*Thank-you for all the reviews on the last chapter. THey were greatly appreciated. Thank-you all so much.
"Ry," I said as I walked over to her bed, "are you okay?"
"Yeah," she said. "I'm just tired."
"Well, you need your strength," I said. "You have a baby to push out."
"I know," she said as weakly as before. I didn't know what was wrong with her but she didn't look good. I was starting to worry about her but she insisted that she was okay and that she just had a bad headache that she hoped would go away after she had the baby.
"All right, Ryan," said the doctor, "when I tell you to push I need you to push. Okay?"
"Okay," she said. "I am ready."
"Me too," I said with a smile.
"Did Tessa have the baby?" she asked me.
"Yes," I said, "our daughter was born. She is beautiful. She has a head full of black hair and she was 7 lbs 5 oz. She is absolutely beautiful. Wait until you see her."
"I bet she's beautiful," she said. "John, my head hurts."
"I know. It will be okay," I said taking her hand. "You just need to focus on pushing out our son and you'll be all right."
"Okay," she said, "Did you tell the nurses the baby's name is Zuri Rose?"
"No but I will. Let's focus on our son right now."
"All right, Ryan," said the doctor, "I need you to push."
Ryan let out a big push as her face turned red something I had never seen before. It had turned red before but this shade of red was brighter than ever. She stopped pushing and let out a breath. She grabbed her head and said, "I can't do this. It hurts too much."
"You'll be okay," said the doctor.
"Are you sure?" I asked. "This is pretty serious."
"She will be all right," said the doctor. "All right, Ryan. Give me another push!"
She gave another push and her face turned as red as before and after she was done she complained once more about her head hurting. I was getting worried because the way she was talking she was in a lot of pain. I don't know much about childbirth but I do know a woman's head shouldn't be hurting that badly. The way she was talking I could tell she was in a lot of pain and Ryan was usually someone with a high tolerance level for pain and the fact she was complaining about her head made me really nervous. "Ry, are you sure you're okay?"
"I don't know but it hurts really bad," she said. "Should my head hurt like this? It feels like it's going to explode."
"You just have a headache," said the doctor, "it will be all right."
"Can I get a second opinion?" I asked.
"Your wife is in labor," said the doctor, "do you want her to give birth or do you want to risk the baby's well being by getting another doctor in here to do a second opinion. Your wife is healthy and has no underlying health issues. She is fine. She just has a headache now can you please let her give birth to your baby before you put it in distress?"
"I'm concerned about my wife's well being too," I said. I was very concerned about Ryan's well being. Something just didn't seem right with her headache. I wanted a second opinion to make sure she was all right but I didn't want to jeopardize our son's well being after everything we had gone through to have him.
"John," said Ryan, "I'll be fine. I can do this. I'm ready to continue."
"Are you sure?" I asked.
"Yes, John," she said, "I'm sure."
"Okay," I said.
"All right," said the doctor, "let's bring this baby into the world. Ryan, I need another push." Ryan let out another push followed by the loudest scream I had ever heard as she squeezed my hand so hard that the color was gone. "You're crowning! Keep pushing," said the doctor. Ryan kept pushing but kept stopping because of her head hurting but she went back to it until the baby's head was out. The doctor suctioned out his nose and mouth and told Ryan to give him one more big push. Ryan pushed the hardest she could and stopped as the baby came out crying. She let out a sigh as the doctor said, "It's a boy!"
"It's a boy," I said as I kissed her forehead. He was absolutely beautiful. He was just as beautiful as his sister Zuri. "He is so beautiful," I said as the nurse laid him down on Ryan's stomach.
"He is so handsome," she said with tears in her eyes. "We did a good job."
"Yes we did," I said with a smile as I was handed a pair of scissors to cut the cord. I cut the cord like I was a pro at it and the doctor took the baby to clean him off , give him the tests he needed and to weigh him. He was born at 12:25 a.m. on January 1st it was already a great start to the new year. WE had a beautiful daughter and a beautiful son. Our lives were turning out for the better. I will not lie that 4 year wait was worth it in the end. I had tears in my eyes knowing I was a biological father and I don't' think I had ever felt a love like the love I had for Zuri and her little brother.
"8 lbs. 12 oz," said the nurse, "and 21 inches long."
"He's a big baby," I said with a smile. "Ry, do you want to name him Zaiden?" I looked at her when she didn't give me a response. Her eyes were closed and the line began to flat line. "RYAN!" I yelled. "RYAN!" I didn't get a response.
"Mrs. Cena," said the nurse as she checked on her. "Code blue! We need a doctor in here now!"
In a matter of minutes the room was filled with doctors and nurses. They all crowded around Ryan after I had been pushed out of the way. The baby was put in an incubator as they checked on my wife. I was soon asked to leave but I didn't want to leave. I wanted to be there for Ryan. I needed to be there for Ryan. I didn't want to leave her. I couldn't leave her. There was so much fear in my body I can not express how scared I was at that moment. "I don't want to leave. I want to be with my wife," I said.
"You need to leave, Sir," said a resident. "We will call you when we're finished."
"I can't leave her," I said. "I need to be with her. She is my wife."
"Sir. Please," said the blonde resident. "You need to let us work on your wife. It will be okay." She directed me out of the room leaving me in the hallway by myself. I couldn't hold back anymore and began to cry. I had no idea what was wrong with Ryan but I knew it wasn't good. It wasn't good from the start but now it was worse. I sat in the hallway while they worked on her and I could hear my son's cries as well as my daughter's cries. I wanted to go to my daughter but I couldn't. I couldn't move not until I heard news on Ryan. I was growing frustrated because I hadn't heard word yet but then after 20 minutes of waiting a doctor came out.
I knew by the look on his face that what he was about to tell me would not be good. He walked over to me and said, "Mr. Cena."
"Yes," I said.
I wasn't ready for the next words to come out of his mouth. They were the worst words I had ever heard in my entire life other than hearing Dave tell me that the baby Tessa was pregnant with wasn't mine because it was his and he had been sleeping with Tessa for months. But the words the doctor said to me were so much worse. They tore my heart apart instantly. "I'm sorry. We couldn't bring her back."
I felt as if my heart had been ripped out of my chest, thrown on the ground and stopped on. "So she's dead?"
"I'm sorry, Mr. Cena," said the doctor. "We did everything we could but nothing worked. She was gone. I'm sorry."
I felt the tears welling up in my eyes and the lump in my throat. I hated that feeling. I hated the feeling of crying and I hated hearing that my wife had died. She was young and beautiful. She was healthy but she was still gone. I wished it was a nightmare and hoped that I would wake up soon but it was all real. None of it was fake. "She can't be," I said. "She's not dead."
"I'm sorry, Sir,' he said as he hung his head.
"How? What happened?"
"We think she had a brain hemorrhage but we're going to do some tests but your doctor told me that she had a headache as she gave birth to the baby but your wife insisted on continuing after the doctor said to stop."
"That is NOT what happened. The doctor told her to continue pushing despite the headache. He told her she would be fine. He is the one that told her to continue despite her headache."
"I am getting a different story," said the doctor.
My sorrow soon turned to anger because it seemed like they were pinning my wife's death on her instead of the doctor that told her to continue pushing. "My story is the right one. You can ask the nurse. The doctor told her she would be fine. She kept complaining about the headache and I asked him if it would be okay but he insisted it was the best thing she continued. It's your doctor's fault not my wife's fault."
"I will look into it," he said. "Again, Sir, I am sorry for your loss."
"Yeah," I said as I walked into the room to get my son. "Can I take him to see his sister?"
"Absolutely," said the nurse. "There is no problem with that. I am sorry about your wife." They could say sorry all they wanted but sorry was not helping the pain that I felt. My wife had been taken from me and I had two newborn babies to take care of and an 8 year old. An 8 year old that I would have to explain to her why her Mom would not be coming home. I was not ready for that. I was not ready to face Zola and tell her the news. I really wasn't. I took my son over to Tessa's room where she was sitting in the bed feeding Zuri. She looked up at me and said, "I'm sorry. I didn't want to step on Ryan's toes but she was hungry. I had to feed her. Does she have a name?"
"Zuri Rose Cena," I said.
"That's pretty," said Tessa. "I like it. She is so beautiful."
"Thanks," I said.
"And I see Ryan had the baby. What's his name?"
"I don't know," I said as I felt the tears in my eyes.
"John, what's the matter?" she asked. "Why are you crying? How is Ryan?"
I shook my head and said, "She didn't make it, Tess. She didn't make it."
"Oh my God, John. I am so sorry," she said.
"It's okay," I said as I took the baby out of the incubator.
"How did she go?"
"They said she had a brain hemorrhage but they aren't sure. I knew that headache was a bad sign. I knew it. I should have stopped her. I should have stopped the labor and she would still be here."
"John, I am really sorry."
"She wanted to name him Zaiden," I said looking at my sleeping son who somewhat resembled Zachary which I thought was weird. I thought it was my mind playing tricks on me but my son looked like Zachary just like him in fact but it wasn't the time to focus on that part of my past. It was time to focus on Zuri and my son. It was time for me to face the fact they would never have a mother and they would never meet her. It was time for me to realize my wife was gone and she was never coming back. I was absolutely devastated.
"Name him Zaiden Ryan Cena," said Tessa. "You know in honor of Ryan."
"I like it. Thanks," I said as I looked at my son. "Zaiden Ryan, I love you." I softly kissed his forehead as I thought about how much Ryan and me wanted these babies and how she wasn't here to enjoy them. I was devastated and there was nothing that could be done to make me feel better. I couldn't believe how well the new year started off and then in an instance it all went to Hell.. So much for a great year.. This was going to be the year from hell. I knew it.
A/N: So what did you think? Please Review and thank-you for reading.