2. "In my daughter's eyes, I can see the future, a reflection of who I am and what will be."
Entering his wife's hospital room Adam immediately made his way over to her bed, sitting on the edge of it as he watched her sleep, oblivious to the drama of the last few hours.
"Has she woken up yet?" Adam asked the nurse as she adjusted one of the bags hanging from Chelsea's IV line.
"No, she's still sleeping off the anesthetic," the nurse informed him.
Adam took her hand in his. "So she doesn't know about the baby?"
"No not yet," the nurse replied.
"How long until she wakes up?" Adam wondered, desperate to look into her eyes and promise her that everything was going to be alright.
The nurse walked around to the side of the bed where Adam sat and adjusted some settings on the monitor. "It could be anytime now or it could be a few hours, everyone is different when waking up from surgery."
"When she does wake up could I be the one to tell her? Only I think it'll calm her more if the news comes from me," Adam suggested.
"Of course," the nurse assured him as she left the room, leaving Adam alone with Chelsea as he held her hand whispering gentle words of comfort to her as she slept.
Meanwhile outside the room Nick and Summer found themselves surrounded by Victoria and Nikki both desperate for news of Summer.
"Honestly Mom she's going to be fine," Nick reassured his mother.
"Then why do you both look like someone died?" Nikki asked.
Phyllis looked down at the ground before answering. "Summer was driving recklessly … she er swerved into the wrong lane and ran another car off the road."
"The other car was anyone hurt?" Victoria asked.
Nick nodded. "It was Adam and Chelsea."
An uncomfortable silence fell over the group of people, Adam and Chelsea were not exactly the top of anyone's Christmas card list but at the same time no one wanted anything bad to happen to them.
"Are they ok?" Nikki asked.
"Adam's fine, he pulled Summer out and brought her to hospital," Nick informed them.
Victoria's face turned a whiter shade of pale. "Chelsea? Oh my God the baby?"
"The impact of the accident caused a placental abruption and the doctors they had to deliver the baby," Phyllis told them.
"But it's so early, the baby-"
Adam who had been stood by the hospital door listening to the fake outpouring of sympathy finally made his presence known.
"My daughter. Not the baby … the tiny little-girl that is fighting for her life is my daughter and you have no right to stand there and fake concern because we know all your concerned about is Summer and what this means for her so please don't even bother with your fake pleasantries-"
"Adam-"
Cutting Victoria off Adam held up to his hand. "I have to get back to my wife because when she wakes up I have to break the news to her that because of Summer's reckless behavior our little-girl is fighting for her life," and with that he left leaving everyone stood in a stunned silence.
"There was no need to be so rude," Nikki exclaimed, as she watched him leave.
Victoria turned to face her mother. "You all know I'm hardly Adam's biggest fan but put yourself in his shoes, his daughter is fighting for his life and he comes out and finds all of us stood outside Summer's room, the person he feels is responsible for all of this."
"It was an accident," Nick argued, feeling the need to defend his daughter.
"We all know that but Adam's hurting and he's scared and we all know from past experience that an Adam in pain is not someone that you want to cross," Victoria reminded them.
Nick glared at his sister. "What are you saying?"
"I'm just saying that be prepared, if something happens to that baby Adam will be out for blood," Victoria explained.
"But Summer's just a kid," Nick argued.
Victoria nodded. "I know but if that little-girl doesn't make it-"
"We can't think like that," Phyllis told them, as she interrupted Victoria and Nick. "The doctor said that the baby is doing well considering how premature she is so we just have to hope that everything will work itself out," she said because she didn't want Summer to have to live with the guilt of having taken a life.
Y&R - Y&R -Y&R
Sitting by his wife's bed Adam held his head in his hands as the emotion and drama of the day finally started to catch up with him.
"Adam," Chelsea breathed as she opened her eyes, blinking harshly against the bright hospital lights.
"Hey," Adam smiled, gripping her hand tightly in his.
Looking around at the white washed walls Chelsea tried to clear the fog from her mind. "Where are … what …"
And then it all came back to her, the sound of metal against metal, pulling Summer from the car, arriving at the hospital and collapsing in agony.
"Oh my God," she panicked, her hand going to her aching stomach. "The baby?"
"You were hurt badly in the accident Chels," Adam began, his voice breaking at the panic and fear in his wife's eyes.
Chelsea looked at him, her eyes pleading with him to make it all alright. "No. Please?"
"The doctors had to deliver the baby otherwise you would have both died," Adam began, he had imagined how to tell her a million ways but now that he was actually in the moment he couldn't find the right words to say.
"Our baby?" Chelsea asked, her voice barely audible.
Adam smiled through his tears. "You had a little-girl Chels, a beautiful little-girl, she's tiny but she's tough just like you and the doctors are hopeful Chelsea … they're really hopeful."
"A little-girl, we have a daughter?" Chelsea whispered, barely able to believe that after everything that had happened over the last year she was finally someone's mother.
Adam nodded. "A beautiful little-girl."
"Have you seen her?" Chelsea asked.
"Not yet," Adam answered. "The doctors promised that as soon as she's settled into the NICU they'll let us know."
Chelsea tried to push herself up in the bed ignoring the pain that shot through her as she did. "I need to see her … she shouldn't be on her own … I need …"
"You've just had major surgery Chelsea, you need to rest," Adam suggested, not wanting to put her health at anymore risk.
"What I need is to see my daughter," Chelsea argued.
Adam nodded, knowing this wasn't a battle he was going to win and he wasn't really sure he wanted to, because he knew that Chelsea needed to see their little-girl just as much as their little-girl needed her mother and father. "I'll speak to your doctor, see what I can do."
"Thank-you," Chelsea cried, leaning her head back against the pillow as Adam left to find the doctor, closing her eyes she tried to imagine what her daughter would look like, would she have her chocolate brown eyes or Adam's baby blues? Whose smile would she have? Would she have her mother's nose or her father's chin?
Y&R - Y&R - Y&R
As the nurse helped her into a wheelchair Chelsea held on tightly to Adam's hand as they were directed towards the NICU to meet their daughter for the first time.
"I feel like I can't breath," Chelsea panicked as she was helped into a gown and instructed to wash her hands.
"I know," Adam agreed as they were led over to an incubator in the far corner of the room.
Putting her hand over her mouth Chelsea felt her heart skip a beat as she laid eyes on her daughter for the first time. "Oh my God Adam she's so small."
"She's actually a really good size for a 30 weeker," the NICU nurse smiled as she pulled down the flap. "She's requiring very little help with her breathing and she's already maintaining her own body temperature … she's tougher than she looks."
"She's perfect," Chelsea smiled through her tears as she was unable to take her eyes off of the tiny little-girl that lay nestled in the middle of all of the medical equipment that was helping her fight.
Adam rested his hand on top of the incubator. "Just like her mother."
"I love her so much already Adam," Chelsea exclaimed as she leaned her hand on the side of her daughter's incubator, letting her know she was there.
Watching as his daughter's tiny fingers uncurled Adam was unable to stop the tears from falling. He had heard people descrive the absolute, overwhelming love they felt for their children but he never in a million years thought he would be in a place where he deserved to feel such an all consuming love. "I know, it feels like she's always been here."
"You can touch her," the nurse reassured them.
"I don't want to hurt her," Chelsea panicked.
"You won't, it's good for her to feel you, to know you're here," the nurse explained as Chelsea tentatively reached in putting her finger in her daughter's hand as the little-girl's tiny fingers wrapper around it.
"Wow she's got a good grip," Chelsea sobbed. "Strong just like her Daddy."
Walking around the other side of the incubator Adam took hold of his daughter's other hand as he looked up, his eyes meeting Chelsea's as he found himself falling even more in love with his wife than he ever thought possible.
"Thank-you," Adam whispered.
"For what?" Chelsea asked.
Adam looked down at his daughter then back up at his wife. "For making me believe that I was worthy of a family, for giving me our daughter."
"You made me feel like part of a family for the first time in my life Adam," Chelsea told him, her voice low for fear of startling their sleeping daughter. "And now we have our little-girl … I've never felt more complete."
"She needs a name," Adam pointed out. "We can't keep calling her Junior forever."
Chelsea lifted her eyes towards Adam. "I have an idea … It's not exactly what you would call a traditional name but when I was a little girl I had a book that I would carry everywhere with me, it didn't matter what city we were in or where we were living it was the one constant thing I remember about my childhood, I used to read it over and over again and it always made me feel safe, even if we had nowhere to live that night if I went to bed reading it I felt like everything would be ok. It was Matilda by Roald Dahl so … I'd like to call her Matilda."
"Matilda Newman," Adam smiled, feeling his daughter's grip tighten around his finger. "And I think she likes it too. Matilda Newman."
"Matilda Hope Newman," Chelsea corrected.
Adam didn't even bother to try and stop the tears from falling. "Chels … I don't know what to say … I …"
"You once told me that until I came along everything good in your life was because of her and I want our daughter to have a part of that, I want her to know that even though she's not here her grandmother will always be looking out for her," Chelsea said as they both looked down towards their daughter.
As they both looked down at the life that they had created Adam never felt more at peace than he did in that very moment, lost in time with the only 2 people in the world that mattered right now; his wife and daughter.
"Welcome to the world Matilda Hope Newman."