Red

Chapter Twenty Seven

Chandler POV:

This kid is coming today.

I had an awful panic attack last night, so bad that it woke up Veronica. She held me while I cried, petted  my hair, told me I'd be okay. She got me significantly calmed down, which is difficult to do, to be quite honest. Now, however, I'm starting to feel very panicked again. 

Maybe it's because I know the baby's coming today. 

Then again, maybe it's because I just woke up in a pool of blood.

"Sawyer," I hear myself say. Everything is happening in slow motion. Did I say it loud enough? I feel like screaming. My entire body goes numb, and all I feel is panic expanding in my chest like a fucking balloon. "Sawyer." Scream. Just scream. "Veronica!"

I feel arms around me. I hear someone asking if I'm okay. I look to the side. The clock reads 2:35 a.m. What the hell is happening? This isn't normal. There are tears running down my cheeks. I'm not supposed to be having a panic attack right now. Something feels wrong.

I hear Veronica talking, but she's not talking to me. She's talking on the phone. She's crying. Why is she crying? I look down to the sheets. Blood. There's blood everywhere. Holy shit. I feel the panic worsen, and Veronica holds my hand tightly. It's my blood. 

"It's okay," I hear her tell me. "You're going to be okay, Chandler." Even as she says it, tears are running down her face. I can hear sirens in the distance, and my vision is getting blurry. "Hey, stay awake for me, okay? Chandler. Can you hear me?"

I can hear you.

What's happening to me?

What the hell is happening?

***

Veronica POV:

"Chandler? Can you hear me?"

It's a complication with the pregnancy. It has to be. 

There's not much blood, but there's still blood. That's not supposed to happen. I watch as Chandler's eyes close, and she goes limp in my arms. "It's going to be okay," I say. "It's going to be okay. God, please be okay."

The paramedics rush in and take her away from me. I hurry after them out of the house. Mac and her parents are outside now, looks of concern on all of their faces. Mac sees me, and her eyes widen. She rushes over to me, putting her hands on my shoulders. "God, Ronnie, are you hurt? What happened?"

"Something with the pregnancy," I manage. "I'm... I'm not hurt. Chandler-"

"You're covered in blood," Mac tells me, the look of concern still on her face.

I look down at the white t-shirt I had worn to bed. There's blood covering it. It looks like I've been shot or something. Maybe there was more blood than I thought. 

I see the paramedics taking Chandler into the ambulance, and I hear someone ask if I want to go with her to the hospital. All I can do is nod, and then I'm led away to the ambulance. I let someone help me in, and I'm kneeling beside the stretcher where my girlfriend is currently laying. 

"Sawyer?" I hear her mumble. "Sawyer, it hurts."

This pulls me out of my haze, and I grab her hand. "I'm right here. I promise, I'm right here."

***

There's something wrong with the placenta. The doctors are sure of it. Now, my beautiful girlfriend has to get an emergency c-section. This must have been the complication that made it difficult for her mom to have kids again.

They lead her away to a room, and they tell me to wait. I do. 

At some point, Mac comes in with her family. She brought me a clean shirt. I change into it in the bathroom, throwing the old shirt away. There's no way I'm getting those stains out. Once I've changed, I go back and sit down. Mac comes over and sits down next to me, and I lean into her. She smooths my hair with her hand, tells me it's going to be okay. I'm grateful for her, but I won't be comforted until I can see Chandler again. 

I'm somewhat terrified right now. I want to see Chandler. I want to see the baby. I want everything to be okay. Is she going to be okay? Will the baby be okay?

Mac tells me that she's going to go get something for me to drink, and then she's gone. I sit alone in the waiting room, and I know that there are tears on my face. She's only eighteen. She doesn't deserve this. She doesn't deserve to go through something like this.

Right around the time that Mac comes back with a bottle of water for me to drink, the doctor comes back out. How long had I been waiting? An hour, maybe two? It's felt like years. The doctor has a smile on her face, however. 

"Is she going to be okay?" I ask, my voice shaking. 

"She's fine, and so is the baby," the doctor says. "Would you like to see her? We have to do some examinations on the baby to make sure everything is in order, but Ms. Chandler has been asking for you, and it would be alright if you went in now."

"Yes, I'd love to see her," I reply, relieved. Mac gives me a smile, and I stand, following the doctor into another room.

Lying down in the bed, looking exhausted, is Chandler. When I walk in, she looks up at me, and I rush to her bedside. "You're okay," I breathe, putting my hands on her cheeks and pressing a kiss to her forehead.

She smiles weakly. "I'm good now, Sawyer," she says. "I can't believe I just had a fucking baby."

"You had a baby," I repeat, smiling and kissing her on the lips this time. "You had a baby, and now it's over, and you're going to be okay."

***

Chandler POV:

It's a week later before we show anyone the baby.

She's absolutely the smallest human being I've ever seen in my entire life, and it's absolutely fucking incredible. We're all gathered in the Macnamaras' living room, and I'm holding our baby to my chest, Veronica sitting beside me and smiling down at her.

"So, you have to tell us," Mrs. Macnamara says. "What's her name?"

I grin, looking over at Veronica and then over to Macnamara. "Well," I say, "we've decided that we really like the name MacKenzie. Mac for short, of course. I couldn't have gotten through this without you, Mac."

Macnamara's face lights up. "You named the baby after me?"

"We sure did, Sunshine," I tell her. "Thank you. For everything."

"Can I... Can I hold her?" Mac asks hesitantly. 

"Of course you can hold her," I say. I stand, albeit shakily, and bring MacKenzie over to Mac, who holds out her arms. As soon as the baby is in her arms, I look to Veronica, who smiles.

"Oh, and Mac?" Veronica says.

"Mhm?" Mac replies, looking down at the baby.

"We want you to be her godmother," she says. "You can be her Auntie Macnamara."

Mac looks like she's going to cry as she looks up at Veronica, who nods. She looks back down at the baby again, tears brimming in her eyes, and I reach over to take Veronica's hand. This is perfect. Everything about this is perfect. 

***

A/N:

Wow, another update! Ah! I know the beginning was angsty, but hopefully the ending was cute! Macnamara's the godmother! How precious! Anyway, I probably will be posting more updates today. I'm just really excited about the next few chapters. Okay, so as usual, leave a vote if you liked it and comment if you feel like it!

Thanks for reading!

-LittleMissBlitz