The Accident | Grester

Chapter Nineteen

Grace's POV

It seems unreal. A few hours ago my daughter was safely inside me and now she's not breathing. I feel oddly empty, and not just because I no longer have another life in me. Even though I didn't think I'd ever want a baby, I found myself very excited to have one.

"What does that mean, is the baby..?" Chester asks, trailing off at the end.

"We're doing everything we can to make sure your daughter lives. These next twenty four hours are crucial." Dr. Matherson explains.

"If she...makes it through the night...can we see her?" I ask quietly, my voice shaking.

"If she's stable, you can go down to the NICU tomorrow and see her." Dr. Matherson says.

She leaves to give Chester and I some privacy. I collapse against him, sobbing into his shoulder. He clutches me to him, holding me tightly.

"It's going to be okay Gracie. Our baby is going to be okay." He reassures me. I feel droplets of wet on my shoulder, and I look up to see Chester's eyes filled with tears.

"Little miss is a fighter." I remind him in a wavering voice, wiping a tear of my own away.

I hear a tentative knock on the hospital room door, and see Mamrie standing there.

"Hi you guys." She whispers. "What's going on, where's the baby?"

I bite my lip hard to keep from bursting into tears again.

"She, um, she wasn't breathing when she came out." Chester explains, not bothering to hide his tears. "She's in the NICU being treated."

I see Mamrie's warm green eyes fill with tears as she comes to embrace us both. Mamrie rubs my back, just the way she did nine months ago when I found out I was going to have the baby.

"If that girl is as stubborn as her momma, she's going to make it." Mamrie tells me.

"Oh god do I hope so." I reply.