CHAPTER FOURTEEN

April 6th

31 weeks

"So, what are you naming her?" Jade asked, sitting next to Cat at the lunch table.

"I don't know yet. Not after you, that's for damn sure."

"What's wrong with naming her after me?"

"Because you and Tori have been fighting over it since you found out she's a girl, that's why. You're driving me insane."

"Hey, that's not true," Tori said. "We haven't been fighting over it. We've been fighting over godmother rights."

"And I already told you that April is her godmother."

"What if something happens to April?"

"Nothing will happen to April."

"You sure about that?" Jade asked.

"Leave her alone."

"I can't even have a little fun with her?"

"No because your fun includes blood and scissors."

"Kinky," Tori said.

"Shut up, Vega," Jade said.

"I already have a backup plan for if something goes on with April. Just trust that I know what I'm doing, alright? Besides, you don't have kids, so my alternative to April wouldn't be you in the first place," Cat said.

"Well, that's stupid, just because I'm not a parent doesn't mean I'm not a good choice."

"No, but I'd rather her go to a parent if April can't take care of her. Someone that knows what they're getting into."

"Whatever," Jade grumbled.

"Don't be grumpy," she said before letting out a grunt. "Jesus Christ, not now."

"What? What happened?" Robbie asked.

"She's kicking. A lot."

"You're not getting contractions again are you?"

"No. It's just kicking this time. I learned my lesson, I'll let you guys know if I'm having contractions."

"Please do, it scares the hell out of me when I'm called saying you're in labor," Tori said.

"I will. Can you give me a ride to the flower shop after school? Robbie picked me up this morning and he's gotta get home after school."

"Sure."

The group looked towards the parking lot when they heard the sirens of a police car and several ambulances.

"Oh my god," Cat said.

"Students of Hollywood Arts, we are going on lock down," the intercom said. "Anyone inside the building get to a classroom and lock the doors, anyone outside find your way back into the building and find a room. I repeat, we are going on lock down."

"What the hell is going on?" Jade asked as they all got up from the table and started making their way into the building.

"You don't think we have something serious going on here do you?" Cat asked.

"Why else would we be put on lock down?" Tori asked.

"There was a shooting down the street freshman year and all surrounding schools were put on lock down."

"Well, the cops and ambulances are here. Just try to stay calm. There weren't any gunshots, and there's no way we wouldn't have heard them," Beck said.

"Cat Valentine to the office," the intercom said. "Cat Valentine to the office."

"Why me?" Cat asked.

"They're not gonna answer you, just go. Be safe," Jade said.

"Cat," Tori's dad, David said as he approached the group. "Come with me, I'll escort you. Everyone else get somewhere. Now," he said before motioning for Cat to follow him.

"What's going on?" Cat asked as they walked down the hall.

"There was a fight, someone got stabbed. I want you to keep your eyes straight ahead and stay calm, okay? Everything's going to be fine."

Unfortunately, by the time he was finished talking, Cat's eyes had wandered and as they started walking past the main staircase she gasped, tears immediately pooling in her eyes when she saw who the paramedics and Helen were surrounded around.

"April!"

David grabbed Cat's arm when she tried to make her way to her sister. "She's going to be fine, you need to go to the office and cool down."

"No, she - she's hurt!"

"I can't breathe!" April sobbed. "I can't - I can't breathe!"

As David led her away from the scene, she saw April spit blood out of her mouth, which made her let out a sob. "Mr. Vega -"

"Cat," David interrupted. "I know. It's scary, but they're gonna get her to the hospital and I'll drive you up there, okay? Right now we're on lock down and I want you safe where I can see you," he said as they got to the office, locking the door behind them and pulling the shade down.

Cat sobbed, sitting down in a chair and David walked to the nurse's office.

"Do you have any vomit bags? I've got a girl out here that's gonna be sick in a few minutes," David said.

"Is it Cat Valentine?" The nurse asked, handing him a few blue bags.

"Yeah. Her sister was involved in the incident."

"I'll come check her blood pressure. Here's a water bottle for her," she said, handing him a water bottle from a mini fridge.

"Thanks."

David walked back to Cat and ran his hand over her back. "Deep breaths. I know you're scared, but I can't take you anywhere unless you're calmed down, okay?"

"What if she's not okay?" Cat's voice cracked. "Who hurt her?"

"I'm not at liberty to discuss. My other officers are handling the suspect. You'll find out when we talk to your mom."

Cat sniffled and whimpered, letting out a small breath as she ran her hand over her stomach. "Calm down, Mommy's okay..."

"Are you having a contraction?"

"No. She's just moving," she said, leaning back. "Mr. Vega?"

"Yeah."

"Is she really gonna be okay?"

David nodded. "Absolutely," he said, opening the water bottle and handing it to her. "It's a serious injury, but it's nothing that can't be fixed."

"She said she couldn't breathe... she had blood coming out of her mouth."

"There's probably blood in her lungs. The ambulance is taking her to the hospital. The nurse wants to check your stats really quick and then I'll take you up to meet your mom. She's already been notified."

"Okay..."

"I wish you'd just let her hook you up, honey, she's just worried," Tara said.

"I don't need to be hooked to a fetal monitor every time I come to the damn hospital," Cat said. "We're not here for me, we're here for April."

"With the stress you're going through right now, it's a good idea to make sure the baby's okay."

"The baby's fine! I'm fine! Yes, I'm worried about my sister, but I'm fine! I'm not having contractions, I'm not feeling anything weird, she's just kicking! Kicking is normal during a pregnancy!"

"Calm down."

"I was calm until you started telling me what I need to do! Are you forgetting that you abandoned me for three months! You don't get to tell me what to do anymore! I live on my own, I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself!"

"Cat," Sam said as she walked over to her.

Cat sighed and ran her hand through her hair.

"What happened?"

"April got stabbed at school," Cat said. "Got into it with our psycho cousin."

"The crazy one that pushed you down the stairs?"

"The very same. Mom, this is Sam. She's mine and April's roommate."

"It's nice to meet you, Sam," Tara said.

"Same. Not under the circumstances," Sam said. "How is she?"

"She's okay for now," Cat said. "She had blood in her lungs so they drained them and stitched her up. We're just waiting to see her. If they allow more than just family to see her I'll come get you. Did you get any word on the three bedroom?"

"Yeah, the manager said that family's moving out within the next month, so we'll be able to move in soon."

"You're moving?" Tara asked.

"Just to another apartment," Cat said. "It's just down the hall, but it's bigger, so it'll accommodate me, Sam, April and the baby a lot better. We'll all have our own rooms and I'll have the baby with me in my room."

"I don't think it's a good idea for April to go back."

"Why not? Once she's out of the hospital we'll be able to help her. Besides, this Friday is our last day of school because from the tenth to the seventeenth we're on Spring break and we'll be home to help her out all day."

"Yeah, but what about the kids you watch?"

"So? Sam and I can handle babysitting if April doesn't feel up to it. We know what we're doing, Mom. We do it every day."

"I just don't think -"

"I don't care what you think," Cat snapped. "For three months, we've been doing just fine on our own. Without you."

"You've gone into labor twice since I've been gone, Caterina."

"Don't call me that, God..."

"Are you forgetting that you're still a minor and until you're eighteen you'll do what I say?"

"Yeah, okay - David will have no problem backing me up on this."

"David isn't your father."

"Yeah, I know! He's fucking dead! Because you didn't stop him from going to the god damn store!" Cat shouted before standing up and walking down the hall.

Sam watched Cat for a few seconds. "I'll go walk with her make sure she's alright."

Tara nodded and Sam jogged to catch up to Cat.

"Hey..." Sam said.

"She's ridiculous," Cat sniffled. "I'm more adult than April is. I'm more adult than she is, at least I didn't abandon two of my kids just to try to save one - and then fail."

"She's your mom. You're lucky that she cares enough."

"My dad would understand."

"He's not here to back you up though. Your mom is right - she's still in charge of you."

"I don't care! If I live with her, then how I handle my baby will be completely controlled by her. I don't want that. I want to take care of her on my own. As soon as I graduate high school, I'm gonna do online classes at the community college so I can get my teaching permit and I'm gonna open up a daycare facility so we don't have to do it out of our house anymore."

"I don't mind doing it out of the house. I mean, think about the baby, too."

"What about the baby?"

"Well, you'll have to get her up, take her to the daycare, then pack her up and bring her back home. Instead of doing all that, why not just stay at home with her so she's more comfortable?"

"She'll be a few years old before any of this actually happens, Sam. She'll be fine. Mm..." Cat grunted and held onto the railing of the wall.

"What? Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I keep getting kicked."

"Are you sure it's not a contraction?"

"I know the difference between a kick and a contraction, Sam."

"Just making sure."

"Fuck... fuck, okay - that's a contraction, I need a doctor. Now," she said with a strained voice.

"Hey!" Sam called out to a doctor down the hall. "We need help down here!"

The doctor jogged to them, kneeling next to Cat as she knelt down. "Hi, I'm Dr. Reynolds. What's going on, is this a pregnancy related issue?"

"I just got a really bad contraction and I'm only thirty-one weeks, this is the third time I'd had false labor," Cat said.

"Okay, not a problem. Do you have a preferred doctor here?"

"Grace West."

"I'll page her. Do me a favor and grab me that wheelchair over there," Dr. Reynolds said as he helped Cat stand up. "Do you have family here that needs to be notified?"

"My sister's a patient, my mom's in the waiting room," Cat said as she was lowered into the wheelchair.

"I'll go get your mom," Sam said. "Where are you taking her?"

"Forty two in the maternity ward," Dr. Reynolds said.

As Sam took off, Dr. Reynolds started wheeling Cat to the elevator.

"What's your name?" Dr. Reynolds asked.

"Caterina Valentine. I've been here before, Grace West is my primary."

"Okay. How old are you?"

"Seventeen. This can't be real labor can it? I mean, I've had Braxton Hicks twice already, that's all this is, right?"

"It could be false, but it could also be positive labor, so we're gonna get you hooked up to a fetal monitor and do some ultrasounds and check your dilation."

"What are the chances that I deliver today?"

"I'm gonna say it's a fifty - fifty. I've never heard of someone having false labor so often. This could very well be your delivery day, but I don't want you to worry, okay? When we find out exactly what's going on then we'll let you know."

"It's too early for her to come, I'm nine weeks early. That's too soon," Cat's voice cracked.

"We've got babies in the NICU that were born three months early. We've sent a lot of them home, your baby's going to be just fine."

"Don't make promises you can't keep."

"Well, I'm promising you that your baby's going to be okay. I don't make promises I can't keep, but I promise you she'll be fine."

"I want you on bed rest for the rest of your pregnancy," Grace said.

"What? No!" Cat said.

"Cat, you've been through Braxton Hicks twice in the last two months and this was labor. We're lucky we got it to stop honey, you have to do everything you can to keep that little girl healthy so she can come when she's supposed to."

"No, please - what about school? Graduation? Work? I have two jobs, Grace, I can't just... not go."

"You can do online classes with Hollywood Arts. You'll be able to walk with your class, that won't do much damage. But your jobs will have to come to a halt until after you have the baby, honey. I'm sorry. I know it sucks, but your employers will understand."

"Am I allowed to go anywhere? To see my friends, to go baby shopping?"

"Every now and then, yes. But not an everyday thing. You keep stressing out, and stress is what made you go into labor."

"My sister got stabbed! Of course I'm gonna stress out!"

"Calm down," Tara said. "She's just letting you know what's making it worse, Caterina."

"What, I can't be scared? This is my daughter we're talking about. I almost gave birth nine weeks early, that's terrifying."

"It's very scary, but you still need to try to keep calm," Grace said. "If you stay on bed rest the last nine weeks then you'll deliver a healthy, happy baby with no complications."

"I want you to come home while you're on bed rest," Tara said.

"No. I have a home, and that's with Sam and April," Cat said.

"They aren't going to be home with you all day. They both have school, and April can't do anything extensive either, so she'll be on bed rest too."

"Sam is home schooled. She does her schooling online. She'll be home."

"It's not fair to her to have to wait on you hand and foot."

"Actually, I don't mind," Sam said. "It's no big deal, really. I do it for kids all the time."

"Cat's not a kid, she's seventeen years old."

"Yeah, but she's having a baby. So, it's still technically for a kid. And she comfortable at our place, so why uproot her when she's made a home for herself already?"

"I appreciate your concern, Sam; but I'm her mother and what I say goes," Tara said before turning back to Cat. "You're coming home. End of discussion."