Timothy

"You're going to die, Kara." Their father was persistent. "We already have two, sweetheart. We don't need a third"

"Drake, this is our baby. I'm keeping it." Kara was set in her decision to have her third child. She wasn't about to kill an unborn baby.

Kara and Drake had two beautiful children. A boy and a girl, both inheriting their brown eyes and hair from their father. They had a happy marriage and were deeply in love with each other. However, their marriage wasn't without its speed bumps.

Kara had a weak heart. She barely survived the birth of her second child. She wasn't supposed to get pregnant again. But accidents happen and Kara's love for her unborn child was stronger than her instinct of self-protection.

"I won't let you die." Drake was on the verge of tears. Kara was his beautiful angel. They had met at a dance their senior year of college. Kara's midnight blue eyes and black hair captivated Drake. He loved her from the very moment that he had saw her. She was his Kara.

"I'm not going to die, Drake." Kara shrugged. "The doctors are wrong. I lived through Christopher's birth and I can live through this baby too."

At first it seemed like Kara was right. Four months passed and nothing happened. At five months along, Timothy Edward Chambers was named.

But then, the fainting spells began. Kara became weaker every day. She was in and out of hospitals for two months. Every time she was there, Drake would beg her to terminate. Kara refused right up until the point of no return.

A plan was made for Timothy to be born early. However, more complications arose. Timothy's lungs were developing slowly, despite the use of steroids and his heart had an arrhythmia like his mother. Her arrhythmia worsened as Timothy grew inside her.

"Damn it, Kara! That demon is killing you!" He shouted as she lay in her hospital bed.

"He's not a demon." Kara's voice was weak.

The machines beeped around her. Her son sat on the floor playing with a toy car while her daughter stood next to her bed, holding her hand. Her son, Christopher, was only three years old and Patty, her daughter, was seven. Christopher didn't really know or understand what was happening. Patty understood, at least, she understood a little.

She knew that her mother was sick but didn't fully understand just how sick she was.

"Mommy, why is daddy yelling at you?" Patty squeezed her mother's frail hand.

"Because daddy's angry with mommy." Kara smiled at her daughter.

"Because you won't listen to me!" Drake screamed. "You won't even let the doctor's induce you~"

"He's not ready!" Kara began to cough. "His lungs aren't ready! And you heard what they said about his heart!"

"It can't be helped from in there, Kara!" Drake grabbed her hand. "He's as close as he can be without killing you! He's ready Kara!" Drake began to cry. "Please, Kara! He's ready! Please! There's still a chance that you could live. Please."

"Mommy, why are you sick?" Patty asked.

"Mommy's heart has a hiccup, baby." Kara tried to sound strong. "It hiccups more when mommy has a baby in her tummy. But mommy's going to be okay. She's had two baby's and she's going to have a third."

"But Tim won't hurt mommy?" Patty asked.

"No, he's going to kill mommy." Drake spat. "That thing inside your mother is a monster. It's going to kill mommy because mommy wouldn't kill it first."

"Just shut up, Drake! This baby is your son! Timothy is our son!" Kara's heart rate dropped.

Doctors rushed in, pushing the family back. They said things that Patty couldn't understand. Kara's bed was wheeled into the delivery room with the family close behind.

"Mrs. Chambers, it's time." A doctor said. "Can you hear me? Kara?"

Kara opened her eyes and glared into the eyes of her husband. "This is our son. It's in my will. You keep him or you lose them all."

"Mrs. Chambers, we're going to do a cesarean. Your baby is in distress." Her doctor told her.

Her eyes rolled in the back of her head. She was unconscious, fading fast.

Drake was forced to wait in the waiting area. He took his kids' hands and looked at his daughter.

"Pray for your mama, Patty." Tears were in his eyes. "I'm sure God will hear you louder than he will me."

"We're sorry, Mr. Chambers." The doctor's words cut into Drake's soul. "We did everything to try and resuscitate your wife. We were unsuccessful. We are truly sorry."

"Daddy, what does that mean?" Patty tugged on Drake's arm.

"Mommy's dead!" Drake shouted. "That monster inside her killed her! The monster..." Drake grew quiet. "Is it dead? Did it die too?"

"No sir. We were able to resuscitate the child." The doctor said, hesitantly. "Would you like to see him?"

Rage engulfed Drake's heart. His whole world fell apart in short of three hours.

"No." He growled. "I don't want to see it."

A month passed before Timothy could go home. He started life off as a sick boy. But Drake didn't visit Timothy once and the day Timothy was to be sent home, it was Kara's mother that brought him home. Drake's heart broke all over again when he first laid eyes on Timothy. Out of the three children, Timothy was born with his mother's hair and eyes.

"Fuck." Drake gasped. Seeing Timothy only angered him more. "It stole her looks."

"Drake, he's beautiful." Kara's mother scolded. "Timothy is a beautiful boy. Kara would be proud." She tried to hand Timothy to Drake who backed away.

"I don't want that thing." He spat.

"Drake, Kara gave her life for this little angel." Kara's mother became agitated. "He's your son and he needs you."

Patty watched from the corner. She didn't fully understand why her father was angry at her brother or why her grandmother was angry at her father. She did understand one thing, however, and that was that her baby brother was beautiful.

"Daddy...is that baby brother?" She finally broke up. "He looks just like mommy." She carefully approached her grandmother. "Can I hold him?"

Her grandmother nodded. "Hold up his head and be very gently with him." She smiled. "He's fragile."

"Does his heart have a hiccup like mommy's?" Patty asked, staring down at Timothy's tiny face.

"Yeah." Her father answered. "With any luck it'll die from it."

"Drake!"

"Daddy no!" Patty screamed, causing Timothy to begin to cry. "Baby brother can't die! I won't let him!"

"Then he's your responsibility." Drake's voice was cold.

"Drake, stop it!" Kara's mother no longer tried to hide her anger. "You stop that right now! How can you be so cold toward your own child?!"

"Kara said I had to keep it or I lose my children, right?" He glared at Patty. "Well, I didn't say anything about caring for it."

"Drake, if anything happens to that boy, I swear I will have you arrested." Kara's mother was firm. "You will care for that boy. Understood?"

"Fine." Drake said. "Now get out."

"I'll see you very soon." Kara's mother glared at Drake. "Very very soon." She stormed out of the house.

Drake glared down at Timothy and then at Patty. "That thing is your responsibility. If anything happens to it then you and Christopher will be taken away from daddy and separated. You will never see me or Christopher again. Do you want that to happen?"

"No daddy." Patty was scared. "I promise, I won't let anything happen to baby brother."

"Good." Drake patted Patty's head as he passed her to go to the kitchen. "I'm getting a beer."