Hiding Place || Tori Kelly

Abiah Michaela Murillo

9:22 AM

Victoria laid in the labor and delivery bed uncomfortably. She'd just been admitted and had gotten all of her vitals taken and papers signed. At this point, they were in the waiting game. "Hey, guys. Bean was ready to make an appearance before we were ready?" Dr. Robbins cheerfully asked as she put a pair of gloves on. She didn't want to scare the new parents and was going to do her best to stay positive. "Alright, mama, I'm going to check you, see how dilated you are and then we are going to check the ultrasounds," Arizona said, sitting on the edge of the bed and placing one hand under the covers as the other felt on Tori's bump underneath her baby monitor. Tori winced a bit but soon relaxed as the contraction died down. "Okay, we are only a centimeter dilated, and we gotta get you to 4, preferably 5 before we get you the epidural, so you gotta sit tight," Arizona sighed as she took off her gloves and moved to the computer. André watched nervously, as Tori turned on her side and put the bed down a bit to lay down. "The ER doc said, the baby was measuring big?" Arizona asked.

"Yeah. He said she looked to be about 26 weeks," Tori recited. Arizona checked the ultrasound once more and shook her head.

"Uhh, nope more like 27 almost 28 weeks. She is big. Which is good. We can use that to our advantage. Her organs look good and she at least 2 1/2 pounds, meaning that she has a better survival rate. She is going to be in the NICU for at least 6 weeks to get her weight up, but as of right now, I don't foresee any life-threatening factors except being born this early. The first 48 are crucial, but once we get past those, which we will with my team, Bean will be right as rain," Arizona assured, before leaving out. Tori turned to André with tears in her eyes. She was doing her best not to cry and raise her blood pressure, but the hormones eventually took over.

"48 hours. She can make it through and she'll be okay. God didn't bring us this far to lose her. And clearly he knew something we didn't or else you wouldn't have gone into labor," he whispered. Tori pushed her hair into a bun and nodded. André wiped away his wife's tears and pulled out his phone. "Let's call, Irie. I bet she's worried. She cried when we dropped her off with your mom," André suggested. Tori watched him FaceTime her mom but moved out of frame when she saw how red her eyes were and how messy she thought she looked.

"Hey, how is everything?" Laura asked after immediately answering. André could see the top of his daughters head as she swayed at the dining room table.

"The doctor just checked Tori and said that she was only a centimeter dilated and Biah has a great chance of making it when we pass the 48-hour mark," André said. He found it odd that Irie hadn't reacted to his voice and did his best to see her. "How's my mama?" André asked moving closer so, Tori could see as Laura panned down to the quiet but awake child.

"She worried herself sick and now she has a fever. I gave her some Motrin, so she's a bit out of it right now," Laura replied. Tori gave a pouty face and laid her head on André's shoulder.

"Hi, mama," Tori sadly said.

"Hi, mommy," Irie replied in the same tone.

"You not feeling well?" Tori asked. The seven-year-old shook her head and buried it in her grandma's chest. "Mommy isn't either, but we'll be okay. I love you," Tori said, feeling another contraction come on.

"I love you, too," she responded.

"But, more importantly," Tori lead.

"God loves us," Irie finished before André took the phone off of Tori and sat it down so that she could hold onto him and have his undivided attention. Laura decided it was best not to have Irie hear Tori in pain and hung up.

For twenty-seven seconds, Tori gripped onto her husband's shirt as a huge contraction rolled through her body. Braxton-Hicks had not prepared for the immense amount of pain she felt during every hit. She was scared that the contractions were putting her daughter into distress, but she was even more afraid that the pain itself was going to kill her. There were no words that could have prepared Tori for the treacherous act of giving birth, but a "heads up, this sucks" would've been nice.