Okay, I felt bad for leaving you guys with a cliffhanger, so here's the next chapter.
Sorry if this seems rushed or jumbled or anything. I found it kinda hard to write this chapter will all the medical mumbo jumbo I needed to add in there.
I hope you like it. Let me know what you think
xoxo~Bailey
Austin's Point of View
"Ah, shit." I heard Tyler mutter from inside the small bathroom. That worried me, those two small words, though that didn't mean anything, not really, but I was always worried, about her, about the baby, I just didn't let her know that.
"What?" I hollered, pressing my ear against the door, listening for her response.
"Nothing, I think I just peed myself again..." Her voice trailed off, stopped without finishing the sentence, and it became really quiet, too quiet. I waited, tapping my foot anxiously, waiting for her to continue speaking, to fill me in on what was going on.
But she never spoke, never said another word. I heard a small thud, followed by a squeal. "Austin!" She screamed my name, though I was already halfway through the door by the time my name rang through the air.
"No! Ty, oh my God!" I shouted loudly, racing towards where my fiance was laying on the floor, in a pool of her own blood, crying in agony. I kneeled in front of her, not caring about the blood that was getting on me, only caring about her. "Ty, baby! Stay with me, it's going to be okay! Tyler!" Her eyes, they were getting heavy, it was like she was having a hard time keeping them open, and that wasn't good, I knew that much, I couldn't let her close them, because if she did, there was a chance her beautiful green eyes would never open again.
Wrapping my arms around her I held her close to me, tears falling freely from my eyes, my paniced screams circling in the air. It wasn't long before I heard footsteps, my cries for help attracting someone. Aaron rushed into the room, stopping dead in his tracks as he took in the scene before him, all the blood, the tears, the limp body cradled in my arms. I could hear Alan, he was on the phone, shouting through the reciever, begging for an ambulance, begging for help. Aaron rushed over to me, pulling himself out of his stunned stupor, and crouched down, resting his hand on my shoulder.
"Austin. What happened?" He asked, calmly. He was always this way, so calm, I didn't know how he did it, no matter the situation, he was always relaxed, at least on the outside, always trying to help everyone, he was such a good guy.
I pressed my lips against Tyler's, talking to her, whispering, trying to keep her awake, alive. I couldn't formulate words, I didn't know what to say, I didn't know what happened, I wasn't here, I was out there. "I should've been in here with her. I shouldn't have stayed outside." The words fell quickly from my lips, running together, barely audible over my cries.
"This isn't your fault. Okay, she's going to be fine, the paramedics are on their way."
"I can't lose her, Aaron, I can't, I won't, if she, if she dies, what am I going to do?" I started bawling, harder than ever before in my entire life, thinking about the prospect of losing Tyler, the love of my life, of never being able to speak to her again, to kiss her, to hold her, to tell her I love her. If I lost her, if she was taken away from me, I would have nothing, I would be nothing. She made me a better person, she made me want to live, and without her, I don't know what I would do.
After a while I felt Tyler being pried from my arms. I fought it, I fought it hard, trying to keep my hold on her, but Aaron latched onto me, pulling me back, away from her. I watched through watery eyes as the paramedics loaded her on the stretcher, wheeling her out of the building, and outside to the ambulance. I couldn't move, I was stuck. "C'mon man, let's go." Aaron pulled me with him, towards his car. I felt so lost, so numb, I couldn't think, couldn't begin to form any thoughts, any words.
She was my everything. If she, if something happened to her, I wouldn't recover, I wouldn't be able to to put myself back together.
I wouldn't want to.
----------------------------------------------
I stood in the gallery, watching as Tyler laid motionless on the operating table, a swarm of doctors moving around her, sticking needles in her arms, placing a mask over her beautiful, pale face. Running my fingers through my hair I paced back and forth, trying to take it all in, it had all happened so fast, I wasn't prepared, not for any of it. This wasn't supposed to happen, she was supposed to be fine, our daughter was supposed to be fine, we were supposed to be fine.
The words the doctor had told me swirled through my mind, a jumbled mess, words I could hardly comprehend.
"The placenta fully detached itself from the uterine wall, depriving the fetus of oxygen, and causing a massive hemorrage in your fiance's uterus. We are going to perform an emergency Caesarian Section to remove the baby from the uterus, and to stop the bleeding inside your fiance."
Our daughter, she wasn't full-term, she still had almost a month to go, she wasn't ready to be born yet, she wasn't fully developed yet, and that scared me. So many things could go wrong with her, but there was no choice; if they left her in there she would die, that was a fact, and at least this way she had a chance, how big of a chance, though, I did not know.
Tyler had lost a lot of the blood, the doctor had informed me of that, only causing me to spiral further down, making my panic level skyrocket. She had passed out from the blood loss, he said, but she was still alive, and if they could get the bleeding stopped she would probably be okay.
Probably.
I didn't like his word choice, not at all, it wasn't helping the situation. Nothing about this was okay, my world was falling apart, I could lose the two most important people in my life, and there was nothing I could do about it but stand on the sidelines and watch it happen.
There was no time for an epidural, the nurse told me, so they were putting her to sleep, so she wouldn't feel the pain, so there was no chance of her waking up during all of it. I wanted to be in there, when they brought my daughter into this world, they normally allowed the father to be in the room during C-Sections, but not this time, they wouldn't let me, it was too risky, there was too much going on, and all I could do was wait, watch.
They cut open her stomach, and I winced, having to look away, unable to watch them tear her apart, it was too much to handle. A few minutes passed, not much more, and I looked up just in time to see the surgeon pull out a tiny, blue baby out of Tyler's stomach, passing her off the the waiting nurse. I pressed my hands against the glass, watching as they worked on my daughter, doing everything they could to get her to breath, to cry, to move.
Tears slid down my cheeks, splashing against the tile. I felt so helpless; this was my child, my daughter, I was supposed to keep her safe, and right now there was nothing I could do, for either of them.
Before I knew what I was doing I felt my legs moving, exiting the small room, racing towards the bathroom, my breakfast finding its way up my throat, and into the toilet just in time. I couldn't stay in there any longer, it was too much to take in, watching both of them, my daughter, my fiance, both on the verge of dying, I couldn't handle it, I couldn't see it happen.
I had already lost my Mom, and this, the thought of losing Tyler, was overwhelming.
And our daughter, she didn't even have a name yet. She hadn't even had a chance to live.
-------------------------------------------------------
"Austin." I opened my eyes, siting up straight, rubbing the sleep from my eyes, looking for the source of the voice. It was Aaron, he was shaking me awake, and standing beside him was a nurse, the same one who my daughter had been passed off to just a few hours before. Standing up quickly I looked at her, waiting to hear something, anything. It had been hours, and I had no idea what was going on with either my daughter or Tyler, and it was killing me.
"Mr. Carlile. Your daughter, she pulled through." The breath that I had been holding, it deflated from my lungs, tears flooding my eyes once again. "She's about a month premature. Her lungs are still somewhat underdevolped, and it took us a while to get her breathing, but she's going to make it. She can't breath on her own yet, it'll take about a week for that, but if all goes as planned she's going to be just fine." Aaron rested his hand on my shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly. "Would you like to see her?" She asked kindly, and I nodded my head, following her towards the area of the hospital labled Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
The nurse led me into a small room. In the middle sat an incubator, and I follwed her to it, a smile forming on my lips as I looked at her for the first time.
My daughter. Our daughter.
"She has to stay in the incubator for a few days, just as a precaution since she was premature. You can touch her, though, it won't hurt her. I'll leave you alone for a few minutes." The nurse excused herself and I stood over the incubator, gazing down at the little, tiny being enclosed in plastic.
She was so small. She had a tube running down her throat, her eyes were closed, her little chest moving up and down as the machine helped her breath in and out. Little whisps of brown hair laid hapharzardly upon her head. She was absolutely beautiful, it took my breath away, just looking at her.
I reached my hand slowly through the hole on the side of the incubator, my fingers softly making contact with her little, balled fist. "Hi baby girl," I whispered. "I'm your Daddy. I'm so glad I can finally meet you." Tears rolled down my eyes, my emotions mixed with joy, excitement, fear. "You are so beautiful, just like your Mommy. I'm gonna love you so much."
I pulled my hand out and wiped at the tears, having a hard time stopping them, thoughts of Tyler flooding my mind.
As if on cue someone cleared their throat from behind me and I turned around, meeting the gaze of Tyler's doctor.
"Dr. Adamms," I muttered, rushing over to her. "Is Tyler, is she, how is she? What's going on?" She sighed, and I closed my eyes, fearing the worst, not prepared for it.
"She made it through the surgery, Austin." I opened my eyes and looked at her, the tears making their reappearance. "We managed to stop the bleeding and repair the damage. She, she lost a lot of blood, more than she should have. We placed her in a medically induced coma, just for the night, just to make sure that nothing else goes wrong overnight. In the morning, we'll pull her out of it, and then it's up to her."
"Up to her for what?" I asked, not quite understanding what the doctor was trying to tell me.
"Once we pull her out of the coma, it's up to her to wake up. It might take her a while, a few days maybe, it's common for patients who have suffered a massive blood loss to remain unconcious for a while. Or she may wake up immediately, it's hard to tell. Or, or she might never wake up at all."
Those words, I knew they were coming, but I didn't want to hear them, I didn't want to think of the possibility that, after all of this, she wouldn't wake up. "Can, can I see her?" I croaked out, and Dr. Adamms nodded her head. Before I left the room I walked back over to where my daughter lay asleep, placing a kiss outside of the plastic that enclosed around her, telling her goodnight, how much I loved her already. I didn't think it was possible, to love somone so much in just a short time after meeting them, but with my daughter, I already felt this bond with her, and I barely knew her, I hadn't even got to hold her yet, but I didn't need to, not to realize how much I loved her already, it was so obvious.
Following the doctor I tried to keep my thoughts positive. My daughter made it, she beat the odds, and Tyler would too, she had to.
Dr. Adamms motioned me into the room, giving me a sad smile before walking off, leaving me all alone. After taking a deep breath I pushed open the door, not prepared for the sight before me. She was laying there, almost as if she was asleep, too many tubes and wires hooked up to her for me to count. She was pale, more so than usual, she looked fragile, like she could be easily broken, yet somehow, she was still the most stunning woman I had ever known, even like this.
I pulled a chair up beside her bed, grabbing her hand in mine, rubbing the back of it gently with my thumb, looking at her face as she lay there motionless. She looked so peaceful, but all I wanted was for her to wake up, so I could know that she would be alright.
"Please, baby, you have to wake up, please. I need you, and our daughter needs you. I can't, I can't do it alone. Please." I pressed my lips against her forehead, lingering there, not wanting to pull away. "I love you so much."
She had to make, she just had to. I couldn't lose her.
We were supposed to be a family. We deserved to be a family.