Page 98 of Beyond the Cage

Yup, Chels is eight and a half months into her second child with Damon. This is my first, and I need my husband. Nervously, I twist both the diamond ring and wedding band on my finger. My emerald ring is on a necklace I wear every day. Damon motions to me from the nurses’ station.

“He wants to talk to you.”

The nurse arrives with the gurney, watching cautiously as I waddle over to the phone.

“Baby, are you okay?” he asks when I pick up the phone.

“Yes, but I’ll be better when you get here.”

“I’m on my way.”

I hang up, and Damon helps me onto the gurney. Half an hour later, Cameron sticks his head into my room and I motion for him to enter. He drops my duffle by the bed and takes my hand.

“Are you ready?”

“Are you?” I raise a brow.

“In case you don’t remember, I’ve been ready, Jasmine. I’ve been waiting for this for a long time.”

“You’re right. And yes, I’m ready. I can’t wait to hold her.”

I remember the day I told him I was pregnant. I’d walked up to him and told him I needed help with a math problem. He’d pulled me down onto his lap and wrapped his arms around me.

“It starts out really simple. The first step is one plus one.”

“Thatissimple…two.”

“Okay…this is where it gets tricky. The second step is two”—I took his hand and placed it gently on my then-flat stomach—“plus one.”

“Well, that’s –”

His words were cut off when I pressed down on his hand.

“You mean…you’re…we’re…”

“Yes. We’re going to be parents.”

He was so happy. I can still see his elated expression in my mind.

An intense pain in my chest jerks me from my reminiscing. All of a sudden, I don’t feel so good. I’m dizzy, short of breath, and my vision is blurry. This is not good…it could be hypotension. The machines start beeping like crazy.

“Cameron…get the doctor.”

His eyes open wide in fear and he rushes out of the room. He returns with my OB/GYN, Dr. Chang, along with Damon and Chelsea.

“Doctor, what’s happening?” Cameron asks.

“Her blood pressure is dropping fast, and so is the baby’s heart rate.”

“I…can’t…bre…breathe…”

Cameron and Chels rush to my side but are quickly pushed out of the way as Dr. Chang clears the room and yells for a nurse.What’s going on? What’s happening to me, to my baby? My chest…the pain…am I having a heart attack?I reach for Cameron, but he’s not there. The noise fades, and then the room goes dark.

***

I hear the steady beep of an ECG. As the fog in my brain begins to clear, I hear something else…singing…a lullaby. My lids are heavy and refuse to open. I finally force them open and search for the source of the singing. Sitting by my hospital bed is Cameron, holding a baby and singing “Hush, Little Baby”. I try to call out to him, but all that comes out is a groan. His eyes jerk in my direction and relief floods his handsome features.

He stands and whispers to the bundle in his arms, “Mommy’s awake.”