Disclaimer: I do not own the Ducks.
Healthy?
I looked at my daughter as the doctor held her tiny body in her arms. I couldn't believe how small she was. I was lost in the brown eyes of my first baby girl. I was brought back to reality by Dr. Gunnell. I was horrified to find out that something was wrong with the baby.
"She's having a hard time breathing." she stated and the nurses nodded at her as a small oxygen mask was brought over. "We need to get her out of here?" Dr. Gunnell handed the baby to the nurse and they quickly headed out of the room with the baby.
"Wait," I yelled at her and she turned back to me. "Is our baby going to be okay? What's going on?"
"She's small. She's having a little trouble breathing. We're going to find out what's wrong and get back to you as soon as we can." she told me then headed out of the room and down the hall.
"You need to leave the room sir, so that we can get your wife situated into her hospital room. We will come and get you when we are finished." the remaining nurse told me pushing me out of the room.
I went to the waiting room with the rest of the Ducks. "Hey Scooter, what's going on man?" Charlie asked coming up to me.
"Yeah, we just saw them go rushing down the hall with the baby." Adam added.
"The baby is having a little trouble breathing." I answered, my mind racing.
"What about Julie? Is she okay?" Connie asked.
"Yeah, Julie's fine. They are getting ready to take her to her room upstairs and we should be able to see her after that and hopefully find out about the baby." I answered. I hadn't even got a chance to talk to Julie about the baby and reassure he that everything was going to be okay before I got kicked out. I'll bet she is going crazy with worry. I know I am.
"Are you going to be okay, Scooter?" Coach Wilson asked me.
I was so lost in my thoughts that I barely heard him. "I'll be fine when I hear that my daughter is going to be okay." I sat down between Orion and Charlie's mother and they both tried to comfort me. It was nearly an hour later when the nurse came back out and took me to see Julie.
The first thing that Julie asked me when I walked into her private room was about the baby. She was a mess with worry.
"I haven't heard anything, but my guess is that if something had happened to her they would have told us by now." I answered trying to remain as calm as possible.
Julie smiled. "What did she look like?"
It was at that moment that I realized that Julie hadn't even seen her yet. "Well she looks just like you. She had a little blonde hair, but not much. She has your eyes and cute little nose."
"What else?"
"Well she her eyes are brown and she has my ears." I recalled from the memory of the small glance I had gotten of her before the nurses took her away. "But she is so small. She is the most beautiful baby on Earth."
My words were interrupted by the knock on the door. Dr. Gunnell came in and my heart leaped in my throat. I couldn't tell if this was good or bad. "The baby's breathing has stabilized." she told us and Julie and I both breathed a sigh of relief.
"So she is going to be okay?" Julie asked.
"She has some fluid in her lungs and we are currently treating her for that. She will be here for a week or two, but she should come through this just fine." Dr. Gunnell smiled.
I smiled back. "Can we see her?"
"Yes, but let me warn you. She is on a ventilator, which is common with most premature babies." Dr. Gunnell told us. "Let me get Julie a wheelchair and the two of you can go see her. Maybe give her a name." she came back a couple of minutes later with the chair. I helped Julie into the chair and we followed Dr. Gunnell to the baby. Julie and I put on the necessary wardrobe and I wheeled her inside.
Julie stuck her hand inside the ventilator through the holes in the side. She held the baby's small hand as a tear escaped from her eyes. I smiled at them both. I was happy. This was the family I had always wanted and there was no way I was going to let this jail thing stand in the way of that. I knew that somehow Bombay would get me out of this mess.
A doctor with a clipboard walked up to us. "Have the two of you given any thought to what you are going to name this little angel?"
"As a matter of fact, we have." I answered.
"Emily Nicole Vanderbilt." Julie told him and the doctor wrote the name down on the chart and handed it to Julie. It turned out to be the birth certificate. Julie signed it and passed on to me. I happily placed my signature on the document as I took reach for my daughter's small hand.
Over the next two weeks the baby's condition improved greatly. Julie stayed there the whole time the baby was there. I, on the other hand made the trip home every night. I had to get everything ready for when the baby was able to come home. With the help of the Ducks, I was able to set up the nursery in the guests room. I made sure to paint it pink, like Julie wanted it. I had Connie help me do some shopping for Teddy bears and cute little outfits for the baby. I opened the rest of the gifts and placed them in the nursery. I placed little name tags on each gift so that Julie would know who got the baby what. We were barely able to get the nursery finished before the baby was released from the hospital.
Julie and I brought her home on August 8, 1997, exactly two weeks after her birth. Charlie had insisted that she wear home the little Duck jersey that he had made especially for her. I opened the door to the apartment and we walked inside. I led Julie into the nursery room and she nearly cried. "This is wonderful. How did you have the time to finish it?"
I smiled. "The Ducks helped. All of this furniture was the gift I was going to give you before Emily decided it was time to come into the world." I said as I kissed the top of my sleeping daughter's head. I slowly placed her in the crib and pulled the pink blanket over her. Julie and I crept out of the room and turned out the light. It seamed like everything was going to work out. But then again, as we all know, happiness can be short lived and in our case it was.
