Chapter 7: Complications
"Well, Cornelia, it looks like your baby is growing just fine. But I only think it's fair to warn you. Heatherfield isn't exactly the best place for a single teenaged mother." The doctor snapped off his gloves and turned his back to Cornelia. "Don't you have a man who would agree to marry you--the father or a male friend, perhaps?"
Cornelia sat up, letting her shirt fall over her round, noticeable belly. "I'd prefer to stay single for now, thanks. The father...has his own life now." A murmur of familiarity stirred in her mind, but she brushed it away. "Why are you so concerned?"
The doctor gave an odd laugh. "I had to learn the hard way that sometimes being a teen parent can be hard. You see, when I was only 16, I got my girlfriend pregnant and then left her. She got married a few months later to her neighbor's kid and they never even told the baby who her father really was. Ever since then, I've been trying to check on them, you know, see how they've handled life. But it seems that she's moved on. She even had a kid with her husband." The doctor shrugged and turned back to Cornelia. "I heard she's let the kid we had move out on her own.
Cornelia felt her eyes grow wide. "That's funny. That's exactly what happened to--" She froze and looked up at the doctor. "My mother."
The doctor removed his mask, revealing a face oddly like Cornelia's. "You mean...?" He asked. His whole face lit up, and he reached out to embrace her.
Cornelia rested her head on his shoulder, crying quietly. "Oh, daddy! Do you have any idea of how long I've wondered who you are?" She whispered. "Ever since Mom told me--"
"I know, darling girl." The doctor whispered back. "I know."
Sometime later...
Cornelia woke up with an ache in her belly that felt unnatural. "What the...?" She asked weakly. Running a hand under her 7 month pregnant belly, she noticed that the baby seemed to be sitting lower than normal, almost directly against her hips. Recalling a passage warning her about this, Cornelia felt her eyes grow wide. "No." Clumsily, she fell out of bed, banging her legs on the wooden nightstand. Barefooted and nervous, she gripped the phone and dialed Will and Caleb's number.
"Hello?" Caleb asked groggily. In the background, the bed creaked and Will asked a question that Cornelia couldn't make out.
"Caleb! Caleb, there's something wrong with the baby. There's something wrong!" Cornelia began to cry helplessly, losing control of her emotions.
"Cornelia, what's wrong?" Caleb sounded more alert. "Cornelia, just breathe! What's wrong?"
"I'm so scared! I'm so scared!" Cornelia sobbed wildly. Then her voice became clearer. "Caleb, I think my water just broke!" She screamed in terror or pain.
"I'll be there in just a second, Cornelia!" Caleb slammed down the phone. "Will, get up and call the guardians and Cornelia's mother. Cornelia says she thinks her water broke."
"She's in labor?" Will sat upright and grabbed the phone. "It's way too early! She's only 29 or 30 weeks along!" Nervously, she began to dial Cornelia's mother's number while just 2 stories down Cornelia screamed in pain.