Mark stood next to his wife, her hands clinging onto his as if they were the only thing in the world supporting her.
"Elizabeth I know it hurts but you need to push." Abby's voice rang through her ears, the information not really registering.
Mark looked at Elizabeth's face sympathetically. She could tell she felt vulnerable and like she had no control over the situation she was in, two things he never wanted to see in her features. "Elizabeth Doctor Coburn is on her way but until then you have to listen to Abby and Robert." He said gently, pushing her damp curls away from her forehead.
"Lizzie if you don't start to push now we're going to have to do a cesarean." Robert finally spoke. "There's no way around it and you know it." He said firmly. "You're bleeding too much and if you deliver soon we may not have to operate to stop it, but if you don't we absolutely will have to operate."
Elizabeth shook her head. "You are not delivering my baby." She said as she leaned forward, the pressure against her pelvis causing her to scream in pain.
Robert looked at Mark with a stern glare.
"Elizabeth what can I do?" Mark asked her softly.
"I'm not doing this now." She whimpered back quietly.
Mark smirked sympathetically. "Hon, I know this isn't the best time. Hell, it's probably the worst time imaginable, but this baby is coming right now, with unknown complications. The best chance for you and the baby is to give birth naturally as soon as possible, you know this." He assured her gently.
She began to gently nod her head in response.
"I'm here, Susan's here, Abby's here, Robert's here." Mark continued gently. "We're all going to do the best we can to help you and our baby, but you have to be willing to do this."
"Okay." She replied softly.
"Okay." Mark affirmed, squeezing her hands gently. "Let's have a baby." He smiled softly before nodding to Abby and Susan who quickly moved to hold her legs up.
"Alright Elizabeth you're only seven centimeters, but it looks like part of the placenta is breaking off. You need to deliver now." Robert said as he began his examination. "I'm going to break your waters alright?"
Elizabeth nodded in response, gripping onto Mark's hands, wincing as she felt an increase of pressure before her water broke.
"The contractions are going to start coming a lot harder." Abby told Elizabeth gently before looking at Mark. "Mark help her sit up, gravity can help the baby move down the birth canal."
Mark nodded before climbing into the bed behind Elizabeth, helping her to sit with her back against his chest.
Elizabeth groaned as she felt the baby shift as she moved.
"What are you feeling Lizzie?" Robert asked as he tried to examine her during a particularly heavy contraction.
It took a moment for her to respond. "I don't know." She admitted quietly.
Robert nodded before looking at her sympathetically. "You're bleeding too much Lizzie, with the next contraction you have to push."
Elizabeth nodded anxiously, feeling her next contraction coming on.
Everyone in the room tried to help her through the next several contractions but no progress was made.
"Lizzie you have to push harder." Robert said, this time showing his fear that was beginning to build in his voice.
"The baby isn't moving." Elizabeth finally replied, collapsing against Mark's chest. "It hasn't been moving for hours, I don't know what's going on but it's not moving." She cried tiredly.
Robert sighed as he motioned for Abby and Susan to let Elizabeth's legs relax. "We have to do it now." He said firmly.
"Okay." Mark replied softly, kissing her forehead gently. "We're going to do everything we can you understand me?" He said as he carefully extracted himself from behind his wife. "Elizabeth I need you to tell me you trust us."
Elizabeth nodded as she bit her lip through the pain of another contraction.
"Susan get the general anesthetic." Robert directed quickly. "We can't go down to the OR, we don't have time. How sterilized are the three of you?" He asked as he began to dig through the cupboards.
"I'm the only one who technically doesn't have a risk of infection." Mark said after a few moments.
Robert sighed before turning to Abby as he took the IV bag from Susan. "Go down to any of the scrub rooms and get me three scrub kits, gowns, and gloves. I also need the entire contents of any of the drawers labeled with the number 4 in any of the ORs. Don't touch anything outside of its packaging you got it?"
Mark looked over from where he was placing an oxygen mask on Elizabeth's face. "Three?"
"I am hoping Janet will show her face sometime soon." Robert replied anxiously as he watched Abby and Susan leave the room quickly. He quickly began the anesthetic drip before beginning to pace the room. They both watched as Elizabeth slipped from consciousness. "This is a bad idea." He said after a few moments of anxious waiting.
"What else have you got?" Mark asked angrily from his spot next to the monitor checking Elizabeth's vital signs. "You think this is what she wanted?"
Robert shook his head. "She's going to be fine Mark."
"You don't know that." Mark replied bitterly.
"I don't know about the baby but she's doing okay." Robert clarified. "I'm going to do everything I can for both of them, but if it comes down to it Elizabeth's our priority do you understand?"
Mark looked at him anxiously. "We're there?"
"Mark you're not stupid." Robert replied angrily. "We've been there for at least an hour. You've known this was coming. Either you are in to help or you can go wait with Doctor Lewis and Nurse Lockhart."
"When did you last do this?" Mark replied, ignoring the ultimatum presented in front of him.
"OB generally takes care of cesareans." Robert replied absent mindedly as he watched Susan and Abby running back with the supplies requested in their arms. "But I know what I'm doing." He said firmly. "We're scrubbing in now, first incision is in three minutes."
"What the hell are you doing?" Janet Coburn's voice sounded through the window outside the room.
"Sterilize yourself and get in here." Robert's voice replied firmly as he refused to look up from the work in front of him.
"That's not what I asked." She replied angrily as she took the scrub supplies from Abby before going into another room to follow his instructions.
A few moments later Doctor Coburn came into the room, repeating her original question. "What the hell are you doing?"
"She's still bleeding." Robert replied bitterly as he continued to work. "The placenta broke into pieces and the uterus isn't firming the way it should."
Coburn looked across the room to see Mark holding a rather small infant in his arms.
"How long ago?" Janet asked quietly.
"Twenty minutes." Robert replied angrily.
"The baby?" Janet asked, taking a scalpel from the tray in front of her.
"Good." Robert affirmed.
"Okay it's been too long. We have to do a hysterectomy, but we need approval." She said quietly.
"Do it." Mark said immediately.
Janet looked up at him in surprise. "I didn't realize you could hear me. I'm sorry."
"It's okay." Mark said quietly. "Do whatever it takes."
Janet nodded. "I'm sorry I wasn't here earlier." She said quietly. "You should take the baby out, make sure to monitor vital signs constantly."
Mark nodded before following the directions he already knew.
"Why the hell did you wait this long?" Janet asked as she began to clear the area for the procedure.
"Because she doesn't deserve this." Robert said angrily.
"I know." Janet said bitterly. "But their kids deserve a Mom. With any other patient you would have operated earlier."
"That's why I'm never allowing any of you to treat me." Robert replied with a small smirk. "You'd all kill me off."
Janet smirked back. "You got that right."
Mark was sitting on the couch in his wife's office, his youngest daughter sitting gently in his arms. He watched as her small chest rose and fell along with each breath that she took. "I can't believe you're here." He said quietly as he pressed his lips gently to the small forehead in front of him.
He sat quietly for several more moments before he heard a knock at the door. "Mark?" Susan's voice sounded through the door.
"Come in." He replied softly, not looking up from the newborn in his arms.
"Hey." Susan said with a smile when she saw the baby. "Abby told me the baby was doing well."
Mark nodded but somehow couldn't muster a smile in return.
"Ella's been asking about you." Susan said after a few minutes. "I didn't want to disturb you, but I didn't know if you…"
"I can't tell her." Mark stopped her. "I can't tell Ella that she has a baby sister, but that she might not have a mother anymore."
"Mark…" Susan began softly.
Mark shook his head. "I know, she should be fine. Everything is going as well as can be expected considering the situation. But until I can look at my daughter and take her to her mother I can't tell her anything."
Susan nodded.
"I'm sorry." Mark said after a few minutes. "I can't play soft ball right now. Everything today has been too…"
"Life or death." Susan finished for him.
Mark nodded without making eye contact.
"Do you want me to go?" Susan asked after a few minutes.
"No." Mark replied, once again not looking away from his daughter.
"Okay." Susan affirmed quietly, moving to sit in the chair behind Elizabeth's desk.
The two of them sat in silence for nearly half an hour before the baby began to cry.
Mark shifted her in his arms, trying to comfort her for nearly five minutes before Susan spoke up.
"It's been a couple of hours Mark she's probably hungry." Susan said softly.
Mark pinched his nose in frustration. "What am I supposed to do about that?" He asked angrily.
"I can go get some newborn formula from pediatrics." Susan offered calmly.
Mark shook his head. "Elizabeth's going to breastfeed." He tried to insist.
"Mark, she needs to eat." Susan replied sympathetically. "Elizabeth won't be able to feed her until she's been off the medications for the surgery for at least 24 hours. Waiting for her to be out of surgery isn't going to change how the baby is fed."
Mark shook his head tiredly. "I know, I'm sorry. Thank you." He said tiredly.
"Mark are you feeling alright?" Susan asked quietly as she got up to go find the formula and some other supplies.
Mark shrugged. "I missed a dose of my treatment earlier. I'm fine, just tired."
"Is any of your medication here or is it all at your house?" Susan asked, her eyes narrowing in concern.
"It's all at home." Mark replied, not really thinking about his response.
"Okay, I'm going to go get you some formula for the baby and then I'm going to make some calls to get you out of this hospital." Susan said firmly.
Mark looked up at her, his eyes clearly concerned. "I'm not leaving them…"
"You and Elizabeth and the girls." Susan clarified quickly. "All four of you aren't staying here until the rest of us get cleared, it's too risky."
"Susan don't." Mark tried to protest again.
"Mark I'm not asking you, I'm giving you the information as a curtesy." Susan replied. "I'll be back soon."
"Doctor Greene?" Janet Coburn's voice sounded as she arrived in the doorway of Elizabeth's office.
"How is she?" Mark asked as he quickly stood up.
"She's good." Janet said softly. "She's going to have a bit of a recovery ahead of her, but she's going to be fine."
"Oh thank God." Mark said, feeling a huge weight lifted off his shoulders. "Is she awake?"
Janet shook her head. "Doctor Romano is with her waiting for her to wake up. If you want I can take you to them."
Mark nodded, before the two of them made their way upstairs. Mark followed her to a different room than the one they had been in when Elizabeth was in labor. He stopped suddenly as Doctor Coburn reached for the handle of a door.
"Is she…?"
"She looks fine Doctor Greene." Janet replied softly. "A bit pale, but other than the scar from the surgery she looks normal."
Mark nodded before following her into the room, his hold on the baby in his arms just a bit tighter than before.
"Mark do you mind if I check the baby?" Janet asked as she pulled on a pair of gloves.
"Of course." Mark said distractedly, his eyes stuck staring at Elizabeth's pale face. It was true she looked nearly the same, but her face still looked scared.
"Mark." Robert gained his attention, pointing to the stool next to Elizabeth's bed. "She should wake up any minute now."
Mark nodded, moving to sit down. Several minutes later he watched as Elizabeth's eyelids opened, her eyes instantly locking with his own. "Hey." He said softly.
Elizabeth closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths before opening them again. "What…?"
"We're at County." Mark began quickly. "There was a lockdown, you went into labor."
"The baby?" Elizabeth asked, clearly working hard to speak.
"She's right here." Mark said gently, taking the baby from Doctor Coburn. "She's perfectly fine."
"I can't see." Elizabeth said tiredly, sleep clearly trying to claim her again.
"Here Elizabeth." Mark said softly as he carefully put the bundle in his arms on her chest. "She's right here." He said, keeping one of his hands on the back of the baby to ensure she was supported.
Elizabeth's hand slowly reached up, landing on top of his. "She's okay?"
Mark nodded. "She's perfect." He assured her. He watched for several minutes as she worked to keep her eyes open. "You should get some rest. We're going to be going home as soon as possible. Both of us will be right here when you wake up."
"Promise?" Elizabeth asked, practically asleep as she spoke.
"I promise."