BLUE - Caitlin Szmerling

THREE

I was woken up to a sharp pain in my lower abdomen, I sat up clutching my stomach. The pain was unbearable, and it didn't feel like it was meant to happen during a pregnancy. I nudged Bella to try and wake her up, after a few nudges she finally moved to sit up. She noticed my pained face and immediately rushed to my aid. "Cassie, baby, what's wrong? What hurts?" She asks. "I don't know. There is something wrong, I can feel it." I yell. "Okay baby. Let me go get your parents." She runs out of the room to my parents' room. I hear some yelling then multiple footsteps running towards the guest bedroom. The door opens and runs in my mum and Bella. The blankets are pulled from over my legs and we see that I am laying in a pool of blood. "Alright, let's call an ambulance. This is definitely not supposed to happen." Mum says. She stays calm for me as Bella runs around the room. Mama walks in and they both help me while Bella calls the emergency number. Within a few minutes an ambulance arrives and takes me away, Bella goes with me in the ambulance whilst my mums follow in their car.

When we arrive, I am rushed into a room, Bella is held back from going any further. I yell for her because I am definitely not going in there alone. They finally let her through as we explain that she is the other mother of the baby. They run a few tests on me and the baby, the whole time I hold Bella's hand, too afraid of letting go, thinking they will take me away if I let go. Finally, the doctor comes in with a clipboard and a worried look on her face. "Okay Mrs Patrick, it looks like we will have to do an emergency C-section." I look at her, shocked. "What? But I am only 7 months pregnant. I still have 2 months to go." I reply. "I understand that, but unfortunately your placenta has abrupted and we need to perform a C-section in order for your daughter to survive." The doctor replies. "Okay, fine but we have a preferred doctor that we would like to use, is that possible?" Bella asks. "I suppose so, but she will have to arrive within half an hour or we will have to go on with the procedure without her." The doctor tells us, then leaves us to contact Dr Sinclair.

Dr Sinclair arrives with two minutes to go and we head to the operating room. Bella is all scrubbed up so she can come into the room with us whilst both our parents are in the waiting room. They proceeded with the operation as I was laid down on the table, holding Bella's hand. After a while, we hear a baby crying. I look up at Bella with tears in my eyes, she looks down and smiles at me and gives my hand a squeeze. We hear the doctors and nurses mumbling something all around the room, they don't sound good. "What's wrong? Where is my daughter." I call out. The doctor walks over and pulls Bella aside. I start to panic, worried something is wrong with my daughter. "Where is my daughter? I want to see her." I yell. No one would listen to me. "Hello? Please?" Finally, a nurse walks over to me "Mrs Patrick, I need you to stop worrying. Your baby is fine, healthy. They will need to stay in the hospital a little longer because they are premature, but everything is fine. For your safety, I need you to calm down and stop panicking." She gives me a warm smile. I was confused though as to why she wasn't calling my daughter she. I calm down a little bit and take some deep breaths.

Once out of surgery, I sit in my room alone, waiting for Bella or my parents to walk in. Finally, the door opens and in walks Bella. I notice she looks shocked, and a bit sad. "Bella, babe. What's wrong? Why do you look upset? Is everything okay with Jamie?" I ask. "Jamie is fine, he is beautiful." She replies. "What do you mean he? That's impossible, we have a daughter do we not?" The door suddenly opened and in walked Dr Sinclair.

"Mrs Patrick, I don't understand why, but for some miraculous reason, you have given birth to a healthy baby boy." She announces. "What do you mean it's a boy?" I asked. "I mean that the child you just gave birth to, for the first time in 60 years, is a boy." replied the doctor. "But that is impossible, we wiped men out. They are supposed to be all gone." I say I look at Bella shocked. "What are we supposed to do?" I ask her. "I'll leave you two alone." The doctor says as she walks out of the room. "I don't know what we are going to do, but what I do know is that we are going to raise this baby, no matter the gender, and we are going to be amazing parents," Bella says. I pull her hand so she sits down on the bed. I cup her face in my hands as I begin to speak. "Baby, I never said anything about not raising this baby. I'm just worried about what may happen to this baby. I mean, what if the government or something takes him away from us?" A tear runs down my cheek as I look down at my hands which are now placed in my lap. Bella puts her finger under my chin to lift my head up. We look into each other's eyes as we lean in. "We won't let that happen."

The door suddenly opens and in walks the doctor, pushing the incubator into the room. "Here is your baby, have you decided on a name?" She asks. I look at Bella as she looks back at me. "I mean, Jamie is a unisex name." I shrug. "Okay then." Bella smiles then turns her head to the doctor, "Yes we have a name, Jamie Patrick." The doctor smiles and hands my son to me. I hold him so close to me that I almost thought I was choking him. I smile as tears roll down my cheeks, this time happy tears. "Would you like me to let your parents in?" The doctor asks. "Yes please," I reply as I look back down at my son.

A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door. "Come in," Bella calls out. In walks both of Bella and I's mums. Mama walks over to me, taking Jamie from my arms. "Look at my little granddaughter, she is so beautiful." I look nervously at Bella who shares the same expression I have. "Um, actually we have something to tell you," I announce. Everyone is looking at me with confused expressions. Bella takes Jamie out of my mother's arms before I say my next sentence. "We don't know how this has happened, but somehow I gave birth to a baby boy," I say.

Everyone looked shocked, no one could speak. I thought that everyone would leave me, and it scared me to think that my mums wouldn't love me anymore. I started to tear up at this thought, too scared to have to do this alone. I look down at my hands sitting in my lap. With the hem of my hospital dress, which looks horrible on me. I feel myself start to shake and then a pair of arms wrap around my body. I look up to see Mama hugging me. "Mi Amor, why are you crying? Yes, this is a shock to all of us, but this doesn't mean we love you any less. We will be here to support you, don't you worry, it will just take some time to get used to this." She says in a soft voice. She knows me so well. "Now, even though it was a C-section, you need rest. Come on everyone, out the door, let the new mothers rest." Mama pushes everyone out the door. I lie down in my bed whilst Bella goes to sit down in a chair next to my bed. I move to the side and pat the spot next to me. "This may be a small bed, but that gives me an excuse to cuddle you. Now get your butt over here." She smiles at me and hops into bed, wrapping her arms around me. "Goodnight, my love." She smiles at me. "Goodnight." I feel my eyes get heavy and before I know it, I am falling into a deep pit of darkness known as sleep.