Shawn didn't care how fast he was going or how many people he pissed off. His mission was to get me to the hospital as fast as he possibly could. Shawn pulled up to the front and ran to my door. I was in so much pain, I couldn't walk. Shawn picked me up bridal style and ran me inside.
"Help!" he yelled.
A group of nurses wheeled over a stretcher so that Shawn could set me down. They rushed me off. Shawn ran right beside me. All the nurses and doctors were talking and starting tests. Shawn was out in the hall explaining what happened.
There was a sharp pain in my stomach, causing me to scream. The pain was unbearable.
"Hello Melody. I'm Dr. Franson." a young doctor said, introducing himself. "Good news, you're having a baby tonight."
"What? W-when?"
"I'd say in about 20 minutes or so you'll be a new mommy." Dr. Franson said smiling. "How about we bring dad back in and talk about the birth plan."
A female nurse nodded her head and scurried into the hall to get Shawn. Shawn quickly rushed in and stood by the bed, holding my hand.
"We can't wait any longer?" I asked.
"If your baby is injured or sick, it is much easier to operate on her when she is out of you. At 29 weeks, survival rate is 90% to 95%. She is just going to need some help breathing and her weight is going to be a huge factor."
"How big will she be?"asked Shawn.
"Average is around 2.5 pounds, which I know sounds small, but babies grow fast." answered Dr. Franson. "We will be performing a c-section and shortly after, she will be taken to the ICU for care."
I looked at Shawn in complete shock. What else were we supposed to do? I could refuse and carry her to 40 weeks and risk death, or we could deliver tonight and take it one day at a time.
"I know this is a lot to take in but time in the enemy at the moment so we need to get the go ahead from the two of you so that we can do everything we are able to keep your baby healthy."
Shawn and I looked at each other once more and nodded. The doctor had the nurses bring in the paper work for the both of us to sign. Shawn had the option of being in the delivery room but the doctor said that it he might want to just sit next to my head because for most people, the sight of a tiny baby is hard to handle. Especially one that is covered in blood. My nurse helped me change into a hospital gown and gave Shawn some scrubs.
"This is happening." he said, kissing my forehead.
I was nervous, was in horrible pain and couldn't have anything to help and my baby was going to be born at 2.5 pounds. This was the worst night of my life so far.
"I can't do this." I cried as they wheeled me into an elevator.
"Everything is going to be okay. I'll be here the entire time." Shawn reassured.
"Can you call Natasha?"
Shawn agreed. The elevator doors opened and I was pushed into an operating room. Shawn stood right outside so that he was able to call Nat and let her know what was going on. He finished the call and was brought inside. He sat on a stool right next to my head. He brushed my cheek with the back of his hand.
"You ready mama?" a sweet nurse asked, smiling at me.
I nodded my head yes and everything seemed to just speed up. Shawn and a nurse talked to me the entire time, attempting to keep my calm and distract me from what was going on.
"Did you guys think of a name yet?" the nurse asked.
Shawn and I hadn't even painted the nursery or purchased a crib yet.
"We are a little behind." he chuckled. "I guess we have to buy some diapers and a crib now."
All of a sudden, there was a faint little cry.
"Welcome to the world little one." Dr. Franson said.
Shawn kissed my forehead and smiled. The nurses cleaned her up and weighed her.
"2 lbs 8 ounces and 15 inches long."
The nurses were calm but I knew something was wrong. They pushed her little crib out of the room before we could get a look at her. I was sewn back up and brought up to a private room. The nurses promised me that I would see her in an hour. That quickly passed and I still wasn't able to see her. She was having trouble breathing on her own.
"You need to rest." Shawn said, petting the top of my head.
"What about Penelope?" I asked, changing the subject.
Shawn smiled but kept quiet.
"I think we should release a statement before the press can speculate." I blurted. "I want to be the one controlling the story."
Shawn pulled out his phone and took to Twitter.
"@ShawnMendes: Mel and I would like to announce the unexpected but wonderful birth of our beautiful daughter. 2lbs 8oz. Mom and baby are doing well. xoxo"
He showed me what he wrote. I nodded in agreement and he sent the tweet.
Shawn went to the cafeteria to get a coffee and to make some calls so that I could attempt to get some rest. The empty room made it harder and harder to fall asleep. I clicked on the tv and flipped around. I ended up on a live celebrity gossip show and guess who was making headlines.
"Is this some sort of prank?" the main female host asked, making the other co-host laugh.
"She has been MIA for the last few months so maybe this is the reason why!"
"I didn't even think they were an item anymore!"
These people were clueless morons. I shut off the tv and closed my eyes. Right as I was falling asleep, the phone rang.
"Hello?" I asked in a raspy voice.
"Is this some sick joke?" my mother yelled on the other end of the phone.
"Why would you think I would joke about this?"
"When were you planning to tell us about this?" she asked.
"Never. She's not your baby to worry about."
"She's my granddaughter and I intend to be in her life!" she yelled.
"Not happening." I shot back.
"I'll take you to court!
I started to laugh. This woman was crazy.
"For what? Having a baby and choosing to have a life without you?"
Shawn suddenly walked into the room, realized I was on the phone with my mother and snatched it from my hands.
"You have a lot of nerve calling. Go to hell." he hung up the phone and sat in the chair next to me.
I just really wanted to see my baby. We hadn't even named her yet and it's been almost 3 hours. The nurse came back in to give us another update but nothing had really changed. She still have having trouble breathing but they had managed to get it under control. We were finally allowed to go see her.
Shawn walked beside me as the nurse pushed me down the hall to a room full of tiny babies hooked up to many machines.
"This is her." the nurse said, pointing to a crib.
