News

Just as the sun was beginning to dip below the horizon, Lena finally began to stir. Stef clutches her wife's hand tightly, holding her breath as Lena's eyes twitch a few times and then finally open. Overcome with emotion, Stef sniffs back tears as Lena squeezes her hand back, her beautiful chocolate brown eyes looking around the hospital room.

"Hey, beautiful." Stef says sweetly, her voice barely above a whisper. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore." Lena replies after a few moments.

"That's to be expected." Stef says. Lena had been sore after delivering each of their other children, but this time was different. This was the only time Lena had needed a C-section.

"What happened? How's the baby?" Lena asks, foggily recalling the events that had happened in the operating room this morning.

"The baby is okay. She's intubated to help her breathe and she's hooked up to all kinds of machines and monitors. But she's okay." Stef answers. She had spent a few hours sitting beside their daughter's incubator today, waiting to hear information about Lena. As soon as Lena had been moved from surgical recovery to a regular post-op room, Stef had been by her side. Their baby had a team of nurses looking after her, but Lena only had Stef.

"There is something I have to tell you." Stef tells her wife carefully. Dr. Hilcroft had offered to give Lena the news, but Stef knew that Lena would take it better coming from her wife.

"What is it?" Lena asks, panic rising in her voice.

"After delivering the baby, Dr. Hilcroft had trouble controlling some bleeding in your uterus." Stef begins. Exact specifics didn't matter. The end result was the same. "She couldn't get it to stop so she had to . . . She had to remove your uterus." Stef says carefully. "To save your life, she had to remove your uterus." Stef clarifies.

"Oh." Lena replies quietly, her eyes going to a far away place. Stef and Lena had planned on this baby being their last one, but knowing that now she was unable to carry anymore children felt differently to Lena.

"Are you okay?" Stef asks gingerly, stroking the back of Lena's hand with her thumb.

"Yeah, I'm just worried about the baby." Lena replies.

"The NICU doctor is going to come and talk to us in a little bit." Stef says, not entirely sure that that's all that is bothering her wife.

Two hours later, after Lena has pushed her dinner around its plate for a while, the neonatologist in charge of their daughter's care arrives.

"How are you feeling?" Dr. Rabb asks Lena as she enters the hospital room.

"I'm okay." Lena replies. "I'm worried about my daughter."

"Of course you are." Dr. Rabb agrees. "I can already tell you that your daughter is a fighter."

"Really?" Lena asks hopefully, tears brimming in her eyes.

"Really. Right now she's only one pound and three ounces, but we expect her to gain weight easily. She has a feeding tube in right now. Were you planning on breastfeeding?" Dr Rabb asks, pulling out a small notebook.

"Can I still do that?" Lena asks in disbelief.

"Oh, yes. In fact, we encourage it. Breast milk has the best nutrition for a newborn baby." Dr. Rabb replies. "I'll make sure a pump is sent up to you after we're done here. That way you can start pumping. Until then, we'll give her formula through her feeding tube."

"Is there anything else wrong with her?" Lena inquires fearfully.

"Well, she's very small and underdeveloped. So that means her organs are also not fully developed. She'll be on the ventilator for a few weeks until her lungs can handle breathing on their own. We're giving her a steroid to help her lungs develop faster. She's a little jaundice so we'll be keeping an eye on her bilirubin levels and she'll be receiving light therapy. Other than that, we just wait and watch." Dr. Rabb explains.

"When can I see her?" Lena asks and, for the first time all day, Stef actually sees some excitement in her wife's eyes.

"I need to speak to Dr. Hilcroft, but I think that we can wheel you down to the NICU tomorrow if you're feeling up for it." Dr. Rabb answers with a smile.

"Thank you so much." Lena replies, tears springing to her eyes. "Thank you so much for taking such good care of our baby girl."

"It is my pleasure." Dr. Rabb says. "I will see you both tomorrow."

"Did you hear that? Our baby girl is a fighter." Lena says excitedly, reaching out for Stef.

"Yeah." Stef replies, trying not to get too excited. There were still thousands of things that could go wrong. They could still end up having a funeral instead of a welcome home party.

"Are you okay?" Lena asks, pulling Stef into her for a tight hug. She knows that her wife's mind is likely going a million miles per minute right now.

"I was so worried about you." Stef admits, resting her forehead against Lena's temple. "I thought I was going to lose you."

"I'm okay." Lena assures her wife.

"I know. . . I just. . ." Stef sniffles.

"Hey, hey, look at me." Lena urges, taking Stef's face in her hands. "I'm okay. You're okay. And our baby girl is getting the best care in the country."

"I know, I know." Stef nods, allowing Lena to wipe tears from her cheeks.

"Do you want to go home and check on the other kids?" Lena asks.

"No." Stef replies with a shake of her head. "Your parents are home with them. My mom is flying in tomorrow morning. I called the school and told them that you'll be out for a while, and I told Captain Roberts the same thing. I just want to be here with you right now."

"Well, then get in." Lena says, scooting over in the hospital bed to make room for her wife.

"Are you sure?" Stef asks. "I don't want to hurt you."

"Just get in this bed, Foster." Lena orders with a smirk. With a matching grin, Stef crawls into the hospital bed. Laying on her side, with one arm thrown carefully over her wife, Stef falls asleep to the melody of the steadily beeping heart monitor.