Love, Ian Somerhalder

Chapter 21

We got to the hospital just in time and when Marcus opened the car's door I was surrounded with nurses.

"GIVE HER SPACE, SHE'S HAVING A BABY NOT DYING!" Marcus shouted and the crowd moved away.

I actually giggled when Marcus helped me unto a wheel chair. I forgot what a clown he is when he's nervous or not at work.

He pushed me inside the hospital where doctor's came and helped me unto a bed. They started treating my now purple thigh and taking blood pressure and whatever stuff doctor's do. When it came to checking my private parts I slapped my legs shuts.

"I'm not and I mean not opening my legs without knowing that Ian's okay. Got it hotshot?" I hiss at the intern doctor that looked more like a Calvin Klein model.

"Sage?" I hear someone familiar say in the crowd of surrounding doctor's.

"Joseph?" I crane my neck and see him. He looks back and pushes through the crowd.

"I'm here, love!" that British accent brought me relief. I don't know how he got here from Atlanta but I didn't care.

"Miss, this baby's coming now. Her contractions are coming non-stop." the head doctor says, reading a machine that's hooked up to me.

I froze. How am I going to do this without Ian? I look at Joseph who held my hand so tight that it was turning purple. He was just as terrified as me.

"Okay... Joseph will you stay?" I whisper and just nods. I take a deep breath and open my legs.

"Okay, push when I tell you too... Now." the doctor says and I push.

I scream and struggle a few times but before I knew it, she was out. I relax and sigh in relief when I heard her cry.

"It's a girl." the doctor says and puts her on my chest.

I begin to sob as I pressed her tiny body to my chest. She was bloody and crying her heart out but I instantly fell in love, exactly like when I had Riley. The feeling was undescribable.

"Are you going to cut the cord?" a nurse handed a pair of medical scissors.

"No, I'm not the father--" Joseph began but I cut him off.

"Yes, he is," I say and smile at Joseph. "You were with me for most my pregnancy."

I hold the baby still and Joseph gulps and cuts the cord. As soon as he did... He fainted.

"Oh my gosh! Someone help him! Joseph?" I say and nurses help him by fanning him. He woke up when thrown water at his face.

They took the baby to weigh her and check her. She was then given to me in a bundle of blankets.

"What's her name, miss?" the doctor was doing her birth certificate but I was distracted.

I passed a hand through her patch of raven black hair--she had a lot of it-- gently pecked her pink lips, and those eyes, they were as blue as...

"Sapphire." I say out loud.

"Sapphire it is..." the doctor wrote, I was about to protest that wasn't her name when I realized it was perfect.

The next day I got to see Ian. The bullet had ruptured his right kidney so they took it out and did a transplant. Guess who was a match? Arielle. They were both fine and recovering.

"Ian?" I enter the room slowly and his eyes open. He was still a little woozy from the morphine.

"C'mere." He sighed and I climbed into the bed with him.

"I love you, more than anything." I say and he puts his arm around me.

"I love you-- Where's your belly?" Ian had passed a hand over my now flat stomach and worried.

"She's here, mate." Joseph came in with our baby.

Joseph passed her to me and I tucked her into Ian's arms.

"Hello, beautiful." Ian whispered and Sapphire smiled in her sleep.

"Her name's Sapphire and she was born on Daddy's birthday." I grin and Ian looked at me with fondness.

"She's perfect, Sage, can we keep her?" Ian smirks and I laugh silently.

"Yes, we can." I say and kiss Ian.

***

After a week, Ian and Arielle were strong enough to go back to Atlanta. Our story was on all the news so we were constantly followed by newsreporters.

The first thing I did when we got back was go to the hospital to see Riley.

Ian had Sapphire in her carrier as I kissed Riley's sleeping body.

"I want you to meet your little sister Sapphire." I say and take Sapphire out of the carrier and I place her on Riley's chest.

"Her middle name's Damon just like you asked." Ian says sourly and I scowl at him.

Then the most magical thing happened, whether miracle or coincedence, I didn't know.

While Sapphire was on Riley's chest, Riley's cheeks flushed red and color came back to her skin. Her chest rose and fell rapidly with Sapphire on it. Her eyes suddenly snapped open and she sat bolt upright, clutching a now startled and crying Sapphire to her chest.

"NURSE!" Ian ran outside the room.

I looked at Riley in amazement. She looked dazedly to the baby in her arms.

"Riley?" I ask cautiously and she meets my eyes.

"Sage!" Riley says with a hoarse voice and she hugs me. "Oh, Sage, I'm so sorry! I thought I was dead for sure!"

"It's okay, sweetie, I'm just glad your okay!" I cried in joy as I squeezed her.

"Give me Sapphire so that the doctor's can check you." I say and Riley passes me the baby.

Doctor's were astonished by this "medical miracle". I honestly didn't care if Riley was completely healthy.

She was released from the hospital a couple days later completely healthy.

We were met by a crowd of newsreporters and cameras once outside. They threw questions at us but only one caught my attention.

"What's the next chapter in your lives?"

"Next chapter?" I ask incredulously and there was silence.

I looked at my miracle daughter Riley, my soul mate Ian, and the core of my existence Sapphire.

I smirk and Ian smiles at me,

"This is just the beginning..."

And like all happy ever afters...

THE END.