Gord and Melissa rushed to the Day residence as fast as they possibly could. When they walked in, Wiley was screaming and Adam was trying to calm her. Gord realized he had got there just in time. "I have to push!" Wiley exclaimed.
"It's going to be okay, Wiley," Gord said as he knelt down on the floor by her feet. "I've done this before."
"Yes... for a cow!" Wiley hollered.
"It's not all that much different," Gord said with a shrug. He lifted the white sheet covering Wiley's body and discovered that the baby's head was just beginning to crown. He instructed Melissa to gather some towels, hot water, a sterilized pair of scissors, and other items he'd need to help with the baby's birth.
"Adam, you sit near Wiley's head. Just hold her hand and be there for her," Gord said. "This baby is coming fast. Wiley, you're doing great. The baby is going to be here soon- I promise."
Wiley yelled out several expletives as the pain increased and the baby's head began to emerge. She clung to Adam's hand, her lifeline. She wouldn't have made it through it, without his whispered words of encouragement... and Gord was being so tender, too, guiding her through the birth process. How the hell was she supposed to know there would be this much pain?! It felt like a small elephant was trying work it's way through her most vital organs!
Wiley's face was covered with sweat as the child's tiny head was delivered into Gord's ebony hands. His hands were huge as was all of him. Gord was made of pure muscle from working on the farm, but he had the loving touch of an angel. He was incredibly careful as the little one was leaving Wiley's body. One false move and the child might be injured.
"You need to stop pushing now... just for a second," Gord spoke as he dealt with the cord. It was partially wound around the child's throat. Very carefully, Gord untangled the cord so the rest of the baby's body could be safely born.
That's when Melissa returned with all the supplies. "Ohhh my God," she gasped. "I see it's head."
Gord shushed her. He gently instructed Wiley that it was time to push again. The baby needed to come out.
Wiley looked at Adam as tears glowed in her soft blue eyes. "I can't do it, Adam. I'm so tired."
"I know you can. I believe in you. You can do this... and I am right here with you," Adam said in encouragement.
Squeezing Adam's hands that much harder, Wiley began pushing with all her strength. Holy hell! It hurt soooo much. The baby was tearing her apart- or so it seemed. And then all the sudden, the pain was not so much. Wiley heard a muffled cry. Her baby had been born.
"Amazing," Gord gasped as he held the baby. It was pink and well-formed - with a head full of light-colored hair. It had to be the most beautiful baby he had ever laid eyes on. With the utmost carefulness, Gord cut the baby's cord.
"You did it, Wiley," Melissa said, all smiles.
"It's alive?" Wiley asked, because she could hardly believe it. She had given birth to her baby... and it hadn't died.
"Most definitely he's alive," Gord confirmed. "Don't you hear him crying? You have a son."
"No," Wiley said sorrowfully, because she hadn't wanted to know. She didn't want to know the sex of the baby... She didn't want to see it, because she had to give it up.
She kept telling herself- Don't look and it won't hurt, because she truly wanted to believe that the pain wouldn't be that much, but it was. IT WAS! It hurt ever so much more than childbirth, hearing that sweet infant's cry... and knowing she'd have to say goodbye.
"Wiley, what's wrong?" Melissa asked as she took the baby from Gord, cleaned him up lovingly, and wrapped him in a towel. "Don't you want to see your baby?"
"No," Wiley said, shaking her head from side to side, tears and sweat mingling upon her tired face. She wanted to leave... to get away. She looked at Adam helplessly.
Adam stared back in concern, but there was nothing he could say or do. Melissa had laid the baby next to Wiley, their faces side by side. Wiley couldn't stop herself. She drug her eyes away from Adam and gazed into the sleepy blue eyes of her newborn. My baby! her heart cried out. But he isn''t mine. I'm SUPPOSED to give him up. I'm supposed to say goodbye.
Charles Lotts had it all arranged with his lawyer. A loving couple would come to take the baby from the hospital directly after his birth... and Wiley would never have to see or touch him... but now... now, it had all changed. Wiley was staring into the precious face of her infant son.
For a moment, she just stared at the baby, watching him breathe. Then she directed her attention onto Adam. "Take him away," she said, her voice as strong as steel. "Take him away... NOW!"
"Wiley...!" Melissa tried to protest, but Wiley gave her sister the death-stare. Everybody knew better than to argue with her.
Adam reached over for the tiny child, carefully picking him up and laying him snugly against his chest. The newborn let out a little sigh. Adam was hooked. He looked just like an angelic cherub. He'd never before seen a baby quite so enchanting.
"Hi, little guy," Adam crooned, kissing the top of the infant's blond head.
Wiley looked stony-faced. She had gone into shock. "Adam, give the baby to Melissa. You have to help me get Wiley into bed," Gord said urgently.
Adam handed the baby over to his aunt, then helped Gord carry Wiley into her bedroom. She spoke not a word and made not a single sound. She was staring up at the ceiling, completely sightless.
"What's wrong with her?" Adam asked Gord with concern.
Very gently, Adam stroked the tendrils of dark-blonde hair back from Wiley's moist face. "She's been through a lot... and she's exhausted. We have to let her rest," Gord stated.
Adam didn't want to leave her, so he lingered, but he knew Gord would be watching out for her. He needed to talk to Melissa. He found Wiley's younger sister out in the hallway, looking incredibly worried as she held the newborn.
"Wiley?" Melissa asked.
"Something's wrong..."
"Adam, I don't think she's going to be able to ... to care for this baby. I don't think she ever intended to be a mother. She was going to give this baby up,' Melissa spoke sadly. "What are we going to do? How are we going to care for this child?"
"I have the keys to the hospital. I'll go there and I'll gather supplies," Adam promised. "The baby will be alright. Just look after Wiley for me. Don't let anything happen to her."
"You love her. Don't you?" Melissa questioned.
Adam nodded, then he turned on his heel so he could head off to the hospital. He knew there'd be formula, diapers, and everything the baby would need in the hospital's nursery. At least one problem would be solved... but what would they do about Wiley? What if she was never able or capable of caring for her own son?
Keeping himself busy to avoid worrying, Adam arrived at the hospital and gathered up supplies for the infant. He found some cases of pre-made bottles, each one containing four ounces of formula. He also got diapers, receiving blankets, tiny t-shirts, and everything he could possibly find for Wiley's little son.
When he arrived back at the Day residence, Melissa was relieved. The baby had began to fuss. She put him in a diaper and a little t-shirt and wrapped him lovingly in one of the blankets. As soon as she started to feed him a bottle, the crying stopped.
Adam watched with interest, also relieved when the baby was settled. "Where's Gord?" he asked Melissa.
"He had to go home... and check on his cattle."
"I'll go sit with Wiley," Adam offered.
All night long, he remained at her side, holding her hand. When she awakened, it was daylight, and she saw Adam in the chair close beside her. "Are you hungry?" he asked.
"Yes. I want you to take me home... and make me a cheeseburger."
Adam smiled. At least she wasn't comatose anymore. "Alright," he agreed. "But you need to get stronger. You just..."
"Don't say it, Adam." She wanted no reminders of the child. She just wanted to forget.
He was supposed to go to loving parents. What could she offer him? She was just a teen who had been impregnated by a married man. No one had ever loved her... no one but Adam. How could she be anybody's mom?
"But Wiley..."
"Please, I already told you, Adam. I am not going to keep him. He's better off... he's better off without me."
"But he doesn't even have a name."
She thought about the name she would have given him, if she had been able to keep him- if circumstances had been different, and she deserved to be his mom. He would have had a strong name - a name to be proud of... nothing strange or unusual, like the name that she had been given seventeen years ago by her parents.
"Adam, I have to do what's right for him. Please understand," she told him softly.
Adam could see it was tearing her apart inside. He wanted to argue, but it would do no good. It was best to stand by her, to comfort her. Comfort and love was what Wiley needed most of all.
"Alright then," Adam said, practically crawling into bed with her and holding her close. He lightly brushed his lips against her cheek. "We'll stay until you get to feeling better, then we'll go to my place... just you and me.'
"You promise?"
"I'd never lie to you, Wiley."
He never had before. She could trust him exclusively. She trusted him with ALL of her heart.
"Don''t let Melissa bring him in here. I don't want... I don't want to say goodbye."
Adam nodded, but it was killing him. Would he get to say goodbye? He had been with her throughout all of her pregnancy. He felt like it was HIS baby, too, though he realized, he had no right to have those feelings. He didn't even know who the baby's father was; Wiley had never told him. He hadn't pressed her for answers. She'd tell him when the time was right. Adam was patient. She'd tell him in time.
"Rest, Wiley. I will go and get you something to eat," said Adam, lightly caressing her cheek.
When he walked into the kitchen, he saw Melissa, bathing the newborn child. "Doesn't Wiley even want to see him?" she asked hopefully.
Adam shook his head. "She wants me to take her away from here... and she doesn't want to bring the baby along."
"How could she?" Melissa said in a gasp. "How am I supposed to take care of him?"
"You need to give her time, Melissa. Time to sort out her thoughts and her feelings."
"That's just like Wiley!" Melissa groaned. "So stubborn! So self-absorbed! All the discipline our parents beat into us; it did nothing for her."
"Maybe that's the problem," Adam said under his breath as he gathered some cheese and crackers for Wiley.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Melissa said sharply. "And why is it that YOU are the only one she talks to?"
"Maybe it's because I am the only one who truly listens."
That gave Melissa something to think about as he walked away.
~*~o~*~
Two weeks had passed and Wiley had regained her strength. She was able to sit up in bed and make it to the bathroom without feeling incredibly weak. Her color had came back. She was almost fully healed.
She was ready to leave with Adam. Her bag was packed. When he returned from the hospital, he had promised to take her back to his house.
Knowing their plans, Melissa walked into Wiley's room, carrying the child in her arms. "Before you leave, I want you to look at his little face. I want you to see what you are leaving behind. Look at him, Wiley," Melissa urged. "Look at your son."
Seeing the tiny bundle in the blanket, Wiley couldn't stop herself. She took in his precious features, his tiny fingers which were holding onto the edge of the blanket, his newborn blue eyes, and the soft tuft of blond fluff upon his round little head.
My baby. My baby! her heart cried out. My son!
Wiley reached for him and took him into her arms. He looked up at her, so sweetly, and their hearts once again connected. "I'm sorry," she said. "But I am trying to do what's right for you..."
I love you! she called out to him silently. Those words were not meant for Melissa's ears.
She handed the baby back to her younger sister. "Take good care of him," Wiley whispered.
"How could you do this? How could you?!" Melissa asked accusingly.
"Because for the first time, Melissa, I care about something more than I care about myself. I care about him. And I can't be his mother."
Her lips were tight and she couldn't say another word. Melissa ran out of the room, clutching the baby. She'd never understand Wiley... NEVER... not even until the day she died!
A few minutes later, Adam arrived, seeing soft tears upon Wiley's face. "What happened? What's wrong?" he asked.
"I guess you were just about ten minutes late," was all she said. She stood up gingerly, reaching for her bag.
"Let's get the HELL out of here... and never come back," she said.
Adam didn't ask, *Are you sure?* because he knew she was 100% certain. He had to respect her decision as he had always promised. It was time for him to take Wiley home.
It was time for them to open a new chapter in their lives. Taking her hand, Adam guided her away from the home where she had grown up. As they left, both of them knew, they were leaving a major part of their hearts behind.
