A New Arrival
Mitchie sat bolt upright, her arm flying to her stomach.
She gasped and shook Shane.
"Shane. Shane!"
He woke up immediately. "What?"
She flicked on the light and gazed into his dark eyes. Speaking clearly, she said "Shane, take me to the hospital. Now."
Shane stared for a second. "Oh, crap." Then he sprung into action. "Okay, what do you need to do?"
"First of all, get dressed. You, too. Then…well, we'll see."
"On it."
Five minutes later, he was hustling her to the door. He opened it and immediately the intruder alarm went off.
"Darn it! Get in car," he muttered, flying for the keypad. Mitchie wandered into the garage.
The alarm silenced.
"Shane? What's going on?"
The sleepy figures of their friends looked at him.
"Can't talk. Mitchie, baby, hospital, got to go! Bye!" He slammed the door.
His friends stood openmouthed after him. Finally, Elora spoke. "Well, what are we still doing here? Dudes, get dressed, get the cars! Go go go!"
A few minutes later they followed Shane's car. The girls, of course, were squealing bloody murder. The boys were silent.
"Okay! Shut it!" Nate finally said, his hands clenched tight on the wheel.
"Thank you," Jason added.
"You guys are so boring," Caitlynn muttered.
"Yeah. Remind me, Caitlynn, why did we marry them?" Elora asked.
"Cause you love us," the boy chorused.
"That's true…" Elora agreed, staring off into space for a second.
Mitchie sat quietly in her wheelchair, breathing in and out, eyes closed. Shane held her hand, rubbing it with his thumb.
"Are you all right?" he asked softly. They were waiting for the doctor.
"Cramping a little. I'm…fine," Mitchie answered, eyes still closed.
Their friends rushed in. "Shane! Mitchie, you guys okay?" Caitlynn asked.
"Fine!" Mitchie repeated, a little snappish.
"Sorry, sorry, sheesh. What's going on?"
"Waiting." Shane didn't take his eyes off his wife.
"What's going on?" Jason asked.
Everyone closed their eyes and sighed deeply. "Jason," Elora said softly. "Do me a favor."
"Anything!" Jason looked like an eager puppy.
"Go get yourself a dark coffee, then go run a mile. And, here, take this." She handed him a ten dollar bill.
"What's this for?" Jason asked, turning it over in his hands.
"Go get yourself a…birdfeeder or a nice coloring book and crayons," Elora said.
Several Hours Later……. (A/N: I'm not going into detail about Matt's…arrival for reasons that you may understand.)
The four stood in the small hallway outside of Mitchie's room. All was silent.
The nurse opened the door, looking very somber. "You may come in."
They hurried inside and froze.
Mitchie lay very still in the bed, her face exhausted. Shane had an arm around her shoulders, looking downcast. There was no baby in sight.
"Mitchie?" Nate asked quietly.
Her eyes fluttered open. "We don't know," she whispered, answering the unvoiced question. "Something went wrong. They…they took him." A few tears rolled down her cheeks, which Shane wiped away with his finger.
"Boy?" Elora asked softly, coming over and stroking her friend's hair.
"Yup." Mitchie sighed sadly. "I even had a name for him."
"You have a name, you mean," Nate said. "He'll be okay."
"Matthew," Mitchie murmured, closing her eyes and letting her cheek rest against Shane's arm.
"That's lovely," Caitlynn said. Jason nodded.
"I think I had a pet bird named Matthew…or was it Tweeter?" He stared off into space for a second. Elora slapped her hand over her eyes and groaned.
Shane cracked a small smile. Mitchie didn't move. She sighed deeply and seemed to fall into a light sleep.
Silence ran out in the hospital room.
Sorry that took so long. Homework….