The Fighting Series Boxset

by Ash, Nikki

  “Is she going to be ok?” Thank God, my mom thinks to ask the first question because I am in shock right now.

  “At this point, I believe she is going to make a complete recovery. Because of the partial hysterectomy she will not be able to carry any more children. However, I don’t believe she will suffer any long-term effects.”

  “Can we see her?” This time it’s Liz who asks the question.

  “Once she’s situated we can allow two at a time back there to sit with her. She isn’t awake yet, and won’t start waking up for at least twenty-four hours.”

  “Thank you, Doctor,” my mom says. At least these women are on top of this because I feel lost as hell right now.

  The doctor walks back through the sliding glass doors as a nurse walks out. “Father of baby Peterson.”

  Peterson? My baby girl is a fucking Cruz! But I let it go for now. If I have my way, the baby as well as Kayla, will be taking my last name sooner rather than later.

  “That’s me.” I speak up finding my voice.

  “If you can follow me back, I can introduce you to your little girl and once we get situated you guys can come back to see the baby as well.”

  “Umm… I don’t have any idea what I am doing. Kayla was supposed to be here; I mean, she was supposed to be awake. She said she was going to breastfeed. Can I have my mom come back with me?”

  The nurse gives me a small smile. “Sure, and don’t worry, just because we give the baby formula now doesn’t mean the mom can’t nurse later.”

  I look at everyone and see Liz with unshed tears in her eyes. I walk over to her. “I didn’t mean to leave you out. I just need my mom. As soon as we get situated I will have her come out and get you. I promise.”

  She nods her head in understanding and then I follow the nurse back.

  When we get to the room it’s quiet. I spot the tiny portable crib and go straight for it. I have never even held a baby before. The nurse stops me before I can pick her up, though.

  “Wash your hands first. Newborns have low immune systems so we try to keep germs away as much as possible.”

  I quickly wash my hands and then walk over to the crib and pick her up like I have held her a million times. I bring her face close to mine and inhale deeply. I can feel the tears welling up as I send a thank you to the man above. This all could have turned out differently, and not for the better.

  “Oh, Bentley! She’s beautiful!” My mom whispers with excitement. “Let me take a couple of pictures.”

  I pose with my sweet baby girl for a few pictures and then I feel her stirring in my arms. I should probably set her down to sleep but I can’t bring myself to let go of her. I find a recliner and sit down with her wrapped in my arms.

  She has a small patch of light blonde hair like Kayla’s but naturally tanned skin like me. She has Kayla’s cute button nose and perfect little lips.

  “Hey there sweet girl. I am your daddy. Your mom can’t be here yet but I promise you, you won’t be stuck with just me.” I laugh through my tears trying to make light of this situation.

  My mom comes over and puts her hand on my leg. “Hey, even if it was just you, she wouldn’t be stuck. You are going to be a great dad. Thankfully Kayla is going to be ok and you both are going to be amazing parents to… oh boy, I guess we don’t have a name.”

  “Kayla said she would name her once she’s born. She said she would just know. I can’t name the baby for her.”

  “I understand. For now, we will just call her sweet girl.”

  “Can you go and get Liz? I am sure she is going nuts not being able to see the baby.”

  “Sure, sweetie.” She gives me a kiss on my forehead and then bends down to kiss my sweet girl on hers.

  A few minutes later Liz walks in and starts to cry. “Oh, my goodness, Bentley! She is beautiful and she looks just like the both of you! Can I hold her?”

  I hold my daughter tighter in my arms but then give in. I know I am going to have to share her. My mom laughs and says, “Well, I guess I should have just asked.”

  Liz takes my sweet girl in her arms and rocks her gently talking to her like all women talk to babies, with that weird goo-goo gaga voice. She continues to sleep soundly through it and I decide now would be a good time to go check on Kayla.

  “Would you guys mind staying here with her while I go check on Kayla?”

  “Absolutely!”

  “Of course!”

  Before I leave, I think of something. “Hey Liz, did you call Kayla’s parents?”

  She gives me a small frown and an eye roll. “Yeah, they said they have court and since she wasn’t supposed to give birth for another few weeks they won’t be able to make it until then.”

  I hear a growl and realize it just came from me. “They are both so selfish. I don’t get why Kayla would even care about their opinion. They have no idea what love is. I am going to show Kayla what love is, if it’s the last thing I do.”

  I walk out of the room in search of my woman. She may not know it yet but she is mine, and I’ll be damned if her stubborn ass is going back to Florida.

  I get to her room, which is on the same floor as our baby’s. Because she is in a medically induced coma they put her in her own room instead of her sharing one with our baby. When I walk in there’s a nurse taking her vitals. “How is she doing?”

  She looks up and smiles at me. “She is doing good. Her blood pressure is steady. If she continues this way, we can start weaning her from the drugs soon so she can start to wake up.

  “Would it be ok if I brought our daughter in here with her? I know it’s probably not normal protocol but I want them to be close.”

  “I think we can have that arranged.” She gives me a wink and then walks out.

  I have a seat next to her bed and move closer taking her hand in mine. Seeing her so quiet and still breaks my heart. Kayla isn’t quiet. She is loud and the life of the party.

  “Geez, woman. You definitely gave us all a scare. You can’t be doing shit like that. I haven’t even convinced you that you love me, yet. You can’t be trying to leave me. I got to hold our baby and she is absolutely beautiful. She is a perfect mix of the two of us. We need you to get better so you can give her a name, ok? I can’t do this without you, Kayla.” I sit with her for a little while just watching her chest rise and fall. She is so damn strong but lying here in this bed hooked up to these monitors she has never looked so fragile. I give her a kiss on her cheek and go to get our sweet girl.

  It’s been twenty-four hours since our little girl was brought into this world and I am exhausted. I have brought her in to see Kayla several times hoping Kayla knows she is here. I hate that they can’t sleep in the same room.

  I have spent the night feeding and changing and burping our daughter. I am in love with this sweet little angel. I don’t think I will ever be able to leave her side. I know Kayla mentioned going back to work. I wonder if she will mind if I stay home with the baby. I can picture it all; mornings at the park, afternoons visiting Kayla at work. I really think it can work. I just need to convince her. We are currently sitting in Kayla’s room when the nurse lets me know they have reduced the medication and Kayla should begin the process of waking up.

  “Alright, sweet girl. Soon you will be able to meet your mom and she can give you a name.”

  Our baby girl looks up at me with the most beautiful blue eyes that match Kayla’s. It’s like looking into Kayla’s eyes. I never thought I could instantly love somebody so quickly. There is nothing that compares to the love a parent feels when holding their baby in their arms.

  Out of nowhere a loud beeping noises goes off and the monitors start going crazy. The baby is startled and starts crying. Two nurses and a doctor rush in. “Sir, you need to leave.”

  “What’s happening?”

  “Sir, we need you to leave now. Once we know more, we will let you know.”

  I am removed from the room without even having a chance to put our baby in her rolling crib a
s the door shuts behind me. I can hear them speaking through the door and I feel so damn helpless. I just hold our daughter in my arms trying to calm her cries and pray that her mother is okay.

  “Patient is coding. Grab the defibrillators.”

  “Clear!”

  “There’s no response.”

  “Let’s go again.”

  “And clear!”

  Silence

  “Ok, we have a pulse”

  I let out a breath once I hear Kayla has a heartbeat. After several minutes, the door opens and I almost fall backwards holding my daughter close to me. Shuffling up the best I can with her in my arms I say, “Sorry, I didn’t even realize I was sitting against the door. Is she ok?”

  The nurse nods and leads me back into the room. I put our little girl in her crib and go straight to Kayla to hold her hand. I just need to be close to her.

  “The patient is ok for now. It seems she went into shock again once we reduced the meds. It’s not common but it can happen. We had to resuscitate her once again. Because of the damage it’s doing to her heart and body we are going to keep her in a medically induced coma for at least the next seventy-two hours as well as move her to the ICU. Her body needs to rest.

  “Ok, thank you.”

  After they move her to the ICU, I have my mom watch the baby in her room. I hold on to Kayla’s hand and pray once again that she is ok. I don’t think I have ever prayed so much in my life. I can’t do this without her. Our baby girl and I need her in our lives. I don’t know how long I sit and pray but eventually a nurse comes in and puts her hand on my shoulder to get my attention.

  “Sir, can you come with us to fill out some paper work? Your daughter will be released from the hospital today.”

  “Yeah, no problem.”

  I call my mom and Liz on the way back to the Labor and Delivery Ward and fill them in on what happened with Kayla. Liz tells me she will come and stay with Kayla while my mom meets me to fill out the paperwork with the baby.

  I have finished filling out the paperwork and am waiting to see what happens next. A woman that is dressed in business attire comes over and introduces herself.

  “Hello, I am Darla, I am from the data department. I was processing your paperwork but you left out the spot for the baby’s name.”

  “Yeah, her mother is in a coma. She hasn’t picked out her name yet.”

  “I see. Well, unfortunately we can’t let the baby leave without a name. You can pick the name now and if you decide to change it later, you can always fill out a legal name change form.”

  I look at my precious little girl in my mother’s arms and know the name I want for her.

  “Faith. Faith Lizbeth Cruz.”

  “Great. I will get it filled out and bring the forms out for you to double check and sign and then you can take your little one home.”

  The woman walks away and I look over to my mom who has tears in her eyes.

  “That’s a beautiful name, Bentley. I love it.”

  “Yeah, now I just have to pray that Kayla will be joining us at home sooner rather than later.”

  “It will all work out, honey. You just have to have Faith.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Kayla

  Everything feels weird. I feel groggy like I have been sleeping for a long time yet not long enough. There’s a faint ringing noise in my ears and I have no idea where I am. My eyes are closed and I want to open them to figure it out but they won’t open. It’s as if they are fastened shut. I feel drained yet I can’t remember doing anything that would cause me to feel this way.

  “Kayla, baby? Can you hear me?”

  I hear Bentley calling my name and I want to wake up to find out why but I am so tired. I take a deep breath and it feels funny like there’s something in my nose. If I could just open my eyes…

  “C’mon woman, please wake up. Faith wants to meet her mommy.”

  Mommy? Holy shit I am pregnant! Well, I was pregnant… Does that mean I gave birth to her? Faith? Is that her name? That’s a pretty name. Ok, I just need to open my eyes. On the count of three I am going to force my eyes to open. One… Two… Three…

  I will my eyes to open and they do! Everything is blurry at first but then it all starts to come into focus. I see Bentley next to me holding a baby. That must be our baby! Oh thank God! She is ok. I look around and see I am in a hospital room. Caleb is standing in the corner. Hayley is next to him. Liz is still pregnant and she’s standing next to Cooper who has his arms wrapped around her. On the other side of me are Kathleen and Ryan, Bentley’s parents.

  I look back to Bentley and attempt to say something but I end up choking and coughing. I reach up and feel something in my nostrils. It must be oxygen. I pull it out so I can breathe the fresh air. Kathleen hands me a cup of water. I take a sip and attempt to speak again.

  “What happened?”

  Nobody says anything at first and I start to get nervous. The faint beeping starts to go off faster and Bentley looks worried.

  “Whoa, sweetheart. Calm down. Everything is ok. You need to remain calm. The doctor should be here soon.”

  “Please tell me what happened. The last thing I remember is feeling a pain in my stomach at the wedding. I saw blood and then everything went black.”

  “You suffered from placental abruption and they had to do emergency surgery to take Faith out of you.”

  “Faith?”

  Bentley looks at me sheepishly.

  “Yeah, you have been out of it for a while. They had to keep you in a medically induced coma so your body could heal. I had to name her so I could bring her home. I named her Faith Lizbeth Cruz. If you don’t like it we can change it.”

  Faith Lizbeth Cruz. “It’s beautiful, Bentley, and you named her after Liz. Thank you. How is she?” I attempt to sit up but my stomach muscles throb and I wince from the pain.

  “Here, let me help you.” The nurse who must have been in the corner where I couldn’t see comes over and presses a button to raise my headrest.

  “Thank you.” I look over at Bentley and see the beautiful little girl in his arms.

  “Can I hold her?”

  He smiles and nods his head up and down. “Absolutely. She has been waiting patiently to meet you.”

  I take Faith in my arms while Bentley hovers over me. He must be nervous about whatever condition I have been in.

  “Hey sweet girl. I’m your mom.” She squirms a little in my arms and I am immediately in love. She has my blue eyes and nose with Bentley’s mouth and skin tone. She is the most beautiful human being I have ever seen. I can’t believe Bentley and I created this perfect little person together. She is such a miracle.

  I look up at Bentley and see tears in his eyes. “Why was I in a coma?”

  I hear a throat clear and look to Liz. She gives me a sad smile and I know something is off. She walks over and sits next to me putting my right hand into hers since my left one is holding Faith.

  “Your body went into shock and you almost died a few times. You gave us quite the scare. They had to bring you back. Because of the bleeding they had to do a partial hysterectomy. We are just so thankful you are alive. Bentley has been taking care of Faith and has been at the hospital almost every waking minute checking on you.”

  I take a second to process everything she just said. I had to have a partial hysterectomy. That means I will never have another baby. I can feel the tears welling up. I know I should feel thankful to be alive and for the fact that my baby is ok but I also feel broken inside. A piece of me was removed and I won’t be able to fix it.

  I look over at Bentley and he is assessing me closely. I go to look away and he grabs my chin. “Don’t even fucking think it. You aren’t broken.” Holy shit! It’s like he can read my mind.

  “We have Faith and she is perfect, and if you ever want another baby we will figure it out. We can find a surrogate or adopt. We will figure it out when the time comes. Don’t you even start to think of reasons to push me away.” />
  I look down at my baby girl and he is right. She is perfect but Bentley and I aren’t together. One day he will meet someone who can love him and give him lots of babies unlike me, who is broken emotionally and now physically.

  “There is no ‘we’.” He just glares at me and lets it go.

  I bring my nose to Faith’s forehead and breathe in her baby scent.

  “She smells good. She doesn’t smell like a hospital.”

  Everybody laughs and Bentley says, “Yeah, well I gave her, her first bath. I think she is like her mother. She loves the water. Every time she is fussy, I put her in the water and she calms right down.”

  “Yeah, our sink has been transformed into a baby bathtub,” Caleb adds with a chuckle.

  Kathleen comes over and gives me a kiss on my forehead. “I am so glad you are ok. Ryan and I have decided to stay here for a while. We are renting a place close by so we can help out until you are on your feet.”

  “Thank you but I am living in Florida. I am planning to hire a nanny for when I go back to work.”

  Bentley growls and everybody looks like they are nervous to say anything.

  “Why don’t we give Bentley and Kayla some time alone to talk?” Cooper speaks up and everybody agrees as they hurry out the door. As they are walking out it, a doctor comes walking in.

  “How’s my patient doing?” He takes a mini-looking flashlight and points it into my eyes nearly blinding me.

  “I am ok, I think.”

  “Good!” He checks my blood pressure as well as poking and prodding my abdomen still allowing me to continue holding my little girl. She really is the most beautiful baby I have ever seen, aside from Bella.

  “Everything looks good. You might experience a headache for the next few days from the severe blood loss. That’s perfectly normal. Because of the surgery there is no lifting anything over five pounds for six weeks. If you are taking the pain medications, there’s no driving. You will follow up with your OB in six weeks as well. Also, no intercourse until your six-week checkup. You suffered severe hemorrhaging and I had no choice but to do a partial hysterectomy. I am sorry. Not all women go into menopause but if you do you will have to be placed on hormone treatments. We can cross that bridge if it comes to that. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to conceive in the future because I wasn’t able to save a fallopian tube but your body will heal completely. Do you have any questions for me?