𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐊𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐒━︎━︎ S. Stilinski¹︎✓︎

𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞

The woman let out anguished screams as she continued to push, clenching tightly onto a male nurses hand that had volunteered to be her punching bag until the baby was out. She heard the doctor tell her just one more push, but she didn't know if she could. She leaned back, sweat coating her forehead as she let out heavy breaths. She couldn't do it. She shook her head, repeating no over and over again. But they kept saying, just one more push. And so she took a deep breath and pushed, screaming so loudly in agony that the glass around her shattered, the lights flickered, and when she finally heard cries of a newborn child, she stopped and fell back onto the bed.

There was a moment of silence as the nurses and doctors looked around at the damage that had been done before focusing once again on the sobbing baby. They cleaned that little girl up, smiles on their face before they placed her in a pink blanket, walking over to the woman who was still heavily breathing and trying not to pass out.

"It's a girl." The nurse spoke, moving towards the woman's bedside and handing her the baby. Rebekah Smith laid there with the baby girl in arms, wanting to cry in agony as she knew what it was that she had just done. The woman had been staring down at the baby girl so long, she hadn't realized the nurse had been talking to her until the woman repeated ma'am at least five times. "Ma'am, we need a name."

"Elaine." Rebekah whispered. "Elaine Rosalynn, no last name. I don't want her to have my last name." The nurse looked at her weird before writing it down. When the other nurses and doctors weren't listening, or watching the woman, Rebekah looked down at her daughter, running a finger down her nose and over the baby's cheeks. A tear slipped from her eye as she softly whispered an apology. "I'm so sorry. I never wanted this to happen." She placed a kiss on the baby's forehead, regret and guilt taking over her.

━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎

Rebekah drove through the rain, to the town that she knew nothing took place in. She knew that Elaine would be safe there, she just hoped that the baby would find a good home. The dark haired woman looked at all of the houses before stopping in front of one with the porch lights off, no sign of anyone awake. She stopped the car, getting out and going to the back to grab the basket the little girl lay in.

"If there's a way that I can keep you from taking on this curse, then I will do it." She softly whispered to the little girl before grabbing the basket and closing the back door. Rebekah glanced around before quickly rushing towards the porch, laying the baby on the steps and stuffing the birth certificate that held Elaine's name under the blanket that the mother had placed over her head to keep her from getting wet from the rain.

A tear fell down the woman's eye before she quickly rang the door bell twice and made a run for it. She hoped in the car, quickly driving away and refusing to look back. What she didn't know, was that the mother inside had just laid down, not yet asleep. She had just put her son down for bed after trying for three hours. So when she heard the doorbell ring, she sat there and closed her eyes, waiting to see if her boy would awaken at the noise, but there was nothing.

Melissa McCall stood from her bed, running a hand over her hair before she made her way down the steps and towards the door. She pulled the door open, looking around only to see no one around. That's when she heard the sounds of a baby, letting out small whimpers of confusion. Melissa furrowed her eyebrows before kneeling down towards the basket that was placed on her step. She removed the blanket and let out a soft gasp upon seeing the baby girl looking up at her with wide blue eyes and a tuft of red-brown hair.

"Who left you here?" Melissa softly asked before noticing the slip of paper that lay with the baby girl. She grabbed, unfolding it and reading the birth certificate with a frown. Someone had just abandoned their baby on her front step, wanting absolutely nothing to do with the girl seeing as she only had a first and middle name. "Elaine Rosalynn." Melissa softly said. The woman softly sighed. "Let's get you out of the rain before you catch a cold." She quickly brought the baby inside, closing the door behind her and walking over to the couch.

She woke up her husband, who for once in his life wasn't drunk or hungover. He joined the woman on the couch, both looking down at the girl before deciding what they would do with her. And Melissa was glad she had won the conversation, for Elaine would become one of the most important things to her, just like Scott was.