Chapter 6

Beginnings are new

Sharon exclaimed with excitement at Maggie's announcement when she entered her office. "Robin's in labor? Here? I thought she had booked at east Mercy." She was going to be a grandmother to that baby after Cece had not made it to see this. She was more of a mother to Robin now, having been her mother's and father's best friend for so long.

"Yes well, her water broke right in our ED. If that wasn't meant to be…" Maggie shrugged with a grin on her face.

"Maggie, you're too excited." Sharon laughed.

"It's Connor's baby. Another baby to call me godmother when I deliver him. And he'll have my eyelashes" Maggie beamed.

Sharon laughed. "Does Danny know?"

"Yeah, I just told Dr Charles. He's there hovering in the corridor, taking turns with Clare walking her around."

"Oh, that's good. And Connor."

"Ahh…he's still in surgery."

"I know that but has anyone told him his wife is in labor right here in our hospital?"

"Robin said not to tell him just yet…at least until he is out of surgery. It will be a while anyway. You know first babies can take a while." Maggie said.

"Yeah, but I'm not too sure about not telling Connor. I'll just feel right if he knew. Just send someone to tell him and let him know what stage she is in." Sharon said.

"Sure, will do."

"No you will not." Gwen Garret, the CEO of the hospital walked in, having caught the conversation or just having come for that very reason. "I'm sure you're talking about Robin's labor here. And I take it you were talking of notifying Dr Rhodes who is in surgery now. A high profile surgery might I add, that his wife is in labor." The woman said. "That's not gonna happen."

It was hard to believe that this woman had children. In fact, if Sharon had not seen her carry her own pregnancy a year ago, she would have never believed it.

"Would you have not wanted your husband to be notified of your labor when you had your baby last year, Gwen?" Sharon asked sarcastically.

"No. But my husband is not this City's top surgeon doing a high profile surgery on a VIP right now. You don't tell Rhodes until he's out of that surgery." Gwen declared.

"I'll have to disagree. If something goes wrong…" Sharon tried.

"You better make sure that nothing goes wrong. The way I see it, we now have two very high profile cases here. Robin is a Rhodes, this baby is a Rhodes. I cannot stress how very VIP this is and we almost lost it to East Mercy. You better not screw this up." Gwen said with that ferocious sneer.

"You know what, if you don't tell her husband about this, you would have already screwed it up." Sharon was not relenting.

"Sharon, you know how Connor is when it comes to Robin. Last time he ran out of Mr. Montero's surgery when she was kidnapped. What's he goanna do now?" Gwen countered.

"That was under very different circumstances, she had been kidnapped. This is just labor, I'm sure he'll keep his cool like always. He's kept his cool under worse circumstances." Sharon argued.

"I understand Robin doesn't want him to be pulled out of surgery? Then let's go with that. We were just honoring his wife's wishes. Besides when he gets out of that surgery to find his wife with child, he'll be too happy to make a fuss about why he wasn't notified." Gwen said.

"Robin is doing it out of sacrifice for her husband, you're doing it for profit." Sharon argued.

"Same difference." Gwen said, already walking to the door. "He doesn't get to know. You better make sure that labor goes smoothly, Sharon. Move her to the VIP wing when it's all done." And she was out the door, her decision was final.

Sharon and Maggie just looked at each other with raised eyebrows.

…..

Three hours later. "How's it going in there?" Dr Charles asked, wearing the carpet thin with pacing.

"Still screaming." Will said as he sat outside the labor room with Dr Charles. Taking a moment from his own patient in the ED. "Connor would be freaking out if he were here."

"Where is he anyway?" Dr Charles asked.

"Still in surgery. I sent someone to check on him a while ago, they still have a few more hours."

"In surgery still?" Dr Charles asked.

"Yeah, and Mrs. Gareth doesn't want him notified."

"Yes, Sharon told me."

"That's messed up, Dr Charles. Connor is goanna flip a lid if I know him well." Will said.

"More like the whole damned roof if you ask me. Anyway, if it gets out of hand I'll tell him myself." Dr Charles said, resuming his pacing.

Inside the labor room, Robin screamed as another contraction hit. They were coming more consecutively now, and harder. Where was Connor? She could really use him right now. Oh yeah, he was in surgery, and she didn't want him disturbed. She was begging to regret her noble act. She needed him here. She was losing strength.

"Stop pushing. Stop pushing." Natalie shouted. "Baby is in distress."

What? And this is when she felt like pushing. She couldn't stop it as another contraction hit.

"What's…happening…?" She gasped out.

Maggie was checking her tummy with an ultra sound. The OB was checking the baby.

"Ok, you're close…but…" The OB was saying.

Oh God please. My baby. Save my baby, please.

"But what?" Clare asked, she was there wearing the gowns like everyone else, helping her through labor. Encouraging, soothing. But she needed Connor. She needed her husband here.

"BP is spiking." Maggie said.

"Eclampsia?" Robin asked in alarm

"Yes. Plus the baby is in distress and you…you don't have the strength to push it through."

"But I feel like pushing."

"It's not enough. If you keep on pushing you'll…you're in danger of losing too much blood and…"

"My baby?" She asked anxiously

"We'll try to save you and the baby. But…it might come to either you or your baby." The OB said.

"Whatever you do, save my baby." Robin begged.

"Hang on Robin. We've got this." Natalie encouraged.

"We need to book an OR. She's goanna need a C-section." The OB said.

"Where's Connor?" Clare asked with anxiety. They were talking of a C section and her brother wasn't even here. Whatever surgery he was having, whatever he was doing, Clare knew he would want to be here. So where was he?

"Still in surgery."

"I think it's time we let him know." Dr Charles said decisively as he heard what was going on when he entered the room. "Robin," he said holding his daughter's hand, "It's time we let Connor know. No surgery is more important to him than you, you know that."

Robin held on to her father's hand, hair pasted to her head from sweat, breathing heavily between contractions. She nodded.

"Monique. Go tell Dr Rhodes his wife's in labor and…" Maggie was still talking but Monique didn't wait to be told more. She ran out of the room in the direction of the OR.

….

The surgery had been a five hour straight business of constructing and placing an artificial sternum on a patient, rib to rib, tendon to tendon and making sure it was a perfect fit to his heart. The hard part was over. Now he just had to close his patient. Connor could feel his stiffness in his bones start to make his whole body ache. But the surgery was a success and this will be the first break he was getting after five hours, the same could go for everybody in the room.

"Dr Rhodes?" Monique's voice came through the speaker. She had been hovering in that viewing room for a few minutes now, wondering how she could disturb. The patient was still open but it seemed he was about done.

"Yeah?" Connor answered, not taking his eyes off the final grafting of the sternum.

"Um…Dr Rhodes is in labor."

"Huh?" That kind of hit him funny for a moment until it dawned on him which Dr Rhodes could possibly be in labor. Only one, and it wasn't him. "Huh?!"

"Yeah, she uh…"

"When?!"

"Almost five hours now and….

"Five hours? Why wasn't I told?!"

"Dr Rhodes, you need to come with me. She's not doing very well." Monique said in hesitation.

Connor froze, panic gripping him like tight hands on his throat. This felt strangely like dejavu."

"Go. I'll close." Dr Latham said, taking over from him.

Connor gratefully nodded to him and stepped back from the patient, taking off his gloves hastily, the nurse helping him out of his gown.

"What's going on Monique?!" he asked, already following Monique out of the OR.

Monique ran down the medical stats while trying got keep pace with Dr Rhodes who had taken off at a run now.

"Robin, you can do this. She can do this." Maggie was saying, holding Robin's hand. She didn't want to believe that losing either one of them through a C-section was the only option. She had been a midwife for a long time and labors like these usually would take a turn for the better. Just needed the right trigger.

"Robin, if you keep pushing, we'll lose you." The OB was saying, contradicting Maggie.

"What about my baby? Will my baby survive?" Robin puffed out.

"Your baby will but your chances of survival will be very slim. You are likely to bleed out…"

And that was the scene that greeted Connor as he ran into the labor room. He only had eyes for his wife, the whole scene shocked him speechless. How had it gotten to this point and he didn't now about it?!

"Robin?" He ran to her, taking her outstretched hand to him. Her face flooded with relief as she saw him.

"Connor. Save our baby. Save our baby."

"Sweetheart, you're gonna be ok. You're gonna be ok." He whispered to her then turned to the OB. "What the hell is going on?"

"She has eclampsia and she doesn't have the strength to push any longer. She's been through it for hours and now…"

"I can push. Connor, I can do this. I can do this." Robin pleaded.

He listened to his wife, the desperation in her voice and her eyes. "Ok. Ok, you'll do this with me one last time, ok babe?" He cooed, brushing her sweat drenched hair with his hand.

"One more try" He was putting his wife's life on the line here. If he lost her he would just die, he wouldn't know how to move on. But Robin way fighting for their child, putting everything including herself on the line. The least he could do was trust her and fight with her.

"Give me one big push sweetheart. Hold on to me, I'm right here. I'm here now. Give me one push." He said.

And she gave a big push with all her strength, screaming with such pain Connor will never be able to unhear. The baby came out, crying.

She heard that one cry, smiled at her husband and passed out.

The baby was taken by the other doctors, he seemed to be alright, crying his lungs out. But Connor was now busy with compressions on Robin. Natalie was now busy trying to arrest bleeding.

…..