9 months later...
"Everything seems to be well with your baby, Mrs. Fjeldsted," the OB said optimistically.
"That's wonderful to hear," she said, relieved.
"And you're sure you still want to keep the sex a surprise?"
"Very. We're having fun arguing over what it will be," Ivan said, directing a smile towards his wife.
"Any names picked out?"
"Christine if it's a girl, and Carter if it's a boy," Jessica announced proudly.
"Well, you'll be finding out soon. You're at thirty-six weeks, so you could pop anytime now," the doctor explained. "I would like to do another ultrasound while you're here to see how their body is developing."
Jessica hopped off the exam table, and they took a short walk down the hall to the sonogram room. They were called in and Jessica laid on the small hospital bed, raising up her shirt over her protruding belly. The tech squirted gel on her stomach and began skimming the wand over her skin.
Almost immediately, the baby came into view. She never got tired of seeing their little legs kick and hearing the heartbeat.
Ivan reached down and grasped her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
"Everything looks good. I'll snap some screenshots for you, and then the doctor will be in."
"Perfect," she and Ivan said in unison.
They were left alone with a still of their baby up on the monitor for them to see.
"I think it'll be a girl; what do you think?," Ivan asked Jessica.
"I had my heart set on a boy, but I think it's a girl too."
"What makes you so sure?"
"I don't know, just a very strong feeling," she replied with a smile.
Not too much later, the doctor came in, followed by another doctor. And another doctor. They murmured amongst themselves, paying no heed to Ivan and Jessica. They looked worried and frantic.
"Hello, excuse me; would someone like to fill us in on whatever is causing so much concern?," Jessica snapped impatiently.
The doctors took turns looking at each other. The younger one stepped forward.
"We can't say one-hundred percent for certain, but we think there might possibly be an abnormality we detect in one of the stills."
Jessica felt her stomach tighten into a knot. She looked to Ivan to see he was barely containing tears.
"W-what kind of abnormality?"
"Possibly a malformed kidney. It isn't an inherent problem though. A simple surgery would fix it. For now, I wouldn't worry about it. If we find anything conclusive we'll let you and your husband know."
Jessica and Ivan made their way back to the car, both tense. Once they took their seats, Ivan stared off into nothing for a moment before starting the car. They drove home, both wondering what to say to the other.
"Let's not worry about anything until we know something definite. There's no need to get ourselves all worked up over something that may not even be real."
Ivan looked at her with a rueful smile.
"You're right, Jess. But having been through this kind of scare before, it's easier said than done for me. You see how everything went the last time I was told there would be a complication."
She thought about her next words.
"True, but they said that was the case early on. This time, they said it near the end of the pregnancy AND it was a possibility, not a sure thing."
Ivan gave what she was saying some thought. She had valid points.
"Alright, kæreste, for your sake I'll keep my optimism."
She smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"If you don't mind, dear, I would like to take a nap. Then I'll get started on dinner."
"Rest as much as you need to. I'll be in the study."
Jessica beelined for the bedroom and laid down, snuggling into the covers as deep as possible. Just as she was right on the verge of falling asleep, her mind wandered over the possible scenario of having a baby born sick. She would have to be as calm and measured as possible; especially for Ivan's sake. He was no doubt having a lot of anxiety already.
Jessica hesitantly drifted off into a dreamless sleep. A couple hours later, she started feeling light cramping, waking her up. She slowly rose and got out of bed and stretched. As she stretched, she felt as if her entire stomach was being clenched. She bent over quickly to try to loosen the muscles. The pain went away as soon as it came.
She put on her housecoat and went to find Ivan in the den.
"Hey, what would you like for dinner?"
Ivan looked up from his desk.
"Whatever you want to make, darling," he said with a grin.
"Quesadillas it is then," she said excitedly.
She went to the kitchen and dug through the produce drawer, setting out peppers and onions, when another cramp hit her. Her hand flew to her stomach and she gave an intense exhale, the cramp leaving a few seconds later. She began dicing the vegetables when she felt wetness running down her leg.
'Ohhhh sh*t,' she panicked.
"IVAN! IVAN! MY WATER BROKE!"
In the blink of an eye, Ivan shot down the hall to the kitchen. He stood in front of her for a moment, momentraily in shock, seeing Jessica standing in a puddle of amniotic fluid.
"AH! Okay, okay, this is happening! Get out to the car and I'll grab the hospital bag!"
Jessica waddled her way to the car, carefully sitting down in the passenger seat. Ivan flew out the front door and took the driver's seat, slamming his door shut. He started the car and quickly backed it down the driveway and onto the road.
As he began to take off, another contraction hit Jessica hard, making her yelp and wince. Ivan reached for her hand as he swerved around the winding road toward the hospital.
"Remember to breathe, Jess, breathe!"
She began to inhale and exhale deeply as another contraction came.
"We'll be there in about ten minutes, just try to keep calm, honey."
"YOU TRY TO KEEP CALM WHEN YOU'RE PUSHING A HUMAN OUT OF YOUR BODY!," she yelled.
Ivan floored it down the country road and into town, miraculously not hitting any red lights. He skidded to a stop in front of the hospital entrance, the valet coming to park the car.
Ivan grabbed their bag of hospital supplies and they ran for the reception desk.
"Min kone har fødsel, og vi har brug for et værelse nu!," Ivan exclaimed to the receptionist.
"Selvfølgelig! Inge, vi mangler en kørestol til denne unge dame!"
The nurse came to Jessica quickly, gesturing for her to sit down.
Jessica sat in the wheelchair, hugging her arms around her stomach as she felt like her abdomen was being torn in two.
She was quickly wheeled into a room. The nurse maneuvered her onto the bed and began hooking up heart and fetal monitors to her.
The nurse checked to see how fast she was dilating.
"Du er kun udvidet til seks centimeter. Jeg bliver nødt til at gå og få lægen nu," she explained.
The nurse ran off to find the doctor, leaving her and Ivan alone.
Ivan came to her bedside and held her hand.
"Don't worry, kæreste, soon we'll get to meet our baby," he said, kissing her forehead.
Jessica nodded frantically, trying to breathe through the pain and tears.
The doctor rushed in and read the contraction record that was printing out.
"You're in active labor, alright, but we'll have to do a c-section. Your contractions are close together, but the baby won't be able to pass through with how slowly you're dilating without being in distress."
Jessica looked at Ivan worriedly. He gave her hand a tight squeeze.
The nurse began running an anesthetic into her. Moments later she was being wheeled into the operating room.
Everything started fading to black she watched the surgeons gathering around her. The last thing she heard was Ivan assuring her he was right beside her to watch over her, and with that, she blacked out.
4 hours later
Jessica woke up feeling like she was hit by a bus. Her throat was dry and hoarse, she had a splitting headache, and everytime she moved her abdomen stung. She tried to sit up, but a nurse quickly came to her and gently pushed her back down.
"You need to rest. We'll wheel you back up to your room to be with your husband and baby."
Jessica nodded to her. "Could I have a drink first?"
The nurse brought her a cup of ice water, which she downed in one gulp.
Another nurse came and they wheeled her back to the room. When she came through the door, Ivan ran up to make sure she was okay.
"Kæreste! How are you feeling?"
"Like a trainwreck," she wheezed out. "Where's the baby?"
"They took her away to give her a look over and make sure she doesn't have that kidney issue," he explained.
"She?," Jessica asked, tearing up.
"Yes, Christine Elyse Fjeldsted," he said with a big grin.
She pulled him down to hug her and sniffled as he hugged her back. When they broke apart, Ivan asked if there was anything she wanted.
"Water and something to distract me," she said.
"I'll leave you two alone and go see if there's any update on Christine," the nurse said.
Ivan handed her the remote to the TV in the room. Jessica turned on the television, flipping through the channels until she found the English channel, which just happened to be airing reruns of Friends.
After a couple hours of them watching the show and making small talk, a nurse came in.
"So they checked Christine over, and she's in good shape. She's also been fed and put in pajamas. They'll be bringing her in shortly."
The nurse turned to leave and Jessica looked to Ivan. He looked at peace. She reached for his hand and held it against her cheek.
"See, honey, I told you everything would be fine."
"Yes, yes you did."
"What did we learn?"
"You're always right," he said teasingly.
"Damn right I am," she retorted.
Suddenly, the door opened and a small cart with a propped up bin entered the room.
Jessica craned her neck to take a peek at their baby, and almost burst into tears.
"Sh-she's perfect!," Jessica said with a shaky voice.
From her black head of hair to her tiny little pink toes, she was an absolute doll.
"She is, isn't she?," Ivan asked, bending down next to her.
Jessica stroked her finger down the baby's arm, the baby grasping her finger tightly when she got to her hand.
Jessica felt something wet drip onto her shoulder. She looked up to see Ivan had a steady stream of tears flowing from his eyes.
"Isn't it glorious? Now, we're actually our own little family," she said softly, leaning her forehead against his cheek.
Ivan ran his fingers through her hair and ran the pad of his finger over the baby's cheek, the baby releasing a light coo in response.
"Just me and my two girls," he said, leaning down and giving each of them a kiss.
