Chapter 9 - Do I Have a Choice?
Caleb
"Everything is looking good, Caleb." My doctor says. "We just need to get back that one test and then you can go."
I nod. The doctor moves over and sits down next to me.
"Do you know the gender of your baby yet?" He asks.
"We're having a little baby girl." I say and can't help smiling a little.
"That's great, congratulations!" He smiles at me. "Did you come up with any names... Well, before all of this?"
"No. We had just found out the gender right before, well, this."
"Oh. That's to bad."
I don't reply.
"Well, I guess I'll go and see if that test is back yet, so you sit tight and I'll be back in a few minutes." He says, getting up and going out the door.
The door never clicks, it stays open just a crack. It gives me the slightest bit of an idea.
No Caleb, you'd definitely get caught, it's not worth it. I think in my head.
It's your wife and child, heck yeah it's worth it! My mind screams, making my decision almost instantly.
I get out of the chair I am in and go to the door. It creaks a little when I open it, but no one in the hall takes notice of it. I slip out of the room and shut the door behind myself, walking through the hallway normally, trying to not draw suspicion.
I know my way through some parts of the hospital from visiting Cara every now and again... But she doesn't work in this section of the hospital, so I am pretty unsure of where I'm going. I just keep walking straight, hoping to find signs or some kind of thing to direct me to the birthing ward.
As I'm walking I stop dead in my tracks when I recognize a blood curling scream come from a few doors behind me.
Tris...
Part of me wants to whip around and run to her; run to my sister, but I know I won't get close anyway. Nurses are now surrounding the door, all questioned by the scream.
I could get caught here. I have to keep moving and find Cara.
Quickening my pace a little, I go down a few more halls until I finally find a sign, it says the birthing ward is to my left so I go left down a huge hallway. I go to the end of it and another sign guides me to the right.
I go down that hallway and then come to a pair of double doors and over top of them it reads Birthing Ward.
I go through the doors and up to the front desk.
"Could you tell me what room Cara Prior is in?" I ask the woman behind the desk, praying that she doesn't question my ratty clothes or the fresh stitches in my arm, ointment still over top of them from the doctor doing them just a little while ago. They haven't even been bandaged yet.
"What's your relation to the patient, sir?" She asks in a bored voice, barely looking up from her computer.
"I-- I'm her husband. They should be expecting me. They know that I'm coming." I stutter.
"She's in room 362. Go through that door, down that hallway, take your first left down another hallway and it should be on the right." She says in the same tone.
"Thanks." I mumble back and rush through the door and down the hall, turn at my first left until I come to the room number 362. I don't bother knocking, I just run in and see my wife on a hospital bed in a blue gown. The lights are dimmed so it is a little difficult to see, but I can see her.
"Cara."
"Caleb!" She cries, her eyes lighting up when she sees me.
I run over to her and press my lips to hers and I feel her tears on my face.
We pull away and I ask, "How's it going so far?"
"I'm three centimeters dilated, and birth starts once I get to ten, so I still have a while."
"Did they give you that pain shot?"
"No. I'm not allowed to get them because of them not knowing if I'm on weird drugs or something from David." She says looking down at her bump and rubbing it with her hand. I place my hand over hers and she smiles.
"So, what else?" I ask.
"The contractions are pretty far apart but are really p-- ugh..." She cuts herself off groaning.
"Are you okay? Cara, what's wrong?!" I freak out not knowing what happened to her.
"Caleb I'm fine! It's just another contraction!" She groans and holds her round stomach. I take her hand in mine and stroke the top if it along her knuckles. I kiss her cheek and stroke her hair that is now pulled into a bun on the top of her head and brushed to make it seem a tiny bit cleaner.
"You're doing great, honey." I whisper to her encouragingly.
This goes on for hours on end. The doctor will come in and tell how far along she is, she'll check the thing monitoring the baby and her contractions and then leave. Cara's contractions come and go until eventually they get closer and closer together. I can tell that Cara is about to fall asleep from being in pain for so long, and it being tiring for her I'm sure.
I just wish I could help her more than I can.
Now it is two thirty in the morning. Cara has been in labor for around thirteen or so hours.
Her contractions are just minutes apart from each other and the doctor says she's getting closer and is eight centimeters.
Cara has grown more snappy and tired by the hour. I don't blame her though. She has been super strong during all of this, especially for the conditions when her water broke earlier.
I just keep telling her to stay strong and how great she is doing; how much I love her and how this will be done soon and our a baby girl will be here.
As the time went on those little attempts of encouragement irritated her more and more so I laid back a little more and settled with stroking her hair and hand. I did rub her baby bump at one point, but it only irritated her from pain being everywhere in that region.
The doctor knocks and enters the room again, giving me a hopeful smile that I return. She comes in and checks Cara every half hour or so to see how many centimeters she is. Considering she just hit eight a half hour ago, I assume she probably is still eight along and will stay there for another hour, give or take.
"Wow. Okay Cara you are at ten centimeters! Hold tight and I'll be right back and we'll get started."
"What? I was only eight a half hour ago!" Cara yells at the doctor.
She shrugs. "I guess she decided she wants out now. I have to go get a few things so stay right like that and relax." She leaves the room somewhat quickly.
"Caleb..." Cara starts crying.
"It's okay. Shh, everything is okay. You know what? After this you will get to hold our baby girl for the first time ever. Think about that. You can do it."
"I'm not ready though." She says as I wipe tears from her cheeks.
"You may not feel like it, but you are. Your strong, Cara. It will all be over before you know it and she'll be in our arms."
"But I have no energy. I'm so weak right now. I won't be able to do it."
"Yes you will. You will be fine, I promise." Before she can reply I press my lips to hers.
The doctor returns into the room with a pretty big tray of things for the birth. One of the nurses rolls in the little hard plastic container covered in pink blankets for where she will go once she is born.
I am super excited thinking about my daughter being there where I can see her, instead of inside of Cara's womb, but I'm super nervous for Cara and her birth.
"You ready, Cara?" The doctor asks after everything seems set up.
"Do I have a choice?" She sarcastically says back causing the doctor to chuckle.
I take both of her hands in mine and kiss her forehead.
This is the part when my life begins to change forever.
A/N-
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