Love, Stephanie

Chapter 12

"D-Dead?"

The words echoed throughout the room, almost as if all time stopped. The four of us stood in there silently, letting the air stand still, and allowing all sounds to diminish into nothing. Chris stared at the doctor, in a moment of disbelief. His eyes were wide, and his breathing was hitched. George looked down at the floor. He looked sad, but he didn't understand the pain that Chris and I were feeling right now.

I was feeling faint as I stared at my hands. I tried to focus, but I felt as if the world was at a standstill, and I was the one spinning. I closed my eyes, and felt as if they were moving, along with every other part of my body. I felt tears starting to form, and my stomach twisted into tight knots. My heart felt this soar pain, as if someone stabbed it repeatedly.

Suddenly, I opened my eyes to hear a shout, as I fell down. I blacked out.

I felt my eyelids flutter before opening and quickly closing; not used to the bright light shined on my face. I looked over and saw my brother. He looked tired, weak, and helpless. I sat up slowly, groaning at my headache.

"Are you alright miss," the doctor from earlier asked me. I nodded slowly, sitting up slowly. "How long was I out," I spoke slowly, rubbing my head. Chris smiled, rubbing my back in assurance. "Only some seconds, less than a minute." I smiles back, rubbing my eyes to get used to the light again.

"Would you two like to see the baby now," the doctor asked. Chris and I looked at eachother. I sighed, standing up and watching Chris get up and stand next to me.

We walked through a hallway that smelled of sanitation. It made me feel faint again, but I focused on what was important at the moment and continued to walk with Chris and the doctor.

The doctor made it to a door, and turned to us. "Now, the child is very small and weak, but will be fine." The doctor opened the door, and I smiled softy.

A midwife held the baby in her arms. The baby was small, but she looked perfect. Her eyes were closed in a slumber, and her breathing was at a consistent rate.

"C-Can I hold her?" Chris looked up at the doctor and midwife hopefully, his eyes filled with emotion. There was much pain, but there was something small and hidden. Hope.

The midwife stood up, and made her way over to Chris. Chris slowly took the baby in his arms. He smiled joyfully as he looked down at the baby.

"Do you know what you want to name her?" I looked over at the Chris, and he looked up at the three of us.

"As much grief I feel, I feel something good about all of this. I know that with death, comes new life. And what's truly important is that I can move on now, because of this life. It gives me hope." I smiled at my brother, wiping a tear from my eye. "I want to name her Hope."

"Hope. It's perfect," I said while taking the own child in my arms. I looked down and smiled at her slumbering state. Then, her eyes fluttered, and she awoke. She looked up at me and smiled.

"She looks a lot like Julia," I said to Chris. He nodded, looking down at Hope. Hope looked at me, creating a large yawn. I smiled before handing Hope to the doctor. As the doctors checked Hope, Chris and I talked about the future.

"So, who's going to take care of her, since, you know..." Chris sighed, rubbing his face with his hands. "We're going to have to." I gulped nervously. What am I supposed to do? As much as I loved kids, I didn't know how to take care of a newborn baby!

But as much as I don't know, I know I have to try my best to help Hope. She needs Chris and I. We're her only family right now.

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Later that day, we took home Hope. She was very happy; she seemed to sleep a lot. I didn't mind though, I knew that someday soon, she'll be crying a lot more.

That night, I sat in the living room with a book, while Chris stayed upstairs in Hope's room. I read for a while, till I heard a knock on the door. I got up and opened it, to reveal Paul.

He was soaked to the bone because of the rain; making his hair and clothes stick to himself. He looked extremely nervous.

"G-George told me about you becoming an aunt," he said to me. I stepped outside and closed the door behind me, so Chris wouldn't question me.

"What are you doing here, it's late," I said as seriously as possible. Paul looked down at the ground; clearly saddened and pained. "I wanted to know how you've been doing," he said softly. "But I guess it doesn't matter." Paul started to turn away, and I put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry Paul, I'm just a little stressed right now. It's like Chris expects me to automatically be the motherly figure, and I'm just so young, and I don't really know that much about children, and I'm just so--"

I was interrupted by Paul kissing me on the lips passionately, taking my hands in his. He quickly broke away before I could kiss him back. He held my hands, while looking into my eyes.

"I want-- No, I need to ask you something. I wanted to know if I could have a second chance. Please." I looked into his eyes, and felt guilt. I knew it must've been awful for him to wake up and read that note.

"P-Paul.... I...." I couldn't find the right words to tell him. I knew that right now would not be the best time to pick up a relationship though. I sighed, closing my eyes and trying to relax. After opening my eyes, I finally spoke.

"I know that it must have been hard for you. It was hard for me too. But I don't think right now is the right time to continue our relationship." I looked up at Paul, and he looked defeated.

"Do you want to meet her," I asked softy, smiling in hopes that maybe seeing my reason could help him understand. "Alright," he said softly.

We walked upstairs into Hope's new room. I smiled at Paul before opening the door to reveal Hope crying, and my brother trying to calm her down. I bit my bottom lip. This is not what I planned for.

I took Hope from Chris, who clearly was having trouble, and carried her in my arms, shushing her softly as I softly bounced her up and down. After a few moments, she stopped crying and smiled. I smiled back as I continued to bounce her, and eventually Hope fell asleep. I set her down gently in her crib before turning to Paul again.

"Sorry about that," I said to him. "It's quite alright," he said before stepping closer again. "It's actually really nice seeing you working so well with children." I raised an eyebrow, crossing my arms over my chest. "Why is it so nice?"

His cheeks turned red as he looked down and shoved his hands in his pockets. "I, well, urm..." I giggled softly, putting a hand on Paul's shoulder.

"Don't worry about it. It's fine. Everything is fine."

A/N: Oh my gosh sorry for not updating! I've been working on a new story (Which you should go read and vote and comment on please) and it took up a lot of my time! Thank you for your patience!