Johnny locked the back door and sprinted to his car. No doubt Gen wouldn't be happy about him being so late, but he needed the tea in order to make sure his mind stayed clear. Already, he felt better as he pulled out of the drive. Besides, he'd only be a little over an hour late. In the grand scheme, that really wasn't too bad.
He pulled out of the drive and was half way down the private road when his headlights caught the flicker of metal to his right. What the hell?
Why was Gen's car off to the side of the road? A quick shot of panic zipped through him and he immediately steered up behind her car and threw his in park. Then he opened the door and sprinted from his car to hers. He flung open her driver's door. "What happened? Are you okay?"
Pain was etched in Gen's face and she reached out and grabbed his hand. A few seconds later her pained expression eased. "Olivia was giving me a hard time," she panted. "I turned to look at her and hit that pot hole. It flooded out the car." Her gaze lifted to meet his head on. "And I'm in labor."
Panic shot through him like a rocket. "It's too soon. Are you sure you're in labor?"
She nodded. "I know it's too soon and yes, I'm positive. I've been timing the contractions and they're about ten minutes apart."
"Okay," he replied as he slid into paramedic mode. "Here's what we're going to do. I"m going to take Olivia to my car and get her buckled into her seat. Then I'm going to come back for you. Can you hang on a few more minutes for me?"
Gen nodded. "I'm good now that your here."
Worry and fear gripped Johnny by the throat and threatened to cut off his air as he made quick work of moving Olivia from Gen's car to his. "I need you to be a big girl for daddy okay?"
Olivia's eyes were wide with fear as she stared at him, but she nodded.
"Good girl. Now I'm going back to the other car to get mommy. I'll only be a minute, okay?"
Olivia nodded again even as tiny tears trickled down her cheeks. "Scared," she murmured.
Knowing time was against them, Johnny took a moment anyway to try and assure her. "I know you are, Boo." He stroked a hand over her wet hair. "I'm scared too, but I promise it's going to be okay. I just need you to be a big girl for me for a few more minutes. Can you do that?"
"Yes, daddy," she replied in a tone that was so much more adult sounding than her three years of age.
"Good girl." He pressed a kiss to her cheek. "I'll be right back."
He shut the door and raced back to Gen where he found her fighting through another contraction. "I think they're getting closer," she gasped.
"Well let me know when it's over and we'll move."
About a minute later he gingerly guided her through the downpour and eased her into the passenger seat. Then he returned to her car, scooped up her bag and keys and locked the doors before hopping in the drivers seat and taking off. Now all he had to do was get them to Rampart in time.
By the time he'd pulled up outside the emergency entrance the storm had eased. "I'll be right back," he said then exited the car and raced inside. His wet shoes had him sliding around the corner and catching the attention of Brackett and Dixie. "Johnny?" Kel frowned. "What are you doing here?"
"I have Gen in the car and she's in labor."
Brackett glanced at Dixie. "Come on."
Johnny lead the way back to the car. "Olivia's in the back seat," he said to Dixie who nodded.
"I've got her. You take care of Gen."
With Brackett's help they eased her from the car. "Gen, you're sure you're in labor?"
Gen nodded as she sagged between them. "They're less than ten minutes apart and steady." Tears prickled her eyes. "It's too soon. It's too soon." she repeated as they made their way inside.
"It's going to be okay," Brackett assured.
They moved her into treatment two and helped her up on to the table. Brackett turned to John. "Johnny, you want to help her strip down while I call up to obstetrics?"
John nodded and began working on getting her prepped. "John, when you're done there, I want an IV started. With her being early I don't want any extra complications."
She groaned as another contraction started and Johnny paused, taking her hand. "Breathe, baby," he urged. "That's it, breathe."
When it passed he started an IV then moved back to her side as Brackett slid between her legs. "I need to see how much you're dilated, Gen."
"Yeah, I figured," Gen replied then leaned back and closed her eyes. She held tight to Johnny's hand and he kept his gaze trained on her face. He knew the moment Brackett began checking her as expression changed and she grimaced.
"You're nearly to ten already, Gen," Brackett stated. "How long have you been in labor?"
"Maybe about two hours?" Gen replied.
Brackett frowned. "You're moving fast, so I think we're going to leave you right here."
Just then Mike Morton poked his head into the room. Dixie wants to know who she can call to come get Olivia."
"Everyone is over at Mike and Alyssa Stokers," Johnny replied. "Just call over there and let them know what's going on. Somebody will come get her."
An hour later Gen panted through yet another contraction and gripped Johnny's hand. "I feel like I need to push."
Brackett eased into position, then waited for her contraction to pass before checking her. "You're at ten, Genevieve. So push with the next contraction."
Dixie appeared as did Mike pushing a small incubator. "I had neonatal intensive care send down an incubator and one of the NICU doctors is waiting on standby if we need him."
"Good thinking," Brackett replied.
Another contraction began, Gen began to push. For Johnny time seemed to stand still as he watched Gen fight to bring her child into the world. From time to time he still struggled with the memories of watching her struggle through so much pain to deliver Olivia. Now here she was again, repeating the process and he wasn't sure he'd ever completely get over the totally helpless feeling he got because he couldn't take her pain away.
Before long it appeared as if the contractions were coming right on top of each other with no break. Gen struggled to keep up, but they didn't seem to be making any headway.
"I-" Gen shook her head and looked at Johnny. Her eyes were glassy with pain. "I don't feel so well."
John frowned. "Why? What's wrong?"
"Mike," Brackett nearly yelled. "Call OR and tell them to prep for an emergency C-section. Then call obstetrics and tell Dr. McLaughlin we have a possible hemorrhage in progress."
Hemorrhage? That one word struck an arrow of fear directly into Johnny's heart. "What's happening?" He glanced from Gen to Brackett.
"Gen's hemorrhaging. It just started, but if we don't stop it quick, we could lose her and the baby."
"What?" He glanced back to Gen only to realize she'd lost consciousness. This couldn't possibly be happening.
"We need to move, now." Brackett ordered. "Johnny, grab that IV. Mike get that gurney in here."
Within seconds they were rushing for the operating room and Johnny's heart was in his throat. They hit the door of the operating room and Brackett stopped him. "I'm sorry, Johnny, but you'll have to wait out here."
"Doc." Johnny swallowed hard. "If you're going to put her under, please don't forget about her allergy."
"We won't." Brackett patted him on the shoulder then disappeared behind the closing door.
As time slowly ticked by, Johnny paced the tiny waiting room. He'd noticed that Roy and Joanne and Mike and Alyssa had arrived, but Hank and Emily didn't. "Cap and Emily have Olivia?" He asked when Mike eased into an empty chair.
Mike nodded. "She was pretty shaken up. So they thought it best to take her home and get her mind off all this."
"She saw a lot more than a three year old should have been exposed to," Johnny replied. "What they did was probably best." Especially since there wasn't any way he could focus all his attention on her right now.
"Johnny," Roy began. "Brackett isn't going to let anything happen to Gen or the baby."
He thought back to the accident and shook his head. "You don't know that. He couldn't save Ridley. He couldn't keep Philips from being paralyzed. He's not a God."
"You're right, Johnny," Joanne offered. "He's not, but he'll do his best."
Johnny nodded and feeling the exhaustion begin to eat away at him, he lowered himself into the empty chair next to her. "I know he will. I just worry that it won't be enough."
An hour later, Brackett walked through the waiting room door. John winced at the blood covering his scrubs. That was Gen's blood. "Doc?"
"We were able to get the bleeding stopped," Backett replied. "Gen's out of danger." For a split second relief washed through him, until he realize Brackett hadn't said anything about the baby.
"What-" Johnny cleared his throat and tried again. "What about the baby?"
"Well, she's a little on the small side, but otherwise she looks good," Brackett replied and for a moment John feared he might faint as the room went up in a cheer.
"She?" Johnny repeated.
Brackett smiled. "It's a beautiful, healthy girl, Johnny. Like I said, she's a little small and we're slightly concerned about her lungs being fully developed, but right now she looks good. She's in an incubator in the NICU and will remain there for the next few days, but I'm confident that she's going to be fine."
"Doctor Brackett," Roy began. "What happened?"
"Gen suffered what is known as a placental abruption. It's where the placenta prematurely separates from the uterine wall." He turned his attention back to Johnny. "We think a couple factors were at play here. One, the placenta was extremely high on the uterine wall and the baby had an unusually short umbilical cord. When Gen began pushing, we think because of the short cord it caused the placenta to tear."
"Do you think that's what was wrong a couple of weeks ago?" Johnny asked.
Brackett nodded. "There's a good possibility that when the baby was trying to turn into head down position it pulled on the placenta and caused a small tear. We couldn't see anything on the ultrasound because it didn't really affect anything, but even a small tear would cause quite a bit of pain. I also think hitting the pothole in her car earlier might have re-aggravated that tear and threw her into premature labor."
"Can I see Gen?" Johnny asked.
"She's still in recovery right now. Once we're happy with her vital signs we'll move her into a room and you can see her then. How about I take you to see your daughter instead?"
Johnny nodded and had to fight down his emotions. "Lead the way, doc."
With the others standing outside and watching through the large picture window, Johnny made his way inside the NICU, where he donned a gown, gloves, and a mask before the nurse removed his daughter from the incubator and placed her in his arms. Now he did let the tears flow and thanked the spirits above for looking over his family. "She looks like Genevieve," he murmured.
Brackett nodded. "She does at that. Um...Johnny..."
John looked up from the newborn and met Brackett's gaze. In an instant he's skin began to prickle. "What haven't you told me?" he asked.
"About Gen," Brackett began. "The hemorrhage was large and she lost a lot of blood. It's going to take her some time to recover."
Johnny nodded, "and," he added knowing there was something else.
He could see Brackett wince behind the mask. "She's going to suffer extensive scarring and there's an extremely high probability that she won't be able to have anymore children."
Johnny closed his eyes, as he let the information sink in. There wouldn't be a son in his future. There wouldn't be anymore children. Then he opened his eyes and looked down at his daughter and watched as she wrapped her tiny, perfect fingers around his index finger. It didn't matter. None of that mattered. He had two beautiful daughters and an amazing wife and he couldn't asked for anything more. "I'll break the news to Genevieve."
Brackett nodded. "If that's what you want."
"It is and doc?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you for giving me back my wife and daughter."