Small Town Hero

Chapter 53

The nurse beckoned him into the nursery. He swallowed, for once fearing what he had to do, before walking inside the nursery. She greeted him with a wide smile and asked if he wanted to hold his son. He nodded his head making her smile at him again. He watched as she picked the newborn up in his arms and walked back over to him. She instructed him how to hold the baby making his heart nearly stop as she laid his son in his arms for the first time. All he could do was stare at the innocent child in his arms and smile. "Welcome to the world, my little ass kicker!" Happy told him with a smile. The nurse chuckled as she prepared a bottle for the baby.

She had Happy sit in a rocking chair before handing him the small two-ounce bottle to feed his son who had started to cry. Happy watched as the newborn sucked on the bottle and couldn't believe he truly had a son now. He had a family. It was more responsibility to keep them safe. It was more risk to have them. His enemies could use them as a weapon against him. But this feeling in his chest made all that seem insignificant as he rocked and fed his son. The nurse asked if they'd named the baby yet so he told her what they'd finally settled on. She wrote the name on his crib and started on the birth certificate.

The doctor wanted to talk to Noelle's husband after he was finished with her. When he walked out of the room, he found three women standing there looking at him. Gemma said she'd go fetch Happy so they could talk. She walked down to the nursery and stopped. There was Happy sitting in a rocking chair feeding his son and talking to him. It was a beautiful sight to the matriarch. She popped her head in and said the doctor had finished with Noelle and that he wanted to talk to him. Happy cautiously stood up and handed the baby off to Gemma who was quick to take the little guy. Happy walked back down to Noelle's room to speak with the doctor.

"Ok Mr. Lowman. Your wife had post-partum hemorrhaging." Dr. Goodman explained.

"What's that?" Happy asked.

"Once a baby is delivered, the uterus normally contracts and pushes out the placenta. After the placenta is delivered, these contractions help put pressure on the bleeding vessels in the area where the placenta was attached. If the uterus does not contract strongly enough, these blood vessels bleed freely.

This is what happened with your wife. We've stopped the bleeding and fixed the blood vessels. She nearly went into shock and she's lost a lot of blood. We're giving her a blood transfusion and I've ordered a saline bag to help replenish what she's lost. I want to keep her in the hospital for a day or two to make sure everything heals up properly." Dr. Goodman explained.

"What about my son?" Happy inquired.

"He's a perfectly healthy little boy. No complications with the delivery itself." Dr. Goodman stated, "You're free to go back into her room and visit if you'd like."

"Thanks." Happy mumbled before walking into her room.

"Where's the baby?" Noelle immediately asked.

"He's in the nursery. Gemma is finishing feeding him. He's safe." Happy told her as he stood by her bedside, "How are you feeling?"

"Tired. And extremely sore. The doctor told me I could have died." She told her husband.

"But you didn't. He fixed the issue and you're going to be fine." Happy quickly told her as he moved some hair out of her face.

"How's the baby doing? You sure he's ok?" Noelle inquired.

"I was just down there. He's a healthy baby. The doc said there was no issues with the delivery and that he's perfectly fine." Happy soothed his wife.

"Ok."

"They want you to stay in the hospital a day or two. Get a blood transfusion and a saline bag to help replenish the blood you've lost. I'm sure the baby will stay here too. I'll be here as much as I can." He grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze, "Oh. Tara and Lyla are also here to see you and the baby."