Change of Plans

Change of Plans 43

Hayden's screams started up again and were magnified when they forced her to let go of my hand so that they could get her to a room more quickly.

"Amy!?" she screamed at me through clenched teeth, grabbing one of the nurses that was pushing the gurney and clawing at her arm.

I ran to keep up with them and was finally able to keep the pace, so I reached for Hayden's hand which she grabbed instantly, digging her nails into my palm once again.

As we ran, I cautiously glanced over at her and was upset to see her face.

She looked so exhausted already and the delivery hadn't even begun yet...

Her puffy, bloodshot eyes were rimmed with tears that now streamed down her face.

Every few moments, Xavier would reach over and wipe them away as they ran down, reaching over with his free hand, the other clenched in Hayden's death grip.

I could see her clenched jaw and I watched as she viciously ground her teeth together, painfully squeezing her hands in time with her teeth as they moved across each other.

Her breathing became more rhythmic as her nurse guided her through a few breathing exercises.

'Mama', as she had told us to call her, would be Hayden's nurse for the delivery and recovery. She was a plump, African American woman with a beautiful face and short cropped black hair. The name fit her perfectly because she was just that. She was a mother of seven, so she had told me. Her oldest was actually pregnant so she was going to be a grandmother! She has exclaimed as she told me as we walked alongside the gurney.

Now Mama had taken Hayden's hand from mine and she was massaging the top as she guided Hayden and I through breathing exercises.

"Okay baby girl. In. And out. And in again. And out." she said, breathing with us as she wiped a cool cloth across Hayden's forehead as we slowed down before turning into a room.

Delivery Room, the sign on the door read.

I glanced over at Xavier who had been silent the entire way, besides when he was whispering to Hayden. The pain from Hayden'd grip was barely evident on his face, but worry overtook his facial features.

His eyes barely ever left Hayden and when they did, it was for a brief second. Even as we met eyes, he gave me a hopeful grin before turning back down to Hayden.

His forehead was covered with wrinkles as he scrunched up his eyebrows, obviously deep in thought.

Suddenly, he looked up at me, as if just realizing something.

"We don't have a name!" he said, gripping the side of the bed anxiously as he looked from me to Hayden and back up again. "What am I supposed to do?!" he whispered to me as we entered the room.

"It'll be okay." I assured him, somehow calm in this chaos.

"Uh-Uhm- o-uh-huh-oh kay." he stuttered, whipping his head back and forth between me and my best friend.

Reaching over, I laid a hand on his shoulder and he relaxed just the tiniest bit. "It's gonna be okay." I told him, staring right into his emerald eyes.

I see why Hayden fell for him, I chuckled under my breath, it's because of those eyes...

What if the baby had those eyes? I suddenly wondered.

The doctors moved away from the gurney and left me, Xavier and Mama with Hayden.

"It's okay baby." Mama soothed, rubbing Hayden's forehead and brushing her auburn curls back with her hand. "Just keep breathing." she went through the exercise again, and I convinced Xavier to do it with us.

We were all beginning to be calm when Mrs. Bottichelli burst through the door. "Is she okay?!" she squealed milliseconds after she walled through the door.

That where Hayden gets her hyperness, I laughed, thinking about how insane her mother can be just as her mom ran over, rubbing her daughter's face and kissing her forehead.

The doctors appeared again and the one held a huge needle in one hand.

"Okay, she really need to have this baby soon, so we are gonna give her the epidural and start pushing once the medicine kicks in, alright?" the one said, looking between her mother, Xavier, me, and Mama.

Mama stepped back a bit to give the doctors room and she began rubbing my back as soon as she stood behind me. "How are you doing Miss Amy?" she asked, massaging my shoulders now.

"At the moment, I'm doing perfectly fine." I laughed, smiling back at her.

"Well that's wonderful baby girl, cause we are gonna need some people in here with a positive attitude when she starts pushing."

We laughed quietly as the other doctors swarmed in, getting ready to give Hayden the epidural.

Her mom held her one hand while the ever faithful Xavier held the same hand from earlier, his hand now turned a little purple from not getting circulation.

The doctor holding the needle walked around to where he could insert the needle into her back while Xavier and her mom helped her sit up.

"Ready?" the doctor asked.

Hayden grunted and they took that as a yes, sticking the needle in quickly and pushing the liquid out as quickly as possible as Hayden screamed.

Xavier's face tightened as her grip became her life vest. Her mother had her back to meC hut you should tell she was crying also.

The doctor holding the needle pulled it out quickly and Hayden's screams became whimpers.

"Very good job." the doctor said, walking around front again as Hayden was laid back down. "Okay, now what we're gonna do is hook you up to a heart monitor. This will watch your heart rate, as well as the baby's. Now there will be a heart rate pulsing throughout the room, but it won't be yours, it'll be the baby's. Does that sound good?" he asked, leaned down to eye level with Hayden.

She nodded, her face strained as she laid her head back against a very fluffed pillow.

Mama and I returned to Hayden's side as the hooked up all the monitors.

A screen beside the bed stuttered to life, showing two lines that pulsed together, in time with each other.

Suddenly, the pulsing filled the room and we heard Hayden's daughter's heart beat for the first time.