Author's Note: Alright, I wanted to have this up for you last night, but I tried to do it right before I left for work and wound up accidentally X'ing out of the browser window when trying to get a link for all the info I used in this chapter. Yes, I fail hard. But anyway, here is the new chapter. There was a part of me that LOVED writing this chapter; then there's the part of me that HATED writing this chapter. LOVED it because I did my best to make it super informative; HATED it because of the topic, but I wanted to put a little bit of a "twist" around Kaleb's birth. And *Spoiler Alert* there will be more "twists" in his life; and their lives as a family, even post hospital. So stay tuned! ;)

Now, onto the chapter. Oh, and please be sure to read the A/N at the end of that chapter as well because it's actually fairly important to this chapter.

Okay, *NOW* I'll shut up.

Enjoy!

Chapter Thirty One

Jon came to a screeching halt in their bedroom door way. His face paled when he saw Chasity sitting up in bed clutching her stomach. He didn't even have to ask her what was wrong, the pain was etched across her facial features. Wasting no time, Jon grabbed his sneakers and slid his feet in without even untying them. Then he grabbed Chasity's overnight bag; which had been packed since right after the last hospital stay, and helped her out of the bed, where she quickly slipped her feet into a pair of slippers because slipping on actual shoes would've been too difficult.

Jon glanced at the bed and realized that unlike the last time they had to rush to the hospital, there was no pool of blood; however, the bed sheets were soaking wet. "There's no stopping it this time, Jon," Chasity said, voice full of fear. "My water broke, that's what woke me up, and why the bed is soaked," Chasity said. "I thought I had to go to bathroom, but when I shifted to get up, the bed was suddenly soaked, and I felt a pain rip across my abdomen," Chasity filled him in. "I'm scared," she admitted. Jon nodded.

"Okay, let's just try to keep calm and get to the hospital as quick as possible. I know he's early, but he's not as early as he would have been three weeks ago," Jon acknowledged, leading Chasity out of the bedroom toward the front door. He wasn't going to say it out loud, but he was just as scared as she was. The doctors said thirty seven weeks was the "safe" zone; Chasity only barely made it to thirty five in a half weeks.

Stepping off the elevator, Jon helped Chasity into the passenger seat of the car, tossed her overnight bag into the back seat, jumped in the driver's seat and pulled out his cell phone and keys. Putting the car key in the ignition, he cranked the engine as he dialed Doctor Mitchel's office, as she had instructed him to do after the last hospital stay. She told him to call the number any time; if it was after hours, an answering service would answer and call her, but it was only just barely three PM, so the office was still open. Jon heard her receptionist pick up and quickly informed her to let Doctor Michel know that they were on their way to the hospital because Chasity's water had broken and she was in early labor. The receptionist assured him Doctor Mitchel was on her way, and would meet them at the hospital.

The rest of the ride to the hospital seemed like it took an eternity after that. Chasity tried to breathe through each contraction, but each one seemed stronger than the last. Neither of them could believe this was happening. Chasity never drank or smoked during her pregnancy. She had never done anything that would harm her or Kaleb. So, why then, did Kaleb want to be born early? Doctor Mitchel had said it just happens sometimes, even when there's no foreseeable reason for it. Chasity didn't understand it, and she wasn't sure she ever would.

Upon arrival to the hospital, Chasity was immediately whisked up to the maternity floor where she was quickly hooked to a fetal heart monitor to keep an eye on Kaleb's heart rate, and an IV to make sure she stayed hydrated during labor. Jon was by her side the entire time. A nurse, who introduced herself as Kelsey, was the one that hooked her up and then quickly checked her cervices to see approximately how much time they had before Kaleb would make his first appearance. She was surprised to see Chasity was already at six in a half centimeters dilated. "How long have you been contracting," she questioned. Chasity shrugged.

"The first hard contraction I felt was almost immediately after I felt my water break. Before that I had been having sporadic contractions since my last hospital stay, but they weren't anything major." The nurse nodded.

"Sounds like you'll be one of the 'lucky' ones," she smiled. Chasity furrowed her brow.

"Lucky ones?" The nurse chuckled.

"I just mean you're not going to endure hard labor for very long. You're already six in a half centimeters dilated, and from what you've said, you haven't been contracting for all that long. So yes, you'll likely be one of the 'lucky' ones. Unless your labor stalls for some reason before you reach ten centimeters, but given you're already at six in a half, that's not all that likely," she said, being sure to put quotes around the word lucky. Chasity nodded.

"I don't really think I'm that lucky, considering I'm only thirty five in a half weeks pregnant, and my son has decided he hates my body so much he wants out six in a half weeks early," Chasity said. The nurse frowned.

"I know you're scared and this all seems like it's the end of the world at the moment, but trust me, sweetie, your baby will be perfectly fine," Kelsey informed them. "Now, I don't want you to get me wrong, I'm not trying to lie to you. He will likely need a little help breathing, so an NICU stay will likely be a must," she tried to explain. "However, he likely won't need to be intubated because he's only a week in a half shy of the 'safe' zone. Which means he won't be there as long as some babies are because his lungs aren't as undeveloped as a baby that's born at say thirty weeks gestation," Kelsey said. "You were also given a shot of betamethasone to help strengthen the baby's lungs the last time you were here, so that will also play a part," she informed them, as she looked over Chasity's chart. "Being the mother of a preemie myself, I know from experience how difficult this situation is, but try to do your best to relax," Kelsey said. "Speaking from experience, you're gonna need all your strength in a couple of hours so you can push," she said, patting Chasity's leg as she walked out of the room.

Chasity tried to take Kelsey's advice, but she just wasn't able to relax. How do you relax knowing your child was going to be going to the NICU moments after birth? She wasn't going to get to hold him, kiss him, or do any of the usual things mothers get to do when their children are healthy at birth because her baby wasn't going to be healthy. No, he was going to need to be hooked to a bunch of machines to help keep him alive. And it absolutely sucked!

Jon knew Chasity was blaming herself for this ordeal, and just like Doctor Mitchel had done the last time Chasity was admitted to the hospital, he had tried to tell her this wasn't her fault, but she wasn't listening. It was nearly impossible to make her see that these things just happen sometimes; it wasn't anything she did, or didn't do.

It had been two hours since they had gotten to the hospital, and an hour and a half since Kelsey had tried to calm her nerves, but it hadn't worked. Nothing was working. He was just hoping after Kaleb was born and settled in the NICU and she finally got to see him, and maybe; hopefully, hold him, that she'd be able to relax because all this stressing wasn't good; pregnant, or not.

Doctor Mitchel walked in and smiled at Chasity. "What do you say we check your cervices again and just see if you're almost ready," she asked. Chasity just shrugged. This was supposed to be one of the happiest days of her life and instead she was dreading it. Jon held her hand as Doctor Mitchel checked to see where she was at on the dilation scale. "Well, I think it's about time we start pushing. You're nine in a half centimeters dialed, but once you start pushing you'll finish dilating." Chasity shook her head.

"Do I have to? Can't I just let my body complete the work on its own," she questioned, voice barely above a whisper. "I mean, this isn't even supposed to be happening right now. I should be at home feeling him kick beneath my hand, not getting ready to hook him up to tubes and poke him with needles," Chasity cried. Doctor Mitchel frowned.

"Chasity, look at me and listen closely," she sternly said, taking Chasity's left hand – the hand Jon wasn't holding – and catching her full attention. "At this point, Kaleb is much better off in the NICU than he is in utero. His 'safe haven' was compromised once you started dilating and your water broke. That means he's exposed to all the bacteria and other negative things that can now get inside your body due to your cervices being open. That also means you, too, are at risk," Doctor Mitchel explained. "The longer the cervices remains open, the greater the risk of infection to both you and him. So, the quicker we get him delivered, the quicker the cervices can reclose, and the better off both you and Kaleb will be," she calmly, but sternly, told her. "Now, are you ready to start pushing?"

After hearing what Doctor Mitchel had just told her Chasity gave a silent nod. "Okay, push yourself up a little higher on the bed and sit up a little bit more," Doctor Michel instructed. Getting a little help from Jon, Chasity managed to sit up a little bit. "Now, press your chin to your chest and push." Chasity did as she was instructed as Doctor Mitchel and Nurse Kelsey; who had apparently snuck in at some point during Doctor Mitchel's speech to Chasity, prepared for the birth.

An hour and some odd minutes later Doctor Mitchel was giving the 'final push' instruction. Telling Chasity to use all the strength she had left in her and Kaleb would finally be born. Listening to the instruction, Chasity squeezed Jon's hand with all her might and pushed as hard as she could as the nurse counted to ten and the doctor encouraged her. "Alright Chasity, stop pushing for a second. His head is out. Let me just clear his air way," Doctor Mitchel announced. Chasity stopped pushing, dropped her head to the side, and panted through the pain to fight the urge to push while Doctor Mitchel sucked out the baby's mouth. "Okay, give me one more big push and he'll be delivered," Doctor Mitchel told Chasity.

Chasity gave one final push and Doctor Mitchel was able to pull Kaleb free as he began trying to cry. It was obvious he was struggling, but the fact he was trying was a positive sign. "Do you want to cut the cord," Doctor Mitchel asked Jon, who quickly obliged. Doctor Mitchel showed him where to cut and then handed him the scissors and he snipped the cord, officially freeing Kaleb into the world where he was placed on a blanket in Kelsey's hands. She quickly took him over to the baby warmer where an NICU doctor and a bunch of nurses were all waiting.

Chasity watched from her hospital bed as the NICU team assessed and worked on Kaleb to stabilize him for the transport to the NICU. "He weighs five pounds, seven ounces, and he's seventeen in a half inches long," Kelsey called over. "We usually foot print them in there, but given his respiratory issues, the NICU team will take care of that once they get him settled in there," Kelsey called as one of the NICU nurses wrapped Kaleb up in a blanket and begin to move him from the baby scale into the incubator. He had a mask with a bag attached lying close to his mouth, but there was no other sign of medical equipment as the nurse placed him in the incubator and began to wheel him out of the delivery room, followed by the rest of the NICU team. Chasity looked over at Jon, nervousness etched all over her face. "Go with him. I don't want him to be alone and I can't go, so please go with him." Jon nodded, gave her a kiss on the forehead and followed the NICU team down to the NICU as Chasity requested.

Jon stood outside the NICU window watching as they placed little prongs into Kaleb's nose and put a bunch of suction cup looking things on multiple places across his chest, a little clip thing on his finger that had a red light on the end of it, a little heart shaped thing was placed on the left side of his stomach, a tiny wire looking thing was running up his nose, an IV was placed in his left hand, and a cuff looking thing was strapped around his tiny left leg on his calf, just above his tiny ankle.

Jon felt completely helpless as he watched the team hook Kaleb up to all the machines, and not knowing what any of them did made the helpless feeling feel even worse. "Mr. Good," someone called from behind him, causing him to jump before turning around to face the NICU doors. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. You can come in now and I'll show you how to wash up before I take you to see your son," one of the NICU nurses informed him. He just nodded and followed the nurse through the doors that led inside the NICU.

He hadn't noticed before, but upon further inspection he realized she had a chart in her hand; which must have been how she knew his name because he hadn't talked to anyone since arriving. Not that he really had to. Due to Chasity's earlier hospital visit, her information was already filed out and put on file, so they just had to pull the file when he brought her in earlier.

The nurse had led him to a sink and showed him exactly how to scrub and dry his hands before handing him a paper smock looking thing to put over his clothes. "Because the babies that come into the NICU are so sick, all visitors must thoroughly wash their hands and wear these to protect the babies from any germs that may be on the clothing," the nurse informed him. Jon didn't know how to respond, so he just nodded; letting her know he'd heard her. "I'll take you over to see your baby now," she smiled at him as she waved for him to follow her. Jon wasted no time, quickly following her to the baby warmer Kaleb was lying on.

Kaleb had his eyes wide open and he was moving his arms and legs fairly rapidly as he surveyed his surroundings; trying to take his new world in. "I'm not sure what to do here," Jon admitted to the nurse. Kaleb was the first baby he'd ever been around, so all of this; from the NICU to the baby himself, was completely new to him. Upon hearing his voice, Kaleb looked up in his direction. The nurse smiled.

"Well, talking to him will definitely help him. Judging by the fact he looked in your direction as soon as he heard your voice, I'd say he already knows your voice. So just talk to him," the nurse told him, with a shrug. Jon nodded.

"Okay, but before I get into doing that, can you explain all the wires and machines?"

"Sure. The little probes on his chest are hooked to a cardiac monitor to help us constantly monitor his heart rate, rhythm, and respiratory rate," the nurse explained, pointing out each probe and the monitor they were hooked to. "The little clip with the red light at the end just keeps a constant monitor on his pulse. His mommy will likely have one placed on her finger at some point, too, if she hasn't already. All patients end up with one at some point during their stay," she explained, picking up Kaleb's little hand to show Jon the clip connected to his finger. "This little heart shaped probe on his stomach is basically just a thermometer. We only use these on preemies because they often can't regulate, or keep, their own body temperature," she informed him, pointing at the heart shaped probe. "It's also why for the first hour or two we keep them under a baby warmer before we move them to an isolette," she informed him. "The little prongs in his nose are called nasal cannula. He is breathing on his own, but because his lungs aren't completely developed he's getting a little oxygen help," she explained. "The thing that looks like a wire going up his nose is actually a tiny tube. Because his breathing isn't stable enough he can't bottle or breast feed him yet. So we'll have to feed him through the tube to start out. I doubt that will last long, though. Given that he's been breathing on his own since birth, and we haven't had to adjust his oxygen intake at all, I think this will only last about a week; maybe two. But as soon as his lungs are strong enough we'll lower his oxygen intake, and begin try feeding him via a bottle; or, if your girlfriend chooses, she can attempt to breast feed him. It'll be her call," she smiled. "And this little cuff on his leg is just monitoring his blood pressure."

Jon was overwhelmed. He couldn't believe the amount of machines Kaleb was hooked to, but he did notice that none of them were all that scary. The scariest items he was hooked up were the Heart Respiratory Monitor and the oxygen, and considering the HRM was just precaution, and the oxygen was literally only assisting him in breathing, they weren't too scary. "Do you have any other questions," she asked. Jon shook his head.

"No, not that I can think of at the moment." She nodded.

"Okay, well my name is Cara, so if you need anything, or have any other questions, I'll be over here," she pointed across the room. "You can just come ask me," she finished. Jon nodded as she walked away. Grabbing the chair behind him, he sat down and slid his finger into Kaleb's open right palm. Feeling the baby's hand close around his finger trapping his finger in his palm made him smile.

"Hey buddy," Jon whispered, looking closely at the baby. He had the same blue eyes as Jon, but all babies have blue eyes as newborns; they'd probably change over time. His hair was jet black, and he had a cute button nose that was his own. He did however share Chasity's lips and chin. The more Jon examined him, the tougher this seemed. Jon sighed. "Seeing you hooked up to all these machines is tough, buddy. And if it's tough for me, I can guarantee your mother is going to be bawling her eyes out when they finally let her come see you," Jon chuckled, swallowing the lump that had formed in his own throat. "Hopefully that'll be soon. She's really worried about you," he told him. "So am I for that matter," he added. "You just make sure you keep fighting, okay," Jon rhetorically asked; knowing there was no way for Kaleb to actually respond. Kaleb released his finger and re-clenched it as if that was his way of saying 'yup, got it dad'. He kept his eyes peeled in Jon's direction, with his mouth wide open in an 'O' shape. Jon gave a half smile at the action.

He sat there quietly watching the baby move around a bit, unsure of what else to say. Feeling Kaleb grip and release his finger over and over again until one of the monitors the baby was hooked up to began beeping. Jon jumped and looked in Cara's direction, panic written on his face. She just smiled at him. "Don't worry, it's just his Cardiac Respiratory monitor letting me know his heart rate went up a little bit. He's probably just a little excited to hear daddy's voice," she said, looking down at Kaleb who was still looking in Jon's direction. "Right buddy, you're just happy to know daddy's here," she cooed at the newborn. Resetting the monitor, Cara walked away again, leaving the father alone once again to continue bonding with his son for a bit.

Jon stayed with Kaleb for almost an hour before Cara and another nurse came back over. "Alright, Mr. Good, we're gonna move him into his isolette now, so while I hate to do this, I'm gonna have to ask you to leave. It'll just make it easier for us to move him if there's no extra bodies in the way." While Jon understood what she was saying, he hated being asked to leave his son's side.

"Alright, I'll just go fill Chasity in on what's going on," he said, standing up from the chair he had been sitting in.

"That's a good idea. She's probably worried sick; it's been about an hour since he's been here, so it's been about an hour and twenty minutes since his birth," Cara acknowledged. Jon's eyes grew wide.

"Wow, has it really been that long? She's probably freaking out, thinking something's seriously wrong because I never came back to update her," he exclaimed. "I lost all track of time. I have to go make sure she's not fighting with the doctors and nurses," he said, rushing toward the NICU entrance.

"You can throw your paper smock in the trash right inside the NICU door," Cara called toward Jon's retreating form. He nodded, acknowledging her.

"Thanks," he called back, "Take care of him for me, please," he called. He saw Cara nod at him as he ripped the smock off and tossed it into the trash can as he rushed out of the nursery and bounded toward the nurses station to find out which room Chasity had been moved into.

*IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE:* The idea to incorporate this "twist" into the story came to me when I started following a preemie's story on facebook. I've literally followed her story since she was about a month old, and she was a micro preemie, born at just 26 weeks gestation. She weighed about a pound at birth, so you can imagine how tiny she was at one month old. I know this can be a VERY touchy subject; premature birth is not to be taken lightly, and that's why I literally did research on all the machines, as if this was a school project. I found all the info at: .

The only thing I listed in the paragraph detailing the machines and what they do that you WILL NOT find listed at that link is the little clip with the red light on Kaleb's finger that monitors his pulse. I only know about that because my sister was an EMT, my brother in law IS an EMT, and my sister had four kids, and I was to the hospital to see everyone one of them the day they were born. My nephew; who will be 10 next Sunday, actually spent two weeks in the NICU(though, he was not a preemie, he still had respiratory issues due to complications at birth), and he had a pulse monitor clipped to the end of his finger; as did my sister - after every birth; and her last birth was at a different hospital than the previous three. I remember asking what it was for after my youngest niece was born, and she told me it was monitoring her pulse. So it's just something every hospital does.

Alright, I'm done rambling. Just wanted to get all that info out so you didn't think I was some kind of nurse or something. I'm not. I just did some research while writing this chapter. :)