One String Attached

70.

a/n: this chapter's a lot longer than I was expecting so get comfortable ;)

.James.

"There is this thing called Baby Depression," the doctor begins to dictate to us while I held Riley's hand tight in mine as we sat down on the two chairs, right beside each other.
I had Autumn in my lap still, bumping her up and down slowly while her legs were straddled over one of my thighs. 

"It can cause a premature delivery and then can cause the child to grow less attached to their parents, especially when there's some kind of trauma, argument or feud going on. Babies and children begin to become more withdrawn from building relationships and their moods can shift very often," he tells us both.

I look to my side at Riley, but she sat there, listening to and taking in every single word that left his lips. She was worried - that much I was able to tell. But I wasn't sure if I could come up with a way to calm her down in this given moment of time.

"Based on the tests, it looks as though the reason Autumn came early was partially to do with everything going on between your relationships with the people around you. The stress from the mother has an impact on the baby and it can result in them distancing themselves from the parent."

"So you think . . .?" I begin to ask and after reading the look on my face, he nods slowly.

"Based on what I've been told and the information on both of your daughters' files, I'd say Aaliyah had it at one point and Autumn has got the same. The only one of your kids who never had it was . . ."
"Asher," I whisper, putting two and two together, and he nods his head again.

"Most likely because all was okay at his time of birth," he tells us, making me nod, but when I look to Riley, she seemed broken and deflated. Like half of her heart had been torn out of her chest.
I move my hand to her knee to try and gage her attention but she just looks at him in shock still, probably trying to process it all.

"It can be treated with things such as music therapy to bring out her emotions a little more. Parents are allowed to take control with that too, and to help with her physical growth we run infant massage courses if you're worried about her weight or size by any chance?" he fills us in, making me nod my head again.

"Thank you. I'm sure we'll look into it," I say, but just as I stretch my arm over to shake his hand, Riley shuffles and soon gets up, shaking her head and scratching the skin of her forehead.

"I'm sorry. I need some air," she whispers before heading on out briskly - so quick that I couldn't even call after her.
By the time I had separated  my lips to attempt saying something, she had already travelled right out of here.

I turn my head back to look at the doctor before shaking my head, standing up again.
"I'm sorry. I need to-" I begin, only for him to beat me to the last bit of sentence.
"Go after her. It's a lot to take in," he assures me, making me smile at him appreciatively, even if it doesn't exactly reach my eyes.

In only a short few seconds, I find myself heading out of there and then I find Piper sat in the waiting room with a look of worry and concern all across her face.
She stands up when her eyes meet mine and she makes her way over towards me, sliding her phone into the back pocket of her jeans.

"What happened in there? Ri just came out in a state," she tells me, unsure of the whole thing.
I frantically nod my head, placing my hand on her shoulder to gather her attention and stop her from talking.

"I know," I respond. "I need you to hold Autumn, okay. Call Finn to pick you up or something. Riley and I have a lot to talk about," I tell her. 

Despite the loose key bits of information I had left out of my narrative, she nods her head in understanding and carefully takes Autumn out of my arms before sitting herself back down again and grabbing her phone to call her boyfriend.