Chapter 13

Hi everyone. There's no veering down a false path or anything, so don't' worry about that. This chapter gets straight to the point. Anyway, this chapter isn't named after a song really because I couldn't think of a song to fit it... but there are lyrics of a beautiful song throughout the chapter. I hope you guys will enjoy this.

Chapter 13

January 5th

She's got a baby inside

And holds her belly tight, all through the night

Haley felt as though she had topped Jay's day off with a cherry. First, they were both surprised with a trip the Texas Christmas Lights Fair with the Jagelski's and the Turners (Matt, Tonya, and Logan). It was the last weekend before the Holiday festivities would be in place and she really wanted Jay to see it. The two kids had a blast riding the small rides and the guys loved getting on the bigger ones. They tried showing off their basketball skills and win the girls some gifts, which in return made Haley miss her husband. Nathan could have easily won her a huge stuff animal without even trying. He was amazing at basketball and would have happily gloated to the other guys about it.

The girls, well at least Haley's favorite part was the food. Every since talk of the fair in town began, she'd been craving a turkey leg, and that was the first thing she bought when they'd arrived. Her craving caused Jake to get punched in the arm by his wife once he'd seen the turkey leg after five minutes. You killed it, Haley remembered him saying, eyes wide in disbelief. That only had her in tears, and saying how disgusting she must've looked.

To finish off their exciting day, Jay was invited to sleep in the big bed with his mommy that night. She wasn't sure what had gotten into her, but she had refused to sleep without her four year old that night, and was glad that he was still at that snuggly age.

Just so she knows, she's sleeping so

Safely to keep, her growing

Haley gently pulled Jay over a little bit, when she felt him move further away from her body. She was nearly awake from the cramps she was having, and tried to hold off waking up for as long as she could. Feeling the bleeding in between her thighs, Haley grimaced. She hated when she had her period and was definitely too drained to get up and take some medicine.

Before she knew it, her cramps had gotten worse, and it was then that she began to gain consciousness and analyze all her thoughts. She was pregnant. The flow that was coming between her thighs was one she shouldn't be experiencing in her condition.

Sitting up quickly, Haley clamped a hand over her mouth, trying to hold back the sobs that instantly escaped her lips.

What was wrong with her baby?

Lifting the comforter, she saw cream colored sheets, stained with her blood. Flashes of the last time she had been awaken to see blood covering her bottom half entered her mind; she had miscarried. Squeezing her eyes closed, she opened them seconds later willing the red wet stain to disappear. Strangled sobs left her mouth once again, as she started trembling and pushing the comforter from her body.

Jay, who had been curled up under her, was now awake and rubbing his eyes in confusion.

"Mommy?" He could see the tears running down her cheeks and wondered if she just missed his daddy again like before.

Haley tried to be quick and unnoticeable when she started to pull the blanket back up but wasn't fast enough and Jay's eyes instantly grew at the sight of her blood.

"Jay, go get Aunt Peyton and Uncle Jake, and tell them mommy said to come here quick. Okay? Run baby"

He raced down the hall and was very grateful for the sensor night lights that lined the long hall to the guest room. He burst in the room to find Peyton sitting up. She was a light sleeper and was already awake when she heard the small feet against the wooden floor.

"Jason, what's wrong, why are you up?" Jake said sitting up as well

"Mommy has blood on her bed. She said to come get you."

The two adults rushed down the hall and into Haley's room to find her slowly getting out of bed.

"Hales, what's going on?" Peyton said coming to stand beside her and hold her up.

"I'm bleeding really bad Peyton. I need to go to the hospital. Something's not right with her." Haley looked over towards Jay who was standing with his back against the wall looking at her completely terrified. "Mommy's okay baby, don't be scared. He… he needs new pants on" she said seeing the red stain on her son's pajama pants.

Peyton knew that Nathan would never forgive her if something happened to his wife, so she immediately snapped into action.

"Okay, come on. Jake, you help Haley to the car. Let her sit on a towel. They're in the linen closet next to Jay's room. I'll get Jay and be there in a second."

"Make sure he has on a coat Peyton" she said concerned for her son. She looked back at him as Jake lead her out, and hated the terrified look on his face when Peyton scooped him up in her arms.

"Just get to the car, I have it. Sit her in the back Jake"

Oh when she'll open her eyes

There'll be no surprise

While the two walked towards the garage, Peyton put a coat, shoes and a hat on Jay once she changed him pants. She also grabbed the small blanket that was on the bottom of his bed before leaving the room. Going back into Haley's room, she packed her small duffel with a change of clothes, extra under clothes, and finally grabbed her cell phone that had been charging on her nightstand. Picking up Jay, she finally made her way out to the car that was started and warming up.

She buckled Jay into his seat, and carefully climbed over Haley to sit in between the two. She knew Haley wouldn't want her son to see her in so much pain, but also knew she wouldn't want him in the front seat of the car. All Peyton could think to do was rub Jay's head while she held tightly to Haley's hand comforting her.

It didn't take long for Jay to fall back asleep, and in only a few minutes time, they were pulling up to the hospital. Switching places once again, Jake came around to the back and helped Haley in, while Peyton parked the car and brought in Jay along with the bag.

By the time Peyton made it into the hospital, they were working on Haley to stop the bleeding. They were also giving her oxygen as a precaution. When Haley saw Peyton and Jay come towards her, she tried her best to stop the flowing tears from her cheeks, but wasn't successful. Jay, now awake, saw his mommy crying, and in return started to cry himself, not sure what was going on and as much as Peyton wanted to get him away from the situation, she needed to find out what was going on for when she made the dreaded phone call to Nathan.

"Is my mommy okay? Why is she crying?" he asked. They were walking towards the room she was now in. One hour after arriving at the hospital Haley was finally sent up to the Labor and Delivery wing as a precaution. Her doctor was on call tonight and had come down to check on Haley and administer meds and a few test on the baby and herself.

"Don't worry buddy, her tummy just hurts her a little that's all" To be honest, she really wasn't sure what to tell Jay.

Jake, seeing that his wife was struggling, came over and took Jay from her.

"Hey, Haley I'm sure needs to talk with you, we're gonna go to the bathroom really fast." He knew the boy had to use it, and figured it would be the perfect, albeit small distraction.

A few minutes later, Peyton walked towards Haley's room, and thanked the doctor and nurse that passed her on their way out. She thought Haley had to be sleeping not hearing anything, but once she rounded the small corner, she could see her friend silently weeping.

"I ... I need to call... Na...Nathan. I have to tell... I have to tell him what the doctor's saying." she chocked on a sob not being able to finish.

"What did they say Haley?" Peyton pushed on

Haley took a few deep breaths, and placed the breathing mask back over her nose trying to calm down, and spoke a minute later. "Early on in the pregnancy she explained that I have an Incompetent Cervix meaning my cervix isn't able to withstand the pressure of the uterus. It was damaged some when I had Jay and there was always a possibility of this but I hadn't found out until a few weeks ago."

"Does Nathan know?" Peyton didn't know what to think, and could only think about making the necessary phone calls.

"I didn't want to worry him with something that was just a possibility, so I never even mentioned it" Haley hung her head in shame and guilt.

"So is it happening now? Wouldn't your cervix dilating feel like contractions?" She didn't know much about giving birth, but Brooke's details on how much she hated giving birth gave her an insight.

"Yes my cervix is dilating, but instead of pain I started bleeding." Haley had read everything she could find on the subject when her OB mentioned it to her just in case.

Looking at the IV in Haley's hand, Peyton moved closer towards her friend "What's the IV for, are you in pain?" She reached for her hand and squeezed it in reassurance.

"No, not in pain, it's a medicine. Tocolytic therapy, it's to help stop the uterine contractions, but there's a high risk that they won't stop… Why can't I have a healthy pregnancy Peyton?" Haley whispered out as tears quickly poured from her brown eyes. She felt broken inside and like a failure. "I do everything right but it's always something, what's wrong with me"

Before Peyton had the chance to comfort her, the door opened and a woman in her early forties walked in, sent a smile their way and slapped on a pair of white gloves. After being reassured by Haley that Peyton could stay in the room, she checked Haley's monitors before doing a vaginal check.

There weren't many seconds that passed before she looked up at Haley with sorrowful eyes and spoke softly. "Haley it'll soon be an hour since we gave you the Tocolytic and things aren't slowing down. You're still dilating, there's also more spotting. Now baby's heart rate has dropped just a little, definitely nothing to be concerned about, but I'd rather not take any chances and I'd like to get your prepared to start pushing when the time comes. You're just over thirty-five weeks which is pretty good, just a full week away from being considered full term. You said your first was a week late, and each pregnancy is different. Now we knows she's not head down so I would like to try to get her to turn, but that's a decision you will have to make. This is not something I can just do, it's your decision."

Haley knew exactly what she was referring to. External Cephalic Version. Brooke had it done with Drew and it hurt like hell. The doctor would apply pressure to your stomach while manipulating the baby to turn head down. Reading the information on the procedure, Haley saw that there were also risks that would lead to an immediate C-section.

The doctor continued to explain to Haley what all would happen and what they would do next if things didn't go as planned. Haley voiced her fears and concerns while tears fell from her eyes, but had enough reassurance from her doctor that she completely trusted.

"If anything goes wrong and we have to do an emergency C-section, we will have everything prepped just in case, you'll be in the operating room, and Haley from the second the incision is made your baby will be out within four minutes tops."

When the doctor left the room, telling Haley to call the nurses' station when she made her decision, Peyton looked up from the texts she had been sending Jake and waited for her friend to share her thoughts. "Well"

"I understand everything she said, I just really need to call Nathan and let him know what's going on.. I need to hear his voice Peyton."

"Are you sure you want to? I mean I can talk to him Hales, I just don't want you working yourself up, you heard what she said about relaxing. I know you need him here, but if it were me I'd be screaming at him to get here." Peyton didn't want her to overwork herself, and wasn't sure how the conversation would go. She knew that Haley would beg for him to come home, though she knew that he couldn't.

"Yea, I won't stay on too long I just can't do this without him knowing."

That she'll grow to be, so beautifully

Just like her mother, that's carrying

Searching through the bag, she handed her friend the cell phone she retrieved earlier. In the time it took Peyton to reply to the text she'd received from Jake, and take a deep breath, Haley was on the phone crying and begging her husband to get to the hospital. She tried not to listen while she argued over the phone not understanding why he couldn't just break the rules, but didn't prevail. Peyton had been watching the monitor next to her bed, and once she saw her heart rate increasing, she took the phone from Haley and ended the call immediately after telling him they'd call back once she was calm.

"Haley, you need to calm down. All this stress is not helping your baby"

She nodded her head and sat there quietly for a few minutes.

Peyton brought over a cup of the ice chips the nurse had left, and chose her next words carefully.

"You want to talk about it? What did he say?"

"Well for starters, they're like six miles off base, and they're just getting to the rest point, so... so he can't come. He's pissed off that he can't be here, and he's demanding to talk to the doctor and for them to keep trying the meds to stop the contractions. He's so freaked out Peyton, and he doesn't get it. I really need to talk to him again. He's so scared."

The fresh batch of tears escaped her eyes and she leaned her head back silently praying for her baby girl to stay put. Going to sit next to her on the bed, Peyton began to rub her back soothingly. She knew that it had to be hard for her and that she hated what this was doing to Nathan who could do absolutely nothing for his family.

Before Peyton knew what was happening, Haley sat up and wiped her face clean with the sheet that was covering her. "Where's Jay?" she needed to see her son.

"He's out in the waiting room with Jake, I wasn't sure what was going on, and didn't want him to hear anything that might scare him"

"Thanks Peyton, but can you bring him in. He must be so scared; he had been completely out when I woke him up"

When she left out the room, Haley composed herself as much as she could, not wanting to scare her son with her mixed emotions about everything. Poor thing! He had to be shaken up by this sudden turn of events. Here it was nearing four in the morning and he was stuck in a stinky hospital, knowing the last time he'd seen his mother, she was crying and shaking like a mental case. Talk about a rough night. Just seconds later, Peyton walked in holding onto Jay's hand while he was hiding behind her leg.

"Hey baby, why are you hiding from mommy?"

Helping Haley out, Peyton lifted Jay onto the bed next to her, and stood back to give them a moment.

He wasn't really sure what was wrong with his mommy, but he had a feeling. "Are you sick because I was sleeping in your big bed?" he said with wide scared eyes. He thought maybe he had hurt his mother.

"No baby, come here" she said beckoning him closer and up on her lap. "You did not make mommy sick. I love you so much Bubbies." She thought of the nickname she used and smiled a bittersweet smile. That's what she and Nathan had taken to calling him before they knew they were having a boy. It was a name that was rarely used, but it held so much meaning to the two parents and their little one. "And yes, mommy's a little sick, but I'm okay"

"Then why are we here at your work where sick people go?" He looked up at her with eyes that matched his fathers' and she melted.

"Well if I tell you why, you can't tell anyone okay?" she said whispering.

"You mean like a secret" he said yawning; he was still very tired.

"Yep, just like a secret" she combed her fingers through his hair, really wanting to put him to sleep before he had to leave again. "Sissy is about to come soon. That's why I was a little scared, she tricked me and wants to come now instead of later. But that means you get to be a big brother really soon" she could tell that he was a bit far from sleep, and decided to just put him in better moods and redirect his attention.

He was happy to hear about being a big brother, but then sat up and stared at his mommy and looked around the room for a minute. "But what about daddy, won't he be sad cause he's at work?"

"Yea sweetie, but mommy called him and as soon as he can get off work, he's coming home to see us. So don't worry baby, don't worry at all"

She pulled him closer and hugged him tightly while holding her tears in.

Oh Capri, she's beauty

Baby inside, she's loving

She wished with everything in her that Nathan could be there, but he would miss the birth of his daughter and she had to live with that. As their hug continued, they glanced over at the door when it opened and Jake walked in and over to the two.

"Hales, Peyton filled me in, and if things go well and you delivery.. normally, we can get the camcorder from the house and set it up to film the birth if you want."

Not being able to speak for fear of crying again, she simply nodded her head and sent a grateful smile their way.

"I'll go back and get the camera, Jay you wanna ride with me?" Jake knew he wouldn't be able to stay with Haley anyway, and wanted to help out as much as he could. He also knew that if he tried to take him home to stay, he would refuse and cry for his mother the entire time "We can get some of your toys, some snacks and come right back"

Even seeing his mother nodding to him, the young boy was still skeptical and looked from his mother to his uncle a few times. "You promise we can come back to see mommy?"

Haley gently placed two fingers under Jay's chin and brought his blue eyes to look into her brown ones. "Jay, I promise you'll come straight back."

Oh Capri, she's beauty

There is an angel growing peacefully

She leaned forward until their noses were barely touching and very softly rubbed them together. "I love you baby, and I promise everything's gonna be okay" Kissing his forehead softly and giving him a pat on the bottom, she watched as Jake lifted him off the bed and carried him out of the room.

Haley turned on her side away from where Peyton was sitting and soothingly rubbed her stomach. "Everything's gonna be okay, everything's gonna be okay." She whispered repeatedly out loud.

Although she was talking to her daughter, Haley knew deep down that she was also trying to comfort herself with those same words.

For once she wasn't sure if the promises she made to herself and her children would come true.

Oh Capri, sweet baby

Okay, so don't kill me for leaving it there. I know it's short, but it had to be done! Sorry, and don't hate me... review and I'll try to have the next one up pretty soon. Thanks, hope you enjoyed. Song: Capri by Colbie Callait

Jen