Chapter 2 - Life

Twelve minutes past midnight on the 14th of March, Darcy Maria Rose Thomas made her entrance, her lungs in full working order as she screamed and fussed her way into existence. It took her brother, Noah Gavin Robert Thomas, another twenty-three minutes before he made a more subdued arrival.

Michelle was too exhausted, but Cam noticed the time it took for the nurses to finally clear his airways and make him cry. “Is he alright?” she queried urgently from behind the blue mask she wore. When nobody immediately replied, she began to worry. “Is he…” And then there it was, a scream even louder than his sister’s.

“He is fine,” the nurse explained. “Probably just a little too comfortable inside Mom.” Cam could tell she was smiling by the wrinkles that popped around her eyes. “They’re both just fine. We will get Michelle cleaned up and then bring them over to her for some skin-to-skin bonding, but if you want to go say hello, they’re just over there.” She pointed at the small bassinets. “The doctor will just be checking that their lung functions are working well, considering they are a little early, but that’s normal too with multiple births.”

“Thank you,” she said before turning back to Michelle. “Hey, how are you feeling?”

“Exhausted.” She grinned. “Are they…where are they?”

“They’re just being checked over. They’re beautiful, just like you,” Cam said. She took her hand and kissed the palm. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” she said as her eyes flickered closed. Suddenly there was a bleeping of machines, noises that Cam didn’t recognise from any time during the last few hours. People began to move fast, and she was jostled out of the space and away from Michelle before she could even think straight.

“Mrs Thomas, would you come with me please.”

“What? No…What’s happening?” Cam was scared; she could feel her heart racing. Michelle looked white as a sheet and wasn’t responding to them. “Michelle!” she shouted. “’Chelle, what’s wrong?”

She felt a firm push against her chest. “Let the doctors work. Come with me.”

Before she knew it, she was outside of the delivery suite. Erin and Gavin stood up, smiling expectantly and holding stuffed bears. Her mother was reading a magazine and looked up, concerned. Maria was sitting with Michelle’s parents, Bob and Martha, all of them looking towards Cam for answers.

“I don’t know…something’s wrong.”

Martha was on her feet in an instant. She reached Cam and put her arms around her, pulling her into a warm embrace, and Cam let her.

“What happened?” She spoke gently. Cam stared at her with tears in her eyes.

“Everything was fine, the babies came…” She couldn’t help the sad smile as she thought of her children, alone. “And she was talking to me and then she just closed her eyes and all hell let loose and I was thrown out.”

Bob was now standing. “I’m going to go and see what I can find out.” Emotion choking his throat. Gavin handed the bear to Erin and followed Bob.

“I can’t lose her,” Cam stammered out before she collapsed against Martha, sobbing. “I can’t…”

“Shh, you’re not going to. It’s all going to be fine,” Martha soothed, rubbing circles on her back just like Cam had just done for Michelle.

The wait felt like an eternity. Bob and Gavin returned none the wiser. The only people who knew what was happening were inside the room with Michelle. Cam looked at her watch again. She’d spent thousands on it, and yet it could do no more than the hospital clock on the wall. Time was not to be bought.

“I can’t stand this,” Cam snapped, suddenly standing and pacing the small room. “I need some air, I can’t...”

“Just breathe, Cam.” Erin’s face was suddenly inches away. “Just breathe, in and out.” She’d watched Michelle do this often enough when Cam had an anxiety attack after Jessica Montgomery had come back into Cam’s life to cause mayhem. “Just breathe.”

Cam settled her gaze on that of her friend, forcing air into her lungs as she slowly relaxed again. She ran her hand through her short hair. Nodding, she whispered, “I’m okay, thanks.”

“Sure?”

Cam continued to nod. All heads turned the second the door opened. “Mrs Thomas?” The same nurse from before smiled at Cam. “It’s okay, you can come in now.”

“Is she?” Cam couldn’t bear to hear anything other than she was okay. Her feet took her to the door without even thinking about it.

The nurse stepped aside and held the door for Cam. “She’s going to be fine. Her blood pressure dropped, and she fainted. We’ve got some fluids into her and she’s resting now.”

Slowly, Cam crossed the room, all her fears dissipating with each step. “Can I…” She reached out her hand but stopped short of taking Michelle’s.

“Of course. She’s exhausted, so she needs to rest and get her strength back. She’s going to need it with these two.” She grinned at Cam as another nurse wheeled over a small crib with two bundles swaddled and lying close together. “Do they have names yet?”

Cam grinned, tears wetting her eyes again but this time for happy reasons. “Yes, Darcy and Noah.” She was torn now between holding Michelle’s hand or touching the tiny faces of their children.

“Lovely names. I’m going to leave them right here. When you’re ready you can pick them up, but not for long; we want to keep them monitored for a few hours, just to be safe.”

Darcy was already wriggling and fidgeting. Cam looked to the nurse for encouragement. For the first time, Cam looked at her name badge: Lakesha. Noting the hesitancy in Cam, Lakesha lifted Darcy and placed her into her mother’s arms. Instantly, the child settled.

“Oh my God,” Cam whispered. The feeling of love that came over her in that very instant was almost overwhelming. Nothing could ever compare to this, and she felt her throat constrict with emotion as she choked out, “Hello, Darcy. I’m your mum.”

Darcy was tiny. Her small fist had pushed its way out of the blanket, and little fingers were wiggling in the air until Cam placed a finger there and her daughter gripped it hard. She had a little hat on her head to keep her warm, but Cam could already see the wispy dark hair beneath it. “You look just like your Mama.”