Hi guys! I know, I know. I took a long time to update. I rewrote this chapter a couple of times to make sure that it's gonna be just right to get the story to move along the way that I want it to. I hope you guys will like it. Let me know if you do (or don't). Once again, thank you for all your reviews for the last chapter. I really loved reading them, knowing that you guys are enjoying this story as much as I'm enjoying writing it. And we've got new readers too. Welcome guys! Love you guys! Cheers!
Chapter 25
Nathan kept a watchful eye on his wife as her due date loomed near. Three weeks to be exact. They had been going to the weekly checkups that Dr. Montgomery had scheduled for them to monitor the baby and she assured them that there was nothing that they should be worried about. But Nathan knew better than to take her words. He knew that a baby with a hole in her heart would be a challenge for both him and Haley, but he made a promise when he found out that she was pregnant that he would be by her side no matter what, and he planned on sticking to that promise.
A smile crept up to his face as he watched Haley lying on her back on their bed, one hand caressing her tummy while talking to their baby. He cherished times like this, when everything felt normal. He crept nearer to her and kissed her forehead.
"How's my girl?" he asked softly, prompting Haley to smile. Sometimes she thought that Nathan was too good for her. After everything she put him through, she sometimes felt that he deserved so much better. As her pregnancy advanced, her love for him grew even more. He helped her around the house whenever she could, knowing that she tired easily and for that she was grateful.
"She's fine," she replied. "Do you think I look huge?" she asked as she inspected her belly. Nathan bit back a laugh. He was used to these kind of questions. He propped himself up on one elbow and looked at her in amusement.
"You look gorgeous, and sexy as hell," he said and watched as her smile grew wider. He was glad that she had taken the condition of their baby in her stride. It worried him when they had just found out about it, when Haley would turn quiet and sullen. But things were better now that she had accepted the fact that their baby was going to be 'special'. And much to his relief, the news that Brooke was pregnant was greeted with genuine happiness.
She put her arms under her head and looked up at the ceiling. "Hey, do you think we should throw Brooke a baby shower?" she asked.
Nathan laughed. "Whoa, slow down there. You do know that you're due in three weeks right? I think we should take it one day at a time." He sometimes marveled at her inability to sit still. She had already taken time off work in anticipation of the arrival of the baby, and yet she couldn't seem to stop herself from bustling around the house no matter how tired she was, or meeting Peyton and Brooke whenever she could. He knew that she loved the fact that Brooke was pregnant. They were best friends since high school and the fact that they were both pregnant brought them closer.
Haley squirmed on the bed as she tried to find the most comfortable position. She loved the fact that Nathan still thought she was sexy. She loved the fact that he still wanted her, and also knew when to stop. Suddenly, her face went white as she looked at him.
"What? What is it?" Nathan immediately asked, noticing the look of sheer panic on her face.
"I think my water just broke," she said hurriedly as she moved over. Sure enough, the bed was wet. Nathan jumped out of the bed and went to her side in an instant.
"Are you sure? But you're not due till three weeks," he rambled as he helped her to sit down. He reached into his pocket and dialed their doctor as Haley looked on patiently. Inside she was panicking but so far she was putting a good front. He snapped his phone shut a minute later and said, "okay Dr. Montgomery's already on her way to the hospital. Can you get up?" he asked worriedly.
Haley rolled her eyes. "Of course I can get up!" she said and heaved herself up from the bed. She watched in amusement as Nathan hurriedly grabbed the bags that they had the good sense to pack already. Even with his hands full, he managed to help Haley as they walked slowly to their car, knowing that today was the day that was going to change their lives forever.
The ride to the hospital seemed like forever to Nathan. In between his panic and anxiety, he managed to call everybody. He stole a glance at Haley. Surprisingly, she was looking quite calm, breathing in and out to keep her nerves in check.
"We're almost there baby," Nathan said and grasped her hand. He didn't know which one of them was more scared, but his heart was beating painfully wild in his chest. He screeched his car to a halt and scrambled to help her out of the car. Thankfully, Dr. Montgomery had already had her assistants ready and waiting for them. One of them motioned for Haley to sit in the wheelchair and wheeled her to her room while Nathan checked in with the nurse.
As soon as he could get away, he rushed to her side. He held her hand as bead of sweat formed on her forehead, a sure sign that she was already in pain. It killed him to see her like this, but he knew that there was nothing much he could do. He wished the impossible, that the could trade places with her, ready to take on whatever pain that might come.
"Oh God!" Haley screamed as another contraction came. She was almost fully dilated and was ready to be wheeled in the delivery room. "Nathan, stay with me please," she begged him.
He shook her head and kissed her hand. "I'm not going anywhere, Hales. I'm right here. It's gonna be okay."
The doctor went to her side and said with a smile, "are you ready Haley? We're ready to wheel you in. Looks like this baby can't wait to see the world." Haley nodded weakly, closing her eyes to shut out the pain as she felt herself being brought to the delivery room.
As soon as everything was in place, the doctor said calmly, "okay Haley. This is it. I need you to push okay?"
She didn't know how much of the pain she could bear but managed to nod mutinously. She pushed and a scream tore out of her mouth. "I can't do this! It hurts! It's too early! I'm not ready!" She felt him at her side and felt his fingers gently caress her forehead.
"Hales baby, you can do this. I'm right here," he said. She felt a surge of courage soar through her and braved herself for another push. "Aaaaaaghhh!!" Another scream was heard. Still no baby.
A nurse who was keeping her eye on the baby monitor suddenly turned her head towards Dr. Montgomery. "Doctor, the baby's heartbeat is dropping," she commented.
"What? What's happening?" Haley asked through her pain. She exchanged panicked looks with Nathan.
"Is our baby okay?" It was Nathan's turn to ask this time.
"Nathan, you need to wait outside. We need to operate on her to get the baby out," the doctor said hurriedly.
"But...I'm not leaving Haley." He felt confused. Nothing felt real.
"Nathan, listen to me. We need to do this now, or we're gonna lose the baby." He felt himself being led out of the delivery room. A minute later he was slumped in a chair, totally oblivious to his surroundings. It took a good shake from Lucas to snap him out of it.
"Nate! We just got here. What happened. Where's Haley?" Lucas asked as a worried Brooke looked on. A little later Peyton and Jake arrived, followed by Karen, Dan and Deb.
"Everything was fine. And then the baby's heartbeat... They wouldn't let me in. I promised her I would never leave her side. I promised her," he rambled on as tears started flowing down his cheeks. He was suddenly reminded of the night when she made him promise that whatever happened to her, he would take care of their baby girl. He let the tears flow and sobbed uncontrollably as Deb rushed over to his side, letting him cry into her arms just like he used to when he was small.
"Honey, it's gonna be okay," she said soothingly. But her face betrayed her words as she looked at the others, her face full of worry.
It seemed like forever. Every minute that went by felt like years to Nathan. He was grateful that everybody was there to be with him, but at the same time he wished that he was alone to gather his thoughts. The guilt of having to leave Haley tore at his heart. He kept glancing at the clock on the wall and tapped his foot nervously. It had only been ten minutes since he was shooed out of the delivery room.
"Hey, are you alright?" Peyton asked and sat next to him.
"No, I'm not," he answered. She kept quiet, not knowing what to say next. Instead she put her hand on his. Nathan looked at her gratefully. "Thanks Peyton," he said. Suddenly he saw Dr. Montgomery come out of the delivery room and immediately jumped out of his chair.
Before he could say anything the doctor said, "we got the baby out. It seemed that the umbilical cord got wrapped around her neck which was why we needed to do a cesarean section on Haley."
"How are they?" Nathan stuttered.
"Your baby girl is fine but we still need to monitor her due to her heart condition and also that she is three weeks early."
"What about Haley?" he asked with dread.
The doctor took longer to answer. "Haley lost a bit of blood during the surgery. She's fine now but a little bit weak. We've already wheeled her to her room. She's resting. I wouldn't recommend a lot of visitors now."
Nathan closed his eyes. For a minute he thought he felt his heart had stopped beating. He felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning around he saw Dan giving him a small smile. "You should see your family Nathan. We'll wait here."
He nodded. "Thanks Dad." He was torn between seeing Haley first or their baby girl. He finally made his choice. "Hey, why don't you guys go see the baby first. I'm gonna see Haley. I'll meet you guys at the nursery," he suggested and was greeted with mutters of agreement.
He walked alone towards Haley's room, stopping just outside her door. He rested his palm on the door for a few seconds before gently pushing it open. The sight that greeted him made him weak in the knees. She looked so pale and so tired. He went to her side and took her hand while his other hand brushed her face gently. She opened her eyes slightly and gave him a small smile.
"Hey," she said tiredly.
Upon hearing her voice he immediately broke down. "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have left you. I was so scared," he cried. He felt her hand on his head.
"It's okay. You had to. How's our little girl?" she asked.
He wiped away his tears and said, "the doctor said she's fine although they need to monitor her. Everybody's at the nursery now."
"I want to see her," she said.
"I'm not sure that's a good idea Hales. You're still weak." He saw her pleading with her eyes. "Okay, I'll ask the nurse if we can bring her in okay?" he said and kissed her forehead. "I'll be right back. I love you Hales."
He made a solitary walk towards the nursery where his family and friends were waiting. "Oh Nathan, she's adorable!" Brooke gushed and pointed to the baby sleeping peacefully. At the sight of her, a smile broke on his face.
"I'm officially a grandma now," Deb said with a smile. "How's Haley?"
"She's awake but tired. She wants to see the baby."
A nurse walked up to him and said, "Mr. Scott, would you like to hold your baby?"
The thought of holding their baby for the first time thrilled him and he jumped at it. "Yeah," he said and followed her in. He saw the nurse gently picked her up and placed her in his waiting arms. His eyes misted over as he held her. "She's beautiful," he whispered and kissed her gently, laughing when she made a scunched up face at his touch. "Hey little girl, would you like to see your mommy?" He turned to the nurse. "Can I bring her to see Haley?"
"Yeah, sure. I'll be with with you in a few minutes to teach Haley how to breastfeed," she said.
He brought the baby outside much to everybody's delight. "Oh Nathan, you're a daddy," Karen gushed.
"Hey, mom. You're blocking the way. I want to see her too. I can't deny her the chance of seeing her handsome Uncle Lucas," Lucas said making everybody laugh. After everybody was done gushing, he excused himself, knowing that Haley was waiting. With a promise that they would be waiting, they let him go.
"Hey Hales. We're here," he said softly. Haley opened her eyes and tried to sit up. A nurse who was in the room immediately rushed over to help her. "That's your mommy," Nathan said with a smile and handed her over to Haley.
She cradled her in her arms and closed her eyes, savoring this moment. "She's beautiful," she said and watched her sleep lovingly.
"Of course she is. She looks just like you," Nathan said and moved to sit on the bed next to her. "Lily Rose Scott."
Haley looked up at him and smiled. "I like that. Hey Lily, you gave us quite a scare in there." Nathan watched them quietly. "Hey, are you okay?" she asked him.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just...terrified that something was gonna happen to you or Lily."
"We're okay. We're all gonna be okay," she said with a smile. Nathan nodded silently. He would have thought that the feeling of dread that he had before would disappear with the birth of their baby, but the sinking feeling was still there. It was like an invisible ticking time bomb over his head, waiting for the right time to explode. He shook it out of system and turned his attention to his little family. The amount of love that he was feeling at that moment was so huge he could almost feel his heart bursting. He made a promise to himself that he would protect his family as best as he could. He wouldn't let anything happen to them. He simply couldn't.