T-Bone - L. Wilder Page 0,81
and Clay. “You want to take one of them to the delivery room with us?”
“Beckett ...Will you come?”
He nodded slowly like he was still in shock, then he and Clay followed as the nurses pushed my bed out of the room and into the hallway. We hadn’t gotten very far when Jessica looked over to Clay and said, “You can stay in the waiting room. I’ll call you as soon as I know something.”
“Thank you.” Clay knelt down and kissed me on the forehead. “Love ya, Sis.”
“I love you, too, Clay.”
My heart started to race as they pushed me down a long hallway and through the doors of the delivery room. Everything was happening so fast that I was barely able to make sense of what was going on. As soon as they had me in the room, they started prepping for surgery while they ordered Beckett to put on surgical garb and a mask. The anesthesiologist came over and asked, “How are you feeling?”
“I’ve been better.”
“And your contractions?”
“They’re getting pretty intense.”
He nodded. “Well, I’m about to make you feel a lot better. Just need you to sit up for me.”
“Okay.”
With Beckett’s help, I sat up and turned with my back to the anesthesiologist, and it wasn’t long before he’d administered my epidural. Once he helped me back down on the bed, he smiled and said, “We’ll just need to wait a few minutes for that to take effect, and then we’ll be set to start the C-section.”
“Okay, thank you.”
I watched as the nurses placed a surgical screen above my stomach. Once it was up, I could hear the doctor and nurses moving around and talking, but I couldn’t see what they were doing. The whole thing made me extremely nervous, and I was on the verge of losing it when I felt Beckett’s mouth at my ear. “It’s going to be fine. Just breathe.”
“I’m really glad you’re here.”
“Me too. No other place I’d rather be.”
Trying my best not to cry, I whispered. “I need him to be okay.”
“It’s a boy?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Well, how about that.” A sweet smile crossed his face. “A boy. Well, if he’s anything like his ol’ man, he’s a fighter and you’ve got nothing to worry about.”
“I really hope he’s like you.” I looked over to Beckett as I told him, “I was thinking of calling him Joshua Tucker ... JT, for short. If that’s okay?”
“I like it.”
“Beckett?”
“Hmm?”
I looked up and back so I could see his face as I whispered, “I really am sorry.”
“Don’t worry about any of that now. You need to focus on having this baby.”
Moments later, the doctor leaned over the barrier and said, “We’re about to begin. You might feel a slight pinch, but if you feel anything more, just let us know.”
“Okay.”
The room fell silent as the doctor began the C-section. Just as he’d warned, I felt a strange pinching and tugging sensation, but no real pain. I tried to listen as the doctor talked back and forth with the nurses, but it was difficult to hear what they were saying. Sensing that I was getting worked up again, Beckett placed his hand on my shoulder and whispered, “It’s gonna be okay. Just try to relax.”
Suddenly there was a little commotion, and the next thing I knew, the anesthesiologist asked Beckett to move over to the corner of the room. As he took a hold of my IV, he explained, “There’s been a slight complication. Everything’s fine, but we’re gonna have to put you under for a bit.”
Before I could ask him what was going on, everything went black. I don’t know how long it had been when I woke up in a room with my IV still connected to my arm and no baby at my side. When he saw that I was awake, Beckett came over to me and said, “He’s okay. He’s downstairs in the NICU.”
“Why? Is something wrong? Did something happen? Is that why they—”
“He’s okay. The doctor wasn’t happy about his oxygen level, so he sent JT downstairs as a precautionary measure.”
“You’re sure he’s going to be okay?”
“The doctor didn’t give me any reason to think otherwise. He believes you and Josh are going to be just fine. He just needs a little time to get his levels up where they need to be.” Beckett pulled out his phone and pulled up a picture of our son. “He’s beautiful, freckles. Looks just like you.”
He brought the phone closer for me to get a better look, and