Dr. Hardy walked into the ER exam room, steeling himself for the chaos. He wasn't disappointed. Jed Bartlet was clutching his wife's hand, his eyes wide as they darted around the room at the various people moving around her. Abbey Bartlet was pale and sweaty and fading in and out of consciousness. Dr. Hardy could tell she was trying very hard to hold on to reality.
"What did you do, Abbey?" the obstetrician asked loudly, cutting above the din of nurses and trauma residents scuttling about.
Abbey mumbled something unintelligible. Her eyes were fluttering open and closed.
Dr. Hardy turned to Jed instead, who answered, "We had a fight and she got out of bed to come downstairs after me. The contractions started and her water broke and then she started bleeding."
"I had a feeling I wasn't going to be able to go see my in-laws until Christmas Eve, and it looks like my instincts were right. So thank you, Bartlets, for getting me out forced small talk in the mountains of Vermont," Dr. Hardy quipped. After that slight bit of levity, he got right to work. "Abbey, I'm going to examine you quickly and do an ultrasound to make sure, but I think you're going to meet your baby very soon."
Abbey could hear Dr. Hardy's voice, but it sounded very far away. Her face felt hot but her body felt cold. Her chest was heavy and breathing was quite a chore. Her eyelids couldn't seem to stay open, try as she might. She gave Jed's hand a small squeeze.
"I'm right here, honey," he murmured, stroking her hair, keeping it from sticking to her sweaty face. "And we're going to meet our baby today!"
"About time," she replied in a weak voice, eliciting a thankful chuckle from Jed.
Dr. Hardy completed his preliminary examination. "Alright, good news and bad news. The bad news is that your cervix has ruptured, and that's what caused the bleeding and the weakness. The progesterone injections over the last few months have increased your blood pressure, which is why you're feeling so weak and dizzy. The monitors are also telling me that the baby is in distress. And that means we'll need to go into surgery right away. So the good news is that you're going to get to hold your baby today, and after I go in and repair everything, you'll be just fine." He caught the eye of his favorite nurse. "Patricia, please prep Mrs. Bartlet for a Cesarean."
Abbey's attention was muddled, but she'd focused closely on the doctor's words. "Let's go get a C-section," she conceded. If truth be told, she was glad she wouldn't have to push. She wasn't strong enough to have a long, intensive labor. And clearly, the faster they could deliver the baby, the better.
The nurse, Patricia, wheeled the gurney through the hospital and up the elevator to the operating room. Jed jogged alongside, never letting go of her hand. He only had the vaguest idea of what was happening, but he took solace in Dr. Hardy's calm demeanor. This doctor had been with Abbey through her last two pregnancies and despite her initial complaints about his personality, Jed had never heard her say a single bad thing about Hardy's capabilities. Jed just had to trust him to take care of Abbey and the baby.
"Mr. Bartlet, you'll need these," Patricia said, holding out a gown, a scrub cap, a face mask, and gloves. She helped him put everything on as he continued to hold Abbey's hand. "We're going to take very good care of them both," Patricia quietly assured him.
Elsewhere, the other nurses and doctors were prepping Abbey for surgery. She was getting blood and medication through various IVs, and their effect was quick. Within minutes, she was more alert and felt much stronger. She could open her eyes now and keep them open.
"Alright, Dr. Hardy, talk me through the procedure, please," Abbey requested. She had never been operated on before. Not like this, at least. Dr. Hardy had performed another procedure for her before, and then, just like now, Jed had held her hand the whole time and the doctor had explained every single step as he performed them.
Dr. Hardy smiled underneath his face mask. He was glad Abbey had stabilized. "Okay, Abbey. We're still prepping you for surgery. Jed, you're going to want to focus on Abbey's face. Because she is going to want to watch and you are definitely not going to want to see this, okay?"
"You got it," Jed acquiesced.
As soon as the anesthesia had sufficiently numbed Abbey from the neck down, Dr. Hardy began. He worked efficiently and calmly, using all the medical jargon he wanted, knowing it was all for Abbey's benefit. She couldn't see much of what was going on, but she nodded in understanding as he spoke. Whether or not Dr. Hardy knew it, this was the best way to keep Abbey Bartlet calm. She could focus on the medicine and surgical procedure, letting the personal aspect of being operated on in the midst of a severe pregnancy complication get pushed aside.
"You know, I was hoping I could tell you that this pregnancy would be the hardest thing this baby would ever put you through. But I think you know how girls can be," Dr. Hardy said with a smile.
"Girl?" Abbey repeated excitedly.
"That's three for you now, isn't it?"
A second later, a loud, wailing cry echoed in the operating room.
Jed felt tears well up in his eyes. "That's three girls!" He did his fatherly duty of cutting the umbilical cord. Patricia came and took the baby to clean her off. Jed turned his back to Dr. Hardy, who was now working on repairing the damage to Abbey's body. He blinked away tears and told Abbey, "She's perfectly pink and beautiful!"
Abbey had no words. She just smiled. The anesthesia helped with that. Because she was being operated on two feet away from her face. But they had brought another baby girl into the world. They'd made it out of the woods of a complicated pregnancy, and now everything would be okay.
Patricia returned, bringing the clean, swaddled baby to her parents. "Here's your daughter!"
Jed held the baby close to Abbey's face. They were all crying now. "She's so perfect! And she looks just like you," Abbey said to her husband.
"You think? I'm pretty sure she's got your nose," Jed pointed out.
A monitor began beeping loudly. Dr. Hardy barked instructions. "Patricia, take Mr. Bartlet to the waiting room and the baby to the nursery."
Patricia took the baby out of Jed's arms. "Mr. Bartlet, the doctor needs to concentrate. Please follow me."
Jed looked over to Abbey. Her eyes were closed and the anesthesiologist was putting a mask over her face. He felt like he was going to be sick. "What happened?"
"A complication," Patricia answered simply. "Dr. Hardy has it under control."
Jed followed her out of the operating room in a daze. He had no idea what was going on. All he knew was that he was powerless. And that he needed to be with his daughter.
Patricia led Jed not to the waiting room but the nursery. She directed him to a rocking chair in the corner, usually used for new nursing mothers. "Sit here. I'll be back with news as soon as there's anything to tell." She placed the still-crying baby in Jed's arms.
He sat there, rocking his infant daughter and trying to shush and soothe her as best he could. She quieted down soon enough. Jed focused on her tiny little face. She was so small. He didn't remember Liz or Ellie being this small. But then again, it had been a very long time since he'd held a newborn baby.
Jed didn't know how long he was alone with the baby. He didn't dare look at a clock for fear that it would tell him it had been hours and Abbey was still in emergency surgery. But before he could panic over that, Patricia had returned.
"Everything is fine. Mrs. Bartlet experienced a lot of bleeding from her cervix, but Dr. Hardy was able to stop the bleed and repair the damage. She's about to go into recovery. If you'd like to see her, I'll take you to her room. And while you're waiting for her to wake up, I'll do all the tests we always do on newborns."
"I don't want to leave her," Jed replied, holding the baby close.
"I'll bring her into Mrs. Bartlet's room as soon as I'm done, I promise."
Jed nodded and gave the baby over to the nurse, who put her in the incubator so she could take Jed to Abbey's room.
To his surprise, Abbey was starting to stir as he walked in. Patricia explained that she hadn't been under general anesthesia for very long, so the effects would wear off quickly.
"I'll bring your baby in just a few minutes. And Dr. Hardy will be in soon as well." With that Patricia left the Bartlets to tend to their new daughter.
Jed rushed to his wife's side. He took her hand once again and stroked her hair. He whispered a prayer in Latin, thanking God for the health and safety of his family. After crossing himself, Jed ended by whispering to Abbey, "Valde te amo." I love you very much.
"H-how is she?" Abbey asked in a raspy voice. She was still in the process of waking up, but her mind was alert enough to demand information about her child.
"She's fine. She was sleeping in my arms just a minute ago. The nurse is going to finish checking her out, and then she'll bring her here," Jed informed her.
"What happened after the C-Section?" she asked, unable to recall what had transpired after she'd first heard her baby cry.
"I can help with that." The Bartlets turned to see Dr. Hardy enter the room. "Abbey, the rupture in your cervix was worse than I originally thought. After the placenta was removed, the bleed increased at an alarming rate. I was able to suture everything and stop the bleed, but…Abbey, I'm afraid you won't be able to have any more children. The damage is just too much to enable any successful pregnancy. I'm so sorry."
Jed looked to Abbey for her reaction. All she did was nod.
"I'll let you process this. If you have any questions, the nurses can get ahold of me for you." With that, Dr. Hardy left them alone.
Abbey didn't have any words. Not yet. She was still feeling fuzzy from the anesthesia. Her mind was moving slowly.
Reasonably, Abbey had thought that this would be their last child. She was a few months shy of thirty-six years old, and this pregnancy had been difficult enough as it was. If given the choice, she probably would have come to the decision to not have any more children on her own. But knowing that her body had made the decision for her was disheartening; she had no choice in the matter. Regardless of that, however, she'd survived emergency surgery and other than her reproductive capabilities, Abbey knew she'd recover and be as good as new in no time. As long as the baby was healthy, she would be happy.
"I'm so sorry, Abbey," Jed said quietly, interrupting her silent contemplation.
Abbey took a slow, deep breath. "Nothing to apologize for. I think three children is plenty. And the surgery sites will heal. I'll be just fine," she assured him. "But I can't give you any more children, so I guess I'm the one who should apologize."
"Nothing to apologize for. Nothing whatsoever," Jed insisted, bending his head to kiss the knuckles of the hand he was still holding.
Patricia returned a moment later, wheeling a bassinet. "Here she is, Baby Girl Bartlet! She is seventeen and a half inches and five pounds, three ounces. That's a bit on the small size, but she is a couple weeks premature. But there is absolutely nothing abnormal or worrisome about her. Mr. and Mrs. Bartlet, you have a very healthy baby. Does she have a name? If so, I can start the paperwork for you."
Jed replied, "No, no name yet. We never got around to deciding. I guess we thought we'd have more time."
Patricia just smiled kindly. "When you do decide, just hit the call button and the nurses at the station will help you however you need."
Jed nodded. "Thank you, Patricia." He let go of Abbey's hand only so he could pick the baby up and finally put her in Abbey's arms.
Abbey couldn't stop smiling. "She's so tiny!"
"Though she is but small, she is mighty," Jed recited.
"What should we call her? I cannot believe that we didn't decide on a name."
Jed thought for a moment. "I have kind of a weird suggestion."
"Let's hear it."
"Zoey."
Abbey was taken aback. It was a lovely name but seemed very out of left field. "Zoey? Why?"
"In Greek, it means life, which I think is somewhat fitting. And it starts with Z, which is the last letter of the alphabet, and she's our last child."
That explanation clinched it. "I love it. Zoey Patricia Bartlet," Abbey said with a smile.
"Wait, where did Patricia come from?"
"That nurse. I have never seen you have such positive interactions with any human being in a hospital who wasn't a member of our family. She did a lot to bring our daughter into the world, and she was a comfort to the both of us during every chaos- and panic-filled moment of today. That takes a very special God-given skill. And besides, it sounds nice in between Zoey and Bartlet," Abbey reasoned.
"Zoey Patricia Bartlet," Jed repeated, feeling the musicality of the syllables fill his mouth. "Well, I convinced you on the first name and you convinced me on the middle name." Jed reached over and used his pointer finger to softly caress the baby's cheek. "It is very nice to have you here, Zoey Patricia Bartlet."