Chapter 40

The doctor hesitated.

"Give it to me straight, Doc!" insisted Vince.

"Your daughter is under five pounds, her lungs are very underdeveloped, right now she is stable. If that continues and she begins to gain weight, her chances are good. We just need to find out if she is a fighter."

"If she's anything like her father, then she is!" Liiani told him fervently.

"Let's hope so," the doctor responded.

"May I see my wife now?" Vince requested.

"Yes, I'll call the nurse and have her take you to her. Only one of you will be able to go in at a time," the doctor told them.

Once out in the hall AJ asked Vince, "Have you called the rest of the family yet, Vince?"

"Everyone but dad. I didn't want to worry him until I knew more, at his age and all," he answered. "It might be a good idea to update everyone else. Can you call them for me?"

"Of course we will," Liiani and AJ answered in unison.

As Vince walked off after the nurse, Akaliiani said, "Why don't you call Mac and Trevor, and Adel and Pops, since you know Mac and Adel…" she trailed off as her throat closed up.

"Akaliiani, I can call all of your brothers to update them but you should call your father, he hasn't heard anything yet. You should be the one to tell him."

She nodded and whispered, "Oh AJ how could this have happened?!" Putting her hand on her stomach she continued, "It could have been us!"

Wrapping his arms around her, AJ held her close, "Yes it could have Darlin', but we really can't think that way now, we need to call the family and then stay strong for Vince. He is going to need every bit of support we can give him in the coming days."

Taking a deep breath, she said, "You're right. I shouldn't have been so selfish!"

"Sweetheart! You don't have a selfish bone in your body! It's only natural to think about us when you are pregnant too, but Vince is going to need us to be strong for him. If he loses one or the other…"

"Oh god! Please let's not even think that way!" she begged.

"Okay Akaliiani. Let's focus on helping Vince."

"Yes, and we need to make our phone calls now. This is going to kill Pops!"

They walked outside to where there was a seating area they could use their cell phones. AJ got the reaction he expected with each of his calls. Every one of her brothers offered to drop everything and to show up for Vince and Collette. He told them not to come right then. Akaliiani and he were on site and would keep them in the loop, but for now all they could do was pray.

Meanwhile, a few feet away, Liiani was placing a call to her father and Adel. "Dad, can you get Adel on the other line or put the call on speaker so I can talk to you both at the same time?"

"Yes," he told her, then began grilling her, "Are you okay? Is it the baby?! What is…"

"Pops! Please! Yes I have news, but it isn't about me. I need you to listen," she interrupted.

"Okay, baby girl," Gerald told her as he took his wife's hand and braced for the worst.

"Collette had her baby a few hours ago…"

"But that's great news! You made it sound like it was bad news! Do we have a new grandson or granddaughter?," he paused for a moment before continuing, "But wait! Their baby wasn't due for two months…"

"POPS!"

"Gerry you need to let her talk," Adel told him.

"I'm sorry, go ahead Liiani."

"Collette was in a lot of pain and collapsed at her work today. They rushed her to the hospital. She had a baby girl that is only three pounds Pops. They have her in the neo natal NIC U and are watching her closely because her lungs are underdeveloped. The doctor has said she is stable for now…" Liiani paused for breath.

She heard Adel gently ask, "What about Collette, my dear?"

"She…" Liiani gulped, "She had a prolapsed uterus and was hemorrhaging badly. Right now she is in ICU in a coma. We could still lose one or both of them."

To be continued…..