Quinn

Chapter 16

"You must be Mrs. Scott." The girl behind the desk in the NICU asked, nodding to Quinn's name tag.

"Yes, I am. Please, call me Quinn." She replied.

"Okay. Quinn it is." She smiled. "I'm Danika, one of the nurses here. And I have been taking care of little 'Baby Girl Butler' since yesterday. May left me a message that she spoke with you, and you don't know of her mother's kin?"

"No, we don't. But not because we didn't look." Anne answered for Quinn. "She doesn't have any." She glanced at Quinn and gave her a side hug as they walked toward the baby's room. Quinn was unraveling at the seams. "Are you okay?" She asked.

"I'm not sure. This all just got very real. What are they going to do with this baby? She has nowhere to go?" Quinn answered, walking somberly into the small room. The walls were yellow and it was filled with the noises of many different machines, it was almost hypnotizing. Quinn shuddered as she looked at the incubator sitting in the middle of the room. There was a warm light glowing down on the baby a few pieces of paper blocked the view of her from where they stood.

"She will be taken care of, don't worry." Anne said to Quinn.

"Why don't you come meet her?" Danika asked. "She can be held, also, if you like. I do understand this is a sensitive situation, please forgive me if I seem crass." She then hugged Quinn, taking her by surprise. "You're a wonderful woman to be here right now." She encouraged, then stepped back to let nothing block Quinn from walking toward the child.

Quinn stepped next to the incubator and closed her eyes. She could feel the warmth from the heat lamp and it reminded her of earlier when she stood basking in the sun. "I can do this." She thought. "I can look at my husband's child." She turned her gaze down on a precious newborn. The girl was smaller than average, she had a mop of thick black hair, and the sweetest round cheeks.

"Why is she so small?" Quinn asked Danika, not taking her gaze off of the baby.

"She is three or four weeks premature. We also suspect her mother was not taking very good care of herself. She is on a steroid to help her lungs grow stronger and should be off the oxygen soon."

"Can I hold her?" Quinn asked, looking up at the nurse. Danika's face changed as she tried to hide the shock. Quinn surprised even herself by asking, but something inside her needed to hold that child. Someone needed to hold her.

"You bet. I'll run and get some gowns for us to wear." The nurse called as she left the room.

"Are you okay if we leave? We need to get this little cutie into foster care and it's quite a process." Anne asked and Officer Cole smiled at Quinn with pity and a tilt of his head.

"Yes, I am. Thank you and thank you for your help." Quinn said. "Wait, what if I talk to Margaret about taking her? She is Jack's mother, after all. And this baby deserves family."

"You can do that." Officer Cole replied. "Just let us know as soon as possible." And with a smile, they left. And once again, Quinn found herself alone. She startled as she remembered that technically, she was not alone. Moving closer to the baby once more she bent down to take in her face. She looked just like Poppy and Finley when they were born, and it made Quinn's soul ache.

"Here they are!" Danika said cheerily as she reentered the room holding two blue gowns. "Let's get you settled."