Chapter 16

Her vision was foggy as Amy attempted to open her eyes. The memory of what had happened seemed to have disappeared. All she could remember was blood. All that blood. Her hand flashed to her belly. Realizing that her baby was no longer safe inside of her. She began to stir restlessly.

"Shh. Easy Ames." She could hear George's voice amidst her panic.

"Baby…" She managed to sputter out. Her eyes were still heavy from sedation. She could barely make out who was in the room with her.

"Baby is okay. Early but okay." George grabbed her hand and kissed the back of it. "We almost lost both of you." He choked out.

The glass door slid open and a frantic Ricky rushed inside. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw Amy's brown eyes flutter open. She reached out towards him and he quickly grabbed her hand and sat in the chair next to the bed.

"Baby…?" Amy muttered again. Desperately searching for answers around her missing child.

"Upstairs." Ricky said. "She's in the NICU but they say that she is doing well." Ricky lovingly brushed hair out of her face.

"She?" Amy questioned, smiling a little.

"She." Ricky confirmed. "A little tiny baby girl."

Amy tried to pull herself up to sit. The pain from her c-section screamed. She let out a sharp gasp.

"Stop Ames." George pleaded. "Just rest."

"I want to see my baby." Amy protested. "I want my baby!"

The door slid open again. Dr. Erikson entered, followed closely by a nurse.

"Hi Amy. I am Dr. Erikson. I preformed the emergency c-section on you today. I'm happy to see that you are up and talking. Has your family told you anything about what happened?" She asked.

"No, not yet. Just that my baby is in the NICU." Amy's eyes pleaded for more information on her new daughter.

"Alright." Dr. Erikson sat on the foot of the bed. "You came in with a placental abruption. The placenta had almost completely detached from the uterine wall. We were able to safely deliver your baby girl. Last I heard, she is doing remarkably well for a premature infant." She paused and grasped Amy's hand. "Amy, you lost a lot fo blood. We were forced to do a partial hysterectomy to save your life. You needed multiple clotting agents and two blood transfusions but you will not be able to have anymore children."

Amy sat there silently for a moment; taking in the information that she had just been told.

"But my baby is okay?" Was the only question that left her lips.

"Yes." Ricky confirmed. "She is small but doing okay."

"When can I see her?" Amy pressed.

"Give it a couple more hours and we will have a nurse take you up to the NICU to see her." Dr. Erikson promised. "I'll have someone bring you something to eat and a breast pump. Your baby will need all the colostrum you can get to jump start her immune system."

Lunch was delivered and Amy attempted to use the breast pump with little success. Only a few drops were expressed but the nurse gathered it in a syringe and whisked it away to the baby.

The door slid open and a nurse pushed in a wheelchair.

"Alright Amy. Are you ready to go see your baby?" She asked.

"Yes." Amy excitedly tried to get out of the hospital bed as fast as she could, despite her body screaming in pain.

Ricky reached and grabbed her arm and helped her up. Seated in the chair, he began to push her through the hospital corridor towards their daughter.

Ricky pushed Amy up right next to the incubator. Their tiny baby girl is sleeping peacefully inside. Amy's hands brushed their daughters' cheeks. She squirmed at her mother's touch.

"You were right. You got your baby girl." She smiled at Ricky.

"She needs a name." Ricky kissed the top of Amy's head.

"Ella. Ella Grace Underwood." She said, staring lovingly at her daughter.

"Ella it is." Ricky smiled.

The End.

Thank you all so much for reading my story!