Just me (Kayla) for this chapter it seems. I hope you still enjoy it and please know that Amy (Laceandpaperflowers ) did help lend the idea for this chapter and she even named it!
August 1999
"Lindsey! What's happening to me?!" Stevie cries when she looks down and sees all the blood.
He reaches for the call button and shakes his head, "I don't know, baby. Let's stay calm. The nurses are coming."
The nurses just weren't coming fast enough and Lindsey looked around frantically when the machines in the room started beeping loudly.
He felt Stevie go limp in his arms. He patted her cheek gently,"Steph? Steph, you gotta wake up," he received no response.
"Please, baby. Please. Wake up." He was crying now, but he was just so scared. She'd just had his daughter and now here she was, coding on the hospital bed right before his eyes.
When a nurse finally did arrive, she called for help and the doctor and nurses pushed Lindsey out of the way. He didn't leave the room. He couldn't look away from her.
Finally, someone escorted him out of the room. He slumped into a chair in the waiting room with his head in his hands. He was terrified. The love of his life was, for all he knew, fighting for her own life right now. There was nothing he could do and that was the worst part. He had always tried to pull her back from the edge, but he had learned a long time ago that the only person who could save Stevie was Stevie herself. He couldn't help wondering if she could save herself this time as well.
It was hours before the doctor came out to greet him. By now, Barbara had returned to sit with him so he wouldn't have to be alone and because, she too, feared for her daughter's life.
"Mr. Buckingham, Mrs. Nicks, we had to rush Miss Nicks into emergency surgery to remove the placenta. She's lost a lot of blood and we've given her two transfusions already. She's unconscious, but you're more than welcome to sit with her," Dr. Wilson explained.
"Is she going to be alright?" Barbara asked.
"Only time will tell, but we do expect her to recover."
Lindsey stood up abruptly, "I want to see her."
Barbara nodded, "go on, honey. I'll go to the nursery to check on Elizabeth."
Lindsey quietly followed Dr. Wilson to Stevie's room. She looked peaceful; like she did when she was sleeping. Lindsey settled in a chair next to her bed and spent the night there, holding her hand with his head resting on the bed.
The next morning, Barbara and Jess showed up to find Lindsey still sleeping at Stevie's bedside. Barbara gently woke him, "Lindsey, sweetheart, you need to wake up."
Lindsey's eyes fluttered open and he glanced at Stevie, hoping she was awake. He swallowed the lump in his throat when he realized she wasn't.
Barbara rested her hand on his shoulder, "go see your daughter and then go home to get some rest. Max is asking for you."
Lindsey rubbed his eyes and glanced at Stevie, "but what if she wakes up?"
