a bassinet for Cohen." The doctor leaves the room.
"I'll give him a feed. Could you call Will and Nat first. I don't want Jay yet cause he has the other 4." Aurora whispers
"Of course honey." I place a kiss on her forehead.
I get out my phone and call Will. He answers.
"Hey, how'd the birth go?" He asks
"Um, it went ok I guess. Look, we'll explain everything. Can you and Nat come. We're in NICU 5." I reply
"Uh, yep, we're on our way up, we are on shift right now." Will replies
"Thanks man." I end the call.
I walk back over to Aurora who has finished feeding Ethan. She stands up and places Ethan in his bed.
"Can I hold Cohen?" She asks
"Of course babe." I pass her Cohen.
She moves to a rocking chair in the corner and rocks with Cohen. I move the wheelchair to a corner. Soon there is a knock on the door. I open it. In walks Will and Nat.
"Hey guys," I exclaim
"Hey, what's going on?" Nat asks
"Uh, so introduction to the twins. Aurora has Cohen Bryce. He weighed 7 pounds 7 ounces." I respond, "and this is our little guy is Ethan James. He only weighed 4 pounds 2 ounces."
"Aww. What's wrong with the little guy?" Will asks
"Uh, he has some CHD's. Uh Tricuspid Atresia, Atrial Septal Defect and Ventricular Septal defect." I reply
"Oh no, poor baby." Nat replies
"Yeah. His first surgery is in a week. Then another around when he is 1-2 months. Then his ASD should close up on its own. The VSD though will need surgery when he is around 4-6 months." I explain, "it's gonna be a rough first year for him."
"I'm sorry guys," Will places a hand on my shoulder as Nat goes over to Aurora.
I go over to Ethan.
"Hey little guy, I'm your daddy, I know your struggling right now, I promise it's going to get better, you'll have your family here at the hospital, the PD, and at home. You've got 4 sibling plus your brother. You're going to live a wonderful life." I murmur to him.
He looks at me then closes his eyes. I smile softly
"Well, we have to get back down to the ED. Let us know if you need anything." Nat walks over to Will and I
"Can you see if Goodwin could come. We need to discuss work?" Aurora asks
"Of course sis. We'll come by after work." Will tells her
"Thanks." Aurora murmurs.
Will and Nat leave. A nurse brings in our belongings and a bassinet. A bed is also brought in for Aurora. She lays on her side on the bed with Cohen on the bed beside her. I sit behind her and trace patterns on her back. It helps calm her down. I hear her gentle snores and see she is asleep with Cohen napping beside her. I smile softly and plant a kiss to her forehead. I hop up and exit the room for a moment. I lean against a wall when it all comes crashing down on me. I start sobbing and slide down a wall.
"Dr Rhodes?" I look up and see Dr Charles there
"Hey, Dr Charles. Hey." I wipe away some of my tears.
"Everything ok?" He asks
"No. Aurora had the twins but one of them, Ethan, has some Congenital Heart Defects. Tricuspid Atresia, Atrial Septal Defect and Ventricular Septal Defect." I reply
"I'm so sorry, that must be really tough, how's the other one?" He responds as I stand up.
"Uh, Cohen, he's good. Real healthy. 7 pounds 7 ounces." I chuckle softly, "he's currently asleep next to Aurora. She's asleep too."
"That's good. I've got some patients I have to see. I'll check in later." He pats my shoulder before walking away.
I go back into the room and to the connected bathroom. I wash my face quickly before going back out. I see Miss Goodwin standing there.
"Miss Goodwin." I greet
"Dr Rhodes, Dr Halstead informed me you and Dr Kennedy wanted to speak to me?" She asks
"Uh, she's asleep right now. But we were wondering if we could have a bit of leniency this first year as Ethan has Tricuspid Atresia, Atrial Septal Defect and Ventricular Septal Defect." I ask, "he's got a few surgeries already coming up in his first 6 months. First one is in a week."
"Oh no, the poor thing. Of course. I understand. Send Aurora my best wishes for her and Ethan." Miss Goodwin replies
"I will. Cohen though is very healthy." I explain
"That's great news." Miss Goodwin smiles before exiting the room.
I sit on the chair beside Aurora's bed and wait for her to wake. She wakes up after about 4 hours.
"Hey beautiful, how you feeling?" I gently tuck a piece of hair behind her ear.
"Has Miss Goodwin come yet?" She asks, sitting up and lifting Cohen into her arms
"Yeah. She said we are able to take time off when needed at all this first year. Plus Maternity and Paternity leave." I reply
"Has anyone told Jay yet?" She asks
"No, I texted him and said that we'll see them tomorrow. You rest now my love. Cohen has a bassinet in here." I gently tell her, taking Cohen into my arms and placing him in a bassinet.
Aurora then lays down and reaches for me cutely, "cuddles?"
"How could I say no to that adorable little face." I smile and lay down beside her.
We fall asleep.

Sorry it's so long- 1968 words.
Definitions=
Congenital Heart Defects= defects in the heart at birth. Otherwise known as CHD's
Tricuspid Atresia= no valve formed in the right heart chambers. Results in not enough blood flow through the heart and underdeveloped lower right chamber.
Atrial Septal Defect= a hole in the Atrial septum. The thick tissue separating the top two chambers in the heart, the Atrium. Otherwise known as ASD
Ventricular Septal Defect= a hole in the Ventricular septum. The thick tissue separating the bottom two chambers in the heart, the Ventricles. Otherwise known as VSD.