"Ok, I'm coming to help you".
She slowly made her way back to the bedroom and changed into a new pair of underwear and pants. Jonathan grabbed their bags and she grabbed her pillow.
He helped her down the stairs while Max pulled the car around.
He helped her into the passenger seat and then slid into the driver's seat.
She grabbed the car phone and called Susan.
"Hello?"
"Hi, it's Jennifer. My water broke. We are headed to the hospital".
"Ok perfect. I'll meet you there. How far along are your contractions?"
"I've only had one….. scratch that, I've had 2. They're about 6 minutes apart".
"Wonderful. I'll see you in a few minutes".
She hung up and then dialed her father.
"Hello?"
"Hi Pa. It's Jennifer. It's time. Jonathan and I are headed to the hospital".
"I will be on the next flight, sweetheart. I love you".
"I love you too. If you can't get a flight, call the house and talk to Max. Tell him to call Jack and ask Jack to fly out and get you".
"Don't you worry about me, sweetheart. Just bring my grandchild into the world safely, alright?"
"Alright. I'll see you when you get here".
"Sounds good".
Jonathan pulled them up to the front and helped her inside.
The nurses came with a wheelchair while he ran to park the car.
By the time he got back, she was almost checked in and was in the middle of another contraction.
They got Jennifer into a room and the nurse helped her get settled.
She changed into her gown and got into bed and the nurse checked her.
"You are at 3 ½ cm. Moving in the right direction. Your cervix is pretty red though. Ok, you can relax. Dr. Kendall will come in as soon as she gets here".
She laid back and Jonathan climbed in the bed with her.
He held her hand and helped her breathe through a contraction, and rubbed her back for her after it was over.
Susan came in a few minutes later.
"Ok, so the nurse tells me you are 3 ½ cm dilated. When your water broke, was it a trickle or a big gush?"
"Big, big gush. Soaked my pants".
"Ok good. That means you probably don't have any left so things will progress at a much faster rate. Are you interested in an epidural?"
She nodded her head very fast.
"Ok. When you get to 5 cm, you can have one. If you are feeling up to it, you can walk up and down the halls, but stay on this floor".
She strapped a fetal monitor to Jennifer's stomach and attached a contraction monitor to it.
"Jonathan, if you want to come look at this, this print out will show you when she's going to have a contraction. If she's going to have on, there will be a curve. It should appear about a minute before the contraction actually hits her".
"That's pretty neat".
"Ok, push the nurse button if you need me. I will page the anesthesiologist. Ice chips only, no food or liquids. I'll be back to check you in a minute. Jonathan, she needs her space, so I'll order a bed for you".
"Thanks, Susan".
Jennifer tried to rest between contractions but it was very hard. Jonathan stayed right by her side, holding her hand.
Max showed up around 10.
"Hey, you ain't had this kid yet?"
"Working on it, Max".
"Mr. H., what's this thing?"
"That tells us if she's having a contraction, about a minute before she actually does. If she's going to there will be a slight curve".
"That's pretty neat".
Jennifer started to feel a contraction so she started her breathing.
Jonathan did it with her and she squeezed his hand.
"Great job, darling. You're doing just fine".
For the next hour, the contractions were like clockwork. Then, they got more intense and closer together.
The nurse came in to check her.
"Dr. Kendall got called into the OR. She'll come check on you as soon as she can. Looks like you're at a 6".
"Epidural, please".
"The anesthesiologist is backed up. He'll get here when he can".
Jennifer had a sharp contraction then and squeezed Jonathan's hand so hard it made him gasp.
"She's in a lot of pain. See if you can hurry him up, will ya?"
The next contraction hit and Jennifer started cussing and screaming. She let go of Jonathan's hand and latched onto the bedrail.
Jonathan went to go look at the printout and saw how sharply it had curved.
"Here darling, how about some ice chips?"
"Thank you".
Her next contraction was worse than the last.
"Max, look at the printout. Is it still curving?"
"With all due respect, Mr. H., it ain't pretty".
"What do you mean?"
"She's gonna blow, Mr. H."
Sure enough, Jennifer tossed her cup of ice chips across the room and almost tore her pillow in half.
The anesthesiologist walked in just then.
"Ok, if you can sit up, and if you can hold her hands, this will go much, much faster".
About 10 minutes later, she was feeling much better.
Jonathan picked up the ice chips and found a towel to wipe up the floor while Max went to get her new ones.
"I'm sorry darling. I thought I could take it. I can't".
"It's alright."
The nurse came and checked her and asked her to describe her last few contractions.
"Like the kid was trying to claw its way out of my stomach".
"Yep, that sounds about right. Shouldn't be too much longer now".
She prepped the bed and then left.
Max brought her some more ice chips and then went to get coffee.
Susan came in just as Jennifer was about to push the button for the nurse.
She looked over the printout.
"Oh my goodness, have you had the epi yet?"
"Yes. She had it after the one marked with a purple star".
"Yikes. Ok, let me look. How do you feel?"
"Just a lot of pressure".
"Ok, you're at 10. It's go time. Jonathan, you need to hold her hand. Mr. Brennan, if you were going to go to the waiting room, now is a great time to do that".
"Right. Come get me when it's over, Mr. H."
Susan called for a labor and delivery team and put her gloves on.
"Ok, Jennifer, I need you to focus. When I tell you to push, I want you to push while we count to ten. Just focus on getting to ten, ok?"
One nurse held one leg and Jonathan held the other plus her hand.
She pushed for about 30 minutes.
She was sweaty, tired, and felt like she wasn't getting anywhere.
"Come on, Jennifer. Let's do it again".
"No, no. I changed my mind. I don't want a kid. You love me fat, I'll just stay fat, ok?"
Jonathan chuckled.
"Baby, you are doing amazing. We are so close. Just a couple more pushes, ok? Come on, you can do it, I know you can. Your dad's on his way, you gotta have a kid to show him when he gets here".
She sat up and pushed one more time.
"Great job, Jennifer. I can see the head. Keep pushing, keep pushing".
Finally, at 5:02 a.m., their child was born.
Jonathan cut the cord and Susan handed the baby to the nurses to clean off.
"Jennifer, you have a beautiful baby girl. Great job, mama".
Jennifer was crying and trying to see her.
Jonathan leaned down and kissed her.
"I love you, you did amazing".
"I love you too".
He walked over to look at her.
She had a head full of red hair, like Jennifer's. Her eyes were still closed. The weight on the scale read 5 pounds, 10 ounces. She was long, too. Almost 20 inches.
He turned around to tell Jennifer she was beautiful and instead, saw that she had passed out.
"Susan, why is she passed out?"
Just then, her heart monitor started dropping.
"Can I get a crash cart in here, please?"
A nurse came in and escorted Jonathan out, while they worked on Jennifer.
He stepped outside and saw Max.
"Is it over, Mr. H.?"
"Yeah, it's over. We have a baby girl. But Jennifer passed out or something and then her heart rate started to drop and they called more doctors in. I have no idea what's going on".
"It's gonna be ok, Mr. H. She's young, and healthy and strong and she'll be ok".
He and Max stood in the hall for what seemed like forever.
The nurses came out with the baby and let him look at her for a few minutes.
"We are taking her to the nursery".
He nodded.
About 20 minutes later, Susan came out.
"We need your consent to operate on her. She has an infection in her uterus. I had to put her under so that she won't wake up while I operate. I am going to do the best I can to remove the infected tissue and treat the infection, but depending on what I find, I might have to perform a hysterectomy. I need your consent to operate".
"Do whatever you have to do. All I ask is that I can kiss her goodbye".
"Ok, but you literally only have a few seconds".
They brought her out then, and stopped in the hallway long enough for him to kiss her a couple times and whisper to her that he loved her.
"I'll come talk to you in the waiting room when I'm done, I promise".
He and Max went to the waiting room. Max sat while Jonathan paced back and forth.
"Mr. H., want me to call your office and tell them you won't be in?"
"No, that's ok. I'll do it."
He walked over to the phone and called his office.
"Hart Industries, how may I direct your call?"
"Deanne, hey. It's me. Jennifer had the baby, so effective immediately Stanley is in charge. And I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but there were complications, so no visitors, please. Tell Stanley I plan to stay home for at least three weeks, depending on what happens with Jennifer".
"Mr. Hart, can I ask you one thing?"
"Sure".
"Is it a boy or a girl?"
"It's a girl. She looks just like her mother".
"Congratulations, Mr. Hart. We are all so happy for you and will keep you all in our thoughts and prayers".
"Thanks, Deanne".
He hung up and went to sit by Max. A few minutes later, he was pacing again.
About an hour later, Susan came out.
"Ok, she's in recovery. They just wheeled her to her room. She's not awake yet. It was endometritis, which is an infection in the uterus. She still has her uterus, but I have to be honest with you, this might make further conception impossible. You can go see her now. She had a reaction to the medicine we gave her, so from now on, she's allergic to penicillin. Jonathan, please hear me when I tell you-the next 24 hours are critical. If she pulls through this, she will be very lucky".
"Thank you, Susan".
"Go see her, Mr. H. I'll wait for Mr. Edwards".
Jonathan went into the room and looked at Jennifer.
She was hooked up to tons of machines, and had oxygen tubes in her nose.
He grabbed her hand and kissed it.
"Hey, I love you, and I'm right here. You and I have the most beautiful daughter in the whole hospital. She's waiting to meet her mommy."
The sound of the machines pierced the silence.
"You gotta come back to us, baby. You said yourself, you want her to wear bows. I don't have the faintest idea how to get her to wear one. I need you to show me. I need you to show me a lot of things. Darling, I know I haven't been the best husband so far, but I promise to be the best dad I know how. I promise to spoil you and her rotten and to do whatever you want every single day, I just need you to wake up and tell me what that is".
Nothing.
He looked down and found the lever to lower the railing. He lowered it and then scooted his bed over right next to it.
He climbed into his bed and leaned over and gently wrapped his arms around her.
"I don't know if you can hear me right now, but I hope you can feel me. I'm right here, I'm not leaving your side, and I love you more than anything".
A few minutes later, he fell asleep with her, his fingers laced through hers.
***A couple hours later***
Max and Stephen came into Jennifer's room.
Max shook Jonathan's foot till he woke up.
"Mr. Edwards is here".
"Hi".
"Hi son. What happened?"
"She delivered the baby just fine. It's a girl. Then immediately after, she passed out, and then they ushered me out of the room and her doctor had to take her to the OR. She had an infection in her uterus, so they had to get that out. They gave her a medicine and she had an allergic reaction to it. So they said that she should be ok, but that we might not be able to have more kids, and that the next 24 hours are critical".
"Son, take me to see my granddaughter".
He leaned over and kissed Jennifer and then they walked down the hall to the nursery.
"Son, I asked you to walk me down here because I wanted to talk to you away from my daughter, in case she can hear us. She's a fighter. She has a hidden side, that not too many people see, unless you poke her enough times, where she gets feisty. She is young, and healthy, and strong, and she has her mother's genes. She will get through this, just fine".
"I hope so. I can't imagine my life without her".
They stopped outside the nursery and stared at the baby for a minute.
"That face is Suzanne Edwards if I ever saw it".
"Yeah, she looks just like Jennifer to me".
They stood there for a few minutes and then they walked back to Jennifer's room.
As soon as they got there, Jonathan laid down next to her.
"Darling, you have company. Your daddy is here".
Stephen held her hand on the other side, and talked to her for a few minutes.
They spent a long day of talking to her and waiting for her to wake up. Around dinner time, Stephen headed to his hotel.
"Son, I'm going to go find a restaurant that serves dinner somewhere and you are welcome to join me".
"I appreciate it but I want to be here when she wakes up. Thanks though".
"I'm staying at the Hilton, if you need to reach me".
"I will call you if there's any updates. Thanks for coming, I know she'll be excited when she wakes up and sees you".
"I'm excited to see her too. This is a setback, nothing more. Goodnight".
"Goodnight, sir".
Max gave him a ride to the hotel and promised to come right back.
After they were gone, Jonathan laced his fingers through hers again.
"Ok, it's just you and me in here now. Everyone's gone. Don't worry, they will be back. But right now, we're alone. I love you so much, baby, and I need you to open your eyes. I can't wait to hear you say my name again, and hear that gorgeous adorable laugh you have. I love you, I miss you, I'm right here".
Susan came and checked on her.
"Jonathan, you need to rest too. You can't help her if you aren't rested".
"I will. I'm not leaving her side".
Susan checked her vitals.
"Well, the good thing is, based on what I'm seeing, she should be waking up any time now. She hasn't developed a fever, so by now, she probably won't. If you are comfortable with it, I will allow the nurse to bring the baby to her. She can do skin to skin while she sleeps-it's good for her and for the baby".
"Yeah, I'm fine with that, whatever that is".
She called the nursery and asked them to bring Baby Girl Hart to her mother's room.
"Ok, we are going to open her gown a little. And you are going to have to hold the baby on her, but what's going to happen is we are going to take off everything but a diaper from the baby and place her directly on Jennifer's chest, skin to skin. It helps the bonding process start".
They wheeled the baby in and Susan handed her to Jonathan.
"Hey there, princess. Mommy is taking a little nap right now, but hopefully you will help her wake up. Can you do that for me? I'm your daddy by the way. I don't think we formally met before. I'm the guy that's going to buy you your first car, and I'm the one that you come to when you want your allowance. So here's the deal about mommy. She's a little sick right now, but it's ok. She's going to get better. And you better get ready, because when she does, she is going to be all over you, no doubt about it. She is going to love you so much, heck she already does. You are so beautiful".
"Ok, let's get her undressed."
He took the onesie off her and Susan adjusted her gown and then took the baby from him.
They placed her on Jennifer's chest and moved the bed back a little bit.
Jonathan held the baby on Jennifer's chest for about 20 minutes, and then took her back and put her on his own.
Susan promised she would be back to check on Jennifer in the morning.
"Call me if you need me. And don't hesitate to send the baby to the nursery so you can get some rest, ok?"
"Ok".
When they were alone, he looked at the baby.
"Ok, it's time for our first father-daughter talk. Let's start with who is in our family. There's me, the daddy. And there's you, the baby. And then, there's Mommy. There's also Max, your grandpa. We'll get to him later, though. He's pretty cool. He's one of a kind. Let me tell you all about Mommy. She's the most beautiful woman in the whole wide world. Daddy met her in this far away place known as London. And she knocked his socks off, yes she did. And then Daddy and Mommy went on a date. You will learn about that when you are about 45 years old. So anyways, Mommy and Daddy then got on a plane to come to this country, and the plane crashed. Just crashed right into the ocean. But it's ok, Daddy saved Mommy. He put her in a boat, well it was kind of like a boat, and he got her onto an island. And then he built some fires so the coast guard would see them and they got rescued. And then Daddy and Mommy spent a few days recovering, but then Mommy moved back to the far away place again. But then, guess what? Her boss saved the day. He looked at her and said "you have to move to New York". And when she did, Daddy came to visit, and he kissed her and they started dating. Again, when you are 45, I'll explain that part. And then several months later, Daddy got his act together, and bought Mommy a beautiful ring and took her to this big party. She had on a beautiful dress, and he grabbed the microphone and told everyone how beautiful she was on the inside because let's face it, they aren't blind, they can see for themselves how gorgeous she is on the outside. I'm telling you, she's a looker. So then, Daddy got on one knee and asked her to marry him and she said yes. And then we found out you were coming and we were so excited. There's a lot of boring details in there. But the most important part is that you are here now, and we are going to be a family".
He was giving the baby some kisses when he heard it. The most beautiful sound in the whole world.
"Jonathan?"