Marietta blew out the candle and they were surrounded by darkness once more.
****
Marietta was awakened up by a sharp pain in her back and her lower belly. She sat up and as soon as she did she felt something warm pooling around her legs.
“My water broke.” She turned towards Tobias’ side of the bed but he wasn’t there.
She swung her legs off the bed and stood up and as soon as she did another gush poured out of her. Immediately her mind went back to the set where she lost her baby. It was too early. She looked on the soaked carpet and saw huge blotches of blood Panic ripped through her and out of her lips.
“Toby!”
Tobias looked up in the direction where the scream had come from. He knew the tones of Marietta’s voice by heart. She wasn’t just calling him, she was screaming out for him. She needed him. Immediately a chill settled in his bones. This wasn’t good.
“Mom!” he called out to his mother.
“What is it honey?” Elizabeth walked into the room and was startled when Tobias’ name ripped through the air one more time.
“Call Chris and ask him to tell you where the hospital is.” Tobias decided to take a breath,there was no use in panicking. He needed to be calm for all of them.
He ran up the stairs taking them two at a time. When he walked into the room he froze. Marietta was staring down at her legs and so was he. A pool of blood had managed to form at her feet. He looked at her legs and could see that there was still blood running down them. Breaking his panic induced trance he ran to her and picked her up in his arms. He wasn’t sure how she was feeling, her face was blank and emotionless. He felt her shiver in his arms and he knew that she had started going into shock.
“Mrs. Bennett, I need a blanket,” he called out when they reached the living room.
Everyone stood watching them, frozen into place. No one was moving,they all seemed to be rooted to the ground.
“Hey, you need to snap out of it.” Tobias yelled and he felt Marietta jerk in his arms. At last a sign of life. “Dad, you are driving, Mrs. Bennett, you are going to help with directions. Mom, you are with me in the back seat.” Tobias rushed her to the waiting vehicle. He sat in the back seat with her, cradling her head as Elizabeth covered her with the blanket.
Tobias hadn’t heard the phone ring but everything else was at bay.
“It’s Chris. He said to take a short cut through the fields, then take the tarmac into town. Once you are there take the road towards the highway and then take the next exit.” Mrs. Bennett rumbled on, “He said it should take you roughly twenty minutes. But if you drive faster we’ll be there in ten.”
“Then we’ll be there in ten.” Edwards said as he tore through the field.
Tobias knew they didn’t have ten minutes. Marietta was struggling to keep her eyes open, and one of the blankets his mother covered her with was already soaked in blood. He put his forehead against hers and just closed his eyes.
“Stay with me.” She nodded and he tried to smile, “You are going to be fine.”
Tobias heard his father curse as he drove. His mother was quietly crying at his side while Mrs. Bennett murmured a prayer. They were finally at the hospital after what seemed like an eternity. Marietta had lost consciousness two minutes back. Tobias gathered her in his arms and ran into the emergency room with her.
“I need help!” he shouted as a team of nurses and doctors gathered around her. They took her from his arms and laid her down on a gurney, “She’s eight months pregnant. Her doctor is Dr. Caplain. She had a miscarriage three years ago but the baby had to be delivered through a C-section. She didn’t complain of any pain. She was fine,she was perfectly fine this morning.”
He watched as they rolled her through the operating room doors. He stood helpless as he mumbled on, “She was perfectly fine. We just celebrated her brother’s birthday this morning. We also talked about our son. She was perfect, I swear she was perfect.”
“What happened?” Chris and Jessie ran toward them, terror scribbled on each of their faces.
Tobias turned to them and said the same thing he had been mumbling the past few seconds, “She was perfectly fine this morning. Then all of a sudden…there was so much blood.” He looked at Jessie when he heard her gasp.
Only she had been there with him the first time as they waited in the waiting room as the doctors fought to save Marietta’s life while knowing there was no salvation for their son. “I can’t go through this twice in one life time. I won’t survive it, she won’t survive it. I can’t live without her, I can’t bare it.”
Tobias stared into his mother’s eyes as she put each of her hands on his cheeks, “She’s going to be fine. God wouldn’t allow you to go through this again.”
“Where was hethe first time? Or all those years when Marietta was going through hell?” he gasped.
“He’s going to be here.” Mrs. Bennet patted his back.
“She always says everything happens for a reason.” Jessie said wild eyed, “She says that God doesn’t let things happen without their being a greater plan.”
“What’s the plan?” Tobias’ tongue was filled with steel.
“She’s strong. You have to trust in Marietta if in no one else. She’s strong.” Chris nodded as if he was trying to convince himself and Tobias.
“Husband?” A lethargic large nurse appeared in the waiting room. She had a scowl on her face as she approached the small crowd, “Mr. Harden, you need to sign this.”
“How is she?” Tobias asked as he scribbled on the forms.
“They are prepping her for surgery,” she replied.
“Do you know what caused it?” Elizabeth asked.
“I don’t know what kind of ammunition this guy is packing in their but he managed to rip into her cervix.” She glowered. “Next time keep the sex to the simple things.”
“But is she going to be fine?” Tobias asked feeling guilty.
“Oh yeah, she’s going to be fine. They are just going to deliver the baby and get the bleeding under control.”
“Why is she still bleeding?” He wasn’t so convinced.
“It’s normal to bleed when you are giving birth. You said she had a C-section right? The scar might have been ripped open during a contraction. Don’t worry about it, Doctor Caplainis on top of it.”
“She’s not telling me everything.” Tobias mumbled once the nurse had disappeared into the operating room. “Why wouldn’t she let me go in with her?”
“It might be because you are covered in blood. They need to keep the place sterile.” Chris pointed out.
Tobias looked at himself for the first time. He hadn’t noticed all the blood on his clothes. That still had him panicking. She had lost so much blood.
A few minutes later the nurse came back with her clipboard. “We need some blood.”
“Why?” Elizabeth asked.
“She’s lost a lot of blood but we are giving her some. But we need a supplement for the blood bank here in the hospital. It’s going to replace the one she been plugged into.” The nurse went on, not once looking up at them.
Tobias felt like grabbing the clip board and smashing it on her head. She was infuriating. “How much blood did she get?”
“Two pints,” she pointed out.
“I’ll do it.” Chris volunteered and Jessie went along with him, “You should get a change of clothes. Marietta is going to go nuts when she sees you covered in blood.”
“Alright then. By the way I love your movies.” The nurse added as she walked away.
“I’m going to strangle her. I swear it.” Tobias said through clenched teeth.
“I think we should go get you a change of clothes.” Edward held him by the shoulders and led him out of the hospital.
As they walked they noticed all the stares they were getting. At first he thought it was because of all the blood, but when he heard someone yell his name then his father’s name he groaned in frustration. “Dad, I think you bette
r get some security here. I’m going to call McKay before he hears about this on the news.”
An hour later, Tobias was seated in the waiting room, his fingers drumming on his knee. His pacing seemed to be driving everyone nuts, so they all encouraged him to take a seat. He was beginning to panic, no one had been back to apprise them of the situation. In the last hour Tobias had gotten calls from McKay who was on his way, and so was Peter. He had also been informed by both his and Marietta’s publicists, managers and agents of the media circus going on back in Los Angeles. He was glad he wasn’t back home. He knew he would be going crazy if he had to dodge the paparazzi too. His body guards had managed to create a wide perimeter around them.
Edward and Elizabeth had managed to secure a private room in a less populated area of the hospital. A hefty contribution to the hospital had ensured them some privacy with a couple of private nurses.
Tobias jumped to his feet when Doctor Caplain appeared. He looked distressed and Tobias felt his heart sink.
“What is it? What went wrong?”
“Nothing.” “Then why do you look like that?” Tobias asked.
“The hospital and my office in particular have been bombarded with calls from the press. It’s stressful. I don’t know how you do it.”
“How are my wife and baby?” Tobias registered the puzzled look on the doctor’s face but tried not to assume the worse.
“Apparently we missed something during our earlier appointment. She was so huge I should have figured it out. But your wife never came as frequently as she should have. This is a small facility, so we don’t have as much technology as some places do.” The doctor fell silent and decided to get to the point after being urged by Tobias’ scowl, “Marietta lost a lot of blood, but we were able to get it under control. She got a blood transfusion too. Her C-section scar tore because of them trying to push each other out.”
“Them?” Tobias coughed out, “What do you mean by them?”
“You have twins Mr. Harden. A little boy and a little girl.” He beamed. “They are getting checked out right now but you can see them soon. Marietta is in recovery but she’ll be in her room in the next hour.”
Tobias fell back into his chair wide eyed and dazed. He ran his fingers through his hair as everyone around him congratulated him. From a far he could hear some of the nurses and patients scream over the salutations. He was yet to believe it. They had planned for the little girl, waited for her. But the boy?
His mind went into overdrive. “I need to call Peter. He needs to get the nursery reconstructed. We need to widen the space and cut into the other room next to it. We need to paint and get some boys stuff in there. Oh! We need a new crib and a bassinet, a blue basinet and clothes, plus another changing table. We need to get a pair of everything.” He paused for a beat, “I have twins, little boy and a little girl.”
“I’ll leave for Los Angeles in the morning and get everything ready. My baby had babies.” His mother kissed his cheeks.
“I have a family.”
Chapter Eleven
Tobias sat in a chair next to Marietta, both his hands supported by pillows as he carried a child in each arm. He could only imagine Marietta’s surprise. He couldn’t wait for her to wake up. The doctor had been there a few times reassuring him that everything was fine, and that Marietta’s body was just trying to recover from the trauma. He sat in the quiet room with his babies as the others tried to get the cabin ready and buy clothes for the early arrivals.
“Your mom and I have been waiting for the both of you. We’ve been waiting for three and a half years for you.” He stared at the little boy’s face, and he was just as perfect as Marietta had described him. He was in awe at how precise her imagination had been. Although she was obviously describing the son they lost, but in his arms was a replacement. They were both so much alike and if it wasn’t for the pink and blue blankets he wouldn’t know which one was which.
Tobias lifted his head when he heard a knock on the door. He smiled when he watched the late comers shuffle into the room.
“You need to be quiet. They just fell asleep.” He beamed.
“I thought you said it was just one baby?” McKay exclaimed.
“I hope you got enough sleep.” Peter teased.
“You want to hold them?” Tobias asked, “Here Peter, you take the girl.”
“It’s not like I could ask her to be wife number eight now.” McKay teased, “I was going to wait until she was in her twenties.”
Tobias moved to Marietta’s side and watched the two men carry his children. They were part of their ever growing family. He wished Marietta could just wake up and see all the joy filling the room. A few seconds later, his family was back with baskets of fruits, diaper bags, clothes and bottles.
“How come she’s not up yet?” McKay asked after handing the baby to Elizabeth. He leaned close into Marietta’s face as if waiting for some sort of reaction.
****
Marietta could hear all the voices around her. She could place each one of them, but what were they doing in her bedroom. She froze when she felt the dull ache in her belly. Memories of the past few hours flooded in her mind, she could almost smell the blood, feel the pain and the fear of losing her daughter. She didn’t want to wake up. The last time she had been rushed into the hospital like this she had left without her baby.
Her heart ached as she felt a tear roll down her temple.
She heard McKay speak.“She’s awake.”
“Open your eyes, sweetheart.” Toby’s voice called to her. There was no sadness lined in his tone, but he could be putting on a brave front for her.
Then she heard a tiny cry and her eyes flew open.The first person she saw was Tobias, but the baby seemed to be hidden behind the small crowd gathered around her bed, “She’s alive.”
“Yes she is.” Toby smiled a tear rolling down his cheek, “And she’s beautiful. I have a surprise for you though.”
“I just want to see my baby.” Marietta gasped as Jessie stepped forward with the little bundle wrapped in pink. But before she could take the baby in her arms she saw Elizabeth with another baby in blue, “Whose baby is that?”
“Ours,” Tobias struggled for breath. “They are both ours.”
Marietta pushed herself upinto a sitting position, ignoring all the pain that seemed to stab at her from all directions, “They are both ours? Are you sure?”
“That’s what they told us,” Edward teased.
“No wonder you looked like a whale,” Jessie piped in.
Marietta patted on the bed in the space just between her legs, gesturing to them to place the babies there. She looked at them side by side and couldn’t believe they were both hers. She unwrapped them and they cried from the cold, but that didn’t discourage her from her mission. She counted their toes and their fingers. She did a complete inspection on the two and then stared at them in a dilemma.
“What is it sweetheart?” Tobias asked, noticing her hesitation.
“I don’t know whom to hold first?”
“How about the first born?” Tobias picked up his son and placed him in his mother’s arms.
Marietta looked down at him and choked back a cry, “You look exactly how I imagined you.” He had the full lips and when his eyes opened she gasped. He looked right into her soul and immediately she felt at peace and comforted. His deep brown eyes pulled at her. She pushed back his baby cap and ran her fingers through his curly hair, “Just like I had imagined.”
“There is always a greater plan.” Jessie quoted.
“Help me with her?” Marietta asked Tobias as she moved her son to settle on one arm. “Hi, little princess. Which one of you was the one kicking mommy?”
The room erupted in laughter when McKay finally asked, “Do you know why they came early?”
Marietta noticed Tobias blushing as he silenced the rest of the room with just a stare. “He’s not as scary as he looks. I want to know what happened.”
“It’s umm…i
t’s…” Tobias stammered.
“Let’s just say your husband in packing a big gun in his pants.” Jessie called out.
Marietta stared wide eyed at her husband. “If it wasn’t so scary I would thank you. It was getting so hard to move around.”
“But I should thank you.” Tobias had begun the embarrassment gone from his face and a deep concern replacing it. His voice was gentle and caring.
“For what? You had a fifty percent involvement in this too.”
“But you carried them and you are the one who fought for them in that operating room. You are the reason they are here, the reason we are all here.”
“You are welcome. I would say I would be glad to do it again but it’s a bit too soon.” She laughed.
“What are you going to name them?” Chris asked, “I think Christoffer is a good name for the boy. “Marietta rolled her eyes at him, “I was thinking that I could name this little fellow, Tobias Edward David and we would call him Ted for short. And this little princess we could name her Tobbie-Anne Elizabeth after both her grandmother’s, and call her Tae for short.”
“You want to name both of them after me?” Tobias asked surprised.
“After you, their grandparents and uncle.” She beamed, “They need strong names if they are going to survive in this harsh world. It’s a good thing their namesakes are a good example.”
“I think we should add one name to our little girl, Tobbie-Anne Marietta Elizabeth, and we can call her Tamey for short.” Tobias suggested. “She’s going to be named after the strongest one of all of us.”
“I like that.”
****
Marietta and the babies went home five days later. There was an increased security presence at the cabin from the media frenzy. Tobias however never let the babies out of his sight, afraid that someone would climb into the window and steal them. A few days later Chris, Jessie, Peter, McKay and the Spencer’s went back to Los Angeles to get things ready for the baby. Mrs. Bennett stayed behind to make sure they wouldn’t starve.
Denouement Page 15