The maternity ward was swamped on that winter morning. What were typically private rooms had two or three woman shoved together. A lot of woman had false labors and would be sent on their way. Not today. Thirty woman all in active labor. Woman who were still early were being transported to other hospitals. Needless to say the last thing the doctors and nurses wanted was another labor. There was an audible, collective groan when a woman was brought in on a stretcher.
"Didn't you get the message. We are at capacity! Send her somewhere else!" A doctor barked at the paramedics.
"She's in distress sir, this was the closest hospital." The paramedic explained.
Kelly Gibbs faded in and out of consciousness. She thought back to the car accident when she was eight. How she ended up in a coma for ten days. How it was almost a month before her dad finally admitted that her mom had died. She remembered the boy who pulled her from the burning car. How he charred the arms of his Letterman jacket and how he sopped up her blood with it. How calm and kind he was to her. She remembered the man man screaming at the boy about the jacket being expensive. She remembered feeling terrible but the boy stayed calm. Years later that same boy would join her father's team. She wondered if Tony had ever told her dad about that day.
The difference between today and the day of the accident. Today was not brought on by an enemy of her mother. Today was nobody's fault. Not even her ex boyfriend, who had disappeared before the stick was even dry. Today was nothing more than a cruel act of nature. The pregnancy had not exactly been easy but Kelly never expected it would end like this. She never thought severe morning sickness and light spotting in the first trimester. Would turn into severe preeclampsia at thirty weeks. She was fading and what was worse nobody would tell her about her baby.
"My baby?" Kelly asked weakly.
"We don't know. Our concern is you. It is policy to save the mother." The doctor informed her.
An overly crowded maternity ward, five scheduled C-Sections, two emergencies already. Now a woman rushed in with preeclampsia. She was thirty-five officially considered advanced maternal age and automatically high risk. Still the doctors were baffled. According to her chart the preeclampsia had come out of left field. Her worst complication up until this point was severe morning sickness. Just two days before she had, had back to back appointments with the regular OB and the high risk specialist. Both had given her clean bills of health. Less than forty eight hours later things had changed.
It had started out as a normal day for Kelly. She had woken up with a slight headache but brushed it off. She knew headaches could be serious in pregnancy but she had suffered with headaches and migraines since the accident. She was getting ready for work when the OB's office called and told her they had found her credit card. She was out of cash and only had fifty bucks on her other card. So she headed straight for the doctor's office. She mentioned to the receptionist that she had a slight headache. The doctor overheard and insisted on seeing her right away. Not thinking much of it she called her boss and said she would be a little late. She went into a seizure on the exam table and ended up being rushed to the hospital via ambulance. Now she was about to undergo an emergency C-Section. She was lying on an operating table being prepped for emergency surgery. Far from how she planned to spend her day.
Doctors and nurses frantically hovered over Kelly, preparing her for an emergency C-Section. They did not have a second to spare. They had to get the baby out and fast. In this moment it did not matter that she was only thirty weeks and the baby would be coming ten weeks early.
For as long as she could remember, Kelly had been taught to read a room. Her father was a Marine when she was born and joined NCIS after her mother was killed. Her mom had been a police officer for a few years before she was born. They had always taught her to survey her surroundings and to be aware of danger, aware when she was in trouble. They taught her to know what people were thinking and how to decode words. How to know what they really meant to say. It had come in necessary several times in her life, especially so today.
The baby was hanging on but Kelly was fading fast. They had to get the baby out and even if they did Kelly could still die. What was worse was even though the baby was hanging on, she was ten weeks premature. She faced a number of severe complications, she faced death. If Kelly's condition were not so severe, if it were not so early. They would try to keep her in at least a little longer. Even another two weeks could make all the difference in the world. Unfortunately they did not have the kind of time or that kind of option. Their choice was deliver and hope at least on survived, or leave baby inside and know both would surely perish.
The doctors managed to deliver the baby safely, she was rushed to the NICU but found to be in good condition all things considered. Kelly on the other hand was not so lucky. She suffered a massive stroke on the operating table. She was immediately rushed away for further testing. Her prognosis was extremely grim.
Kelly's entire life flashed before her eyes. She soon saw her mother standing before her, along with her grandparents, and the baby, big brother she never got to meet. Her baby was not there and she prayed that meant good news for at least, Baby Girl Gibbs.
OA/N: What do you think so far? New chapter will be up soon. Thanks for reading and please review.