by Anthology
"Probably," Bekah confirmed. "Ready to get to the hospital?"
"Yeah … um, can you ride with me?" She hoped having a doctor literally holding her hand would make her feel more at ease.
"Of course," Bekah said, looking up at Ethan. "Let’s get you to the car."
As Ethan assisted her down to the garage, Mia overheard Allie and Bekah shouting out orders. Thank God for them.
Before Mia knew it, Ethan had her in the SUV and was putting on her seatbelt.
"Ugh, no," she protested, swatting at the belt.
"Suga, this belt is going on whether you like it or not. I have no idea what condition the roads are in and I’m not chancing you and our daughter. So, the belt stays on."
"Fine," she snapped back. She pulled it away from her abdomen. It felt like a vice on her belly.
Ethan opened the garage door and Mia saw the snow—so much snow. At least it had stopped coming down and their driveway had been cleared. She was so sending their snow removal company a huge bonus this year.
Looking ahead, Mia couldn’t believe everyone was out there, getting into their cars.
"They’re coming?"
"No one wants to miss this," Bekah informed her.
Mia’s emotions were a mess, but as the tears filled her eyes, a painful contraction shocked her and she cried out.
"Ethan—go!" Bekah called out before turning to her. "Breath through it. Don’t hold it in. Breathe."
The tears spilled out as Mia let out her breath, a breath that she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.
"Keep breathing, Mia."
She nodded, tears streaming down her cheeks, and did as Bekah told her. Before she knew it, they were at the hospital. Mia had spent the ride in a haze of constant pain, only broken by the even more painful contractions. This didn’t feel right and Mia didn’t know whether it was because she was having only one baby—and a girl at that. Was that why she felt so odd or was something wrong? Her labor pains and contractions were so much worse this time.
As they placed her into the wheelchair, all Mia could think about was earlier that morning, laying in bed with her husband, his strong, hard body curled behind her, her own body wanting him so damn much. Needing that intimacy an orgasm with Ethan provided. That comfort. She’d been craving that lately. Anytime she could get it. Everything in her life had been about comfort. The food she ate, the things she did. Getting the band together to do this song. Subconsciously, she had been preparing herself for this battle, because deep down, Mia knew that’s what it would be.
When her doctor came in, they shared a look. He knew too. After he did his examination, he spoke quietly to the nurse, who immediately left.
They were preparing too.
A contraction hit her and she did her best to breathe through it. Fucking hell, it hurt so much.
During a break in the contractions, she called out.
"Ethan!"
He hurried to her side, his face hovering above hers. He opened his mouth to speak, but she didn’t give him a chance. She kissed him, fusing their mouths together, drawing his strength into her because she sure as hell needed it. She was scared.
Mia had absolutely no concept of time, didn’t know whether she’d been there hours or just a few minutes. All she knew was pain, and that something was wrong. Her abdomen felt on fire. She felt jittery. Shaky. Cold.
"Mia … time to push, kiddo," Dr. Kendall said soothingly to her.
With a nod to him, her hand shot out and clutched onto Ethan’s.
"I’m here, suga. Don’t you worry."
Oh, Ethan, how I wish I could do just that.
"Ahh—" Mia screamed as the next contraction came. She had to use everything she had just to focus on the doctor and his orders to push.
Break.
Push again.
Repeat.
"With this next push, your baby’s shoulders are going to pass through and I’ll be able to get her out. Almost there," her doctor said to her, a small smile on his face. "You can do this."
Tears rushed to her eyes as she looked upon her husband. Bad shit was going to go down as soon as this baby passed through her opening and he would see it—again. "Ethan!"
His handsome face filled her vision, and she held his gaze as she pushed one last time. The smile fell from his face as he stared into her eyes. It was then she knew he had realized something was profoundly wrong.
"I love you, Ethan."
"No! Don’t you say that! Please don’t say that. You’ll be fine! Please, Mia!"
"I'm sorry, Ethan."
Her vision got blurry. Ethan was just a collection of colors in front of her. The table started to shake. What the hell? It felt like an earthquake. Somehow her mind let her know that it wasn’t an earthquake but her body shaking from the blood loss.
The room was so loud. Their words mumbled as they hit her brain. She felt the hands of her doctor working on her, tugging, pulling, pushing. But the only thing cutting through the chaos was Ethan’s tortured screaming, begging her to fight as the white light sucked her in.
Chapter Six
Marty
Threading his fingers through his wife’s hand, Marty brought their joined hands on his lap. The whole lot of them were in the waiting area near Mia’s room. An excited energy coursed through the air. Another member of their family would soon arrive and he felt like a proud patriarch. Not like he’d crowned himself that. It had just seemed to happen. He’d always been the oldest among his siblings, as well as his group of friends. They’d always looked to him for answers. He had the words to make them feel better. And he loved that.
Glancing over at Bekah, he saw her doctor eyes assessing the hospital. Hopefully it was up to snuff. He had spent his evening sitting on the island stool, watching Mia try to teach his wife how to bake her famous cookies. One would think this would be easy for the smart doctor, especially since her brother was one of the hottest chefs in the Chicagoland area, but that definitely wasn't the case. Kieran totally got all the cooking genes. Bekah subsisted on vending machines, cafeteria food, and the occasional takeout if she remembered to pick something up when she was coming home after forty-eight hours at the hospital.
Mia’s patience with Bekah was impressive, maybe even saint-worthy. Marty hoped she could get through to his wife because having fresh baked cookies in the house on a pretty regular basis would be awesome. That or Bekah was going to have to give up her resistance to hiring a chef.
This whole baking lesson was just another reason Marty was glad they had gotten stuck at Mia’s. It had given him a much needed break, some extra time with his friends as well as Bekah, who had to work over the Christmas holiday, and his step-daughter, Sydney, who was spending this Christmas with her father.
Marty had a hard time with the holidays and how they took Bekah away from him because it reminded him of back when he’d lost her. Of the time their careers had squashed their budding romance. Mia and Ethan’s relationship wasn’t the only one to suffer that Christmas when the band had been snowed in New York City. That had been a dark time for him and the events that had come after had been even darker.
Things were better … now. He had Bekah back in his life, but the rest of his family was currently a mess. When his sister, Maddy, had died, the entire dynamic of his family had changed. It had brought the rest of them closer together—maybe too close. His father had become too controlling of their lives. The reason why Marty had first been a lawyer before the musician he’d wanted to be. And now that same thing was happening with his youngest sister, Ashley, who’d just had a huge falling out with their father. Marty tried to take care of her, but she was so much like their father—stubborn as hell.
Marty craved the stability of his band right now. Surprisingly, things with them weren't in any sort of chaos—especially Todd and Mia, centers of endless drama in the past. Todd had actually been drama-free for some time now, but Marty felt something simmering beneath the surface. Hopefully he was wrong about that.
A movement to his right caught his eye. Clark entered the waiting area … with his hand attached to … Bree? Holy shit! Marty definitely hadn’t seen that coming, even so, he was happy for Clark and hoped it worked out. He deserved it.
And then there was Mia … she liked to keep things interesting, he thought, looking around at the hospital waiting room. Everyone had been rightfully nervous about this pregnancy, especially with what happened the last time, with some serious placenta drama leading to massive blood loss and near death. Mia had been very lucky to survive that. And Marty totally got why Ethan had been freaking out at every turn as Mia continued stubbornly being … well, Mia. They had done their best to keep her stress down, but his brat liked to live life. And even though her doctor saw nothing to worry about, Ethan had been on high alert and that meant everyone else had been too. Marty was sort of thankful that they were here now, and this round of "Mia watch" could end.
He was also glad that it was the middle of the night. It was so quiet. No one to see who was there. No paparazzi, no media, no added crazy. It gave Mia privacy … and the rest of them too.
He wanted this experience with Bekah, wanted a child or two of his own. As much as he loved Sydney, Marty wanted a child created out of the love he and Bekah shared for one another. He wanted to bring it up—yet again—but right now definitely wasn’t the time or the place to battle this out. Leaning over, he placed a kiss on his wife’s forehead which had fallen to his shoulder. Maybe she’d catch up on some sleep while they waited.
Piercing the stillness, a man’s voice wailed with terror and desperation. "Mia, nooo!"
If it was possible, the waiting room got even quieter with the shock that descended with those two words. They all knew it was Ethan and they all knew it was bad news. The joyous mood turned somber instantaneously. Bekah’s head shot up, eyes locked on his, as she sprang into action. "Keep everyone under control. I’ll find out what’s happening."
Every set of eyes was alert and trained on Mia’s door. About five minutes later, Bekah returned with news, and not the kind Marty wanted to hear.
"The baby is okay. She’s screaming away, but it looks like Mia is hemorrhaging. They’re working on her."
He hadn’t seen Luke approach them, but could feel his fear rolling off him as he came alongside, clearly barely containing full-blown panic.
"What aren’t you telling us, Bekah?" Luke asked.
Marty’s eyes shot from the broken Luke to his wife. Fuck … it had to be bad by the tears welling up in her eyes.
"She has no pulse," Bekah said quietly, but just loud enough that everyone heard her words, and instinctively reached out for one another. Allie grasped onto Luke, Todd turned white and fell to his chair beside Clark, who took off his glasses and put his hands to his eyes as Bree’s hand dug into his thigh, her mouth agape.
"No pulse?" Luke choked.
Tears cascaded down Bekah’s face as she shook her head. "No pulse. Flatline."
He swore his heart stopped at that. Closing his eyes, he slowly shook his head back and forth. This couldn’t happen. Not to Mia. Not to the woman he basically adopted as his bratty younger sister from the moment he’d met her. She needed to fight and stay alive, because if she didn’t, he feared it would ruin every person in that room.
Chapter Seven
Ethan
"Nooo, Mia!" he screamed again and again as Mia’s body convulsed on the table and then stilled, the machines blaring. Then he saw the flat line. "No!"
Ethan was pushed aside as everyone converged upon Mia. He collapsed to the floor, his eyes fixated on that single straight line, praying that he’d hear it beep with her heart. He couldn’t look at her. He couldn’t see that vacant, dead look on her face, because he knew if he saw it, he’d remember it for the rest of his life.
His daughter cried in the background, but he couldn’t bring himself to look at her either. Not without Mia. Not yet. He knew the fading of her cry meant they’d ushered her out of there.
"Go, go, go!" yelled her doctor as they rushed Mia out the door.
He didn’t move, his eyes staring at the floor, the floor that was covered in the blood of his wife. Even when the nurse tried to get him to leave, Ethan stayed, very much in a state of shock.
"Ethan … sweetie …"
Slowly he turned his head to the direction the voice came from.
Allie.
"Come on, sweetie. Come with me," she said as Luke took his hand and helped him stand, and they both led him from the room. Once in the waiting area, a strong hand on his shoulder pushed him down and he sat on the sofa. Allie and Luke flanked him on either side. She clutched his hand and Luke had an arm around his shoulders. He hadn’t noticed it happening but everyone else had gathered around him, giving him their support.
Mia’s gone.
They took her away.
"Please, God … please, please, please. Don’t take my home from me. Help her fight. Give her the strength to make it through this."
His friends said nothing. Everyone stayed close, their sympathetic eyes on him. His head fell to his hands. This couldn’t happen. This is what his nightmares had been made of, what he’d feared. He could not lose her. Her smile energized his soul. Her voice filled his heart with love. If he didn’t have that anymore, he didn’t know how he’d make it. How would he be able to go on without her?
Every second, every minute since Mia had slipped from his grasp, he felt the life within him slip away … with her.
His lifeline. His everything.
"I … I need her," he choked through his tears.
"She’s going to be fine. She won’t leave you … or those kids. She’s fighting for you guys right now," Luke said forcefully.
"She told me she loved me right before it happened. She knew! She knew what was happening … she knew she might not make it back. She was preparing me …" Ethan realized, rubbing his hands over his face. "How is that fighting?"
No one answered, or if they did, he didn’t hear them. His mind was focused on her beautiful face, her smile that filled him with purpose. Mia was his everything and she needed to make it through this.
Time meant nothing to him then. He didn’t care how much of it had passed. Each second without her, without the knowledge that she was going to survive was excruciating. So when Dr. Kendall finally strode out of the doors to the operating rooms, Ethan felt like a lifetime had passed. Ethan straightened up but didn’t dare to stand. He’d end up right back in this seat, regardless of the news—good or bad.
"Ethan," he said when he stood in front of him. "She’s okay."
"Oh, thank God," Ethan exclaimed, his head falling back, his eyes to the ceiling, sending a quick and silent thank you to God. "Can I see her?"
"Give us about five minutes to get her cleaned up. We’ll bring her to another room, and then we’ll come and get you, okay?"
"Yes. Thank you for saving her."
The doctor smiled and grasped his shoulder before heading back the way he’d come. The collective cheer finally penetrated his haze, and he fell against Allie who wrapped him tight in her arms. With a kiss to his cheek, she released her hold on him. "You need to find out about the baby before you see Mia; she’s going to want to know."
He knew Allie was right, though he just wanted to see with his own eyes that Mia was okay. But his wife would kill him if he went in there without checking on Stella first. Standing up with his life force restored to his legs, he headed for the nurse’s station to find out about his daughter.
As he walked with the nurse down the hallway to the nursery, the terror of those awful minutes slowly ebbed away as his mind made the transition from death to life, and excitement began to course through his body with the thought of meeting his daughter for the first time. The nurse ushered him into the room and his eyes frantically searched the cribs for his daughter.
"Here she is, Mr. Christopher."
His head snapped to the woman’s voice and his heart melted when he
saw the little bundle in the nurse’s arms.
His Stella.
A different kind of tears came to his eyes as the nurse transferred his daughter to his arms. Studying her face, he could only see Mia. He snuck a quick peek under the hospital-issued cap and saw a dark head of hair. A bright smile came to his face when he realized he had his little girl—a mini version of her mother.
"Hi, my sweet girl," he said, lightly kissing her forehead, inhaling that wonderful baby scent. "I’m so happy to finally have you in my arms, my precious baby girl."
The door opened and Dr. Kendall stood there, a smile on his face. "You have a beautiful daughter there, Ethan."
"All thanks to her mother."
"Speaking of her mother, she’s in her new room and awake."
"Awake?"
"Yes—a little groggy, but awake and asking for you," he replied and then nodded to the nurse. "Give Lisa a moment here to finish getting your daughter ready to meet her mother. Then you can bring her with you to see Mia."
Ethan reluctantly placed his daughter in Lisa’s arms and watched as the nurse bundled her up for the short trek back to Mia’s room. A couple minutes later, Ethan had his beautiful daughter back in his arms and he was following the doctor to his suga.
"She’s getting a blood transfusion right now, otherwise, she’s fine," Dr. Kendall informed him before opening the door to her room.
When his eyes landed on Mia, his legs felt like they’d give out on him as the wave of relief hit him. Her eyes were closed, a peaceful look on her gorgeous face. He made it to the bed as her eyes slowly opened.
"Ethan," she said, a smile warming her voice as well as his heart.
"Hi, suga," he replied before gripping her face with one hand and kissing her, feeling the life fully returning to his body.
"I brought someone to meet you," he said, moving back and pressing the button to incline her bed. His eyes locked on hers as her gaze fell upon Stella for the first time, memorizing the way they teared up in joy.