Forever Strong (Book 7 in Nemi Forever Series)

Chapter 31

Nick

A nurse came at some point to take me to a waiting room, since they had to clean Demi's room & because they weren't sure she would return to that room. The nurse called Demi's mom for me & then Dianna called everyone else. When my mom got to me in the waiting room, I collapsed in her arms the moment they were around me. The waiting was agony.

I have no idea how long I waited until a doctor came to find me. "Mr. Jonas?"

I stood up as the doctor approached. "Yes?"

"I'm Dr. Haynes. I was called into the operating room to assist with your wife. Dr. Anderson performed a c-section & both of your daughters were retrieved in time. They are both in the NICU right now & look good. They'll be monitored because of the distress they were in. Your wife's uterus had ruptured, so Dr. Anderson removed it, since she was scheduled to have a hysterectomy anyway. Your wife crashed on the table during surgery...."

I felt my legs get weak when those words came out of his mouth. My mom held me on one side, while my dad held me up from the other. I heard someone suck in their breath. It may have been me. I have no idea. I was trying to prepare myself for the news this doctor was about to tell me. "Oh God." I let out in a breath.

"We were able to revive her, but now she is unconscious, so we will have to wait until she is awake to see if there is any complications from the blood loss or the stopped heart. It could have affected her motor skills or memory or several other things. We did a brain scan & there is brain activity so now we just wait. I will tell you, though, that the next few days are critical. She could develop a life threatening infection or her heart could stop again. And the longer she is unconscious the bigger the risk of permanent complications."

I think the doctor continued talking, but I wasn't really listening. I was praying again. A nurse came to take me & my parents to see the babies. My daughters. I wanted to see them, but I also wanted to be by Demi's side. I wanted Demi to know I was there. I felt so torn.

Two of us were allowed in the NICU, so my mom went with me. I had no idea which one was which. I knew one of them was Harper & one was Riley. How did I decide who was who? Demi should be here to help me decide this. What if I named them wrong? My mom rubbed my back, gently & it was what I needed. I took a deep breath & followed the nurse to the first incubator & looked in at my daughter. She didn't look real to me, but she had a tiny breathing tube in her nose & an IV hooked to her arm. She weighed 4 pounds 9 ounces when she was born & she was 19 inches long. Her hair was dark & curly & she had quite a bit of it. Her eyes were closed, but I did see the tiny cleft chin & I let out a sob.

"She has Demi's chin." I said to Mom.

"They look exactly like Demi. And Nick, they are identical. Oh my God. Look." Mom said looking in the incubator behind me. Sure enough my other daughter looked exactly like the first one. Cleft chin & all. The cleft wasn't huge, but it was there just like Demi's. I smiled as Mom put her arm around my waist. I read her card on the outside. She weighed 4 pounds 13 ounces & was 19 inches long.

"How do I decide their names? Demi needs to help me." I said, my chin trembling.

"Demi will be fine with whatever you decide. You know their names, just assign them." Mom gave me a smile.

"She looks like she could play the harp. Look how she's holding her fingers, Mom." I said looking at twin daughter number two. "This is Harper Devonne." I smiled. The nurse wrote it down on her card & placed it in the pocket on the outside. I turned around to face Riley. "This is Riley Nicole." I said & smiled when the nurse wrote it on her card.