A\N: This chapter is shorter than my usual ones, I was going to add more to it but last paragraph seemed to me like a perfect ending when I was editing the chapter for the last time.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize.

Spoilers: None

Warinings: None

Chapter 34

When Shane woke-up the first thing she felt was extreme pain in her abdomen. As she blinked slowly to adjust to the light, she tried to remember what had happened. She pieced the events back together and her heart sank. "The baby," She whispered hoarsely.

"Shane," Oliver looked at his wife. When he saw her carefully turn her head to face him he kissed the top of her head and gently caressed her face, "I am very glad you have woken up I-"

"The baby," Shane interrupted him as she started to cry. "What…." She couldn't allow herself to think of the worst possibility. If something had happened to the baby, she didn't know how she'd ever be able to forgive herself.

Oliver kissed Shane's forehead again as a small smile came to his lips, "Our daughter is in the NICU. She's small and the doctors have some concerns; but they're hopeful she'll grow and become stronger. When she does, depending on what is happening with the pandemic we will be allowed to take her home."

Shane tried to steady her breathing, she felt better knowing the baby was alive, but she was still worried, "I need to see her." She attempted to sit up but couldn't do to pain. "I need to make sure she's okay."

"I want you to see her as well, however I am sure the doctor will want to talk to you first." Oliver pushed the nurses call button. "I know you are scared Shane but the doctors and nurses are going to do everything they can to help our baby."

A nurse had come in and checked Shane over, she increased her morphine and looked at her chart. She said a doctor would be coming to talk to her soon. As she left Shane tried to relax but she had so many questions, "Have you seen the baby?" Shane asked Oliver.

Oliver cleared his throat as he remembered how scary everything had been as the doctor's rushed Shane into surgery to save her and the baby. He had never been so scared in his life. He prayed both Shane and their baby would be okay and the loud cry he heard twenty minutes later was one of the best sounds he'd ever heard, "I saw her briefly," He answered honestly. "She needs to be in an incubator so I could not hold her. I was allowed to go to the NICU, but I wanted to be here with you when you woke up."

Shane began to cry again, "Why didn't you go and see her? You could have sat beside her? She needs to know she's not alone. She needs-"

"I was not sure what to do. I admit I am a bit unsure about how everything in the NICU works. I did not want you to wake up alone and even more scared. The nurses in the NICU needed to look after the baby first. I would prefer if we both see her together. She still does not have a name as did not know which name you would want to pick."

"Thank you, Oliver," Shane took his hand and squeezed it, "I am sure all this couldn't have been easy for you. Have you talked to anyone else?"

"I called my father; he's looking after the twins and Julia. They were all quite shaken up after what happened. So, I wanted to let them know what was going on. I called your mother as well; she sends her love and wishes she could be here. She said cannot wait until she can hold her new granddaughter in her arms."

There was a knock on the door of the private room and then in opened, "Hi Shane. My names Dr. Wood it's nice to officially meet you. I am going to talk to you and check you over, then we'll get you over to NICU so you can see your baby."

"Thank you," Shane smiled a little, "What happened? Why did I go into labour so early?"

"You had a placental abruption. A very serious case, the placental completely separated from the uterus and the amount of blood you lost, and your low blood pressure meant you were taken directly into an O.R. for a C-Section. We were honestly very lucky we were able to save both you and the baby. The baby is smaller than normal, even for babies born premature, but other tests came back within normal range for a pre-term baby." Dr. Wood explained, "We are going to keep your baby in the hospital for a least a month to ensure proper growth. If you recover well, you may be able to go home in a few days. Now, I understand you have three young children at home. Due to the current circumstances if you would like to visit your baby in the NICU after you are discharged, you're going to have to self-isolate yourselves from your children. This is for everyone's safety, but I understand how hard it will not be easy."

Shane started to cry again. Oliver gently took her hand and kissed it, "My father said we could make use of his house while he is looking after the children at our house. I wish we were able to see Matthew, Lucas and Julia but right now that is not a possibility. I am quite certain we'd be able to video chat with the kids and send them picture of their new sister."

Shane nodded her head slowly. She hated the idea of being away from her kids, but she needed to be with the baby in the NICU. That was the priority right now, she knew the other kids would be well taken care of my Joe. "When I'm still in the hospital can I be with the baby all day?"

"Yes, but due to current circumstances only one parent is allowed in the NICU at a time. If you or your husband would like to switch you must either wait outside or have specific times. I would suggest though you allow yourself to rest in bed as well. I know you want to be with your baby, but you need to recover as well. I'd suggest starting with short visits and then making then longer.

"I will be with her when you are not My Love; I agree with Dr. Wood, you need to rest and recover."

Shane didn't like the idea of being away from her baby but knew Dr. Wood was probably right, still it would not be easy for her to stay away, or to stay in a hospital bed as she didn't like to sit still for too long. She needed to keep her mind active and busy, especially if she was worried about all of her children. "Can I go and see her now?" Shane asked as she began to get inpatient.

"Yes, of course, I'll go and get a nurse and orderly to transfer you to a wheelchair," Dr. Wood left the room. She came back a few minutes later with a nurse and orderly who helped Shane sit in a wheelchair. The orderly pushed Shane and her I.V. pole to the NICU and then let a NICU nurse take-over. The NICU nurse helped Shane get into scrubs and a face mask.

"You go in first Shane," Oliver looked at her, "You see her first, then please allow me to escort you back to your room you need to rest. "I will then come back and sit with her for the rest of the night."

Shane nodded her head, "Thank you Oliver. I have her name; do you want to hear it first."

"I have complete faith in you Shane," Oliver told her.

"Okay," Shane nodded her head as the nurse pushed her into the NICU unit. The nurse pushed her to an incubator that had the words 'O'Toole' inside. In the incubator was a small baby who had an IV in her arm. Shane looked at the small sleeping baby and started to cry. "Hi sweetheart," She looked into the incubator "I'm your Mommy, you're so loved and you're so strong. You're going to get better alright.

The baby girl woke up and began to cry and Shane looked at the nurse silently asking what she could do, "We encourage skin to skin contact," The nurse replied, "You can reach into the incubator and touch her, just be careful of her IV's. You can sing to her or talk if you want to, so she recognizes your voice. I know this is very scary and new but we're all here to help you. My name is Stephine by the way."

"Shane," Shane said as she very gently reached into the incubator and touched her daughter's face, "And her name is Elizabeth Grace O'Toole." She gent caressed Elizabeth's face, "Don't cry sweetheart Mommy's right here."

TBC

A\N: I hope you liked the chapter. Please review if you can.