Between a Rock and a Hard Place // c.h.

43 - Maia

Calum's POV
***

   She was limp in my arms, unconscious from whatever pain had made her scream in her sleep in the middle of the night. I lifted her and raced to my car, laying her body in the backseat. I sped up the highway to the nearest hospital. I'd been in California a lot before, but I still wasn't completely sure where I was going. When I finally saw the white arches of the emergency room I swerved into the lot. I got as close as I could to the hospital, then took Cara and abandoned my car on the curb. My footsteps slapped as I ran into the emergency room. At two in the morning, I wouldn't have expected there to be many people. I was shocked to see ten other faces besides the receptionist. I carried Cara's frail body to the counter, pleading with the nurse.

   "She's pregnant, she started screaming in the middle of the night and then passed out." I begged her to let us in. The young woman nodded, calling into a radio on her desk.

   "We need a gurney, mother in delivery." She spoke calmly, which I guess was easy for her. Meanwhile her words hitched a breath in my throat.

   "Delivery?" I squeaked, my eyes wide with fear. The baby was coming.

   "The screaming was probably from contractions." The nurse explained, looking at Cara's body, then mine. "Her water broke. The baby should be here, but because she's unconscious she can't help push it out. It's stuck. We need to get her in as fast as we can and perform a C-Section." Information flooded my brain, overwhelming my senses. A gurney rolled up next to me, and someone took Cara from me. I looked down at my body, unable to think, to process anything that was happening in the moment. Why was I shirtless? Why were my sweatpants soaked with water? Nothing made sense in the slightest. I rushed after the gurney, not allowing Cara to leave my sight. Voices, people, footsteps around me, every noise that sounded in the air was muffled. My only concern was the beautiful girl who's body was being pushed away from me. When they finally reached a room they deemed suitable for taking care of her, they hooked Cara up to multiple machines, one for oxygen, an IV, and more that I'd never seen or heard of before in me entire life. Still, I wasn't about to protest. I sat by Cara's side, taking her soft hand in my own, looking at her pale face and faded blue hair that floated across her cheek. Even though she was sick, she was still just as beautiful as she had been the day I met her. I loved her more than I'd ever loved anyone else in the world. With the chaos surrounding me, my only hope was that she would be ok. Even if the baby was Luke's, I only cared for Cara's safety.

   A hand pressed on my shoulder blade gently, grasping my attention. Luke stood next to me, worry implanted in his facial expression. He loved her too, it was easy to see, and he was my best friend, so I'd forgiven him. Still, I wished he hadn't come to the hospital. I knew Cara would want him to be there when she woke up, but things were starting to feel normal again with us. "Is she ok?" Luke asked, gazing at the screen that separated us from the view of whatever the doctors were doing to Cara at the moment. I nodded, though I wasn't sure if it counted as an honest answer. I hoped she was ok.

   We sat in silence, listening to the noises of the hospital, the movement of the doctors. Then I felt movement in my hand, Cara. She was alive, she was awake. Her gorgeous blue eyes fluttered open, awakened by the medication they'd given her. She didn't seem quite awake though, she was unaware of the hellish situation that was happening on the other side of the plastic curtain. "Cal? Luke?" Her voice was raw, her words sore and rough. Her piercing diamond eyes darted between us, worry registering on her face. She seemed to somewhat relax when she realized we were ok. "It's happening." She gasped, staring at the curtain, sudden fear replacing the serenity in her eyes. On the other side of the barrier, a cry rang in the air. A baby. My baby. Or Luke's baby.

Cara's POV
***

  The scream was the clearest noise I'd ever heard in my life. My baby. A doctor, wearing gloves coated in blood, brought the child to me, placing it in my arms. Luke and Cal gawked at the baby, a baby girl. "Maia." I grinned widely, looking at the boys. "Her name's Maia." I kissed her on the forehead. The child had calmed, and her crying no longer rang in my ears. Cal stepped forward, looking at the baby. Dark brown, curly hair was barely present on her small head, tiny wisps waving off her skin like waves in the ocean. I knew what both of the boys were thinking. Whose was she? That's when I realized. Her eyes.

   I looked to Luke, with his sky-blue gems that shone bright and colorful. I'd always noticed them, as they were so much like my own. I noticed his lip ring, which he was playing with as he always did when he was nervous. I looked at his towering height, something I'd been intimidated by that I was now comfortable with. I looked at him, and all he had. And while I loved him, I didn't resist the temptation to look away.

   My eyes found Calum. His eyes that I'd fallen in love with so many months ago met mine, their dark brown color seeping into my soul, reminding me of every reason I loved him, of our very first date in the mall, of losing him and finding him again, of our first night together, of hearing him say the words for the very first time. I love you.

   My eyes traced their way to my baby girl. And she looked at me. And, in that moment, I knew who I was supposed to be with.