" I don't understand why? Why isn't Antonio or that Nash guy her coach?" John asked Natalie as he drove her in his car to the hospital to meet Jessica and her family
"Think about it John, she still isn't sure which one of them is the father, Tess destroyed the test results from the amnio and they felt it was to dangerous to take another one." Natalie said as she faced him while he drove
"So, you were doing your sisterly duty and agreed to be her coach"
"Agreed, I volunteered, I mean.. I don't see myself having any of my own in the near future so I wanted to experience having a baby thru Jess, don't get me wrong I wanted to be there for her any way possible but it's suppose to be an amazing experience to see a baby come into this world, to see new life being born." Natalie said as John could hear the excitement in her voice when she spoke about seeing her sister's baby being born.
"What do you mean you don't see it happening anytime in the near future, you were going to marry Nick, weren't the two of you planning to have children." John asked as he gave her a quick glance before reverting his attention back to the road.
"Nope, not really, Nick never really said he wanted them and I.. I.. I guess I just never pushed cause I couldn't see myself having them with him. I guess that should have been my first clue that I shouldn't marry him, that maybe I didn't love him the right way." Natalie answered him staring out the front windshield window. She knew why she had forgiven up her dream of having children and it was because of John, because she had pictured them having children one day and when things didn't work out she just couldn't see it happening with Nick, or with anyone else for that matter.
John didn't know what else to say when she spoke about not seeing herself with kids, this wasn't Natalie, she wanted kids, she had always wanted kids, she had wanted them when she was married to Chris, he had known for a fact that she had longed for having a few kids and raising them the right way. To be the kind of mom Roxy was never to her. He was reminded of a time when he saw her with kids, in a vision in his head, an amazing vision in his head. A boy and a girl. That vision was what convinced him, made him keep Chris' secret, made him lie to her over and over, it also was what drew him closer to her all along. For he wanted it too, children that was, and he knew deep down inside she would be the only one he would ever want to have them with. They arrived at the Hospital and John drove to the front so she could jump out while he would go park the car.
"I'll drop you here and I'll go park" John told her, as she was about to jump out quickly
"You don't have too, the ride was enough, thank you" Natalie said basically telling him she could handle things herself, she didn't want him there, she didn't want to give him the wrong impression, she didn't want him to think she needed him, not like that anymore. She jumped out of the car before he could say another word.
John parked the car and went in to find her anyway, anyway although she didn't ask him, although she didn't need him too. Although she acted like she didn't want him there he would be there anyway just incase.
He walked down the hall to the labor and delivery area and he caught a quick glance of her with scrubs on going into one of the rooms. He took a seat and waited for a few minutes when Michael passed by.
"Hey bro, how are ya?" Michael asked as he took a seat next to him.
"Fine Mikey"
"I see the hang over didn't last to long this time, your body must be adjusting to having all that alcohol in it."
"Not now Mikey, not now"
"Okay, okay, what's going on? Are ya sick or did ya maybe get someone pregnant?" Michael asked joking and John didn't think it was funny.
"Alright, alright, then why are you really here and in Labor and delivery ward?" Michael asked
"Natalie's here, Jess' is having her baby, and I.. I just want to be here in case she needs me"
"Oh, I see... I see.. Then you know about Nat and Nick then" Michael said and John confirmed with a nod of his head.
"Natalie and I have .. well.. I think maybe we have worked a few things out.. maybe.."
"Okay, did you or didn't you?" Michael asked confused.
"Not really a 100 sure here Mikey, not sure" John said thinking about their earlier conversation and he was confused as to where they stood, they got a few things out in the open but there was still so much more to be worked on.
"That's good news then, right? Sort of good then?" Michael added as saw the look of hope on John's face
"Yeah, it's a start, a good start" John told him with a small grin. The men were silent for a few minutes till Michael spoke again.
" You know I just checked on Jessica, it's gonna be awhile, hours, quite a few she's barely dilated"
"What's dilated, and how many hours do ya think?" John asked
" Well dilation has to occur so the baby can come out of the cervix"
"Stop right there Michael, I really don't think I want to know, if it's gonna be that long then I think I'll come back" John said goodbye to Michael and was about to leave when he stopped and went back over to him.
"Hey, do you think maybe you can do your brother here a few favors" John asked Michael.
Natalie was in the labor room with Jessica and she didn't look good, Jessica didn't look good, she was pale and could barely handle the pain.
"Honey, let me ask the nurse for something for you, I think you're in too much pain, lets see about an epidural" Natalie told Jessica as she held Jessica's hand while another contraction came on.
" No, I can do this" Jessica told Nat as she squeezed Nat's hand even harder than before.
"Jess, it doesn't mean you failed if you need a little help" Natalie told her and Jess shook her head for Natalie to ask the nurse for her.
"Excuse, excuse me my sister's in a lot of pain and she wants an epidural" Natalie asked the nurse as the nurse informed her she would tell her doctor when he came in again in a few minutes to check on her. After a few more minutes the doctor came in to check on Jessica. Natalie continued to hold her hand when while the doctor was examining her, all of a sudden Natalie felt jess' hand go loose. She looked and Jess was unconscious. She screamed for the doctor and he checked both Jess' stats and the baby's fetal monitor to make sure the baby wasn't under any distress. Jess seem to be okay and the doctor assured her she would probably wake in a few minutes, she was probably just resting, all of a sudden jess woke briefly and spoke to Natalie.
"Take care of her for me till I'm well, promise me Natalie, promise me' Jess told her and Natalie got frightened. There was something wrong, she felt it, shit, she saw it.
"Jess, Jess," Natalie said as she started to panic
"Promise me Nat" Jessica asked her one last time.
"I will Jess, I will, but you're going to be all right, you will" Natalie told her as she screamed for the doctor who was checking to see if the baby was coming along.
"Something's wrong, something's wrong with her" she told the doctor and the nurse but they calmed her and tried to explain that this happened sometimes, that she could still have the baby, that woman use to have the baby this way all the time back in the day. Natalie wasn't having it, no; she knew something was wrong with her twin. She felt it. All of a sudden the baby's fetal monitor was alarmed. It kept beeping. Natalie didn't know what was going on, they pushed her out of the way and started prepping her for something, she heard someone say C-section, emergency C and they told her to leave.
"No! No way! I'm not going anywhere" Natalie insisted and they let her stay. Natalie watched as Jessica's blood pressure monitor started to now beep. It was beeping louder and louder. Next she heard one of the other doctors who had came into the room scream. " Get it out now, or we'll lose them both".
Natalie stood frozen for a few minutes numb not really sure what to do or to say, she walked over to the bed while they were trying to quickly get the baby out without any harm and she took Jess' hand and held it, it was cold and she was frightened for her sister and for her sisters baby. Next thing Natalie remembered was crying, she was out, the baby was out and she was crying loudly, which was a good sign. A nurse took Natalie's niece and checked her quickly and handed her swaddled in a blanket to Natalie as she quickly returned to help with Jessica.
Natalie held her niece and looked into her eyes, Jessica's eye's, she had her twin's eyes. Next thing she remembered was the nurse escorting her out of the room under protest.
"No, I'm not leaving my sister, I won't leave her"
"Ms, the doctors need room to work and we need to get that baby checked out by the pediatrician on call, now i heard what your sister told you, and I think she probably wants you to watch over your niece first. The doctors are very good they'll stabilizer her pressure and then come and talk to you and your family." the nurse convinced Natalie with her words to leave Jessica's side and she went with the nurse to the nursery to wait for the pediatrician to check the baby.
It all was happening so fast, Natalie couldn't get a handle on it, she was putting on a strong front and now she had to tell her family. Tell them that the baby was born but that Jessica wouldn't wake up. It had been a few hours in the process of everything and she still hadn't woken up yet. The doctors stabilized her pressure but she put herself into some sort of self-induced coma. She put herself into it some how, or was it Tess that pushed her into it. The doctors didn't know for sure why and although they said her stats were fine she still didn't wake. Natalie had to tell them but she didn't know how, she left her niece with the nurse to feed and she headed over to the waiting room with one of the doctors, one of the doctors thought it best to help her tell the family all the particulars of what was going on.
Natalie walked out into the waiting room and everyone looked up to see, see her upset face, she just couldn't help it, she looked at them with tears in her eye's.
"Natalie darling what's wrong? Is it the baby? " Vicky asked and Natalie shook her head no.
"It's.. it's.. it's Jess" was all Natalie could get old when she left them all standing there. Natalie ran, ran as fast as she could, she ran out of the hospital.