September 24th: When he wakes up she's sound asleep. The rain dances on the windowsill, and he rolls over and tries to go back to sleep. The alarm shrills, and she shakes him.
"Get up!" she insists.
"I'm taking the day off," he reminds her.
"We've got a doctor's appointment," she reminds him.
"Five more minutes."
"Ok," she agrees getting out of bed.
He closes his eyes.
"Get up!" she demands.
"Five more minutes," he tells her.
"You're going to miss the appointment. I'm leaving in fifteen minutes," she tells him.
"What time is it?"
"Almost time to go," she answers.
He rolls over and looks at the clock. He jumps out of bed and into the shower. He pulls on some clothes and makes it to the door as she slips her shoes on.
"You don't have to wear heels," he reminds her.
"What else would I wear?"
"Anything else."
"Why?"
"I don't know, maybe because you're nine months pregnant."
"Come on. We're going to be late."
"Why are you so grouchy this morning?"
"I'm not," she growls.
They leave the apartment, and get in a car. They reach the doctor's office, and hop onto the elevator. The doors close and the elevator moves slowly. She stands next to him, very quietly. Out of the blue she squeezes his hand. He looks over at her.
"Are you having contractions?"
"I've been having contractions for weeks," she reminds him.
"Are they worse today?"
The elevator door opens and she gets off. He follows three steps behind her. They get called into the exam room after ten minutes. A nurse takes her vitals, and instructs them to wait for the doctor. The doctor finally comes in and does an exam.
"So do you two have a name picked out?"
"No. Why?" Daniel asks.
"Your little one is probably going to make her appearance today."
"Are you sure?" Wilhelmina questions.
"You're dilated to about six right now, but if you weren't I'd probably induce you today."
"Why? Is something wrong?" Daniel quizzes.
"Her blood pressure is higher than we'd like," the doctor admits.
"So now what?" Daniel asks.
"Take her to the hospital."
They leave the doctor's office and head straight to the hospital. They admit Wilhelmina and hook her up to a couple of monitors. An hour and a half after her arrival the doctor comes in to check on her.
"You're progressing nicely, but I'm a little bit concerned," he admits.
"Why? Is something wrong?" she inquires helplessly.
"Your blood pressure is even higher now than it was earlier. And the baby's heart rate is decelerating every time that you have a contraction. I think that it would be an un-necessitated risk to try and deliver her vaginally. It's too much stress on the both of you," Before he can finish his statement the baby's heart rate drops.
"What's happening?" Daniel queries.
"We need to get her out, now," the doctor answers.
"Do whatever you have to," Wilhelmina answers without thinking.
"The nurse will get you some scrubs," he tells Daniel.
"Ok," Daniel nods going with the nurse.
"The anesthesiologist is on his way to give you an epidural."
"Ok," she nods.
Daniel calls Claire in the hallway. By the time he has scrubs on they're wheeling Wilhelmina to the O.R. He follows alongside her, holding her hand the whole way. The next few minutes blur together. Daniel sits on a stool next to Wilhelmina.
"You're going to feel some pressure," he announces.
Moments later he pulls out a baby. Daniel watches as he unwraps the umbilical cord from around the baby's neck. "It's a girl," he tells them holding her over the curtain, as she begins to cry. He passes her off to the nurses who assess her quickly. A nurse approaches Daniel.
"Would you like to cut the cord?"
He nods and follows her over to the incubator where the newborn squalls. He clips the umbilical cord and takes a picture of her.
"Hi beautiful," he smiles.
Suddenly the mood in the room changes. The doctor tells all unnecessary personnel to leave the room. A nurse loads the baby into an isolet and instructs Daniel to follow her. Daniel follows her out of the room.
"What's going on? What's wrong?"
"They're going to have to give her a transfusion," she answers.
"I should..."
"No, you need to come with me," she insists.
He follows her into the nursery. After fifteen minutes the nurse takes the baby out of the isolet and moves toward Daniel.
"Here you go," she gently places the quiet little girl in his arms.
"She's ok?"
"She's perfectly fine. Her Apgar scores are great. Her breathing is really good, and she's a healthy size."
"How big is she?"
"Six pounds four ounces, twenty inches."
She leads him into the private room that they had been in previously. After twenty minutes Claire arrives. She finds him sitting in a chair holding the little girl. She takes a seat next to him, and he offers her the baby. She gladly accepts and then asks, "Where is Wilhelmina?"
"I don't know. There was a complication and they made me leave the room."
Claire hands the sleeping baby back to Daniel, and gets out of her chair.
"Where are you going?"'
"I'll be right back," she answers.
She returns ten minutes later with the doctor.
"Where is Wilhelmina? Is she ok?"
"Mr. Meade there was excessive bleeding, we had to do a blood transfusion."
"Is she ok?"
"I'm sorry there was nothing more that we could do. I'm so sorry."
His heart sinks.