Disclaimer: Spelling Productions owns the characters. This is story is
for entertainment purposes only and I am making no money off this work of
fiction.
Author's note: I strive in all my stories but especially in the realm of 7th Heaven to write with the characters in mind and to stay true to those characters. Before I start an idea I have to decide if it is in keeping with the show's ideals or structure. While there are some issues that can't be addressed in a family oriented show in the early primetime marketing slot, I try to hold to the integrity of the values displayed on the show. I hope that is clear to all who read my stories.
cAnd Baby Makes Three By: SparksJSH/c
"Sarah, you don't know how much Jack and I appreciate this." The petite young woman smiled at the dark haired wife of the oldest child of Eric and Annie Camden. The two women were sitting on the couch in Matt and Sarah's apartment. Sleeping contentedly in a car seat sitting on the coffee table in front of them was an impossibly small infant dressed in a pink one piece sleeper.
Sarah finished pouring the tea and handed a mug to her best friend. "Don't be silly, Dana. Matt and I are thrilled to get to babysit for the two of you. All I can say is it's about time. I was beginning to think Anna Grace would be off in college before you let her out of your sight."
The young mother blushed but couldn't help but check on the sleeping bundle. "I can't help it. Part of me has that unreasonable fear that if I leave her something bad is going to happen to her and I won't be able to get to her in time. But I know she's perfectly safe spending a few hours with her godparents."
Sarah hugged Dana. Though she had never been a mother, she could understand why her friend felt such protectiveness toward the baby. Born two months too early, Anna Grace had weighed less than two pounds at birth and had spent several weeks just fighting to live. Sarah had spent many hours at the hospital between classes and work just sitting with Dana as the young mother waited to find out if her impossibly small daughter would live or die. Now three months later, Anna Grace weighed a modest ten pounds and with the exception of one return trip to the hospital with the RSV virus, appeared healthy.
"With the exception of being spoiled rotten she's completely safe. You and Jack deserve this evening out." She only had to look at her friend's tired eyes and the stress lines on her face to know the toll of caring for an infant had caused her. Matt had told her that Jack looked equally stressed. "So where is Jack taking you?"
Dana's eyes lit up. "He won't tell me. He has some elaborate surprise planned and all he'll tell me is that I need to wear the dress I wore when he proposed to me. I had to try it on this morning to make sure it still fit. I haven't quite lost all the weight from being pregnant yet. If only I could give the rest of my baby fat to Anna Grace we would both be in good shape."
Sarah laughed. "Figure out how to do that and neither you nor Jack would have to work again. Now before you take another look at that sweet angel and decide you can't leave her even with the best godparents she has, get out of here and go get ready for your date. Don't worry about a thing."
Dana gave her daughter a wistful look. "Okay, you are right, I know. I expressed enough milk to get her through a couple of feedings but Jack and I should be back way before you run out. You have our cell phone number and Jack's beeper number. Call us if you have any problems."
Rising, Sarah pulled Dana up with her and led her to the door. "Go. I may have been an only child but Matt has six little brothers and sisters, remember. He knows babies probably better than anyone. Not to mention that we are both studying to be doctors and are capable of handling any emergency, not that anything is going to happen. Have a great time."
*******
"You look so completely natural doing that." Matt sat next to Sarah on the couch and watched as she gave Anna Grace a bottle.
Their evening had been quiet. The infant had slept most of the time and what time she'd been awake, she'd either eaten or smiled at them. Surprisingly enough to both of them, the phone had stayed silent as well. Neither Jack nor Dana had called even once to check on the baby. Sarah smiled back at her husband.
"Well don't get any ideas. We agreed that as much as we both love children we were going to wait until we were out of medical school and out of our residency before we started our family."
Leaning over Matt kissed Sarah softly on the lips. "I know. When Jack comes into class looking like he never went to sleep the night before and he tells me he didn't because the baby was up all night with an ear ache and he still didn't get to study for the test, I know I'm not ready to be a dad. But it is fun to get to spoil our god daughter in the meantime, isn't it?"
Burping the baby, Sarah nodded. "Agreed. I'm just surprised Dana hasn't even called once to check on her. I figured she would have called at least ten times by now."
The phone rang before Matt could answer. Both smiled at each other, certain Sarah had spoken too soon. With a wink, Matt picked up the phone. "Hello?"
"Matt." The voice on the other end of the line wasn't Dana or Jack but the voice was equally familiar. It was Dr. Stewart from the medical school. "I don't know how to tell you this so I'll just be blunt. There was a twenty car pile-up on the I-8 bridge earlier tonight. According to the news reports it was a really bad scene. They've been transporting the wounded to various hospitals. General got the worst cases."
Matt wasn't sure why Dr. Stewart was calling him. He and Sarah were only med. students. They wouldn't be able to do much. "Do you need me to come in and do something?"
"Matt, Jack and Dana Myers were among the ones brought to General. I have crews on the look out for their baby but so far."
"Anna Grace is here with Sarah and I. We're babysitting. Jack or Dana didn't tell you that?" He could see Sarah's curious expression become worried.
"Matt, Dana was pronounced dead on arrival. Jack is not in much better shape. I . I don't think he's going to make it. I think you and Sarah should come down here. I know how close the two of you are to Jack. I'm really sorry to be the one to tell you this."
"We'll be there as soon as we can." Matt hung up the phone and stared at Sarah in disbelief. He could tell that just from hearing his side of the conversation and seeing his face, she knew the news wasn't good. He didn't know how to break the news to her any other way than to just tell her. "Jack and Dana were in a car accident. Dana's dead and it doesn't look like Jack is going to make it either."
******
Realizing that traffic would still be backed up from the accident, Matt drove the back way to the hospital. He wished Sarah was sitting next to him in the front seat; he could use the comfort of her hand in his at that moment. But she had insisted on putting the car seat in the back and riding beside Anna Grace.
Pulling into the hospital parking lot, Matt was surprised by the number of reporters waiting outside the emergency room entrance. The wreck must have been really bad to warrant this much news coverage. Fortunately, both had their medical student ID badges and had no trouble getting past the crews. If the reporters thought it weird that two medical students were bringing a baby with them to the hospital, they didn't let on.
Dr. Stewart met them at the door. He expression was grim and for a moment Sarah clung to Matt's hand, worried they had arrived too late. Catching their worried expressions, Dr. Stewart was quick to reassure them. "Jack is alive for now. He's drifting in and out of consciousness. He suffered a major head trauma. The intracranial pressure is off the charts."
"Can't they operate to relieve the pressure?" Sarah asked anxiously.
Dr. Stewart shook his head. "It wouldn't do any good. Sometime in the next few hours, his respiratory system is going to shut down and Jack is going to lose consciousness for good. To that effect, he has signed a No Drastic Measures order."
"Dr. Stewart," a nurse stepped out of the room. "Jack Myers just regained consciousness again. He's asking for Matt and Sarah Camden."
Dr. Stewart nodded toward them. "We told him about Dana but I don't know with his injuries if he'll remember. I just wanted to warn you about that."
Matt and Sarah nodded their understanding before following the nurse into the examination room. Their friend and Anna Grace's father lay flat on the stretcher. His eyes were fluttering open like he wasn't convinced he wanted to be awake or not. When he saw them, however, he made a conscious effort to remain alert.
"Matt, sorry about this." His voice was unsteady and he sounded as if he were talking from a distance. Matt gripped his friend's hand tightly, hoping he'd be able to speak past the lump that had formed in his throat.
"What do you have to apologize for, man?"
"Dana." Jack closed his eyes again and for a moment, the young couple thought he might have lost consciousness again. Then he reopened them. "I really loved her, you know. I can't believe she's gone."
Sarah set the carrier on the floor next to the bed and gripped his other hand. "She loved you too."
"We wanted so much for Anna Grace; I can't believe we won't see her grow up. Can I hold her?"
Without missing a beat, Sarah released his hand and removed the baby from the car seat. Gently she laid the baby in his arms. Seeing he didn't have much strength, she kept a hold on the baby as well. Tears welled up in the dying man's eyes. "You guys will take care of her won't you? You're the only family she's going to have."
"Of course we will, Jack. Don't worry about that." Matt promised immediately. Sarah smiled through her tears in agreement. Summoning the last remaining strength he had, Jack raised his head enough to kiss Anna Grace's head. Then he returned his head to the pillow and began to cry.
"My. beautiful. sweet. Anna.Grace. I'm going to miss. you so.much." The infant slept on, oblivious to the fact that these would be the last moments she ever spent with her father.
For the next two hours, Matt and Sarah stayed by Jack's side, Anna Grace in her father's arms as best as he could hold her. There were times when he was conscious but most times not. When he was awake, he used what strength he could to tell his daughter the things he'd never get another chance to tell him. When he was not awake, Sarah and Matt stayed silent. There would be time for talking and working things out later; for now it only mattered that they were there with their friend in his last moments.
Nurses and Dr. Stewart were in and out. They did their jobs as quietly as possible, as if they recognized a certain sanctity in the moment. Even when Anna Grace awoke, she didn't cry more than a whimper until Sarah pulled the last of the bottles from the diaper bag she'd grabbed on the way out. Just about the time the bottle was empty, Dr. Stewart put his hand on Matt's shoulder.
"Matt, Sarah, it's not going to be much longer. His respiratory system is shutting down. He's not going to breathe on his own and since he has the No Drastic Measures order, we can't put in a chest tube."
Matt looked at Sarah. "I don't think Anna Grace should be in here when he goes. I know she's too young to understand but somehow it doesn't seem right."
Sarah nodded and gathered the infant up in her arms. "I'll take her out to the waiting room." Her eyes filled with tears. "Dana was worried that something might happen to Anna Grace if she left her. This just doesn't seem real."
Kissing Sarah softly on the lips, Matt caressed the baby's cheek. "I know. I'll be out soon. I love you."
"I love you too."
Sarah left the exam room. She tried to hold in her sobs as she passed by nurses who gave her sympathetic looks. In the waiting room, however, Anna Grace started to cry as Sarah lifted her to her shoulder. Tenderly she rocked back and forth and patted the baby gently on the back. She and Matt were all the little girl had left in the world. Sarah could only hope that it would be enough.
Author's note: I strive in all my stories but especially in the realm of 7th Heaven to write with the characters in mind and to stay true to those characters. Before I start an idea I have to decide if it is in keeping with the show's ideals or structure. While there are some issues that can't be addressed in a family oriented show in the early primetime marketing slot, I try to hold to the integrity of the values displayed on the show. I hope that is clear to all who read my stories.
cAnd Baby Makes Three By: SparksJSH/c
"Sarah, you don't know how much Jack and I appreciate this." The petite young woman smiled at the dark haired wife of the oldest child of Eric and Annie Camden. The two women were sitting on the couch in Matt and Sarah's apartment. Sleeping contentedly in a car seat sitting on the coffee table in front of them was an impossibly small infant dressed in a pink one piece sleeper.
Sarah finished pouring the tea and handed a mug to her best friend. "Don't be silly, Dana. Matt and I are thrilled to get to babysit for the two of you. All I can say is it's about time. I was beginning to think Anna Grace would be off in college before you let her out of your sight."
The young mother blushed but couldn't help but check on the sleeping bundle. "I can't help it. Part of me has that unreasonable fear that if I leave her something bad is going to happen to her and I won't be able to get to her in time. But I know she's perfectly safe spending a few hours with her godparents."
Sarah hugged Dana. Though she had never been a mother, she could understand why her friend felt such protectiveness toward the baby. Born two months too early, Anna Grace had weighed less than two pounds at birth and had spent several weeks just fighting to live. Sarah had spent many hours at the hospital between classes and work just sitting with Dana as the young mother waited to find out if her impossibly small daughter would live or die. Now three months later, Anna Grace weighed a modest ten pounds and with the exception of one return trip to the hospital with the RSV virus, appeared healthy.
"With the exception of being spoiled rotten she's completely safe. You and Jack deserve this evening out." She only had to look at her friend's tired eyes and the stress lines on her face to know the toll of caring for an infant had caused her. Matt had told her that Jack looked equally stressed. "So where is Jack taking you?"
Dana's eyes lit up. "He won't tell me. He has some elaborate surprise planned and all he'll tell me is that I need to wear the dress I wore when he proposed to me. I had to try it on this morning to make sure it still fit. I haven't quite lost all the weight from being pregnant yet. If only I could give the rest of my baby fat to Anna Grace we would both be in good shape."
Sarah laughed. "Figure out how to do that and neither you nor Jack would have to work again. Now before you take another look at that sweet angel and decide you can't leave her even with the best godparents she has, get out of here and go get ready for your date. Don't worry about a thing."
Dana gave her daughter a wistful look. "Okay, you are right, I know. I expressed enough milk to get her through a couple of feedings but Jack and I should be back way before you run out. You have our cell phone number and Jack's beeper number. Call us if you have any problems."
Rising, Sarah pulled Dana up with her and led her to the door. "Go. I may have been an only child but Matt has six little brothers and sisters, remember. He knows babies probably better than anyone. Not to mention that we are both studying to be doctors and are capable of handling any emergency, not that anything is going to happen. Have a great time."
*******
"You look so completely natural doing that." Matt sat next to Sarah on the couch and watched as she gave Anna Grace a bottle.
Their evening had been quiet. The infant had slept most of the time and what time she'd been awake, she'd either eaten or smiled at them. Surprisingly enough to both of them, the phone had stayed silent as well. Neither Jack nor Dana had called even once to check on the baby. Sarah smiled back at her husband.
"Well don't get any ideas. We agreed that as much as we both love children we were going to wait until we were out of medical school and out of our residency before we started our family."
Leaning over Matt kissed Sarah softly on the lips. "I know. When Jack comes into class looking like he never went to sleep the night before and he tells me he didn't because the baby was up all night with an ear ache and he still didn't get to study for the test, I know I'm not ready to be a dad. But it is fun to get to spoil our god daughter in the meantime, isn't it?"
Burping the baby, Sarah nodded. "Agreed. I'm just surprised Dana hasn't even called once to check on her. I figured she would have called at least ten times by now."
The phone rang before Matt could answer. Both smiled at each other, certain Sarah had spoken too soon. With a wink, Matt picked up the phone. "Hello?"
"Matt." The voice on the other end of the line wasn't Dana or Jack but the voice was equally familiar. It was Dr. Stewart from the medical school. "I don't know how to tell you this so I'll just be blunt. There was a twenty car pile-up on the I-8 bridge earlier tonight. According to the news reports it was a really bad scene. They've been transporting the wounded to various hospitals. General got the worst cases."
Matt wasn't sure why Dr. Stewart was calling him. He and Sarah were only med. students. They wouldn't be able to do much. "Do you need me to come in and do something?"
"Matt, Jack and Dana Myers were among the ones brought to General. I have crews on the look out for their baby but so far."
"Anna Grace is here with Sarah and I. We're babysitting. Jack or Dana didn't tell you that?" He could see Sarah's curious expression become worried.
"Matt, Dana was pronounced dead on arrival. Jack is not in much better shape. I . I don't think he's going to make it. I think you and Sarah should come down here. I know how close the two of you are to Jack. I'm really sorry to be the one to tell you this."
"We'll be there as soon as we can." Matt hung up the phone and stared at Sarah in disbelief. He could tell that just from hearing his side of the conversation and seeing his face, she knew the news wasn't good. He didn't know how to break the news to her any other way than to just tell her. "Jack and Dana were in a car accident. Dana's dead and it doesn't look like Jack is going to make it either."
******
Realizing that traffic would still be backed up from the accident, Matt drove the back way to the hospital. He wished Sarah was sitting next to him in the front seat; he could use the comfort of her hand in his at that moment. But she had insisted on putting the car seat in the back and riding beside Anna Grace.
Pulling into the hospital parking lot, Matt was surprised by the number of reporters waiting outside the emergency room entrance. The wreck must have been really bad to warrant this much news coverage. Fortunately, both had their medical student ID badges and had no trouble getting past the crews. If the reporters thought it weird that two medical students were bringing a baby with them to the hospital, they didn't let on.
Dr. Stewart met them at the door. He expression was grim and for a moment Sarah clung to Matt's hand, worried they had arrived too late. Catching their worried expressions, Dr. Stewart was quick to reassure them. "Jack is alive for now. He's drifting in and out of consciousness. He suffered a major head trauma. The intracranial pressure is off the charts."
"Can't they operate to relieve the pressure?" Sarah asked anxiously.
Dr. Stewart shook his head. "It wouldn't do any good. Sometime in the next few hours, his respiratory system is going to shut down and Jack is going to lose consciousness for good. To that effect, he has signed a No Drastic Measures order."
"Dr. Stewart," a nurse stepped out of the room. "Jack Myers just regained consciousness again. He's asking for Matt and Sarah Camden."
Dr. Stewart nodded toward them. "We told him about Dana but I don't know with his injuries if he'll remember. I just wanted to warn you about that."
Matt and Sarah nodded their understanding before following the nurse into the examination room. Their friend and Anna Grace's father lay flat on the stretcher. His eyes were fluttering open like he wasn't convinced he wanted to be awake or not. When he saw them, however, he made a conscious effort to remain alert.
"Matt, sorry about this." His voice was unsteady and he sounded as if he were talking from a distance. Matt gripped his friend's hand tightly, hoping he'd be able to speak past the lump that had formed in his throat.
"What do you have to apologize for, man?"
"Dana." Jack closed his eyes again and for a moment, the young couple thought he might have lost consciousness again. Then he reopened them. "I really loved her, you know. I can't believe she's gone."
Sarah set the carrier on the floor next to the bed and gripped his other hand. "She loved you too."
"We wanted so much for Anna Grace; I can't believe we won't see her grow up. Can I hold her?"
Without missing a beat, Sarah released his hand and removed the baby from the car seat. Gently she laid the baby in his arms. Seeing he didn't have much strength, she kept a hold on the baby as well. Tears welled up in the dying man's eyes. "You guys will take care of her won't you? You're the only family she's going to have."
"Of course we will, Jack. Don't worry about that." Matt promised immediately. Sarah smiled through her tears in agreement. Summoning the last remaining strength he had, Jack raised his head enough to kiss Anna Grace's head. Then he returned his head to the pillow and began to cry.
"My. beautiful. sweet. Anna.Grace. I'm going to miss. you so.much." The infant slept on, oblivious to the fact that these would be the last moments she ever spent with her father.
For the next two hours, Matt and Sarah stayed by Jack's side, Anna Grace in her father's arms as best as he could hold her. There were times when he was conscious but most times not. When he was awake, he used what strength he could to tell his daughter the things he'd never get another chance to tell him. When he was not awake, Sarah and Matt stayed silent. There would be time for talking and working things out later; for now it only mattered that they were there with their friend in his last moments.
Nurses and Dr. Stewart were in and out. They did their jobs as quietly as possible, as if they recognized a certain sanctity in the moment. Even when Anna Grace awoke, she didn't cry more than a whimper until Sarah pulled the last of the bottles from the diaper bag she'd grabbed on the way out. Just about the time the bottle was empty, Dr. Stewart put his hand on Matt's shoulder.
"Matt, Sarah, it's not going to be much longer. His respiratory system is shutting down. He's not going to breathe on his own and since he has the No Drastic Measures order, we can't put in a chest tube."
Matt looked at Sarah. "I don't think Anna Grace should be in here when he goes. I know she's too young to understand but somehow it doesn't seem right."
Sarah nodded and gathered the infant up in her arms. "I'll take her out to the waiting room." Her eyes filled with tears. "Dana was worried that something might happen to Anna Grace if she left her. This just doesn't seem real."
Kissing Sarah softly on the lips, Matt caressed the baby's cheek. "I know. I'll be out soon. I love you."
"I love you too."
Sarah left the exam room. She tried to hold in her sobs as she passed by nurses who gave her sympathetic looks. In the waiting room, however, Anna Grace started to cry as Sarah lifted her to her shoulder. Tenderly she rocked back and forth and patted the baby gently on the back. She and Matt were all the little girl had left in the world. Sarah could only hope that it would be enough.