A/N: Heyyyyyy! It's finally back! I've kicked my butt into shape and finally finished this chapter! :D
I have decided, since it's taken me ages to update anything, that I will try and get Double Life up today as well, coz the chapter is almost finished, so keep an eye out for that too! :D This would've been up last night, but I went to watch the newest Pirates of The Carribean, so sorry... but hey! It's up now :D
So, here it is, folks - the beginning of the end. We're in those last 5 chapters I promised... hey, at least it's not the final chapter, right? ;D
Thank you all for your reviews and stuff - you got me all to 600 reviews! I wonder if we can make it to 700 by the end... (I'm SOOOOOO greedy ;D)
Shout-out to BeingHannah923, for her inspiration and help in talking to me for most of the afternoon yesterday - it was GREAT! :D If it wasn't for you, sweetie, this wouldn't be ready today. So LOVE YOU!
I think we should ALL thank k.98'PeaceOutSuckas, because it's thanks to her that this story has been extended! :D
Okay, grab your tissues, people! We have a sad chap lined up... and it's quite short too... I'll do better next time, promise!
I don't own SWAC, now let's get this started before the A/N becomes longer than the chap! ;D
Chapter 56 - Ran Out of Luck
Sonny's POV
Life has changed. It does that – it has its ups and its downs; it's that roller coaster that sends you on such a crazy world, and every turn has a new experience, challenge, which you have to conquer.
And that's exactly what life has done to Chad and I.
Back when it was just me and Chad on our own, we'd wake up when we wanted, or when we had to go to work. We'd watch movies and go out for pizza and just relax. Even when we were first married, nothing really changed. Even though I was pregnant… everything was just normal. Just the way we liked it.
But now… everything is different. But in an equally perfect way.
I wake up one sunny morning to the soft crying of a small, young voice. Rebecca, of course. I turn over in the bed, moaning, to see Chad, the brilliant father he is, already on it. He rubs his eyes, dragging the duvet off of him. He sits up, wobbling slightly (he's probably still really tired… Rebecca woke us both up a lot last night), and walks towards the door, still rubbing the dust out of his eyes.
"I wonder what she wants this time." I mumble as he puts his hand on the doorknob, and he turns around and smiles at me tiredly.
"Mmm." He mutters, shaking his head slowly, "Good morning, by the way." He says, "Are you two okay?"
I gaze down at my tummy, where a small bump has formed. Yes, that's right – I'm pregnant again. 12 weeks – I'm going for my first scan later this morning! Chad and I are so excited… Rebecca will have a little baby brother or sister!
"We're both fine." I tell him, watching the smile on his face grow. He's just as excited as me about our new baby – he's a natural father. Very protective also – he seems to know exactly when and what's wrong with Rebecca. It's like she has a connection to him – it's adorable. When the second baby comes along, I'm sure he'll be ready for it. Well, he is Chad Dylan Cooper. And he's proved to the world that, he's not only the greatest actor of his generation. He's he greatest father too.
"Brilliant." He says. He walks over to me, leaning over and kissing me softly on the cheek, and I blush bright red like I used to when we were teenagers. His slight morning stubble scratches my face, something I've got more and more used to now that we're no longer teens.
"My beautiful lady…" He whispers into my hair, his blonde locks tickling my cheek. He kisses my cheek once more before looking right down at my face, and I get lost in his bright blue eyes. Suddenly, Rebecca lets out a wail from next door and we're brought back out into the real world. Chad jumps up straight again, and speed-walks out of the door, into Becca's room next door. I watch him, smiling sheepishly.
We live in our own house now – me, Chad and Rebecca. It's back in the old neighbourhood I used to live in when Mom and I first moved to Cali – only it's a 2 storey house rather than an apartment. Mom lives just down the road. Abby lives with Chris and Melanie now, who were missing Sara who moved to New Jersey with her boyfriend a couple of years ago, and so Abby was happy to move in and become the child in the house. At least she's close to her Dad again. Oh, and Josh now lives with Zora in their own apartment on the other side of Hollywood.
It's nice, where we live now – just the three of us (four of us, in a few months). Plus, Chad and I are usually both around the house – we only do the odd movie or guest appearance here and there. We're going to focus on raising our two (or maybe three) little babies, and maybe in a few years when they're all old enough for a day-care centre, we'll go back to full-time acting. We'll see what time brings, I guess. Right now, I'm fine with my family, and I think Chad is too.
A few minutes later, Chad steps through the doorway with Rebecca in his arms.
"You see Mommy?" He asks her. Her head darts around; she's eager to see me, and I giggle and get up, right in front of her, waving at her. Her eyes fix on me and she giggles, babbling and reaching out for me. Chad places her down on the floor and she looks around, her eyes wide open, before gazing right back at me with that same adorable smile.
"Go to Mommy, yeah?" Chad babbles to her, and, after a few seconds of wide-eyed stares, Rebecca crawls over, on her hands and knees, smiling a big smile, her mouth half-filled with her baby teeth. It's hard to believe I used to be like this, right back in the beginning… it almost makes me want to cry.
I pick my little girl up and swing her around, making her scream and laugh and babble and squeak. Her blue eyes are just like her father's – so sparkly – and her blonde hair is now fully covering her scalp. She is almost one year old. Her birthday is tomorrow… and I'm so excited! It's just… all going so fast… she'll be a teenager sooner than I realise, and then she'll be moving out…
I laugh to myself. I sound just like my mother used to. But still – Mom told me many times (whilst bursting into tears) that I had to make sure I cherished the moments like these. So, that's what I'm doing.
A few minutes later, we go downstairs for breakfast. It's about eight o'clock, but that's okay – my baby scan is at 9:30, and it's best that I'm ready for it. Best be early than late…
I make breakfast, including a baby's yogurt for Rebecca, while Chad plays peek-a-boo with her. It's her favourite game – it was mine when I was a baby too, according to my Mom. What I find hilarious, though, is how much into the game Chad gets. Ha. He's still a child at heart… which makes him that much more amazing at caring for Rebecca.
An hour or so later, Chad and I are ready to go. The doorbell sounds and I open the door to Mom, who's taking care of Rebecca while we go, and Chad and I are out of there.
Next stop – hospital, to get a look at our new baby for the very first time.
Chad's POV
I keep an eye on my wife the whole way to the hospital. Both times she's been pregnant, I don't know… I've just been much more protective. And that's saying something…
We approach the hospital, and the butterflies in my stomach grow. My heart pounds and I bite my lip, silently praying to myself that nothing will go wrong. I park the car and get out of it, opening the door for Sonny and leading her into the lobby. She finds the water fountain immediately – she was told it was important for her to drink lots before the scan so we can see the picture easier. Sonny wants to be sure we can see our little baby perfectly.
I walk up to the reception desk, where a mid-twenties redhead is sat, eyes fixed on the computer. She seems to sense me arrive and looks up at me with a friendly smile, and then her mouth drops open.
"You're Chad Dylan Cooper!" She squeals. I nod, hoping to not draw too much attention to myself. I'm only here to see my new baby, not to sign autographs. As much as I love my fans and slightly miss them, I love my family more.
"I am." I say to her with my good ol' signature smile.
"I loved Mackenzie Falls as a teen!" She grins, "It was, like, my favourite show!"
I smirk. People still remember Mackenzie Falls? Well, that's awesome. I would've probably forgotten about it if it wasn't for the fact that I met Sonny back at Condor Studios. My life would be a mess if I hadn't met Sonny at Condor Studios. Heck… I might not even be alive. Sonny saved me from the hell that was my life. Sonny… she saved my life.
"I'm glad to hear that." I say, "Um, I'm here for an ultrasound baby scan for my wife, Sonny Cooper?"
She grins and there's a shimmer in her green eyes. I've seen that shimmer before. Ah, so she's a Channy fan…
"Lemme find that for ya…" She types something on the keyboard as Sonny walks up with her little plastic cup of water.
"This is the wife?" She says with a knowing smile, not looking up from the computer screen.
"Yup." I say, hugging Sonny softly. She chuckles happily and the redhead smiles and tells us which room to head to.
We arrive at the room to see Dr Edmonds – the same doctor who helped Sonny give birth to Rebecca. After the greetings, he gives Sonny a robe to change into, and she does so (of course, behind a curtain), and then she lies on the bed, takes a deep breath, and grips on to my arm, holding it tight. Dr Edmonds spreads the jelly-like substance over Sonny's belly and she looks up at me and grins.
"Here's it comes." She whispers, as the doctor turns on the screen and hovers the machine over her abdomen. Slowly the image appears on the screen, and Sonny squeezes my hand tightly, grinning at the screen. Her face falls slightly when she sees the image.
"It doesn't look right." She says softly. I look down at her, confused, but she seems determined that the image of her baby has something wrong with it. "It doesn't look the same as it did when we had it with Rebecca."
I laugh a small laugh, confused, "Sure?" She nods. "Every baby is different, Sonny."
Sonny looks up at the doctor, as if asking for back-up, and he looks at the screen and frowns. That confirms Sonny's worry – she tenses up, and grips my hand even tighter. I start to worry now too – maybe Sonny's right. Maybe something is wrong…
"Sonny is correct." The doctor says. That small sentence stops my heart. All I can hear is his next words, and my thumping heartbeat, "Let me just… check for the…" He trails off into silence, before shaking his head solemnly. "I'm sorry." He says, "It seems the baby hasn't made it."
…
Everything happens so quickly after that. I shake my head, my heart racing, my brain malfunctioning. I try to tell myself those words did not just come from his mouth. But they did. There's no way I imagined those words… not even my own cruel mind would play that kind of trick on me.
I look down at Sonny, my poor, poor wife. She is motionless, staring at the screen. Her lips are parted; her eyes are welling up with tears. She looks defeated, destroyed, devastated. Well, I don't blame her.
We've lost our child. Before he or she has even been born.
About an hour later, I'm sat in a hallway, just waiting, thinking, watching the door in case the doctor comes out to speak to me. I just can't believe what has happened to her… to us. (Hey, Hannah… motivation huggy bear! :D)
I still can't accept that it's really happened… I still can't fully believed that Sonny and I have really lost our second child. Our baby boy, or girl… has just been taken from us. The poor thing didn't even get a chance at life.
Why did it have to happen? Why did our child have to be snatched away from us… and in this way, of all ways? Before we'd even got to see his or her perfect face… before we got to hear it's first words, see it's first steps; before I'd been able to hold the child in my arms and say it was mine. My baby son or daughter.
Just… why did it have to happen, of all people, to Sonny and I? We're good people, right? We treat Rebecca right, don't we? We feed her and clothe her and bathe her, and she seems to fully enjoy life. She seems to love us – we can tell that, even though she's only a baby we can still see that Rebecca loves us just as much as we love her, so why did this happen? It's not like we're bad people and don't deserve another baby, is it? Why was it that the baby placed right in our hands to be yanked out of our reach when we were so, so close?
I'm sat outside the room Sonny's in, where she's having the baby extracted (I think that's the right word…). After an excruciatingly long wait, Sonny walks out, a young woman is leading her out. She hands Sonny to me like a damaged parcel, and when my fragile wife looks up at me, I can tell she's just been to hell and back. Her usually-sparkling brown eyes are red and puffy, that beautiful smile has fled from her face, and she looks like she could sleep for a decade.
"Get her home." The woman (presumably the nurse) says, "Make sure she doesn't drive for the next twenty-four hours – we gave her painkillers, but she also asked for Gas to take away the pain so she might be a little drowsy. Just let her sleep for a bit when you get home."
I nod, holding onto Sonny like she'll fall apart if I don't, and I lead her out of the hospital and back to our car. As we reach the doorway, she mumbles something to herself, and I look at her with sympathy.
"You okay, honey?" I ask. She just simply shakes her head.
"I'm tired."
I pick her up, bridal style, and carry her for the rest of the way. Usually she would've protested – she thinks it draws too much attention to us – but right now, she's lying in my arms, drifting in and out of consciousness. Her eyes are half-closed, but she's still gazing up at me, a sad smile across her face.
"I love you." She says softly. Then the fragile smile breaks and she breaks with it. She cries into my shirt, and I have to try really hard not to cry along with her.
I place her in the passenger seat when we reach my car, and she falls asleep almost instantaneously, her lashes damp from where she had been crying. We drive in silence, mostly because Sonny is asleep for most of the ride, but in the last few minutes she is awake and I try to keep myself from saying anything in case I upset her. She looks at me, occasionally, but most of the time her eyes stay solely focused on the road in front. She has that watery look in her eye that warns me that she's going to cry any second now, and I bite my lip to keep my own tears in.
It hurts so much to see my Sonny cry.
When we get home, I carry (I do mean carry) Sonny straight up to our room. I place her carefully in the bed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She smiles at me softly, her eyelids half-closed, before her eyes flutter shut and she slips into a calm, peaceful sleep. I stroke her face; her beautiful, beautiful face, and she smiles in her slumber. Her face is damp, particularly the area around her eyes. I kiss her on the nose, before hearing footsteps behind me. I turn around to see Connie, holding my baby girl in one hand, with her other hand on the door handle.
"How did it go?" She asks calmly, walking to the center of the room and settling Rebecca down on the bed next to Sonny. My little girl plays with her mother's hair, and I laugh. It sounds like a really empty laugh though. Connie frowns as a lonely tear escapes my eye. And then she hugs me. A soft, welcomingly, comforting hug.
"The baby had died." I manage to say, though my voice squeaks a little at the beginning, and she sighs mournfully.
"I'm so sorry, Chad…" She says.
"Why did it have to happen…?" I mumble out, "…Why to us?"
"Shh…" Connie murmurs into my hair, comforting me like a mother would for her son. It feels right – I guess I'm used to Connie being my "mother" (in law). She's a great mom, that's for sure.
She's strokes my back reassuringly, like I'm a sobbing child (well, she's right about one thing…), muttering words of comfort into my ear.
"It's ok…" She says, "Everything's gonna be alright… shh, now, honey… everything will be fine."
I believe her on that. I really do.
A few hours later, the rest of the afternoon has past by. Sonny, my poor, poor wife, spent the whole afternoon upstairs, in bed. I brought up her lunch at about one o'clock, and she was still sleeping, her cheek damp and a sorrowful expression on her face. I hoped she wasn't dreaming about what had happened that morning – Sonny was a very graphic dreamer, and everything she dreamt about got to her, whether it was good… or not so good.
Dinner time was a different story. I brought that up at about six – a light dinner. The staff at the hospital had told me it wasn't best to give her too much food. For her lunch, I'd only brought her a couple of pieces of fruit. Her dinner was a cheese and tomato sandwich – her favourite kind. Her eyes were half-open, and she was reading a book. She put it down when she saw me, and her curious eyes followed me across the room. She was smiling – a small smile, but a smile nonetheless. I could still tell she was hurting though – something in her eyes told me that. She didn't have that regular shimmer – she'd lost that the moment Dr Edmonds told us, in a few words, that we wouldn't be having that second baby.
Now, it's eleven at night. I put Rebecca into bed about four hours ago, and she's slept really well, which is a relief, considering how often she woke Sonny and I up last night. Connie went home about that time, which left me to sit alone in the family room, pondering on what had happened, before I got lost in my thoughts and decided that my mind needed rest. It's Rebecca's first birthday tomorrow – I want to be wide-awake and happy for my baby girl.
Of course, my beautiful, beautiful wife is awake when I walk in. She's cuddling a picture of me, her and Rebecca, fresh tears trickling down her face. I almost break and cry along with her. I get in bed, putting my arms around her. At my touch, her tense shoulders loosen a little, and she snuggles her head into my chest.
After a few seconds of pure silence, she shuffles around in my arms, trying to find a comfortable position. "I love you." She whispers.
I smile softly, "I love you too."
"And I need you." She adds.
"What's wrong sweetie?" I ask, even though it's blindingly obvious.
"We've ran out of luck." She says, "The baby's gone. We're not gonna have our second baby…"
"We can try again." I tell her. She just sighs solemnly.
"What if it doesn't work?" She sobs.
I shrug. What am I supposed to tell her? It will work? What if I'm wrong? "We'll find out." I say, "But it never hurts to try… and besides, if we don't succeed… it'll be okay. I'll still love you, and Rebecca, and everything will be fine. I promise."
I watch the happy smile on her face. Her eyes are still glassy and sad, but her smile tells me that she's okay. We'll get over this. Together, like we always do.
I feel Sonny relax in my arms, snuggle into my chest, and I laugh. Slowly, we fall into unconsciousness in each other's arms…
A/N: Yeah, so that was that... Poor Channy, huh? :'(
Next chapter will be a lot happier, promise. You wanna know why? Coz it's REBECCA'S FIRST BIRTHDAY! *party blower* Yup. That was gonna be part of this chapter but I thought it was time to just update already. So that chap will be coming soon (hopefully sooner than last time...)
So, what did you think? It would be great if you were to review! If ya review, I'll update quicker. Deal? Coolio.
Let's do this! :D
~Amy x