Eli's POV
The babies were so beautiful. They looked great together. Whenever Nevaeh had opened her eyes, they had been blue, almost the same shade as Fiona's. The birth mother had already said goodbye to her before we got there, so it saved us a lot of tears. Adam seemed to be completely changed. He looked scared to death, but thrilled. I assume that's how I'd looked whenever I had been in the hospital with Jade. Clare and Fiona were both talking about how wonderful having children was. "And you got to skip labor!" Clare said. "Thank God," Fiona admitted, "it looked like getting hit by a train and being dipped in acid at the same time. Her screams painted a pretty vivid picture." Then they were on talking about clothes for the girls. I looked over at my little machismo, all grown up. His eyes were full of wonder as he looked at his child. The same expression was on my face every time I looked at Jade. We held our children and sat in the hospital room for a couple of hours. Whenever Clare had Fiona had gone out to get food, a doctor walked in.
"Mr. Goldsworthy?" he asked. I tilted my head up and Adam glanced at me. Why was a doctor coming in here for me? "Um, yes?" I replied. "The doctor wants to schedule an appointment about your daughter. You too, Mr. Torres." The doctor left the room, and Adam stared at me. "Why would you need an appointment, too?" Adam asked me. "Didn't you already get one?" I quickly explained to him about Jade's feet. "It should be fine. It will be fine." I told him, not sure if I was convincing him or me. I called our doctor, Dr. Fieldsman, and asked for what time our appointment would be. He told me that it would be at four tomorrow afternoon.
"Doctor Fieldsman, I don't understand. Why are we coming in again?"
"Well, we'd like to run some tests on your daughter's feet, just to make sure they'll continue to grow at a normal rate."
"Alright. I'll bring her in tomorrow."
I had taken a whole month off of work for Jade's birth, considering that I was very friendly with my boss. After saying goodbye to Adam, I walked outside to see Fiona and Clare standing there, holding bags of food. "Where are you going?" Clare asked. I was so worried about Jade's feet; I'd almost forgotten they were coming back. "Just out for a while to get some fresh air. I'll be right back." I said. I walked down with Jade into a little place I liked to call the sun room. Three of the walls were glass, so you could see a view from three different sides, and there was a door that would take you right into it. It was very nice out, more weird weather for Canada when I sat down with Jade. She was awake now, squirming. I gently pulled her out of her carrier and held her to my stomach as I sat down in the chair, Jade sitting comfortably in my lap. Her head was rested against my abs as he looked at the view of Toronto. I wasn't staring at the view; I was staring at my baby. She was so tiny and fragile, and the world was so big and rough. I wouldn't always be there to protect her, but I wanted to be. She craned her neck up, her emerald eyes searching desperately for something out of the window that I couldn't see. "It's incredible." I murmured to her. "I never thought I could love anybody as much as I love Clare, and then you came along." I kissed her forehead and she tilted her head to look at me, her eyes curious. She was so smart, she really wanted to learn. I rocked her until she fell asleep, but didn't put her in the carrier. I just sat there in the sun, holding my little ray of light.
*Driving home*
Me and Clare had been talking for a long time about Jade's college fund, when Jade began to cry. I groaned and took off my seat belt. Clare was driving Morty because she had insisted on driving this time. I crawled into the back seat and looked at my baby. Something was wrong. Her eyes were watery and out of focus, her breathing was shallow. Fear shot though me. "Clare! Clare, pull over!" I said. Clare, alarmed by my voice and tone said "Eli, what is it?" and pulled the car over, only minutes from our house. I readjusted my position in the back seat, and tried to undo the straps on Jade's carrier. Her skin had an ugly tinge to it. Clare opened her door and ran to the side of the car, quickly pulling the door open. "Oh my God." She said, terrified. I scooped Jade up and rocked her, trying to see what was wrong. She struggled in my arms, her breathing getting rapid and shallower. "Eli, she shouldn't be breathing like that. We're going to the hospital. Stay back there with her." Clare hopped in the front seat and turned the key, slamming her door shut. She sped off, driving back towards the hospital. I held Jade to me, horrified. Her body shuddered, and then she vomited on my shirt. I tilted her so that way all of it would come out of her throat and onto me. I couldn't care less about my shirt.
Clare and Jade whimpered at the same time, and I wanted to scream. Please, let her be okay, please, please, please. I'd die if anything happened to Jade. Clare squealed into the hospital parking lot, slamming Morty to a space. I was out of the car in less than a second, taking my baby into the emergency entrance. "Somebody help me!" I said, as Clare ran in right behind me. "Something's wrong my baby!" Two nurses ran over, and once they saw Jade, they turned pale. The nurse took Jade out of my hands, and called for a Doctor Rivera. A female doctor walked up and looked at Jade, and scooped her up, taking her into a room, me and Clare right behind her. She pulled out a stomach pump and something I recognized from Clare's labor, a suction bulb, to help the baby breate. Jade hadn't needed it then, and whenever I had asked why it was here, the nurse had said in case anything goes wrong. What exactly had gone wrong? Jade shuddered as they inserted the tube and began to pump her stomach. Clare was crying, and making whimpering noises as I just stared in horror as my baby threw up again. Please God. I thought, praying for the first time in my life. Please, let her be okay.
