Chapter 16: Need You Now (part 2)

Mary was admitted to the hospital. She had gone into labor, meaning that her baby would be born premature. Right now she scared, scared for the life of the baby. Everything was happening so fast that she had no idea what to do about anything anymore.

Although David wasn't there, Rhoda stayed with her. She was doing her best to keep her calm, but it seemed like every attempt was quickly shot down.

"Ya know Mary, it's not like the baby has absolutely no chance right now. There is a chance," Rhoda informed her.

Mary looked over to her. She tried her hardest to be positive, but it wasn't going to happen anytime soon. "I wish I could believe that," she said.

Rhoda sighed. "Look, I am fine Mary, aren't I?" Rhoda questioned as she gestured to herself. "There is nothing wrong with me."

Mary blankly stared to her. "Yeah, but you're not the one having the baby right now," Mary pointed out to her.

"Right, but I was born four weeks early," Rhoda stated.

Mary started to breathe harder from a contraction. "Really?" she strained to ask.

Rhoda leaned over and grabbed her hand. "Oh yeah. You could call and ask my ma if ya don't believe me," she replied.

Mary took a moment before sitting back and calming down. She was still not convinced. "You think you could try calling David again?" she requested. The first time that Rhoda had tried calling him, there was no answer. She left a message for him, but she would feel better if Rhoda actually got to talk to him.

"All right kid," Rhoda said as she stood up. She started for the door, but turned and looked back to Mary. "And remember, everything's gonna be okay."

Mary smiled to her. "I'll try," she responded. As soon as she was gone though, Mary's smile faded. "I hope you're right," she softly whispered to herself.

It was hard to believe coming from someone that had never been in this situation before that everything was going to be okay. Sure, Rhoda had said that she was born early, but that was also Rhoda. She was willing to say anything to get Mary to calm down at this point. Besides, there was no way that she could possibly understand the fear and anxiety that she was going through right now.

Mary laid her head back and rested her hands on her belly. For a moment, she just sat there in the silence. Thinking. Then suddenly, her eyes wandered down to her belly. "Why do you insist on scaring me like this?" she asked.

O o o o o o o o o

Five hours had passed. Mary was just about to have the baby, so Rhoda was sent out into the waiting room. She had been able to get through to David and told him exactly where to go when he got there. The only problem was that she didn't know when he was supposed to get there. He was out in Seattle and had to catch a flight to Minneapolis. When she talked to him, he promised to catch the next one out, but neither of them knew when that was.

"Rhoda?"

Rhoda turned and saw David standing there at the door. Smiling, she stood up and walked over to him. "You made it!" she announced.

"Yeah. How's Mary?" David implored. He was still out of breath. The elevator was taking too long for him, so he decided to take the stairs.

"She's having the kid right now as we speak," Rhoda answered.

David just nodded. He saw something in Rhoda that he had never seen before, worry. Most times, between her and Mary, she was the one to just shrug things off. Now that she wasn't this time, it scared him. "Did the doctors say anything to you that I should know?" he implored.

Rhoda shook her head. "Not yet, they like to keep everyone in suspense," she remarked.

David heavily sighed. "So all we do now, is wait," he said to himself.

Rhoda looked over and watched him for a moment, trying to figure out how scared he really was. All he did was go and sit down. His glossy eyes were fixated on the white wall across the room. She decided that it was time to go talk to him. "Ya know she'll pull through. Right?" she asked.

David peeled his eyes from the wall and looked up to her as she sat on the arm of the chair. She was giving him a reassuring smile, but it didn't make him feel any better. "Physically, sure, but what about mentally?" he questioned. "If anything goes wrong, after everything that has happened," he stated.

"Well David," Rhoda started. She wanted to argue, to tell him that he was dead wrong, but she couldn't. If something were to go wrong, Mary would lose it. Maybe not permanently, or maybe not severely, but she still didn't deserve it. "Then I guess you'll have to be strong for her," she flatly informed.

"Right," he weakly responded.

Rhoda stood up and walked back over to the other side. Neither of them wanted to talk. All they could do was think about the current situation.

It was odd. The room seemed silent, yet there were other people in there. David knew that they had to be talking, there had to be some sort of activity going on around him, but he couldn't bring himself to pay attention to it. Instead, for a few moments, he refused to acknowledge the rest of the world around him. He had to prepare himself.

If the worst were to happen, then Rhoda was right, he would have to be the one to step up and be strong. He had to be the one to show Mary that it was going to be okay, to help get her through the rough patch.

"David!" Rhoda called.

David snapped out of his deep thought and brought himself back to the world. "What?" he asked.

Rhoda stood before him. "The nurse. She said you can go see Mary," Rhoda explained.

David looked over and saw the nurse standing in the doorway. Without saying anything, he stood up and followed her down the hall to Mary's room.

He stepped into the room and saw Mary laying there. Her hair was still wet and sticking to her forehead, she looked upset. "Mary?"

Mary looked over and forced a slight smile. "You made it," she stated.

David cautiously walked over and kissed her on the cheek. Right now, he was bracing himself. "How are you doing?" he inquired as he sat down beside her bed.

"Tired," she answered, holding back tears.

"The baby?" he gently asked.

Mary looked down as she started to cry. It was as if she were trying to shy away from him. "They didn't let me hold him," she cried.

David left his seat and sat down on the edge of the bed and held her. He wasn't about to ask her why, he could figure it out on his own. Whether the baby was dead or just in need of urgent care right away, he would find out sooner or later.