August 17, 2020
Exactly 24 hours have passed and the babies just kept on getting sicker. At this point, they were extremely clingy towards Agnetha, who was feeling sick herself and there was no doubt that Björn was starting to feel sick. In fact, everyone was starting to feel sick and multiple appointments were being made to get tested for COVID. Luckily, most of the people in the summer home were asymptomatic due to their age and health but still, it was a good idea for everyone else to get tested. After all, Marcus had already tested positive after having gotten his test results back as did Michael, Dylan, and Lana.
Lana, who was asymptomatic, had been holding the babies at one point just a few days ago as she was still in awe of Kaylee and Danielle and Agnetha let her hold them for a little bit while she and Björn were off doing a romantic moment. Agnetha and Björn waited anxiously until the phone call came at last with the babies' test results. By then, both babies had completely recovered from the anesthetic that they had been given while being tested but were feeling worse in regards to their illness. Just then, the phone rang at last.
*RING RING*
"Björn!" Agnetha exclaimed as she noticed Björn's cellphone ringing at last and he began picking up the phone to answer.
"We've been sitting by the phone. We've been waiting all alone," Björn playfully sang as he did a little parody of Ring Ring while answering the long awaited phone call. There was no doubt that Agnetha was feeling unimpressed by Björn's little joke as he answered.
"Björn, that wasn't funny!" Agnetha exclaimed quietly as Björn answered the phone.
"Hello?" Björn asked as he answered the phone and put his finger on his lip and directed it towards Agnetha as a gesture for her to be quiet as he's on the phone.
"Put it on speaker," Agnetha whispered.
"I'm sorry," Björn replied as he obliged and put the phone on speaker so Agnetha can hear as well. "Can you please repeat that? I have my wife here on the other line."
"Ok perfect," the pediatric nurse replied. "I was saying that I have the test results for your two little babies."
"And?" Björn asked.
"Well, what is it?!" Agnetha exclaimed impatiently.
"Well I hate to break it to you guys but," the pediatric nurse hesitated.
"BUT WHAT?!" Agnetha exclaimed, sounding both irritated and impatient at once. "JUST FUCKING TELL US ALREADY!"
"Woah baby calm down," Björn replied calmly and reassuringly as he turned to Agnetha while sounding a bit taken aback by what she had just said. "She's just about to tell us. Relax."
The pediatric nurse, on the other hand, seemed totally unfazed and completely unaffected by Agnetha's attitude. She had dealt with impatient people before so this wasn't a surprise to her at all.
"But your babies have both tested positive for COVID," the pediatric nurse replied.
"They didn't," Agnetha breathed.
"They did," the pediatric nurse replied. "Because they are only babies and they seem really sick, I think it's best that you bring them into the hospital right away because the faster they are treated, the faster they are better."
"Ok thank you so much," Björn replied, sounding equally numb.
Agnetha and Björn hung up the phone at last and they were in complete shock. Kaylee and Danielle had both tested positive for COVID. It just didn't feel real and now that the babies had tested positive for COVID alongside Marcus, Dylan, Michael, and Lana, it was time for everyone else to get tested. At this point, it was becoming more and more clear that there's an outbreak taking place within the summer home and it was something totally unexpected. There was no doubt that this outbreak would affect the rest of their vacation.
It was meant to be a vacation after all and now there's a COVID outbreak, which now meant that they had to spend the rest of their vacation in quarantine. It was meant to be for only three weeks and while they did have some fun going to the lake and to the local amusement parks, they only really enjoyed one week of that. Well, more like a week and a half but still. It was better to be safe than sorry, especially in the middle of a global pandemic and especially in a country that relied mostly on herd immunity instead of locking down. At least Sweden wasn't like the United States when it came to actually dealing with the pandemic firsthand and that was the good part.
Agnetha and Björn immediately began getting their things as well as Danielle's and Kaylee's things and began taking their two sick babies to the hospital. At the end of the day, the pediatric nurse was right, the sooner they were treated, the better repercussions they would have. Luckily, Danielle and Kaylee were asleep for the time being, but they were still really sick as Agnetha and Björn gently tried to lay them into their car seats so they can be taken to the hospital, but to no avail. Even though they were asleep, the babies seemed to be aware that they were being taken off their mother's chest and onto their car seats and they were having none of it.
"Girls, please!" Agnetha sighed. "I know you both want mommy but I need to put you both in your car seats."
"Anna, just let them stay on your chest," Björn replied.
"You can't be serious, Björn," Agnetha replied. "The babies are exactly three months old today and they've tested positive for COVID and we need to take them to you know where and you just want them to stay on my chest when you're going to be driving a car?!"
"Anna, they're sick and they really need you," Björn replied.
"Yeah true," Agnetha sighed.
With that being said, Agnetha stayed in the back with the two babies still laying on her chest, sound asleep while Björn quickly and safely drove to the local hospital. Once they arrived at the hospital, Agnetha and Björn immediately explained their situation to the doctors and nurses that were on standby in the emergency room and Danielle and Kaylee were taken to the NICU as a result. There was no doubt both girls were having none of it. They were being ripped away from their mother after all and she was all they wanted.
Agnetha immediately felt emotional as it broke her heart seeing Kaylee and Danielle cry for their mother as they were being taken away to the NICU to be treated, but deep down, she knew it was necessary. It was the only way they were going to recover. Björn felt equally tearful but remained hopeful that their two little baby girls were going to be ok. They were fighters after all. They had gone through stuff that a normal three month old doesn't go through. From being kidnapped twice (once in the womb and again just a few weeks ago) to Kaylee's baby glasses situation, to a crazy road trip, to just being very sickly in general.
"Shh...Anna," Björn soothed through their tears as they held each other tightly. "They will be ok. I promise."
"They're so sick, Björn!" Agnetha exclaimed. "They're gonna die! I just know it!"
Björn immediately sat Agnetha down and the two of them held each other through their tears for a little while. It was something that they both really needed at that very particular moment. It was very hard to believe that their two little babies that they had struggled to have were now among the millions of people battling COVID along with all the other unpleasant situations that they had been in. They kept asking themselves, "why them?," and there was no doubt that Agnetha especially was blaming herself for this situation. She just couldn't do it anymore.
She thought that perhaps it just wasn't meant for her to have anymore babies after Christian and she did. She had also been planning to get pregnant again and had already booked an appointment at the fertility clinic and she and Björn were both looking forward to it and now they were starting to reconsider. They both genuinely thought that Kaylee and Danielle were going to die. That's how bad the situation was and it seemed like there was no way out. Just then, the doctor immediately came out and spoke to both Agnetha and Björn.
"Hello," the doctor announced with a smile on his face as he walked over to Agnetha and Björn and extended his hand. "My name is Dr. Karlsson and I work at the NICU here at this hospital."
"Hello doctor," Björn replied calmly as he and Agnetha both stood up and shook his hand. "My name is Björn Ulvaeus and this is my wife, Agnetha."
"Oh yes," Dr. Karlsson grinned, having recognized the two of them without a doubt. "I know who you guys are but anyways, it's really nice to meet you both."
"Nice to meet you too doctor," Björn replied.
"Anyways, I have an update on your two little ones and their condition," Dr. Karlsson announced.
"What is it?!" Agnetha exclaimed. "Are they ok?!"
"Your babies are stable right now," Dr. Karlsson replied. "They are currently inside an incubator sound asleep and are getting the best treatment there is."
"Can we go see them?" Björn asked.
"Yes I was actually just about to ask if you guys wanted to see them up in the NICU," Dr. Karlsson replied as Agnetha and Björn simply shook their heads yes. "Ok then, let's go."
With that being said, Dr. Karlsson led both Agnetha and Björn over to the NICU and to the area where Kaylee and Danielle were. They were both sound asleep inside the same incubator, having calmed down at last from being ripped away from Agnetha's chest and were completely covered in wires. Agnetha and Björn were both heartbroken over their two babies and the condition that they were in. They were absolutely horrified to say the least and this just made Agnetha beat herself up even more than she already was. On the other hand, Dr. Karlsson sensed that Agnetha and Björn needed some time alone and didn't hesitate to speak up.
"I'm assuming you both want some alone time with the babies," Dr. Karlsson announced after a while, especially after noticing both Agnetha's and Björn's moods in regards to seeing their babies in the condition that they were in. Björn and Agnetha simply nodded in response. "Ok then, I'll leave you guys alone with your daughters because I believe it's necessary but under one condition. You guys can spend time with your baby girls but you can't take them out of their incubator. You can touch their tiny little hands through the glass and that's it. I mean it."
Dr. Karlsson immediately left them to it as he had to check on his other patients as well. Meanwhile, Agnetha and Björn simply just continued sitting there in the NICU, still trying to comprehend everything that was going on. They still couldn't believe it. Life wasn't mean to be this way, not at all. After a while of Agnetha and Björn watching their babies sleep and gently stroking the palms of their tiny hands through the glass, Agnetha and Björn quickly remembered something.
"We should probably call Linda and the others and let them know what's going on," Björn announced quietly as to not wake the babies up.
"Yeah we probably should," Agnetha replied as she turned to Björn.
"I'll go call her," Björn replied as he grabbed his phone and walked out of the room and Agnetha simply nodded as he left.
Shortly after Björn left the room to call Linda and the others, Agnetha immediately decided to do the unthinkable. She wasn't going to sit there and watch her babies sleep in that incubator, which mimicked a mother's love. They needed more contact than just stroking the palms of Danielle's and Kaylee's hands through the glass. They needed motherly contact. They needed to lay on her chest and have skin to skin and breastfeeding.
Agnetha didn't care what Dr. Karlsson thought as firm as he was with the statement that he had made. She just had to hold them. There was no doubt that she needed it and the babies needed it as well so with that being said, she gently took the babies out of their incubator one by one and laid them on her chest for skin to skin, having opened up her shirt before gently taking them out. Kaylee and Danielle immediately woke up and noticed that they were both on their mother's chest, just how they liked and gave her a loving look as they cuddled into their mother more.
"You girls are going to be ok," Agnetha whispered reassuringly as she gently rocked the girls back to sleep as they continued having skin to skin and spending time together. "You girls are both strong. You are fighters and you will get through this. I absolutely promise you. Daddy absolutely promises you and same with all of our friends and family back home. You will get through this. I love you my little angels."
Agnetha gently kissed each baby on their foreheads as she continued rocking around in the rocking chair that she was sitting in and continued enjoying and soaking in the private moment that they were having. She prayed for a bit that the babies will get better soon. She prayed that she and the others would get better soon. They needed prayer and prayer is what they need without a doubt. Agnetha drifted off to sleep with both Kaylee and Danielle still laying on her chest and it was just like that.