Page 66 of Neptune

" Frozen ?" I ask, noticing the title of the movie on the screen in front of us. "We're watching Frozen ? Isn't that the movie in which there's this silly snowman called..."

Fuck . I always forget his name.

"Dad, please." Aiden rolls his eyes. "It's Olaf. Why did you keep forgetting his name?"

I shrug. "Why did you choose this movie?" I thought that Aiden would choose a superhero one.

"Why? Because Mom loves winter," he defends. "Besides, this movie is perfect for the baby. I'm sure that she'd love it."

She?

"It's a girl?" Cassie and I ask at the same time.

Aiden stares at us like we're the most clueless people on the planet. "What are you talking about? Of course it's a girl. I just know it."

Cassie and I raise our eyebrows at each other.

We'll see who is right soon. Us, or Aiden.

**

It's a girl. Aiden was right. The doctor told us when we went for a check-up the day after we watched that Frozen movie.

And now, I can't wait to see my baby girl. Cassie is already nine months pregnant, close to labor, and we're in the hospital.

She's lying on the bed, and the contractions are getting more frequent. However, it doesn't seem like the baby will be delivered soon—we still have to wait for a few hours.

We're still in the observation room. She will be transferred to another room to deliver the baby when the time comes. Cassie has decided to give birth naturally.

I hold her hand as I sit beside the bed, my hand sweaty. I can't help but worry—this is the first time that I'm experiencing something like this.

When Aiden was born, I wasn't even there with them.

"Are you okay, Mom? Does it hurt that bad?" Aiden's voice tells us how panicked he is. He stares at Cassie like he's about to cry.

Cassie gives him a reassuring smile while still trying to practice her breathing to reduce the pain. "I'm okay, sweetheart."

A nurse walks in and smiles at her. "We're going to monitor your blood pressure again, Mrs. Klein."

Cassie gives her a small nod, and I watch as the nurse checks her blood pressure. To my horror, the color drains from the nurse's face. She pales while reading the numbers.

"You're having hypertension. The blood pressure is extremely high," she speaks so fast, and my body is on alert.

My heart drops as I catch a glimpse of the number on the equipment. 180.

"I'm afraid that you won't be able to give birth naturally. I'm going to tell the doctor." With that said, she rushes out of the room, leaving us shocked.

Aiden looks as though someone has just shot a bullet through his head. He watches Cassie in horror.

"Aiden," I whisper, holding his shoulders. "She will be okay. There are just some complications, and it's normal during labor. They just have to do a surgery."

But from the worry skating all over his face, I know that I haven't managed to convince him.

"Now will you go back outside?" I ask, knowing that being here any longer won’t be good for Aiden. He won’t be able to handle it, since it will only heighten his fear. "I will be there shortly."

"But—"

"Aiden," I say firmly, looking into his eyes. "Please." My hands on his shoulders are shaking even though I'm trying my best to keep calm in front of him.

Another nurse comes in, and there's nothing Aiden can do when she ushers him out of the observation room.

"Mom!" he yells, his voice fading out as the nurse brings him back into the hallway.

I rush to Cassie and hold her hands in mine, my heart beating fast.

"Hypertension?" She chuckles in disbelief. "I had no idea that it could happen at the end. Everything was okay. Maybe I'm stressed out."

I can see why she's stressed out. I can see why she's worried.

The last time she gave birth, she and our baby were between life and death.

"Everything will be okay." I comb her hair with my fingers. Somehow, I manage to let out a calm voice even though my heart is thumping like crazy.

The nurse comes back into the room. "What time did you have your last meal, Mrs. Klein?"

Cassie ponders in thought. "About an hour ago."

"We still have to do the C-section surgery nonetheless, even though you haven't emptied your stomach, because you and your baby are in danger if we don't do it now," the nurse says urgently.

I don't know what to think anymore. Will that be okay? But we have no other choice. Cassie can't give birth without the surgery, because with a blood pressure that high, her blood vessels will break if she gives birth naturally.

"Luke," Cassie rasps, locking her eyes with mine. "If something happens to me—"

"No," I cut her off. My jaw tightens. I can't bear listening to her words. "Nothing will happen to you. Everything is going to be fine."

She shakes her head, tears pooling in her eyes. Yet, she forces a smile.

"Please, Luke. If something happens to me," she pauses, brushing her fingers against my cheek. "If something bad happens to me, I want you to take care of our—"

"No, Cassie, please don't say something like that," I beg, my voice shaking.

I can't imagine what I'll do if those words come true.

"You're going to be okay. You're not going to leave me, Cassie.

You're not going to leave us. I've had enough of being away from you.

The four of us will never be apart. You, me, Aiden and Luna. "

Her smile touches her lips again. "Luna," she whispers, repeating the name that she has decided for our baby.

Luna. The moon. It's such a pretty name.

Cassie loves the moon just as much as she loves the sun.

Because we were under the moonlight when we met for the first time.

?? ?

My knees feel weak as I come back into the hallway where Aiden has been waiting.

Aiden rushes to me, his eyes wide as he grips my shirt, demanding an answer. "How is she?"

I ruffle his hair and sigh. "We just have to wait, Aiden."

I settle myself on the chair, wrapping my arms around Aiden, who's fidgeting the entire time. A huge part of me wants to be with Cassie, to be there for her during the surgery, but they didn't let me in.

They’ll only give her partial anesthesia for the C-section surgery—that's the safest approach for her and the baby—so she will still be aware of everything during the surgery even though she won’t feel anything at all.

She must be scared, going through all of it alone, and there's nothing I want to do but stay by her side.

But then, even if the doctor allowed me to come in, Aiden wouldn't survive here without me. He needs me too.

We wait, staring at the operation room door with a blank expression.

When the door opens half an hour later, I jump to my feet, running toward it. A nurse emerges from the room and talks with some medical staff before they rush somewhere, probably to bring something that the nurse asked for.

"What happened?" I pant.

The nurse looks at me withconcern. "She just vomited in the operation room."

My heart sinks.

"I'm afraid to say that the complication is getting worse," the nurse says in a soft tone, looking at me with sympathy. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Klein, but your wife's life is in danger. We have to prepare for the worst."

Those words slice my heart, slowly and painfully. I feel like the world around me stops moving. I don't even realize it when the nurse walks back into the operation room and closes the door with a soft thud.

I press my forehead against the hospital wall, my fist clenched tightly as I rest it above my head.

Please, God. Don't take her away from me.

I don't even realize that I'm sobbing until I notice my shoulders shaking. I don't know what I will do if I lose her. Cassie is my everything. She's the air that I need to breathe, the blood running through my veins.

She's my beating heart and soul.

The lump in my throat is getting bigger, and it hurts like hell.

Please, Cassie. Don't leave me. How am I going to survive without you?

"Dad?"

Aiden's voice startles me. I snap my head around, only to find Aiden staring at me with so much sadness, his lips trembling.

Oh God, what have I done?

I have to stay strong for Aiden, and now I just made him even more worried.

Isn't that what Cassie said? For me to take care of our children when she's not around?

That thought itself shatters my heart into a million pieces.

I stride toward Aiden, who's on the verge of falling apart.

"What happened?" His voice breaks. "What did the nurse say? What did she say about her?"

I stop in front of him, and when I bend down, a tear slides down from the corner of his eye.

"Is it because of me, Dad?" he rasps, more tears streaming down his cheeks. "Is it because I wanted her to have a baby?"

I pull him into a tight hug, silently cursing at myself. "No, Aiden. Of course not. How could you think something like that?" My voice is loud and firm—I won't let that thought linger in his head a second longer.

When we pull away, my heart breaks even more from seeing him sobbing uncontrollably. "Will she survive? I can still see her again, right?"

I nod, wiping his tears away, while the pain in my throat almost kills me. It fucking kills me. "Of course you can still have her by your side, Aiden. She will never leave you."

**

Every second passing by as we wait for the doctor to come out feels like torture. When the door of the operation room finally opens again, my heart thuds.

The doctor steps out, and I approach him, Aiden following behind me.

"The baby is healthy," the doctor says. "And your wife..."

I'm glad that our baby is healthy, but my heart won't be completely at ease until I hear what happened to Cassie.

"She has passed her critical condition." A warm smile forms on his lips, and I feel like I just got my air back. My heart feels like it's about to burst out of my chest with relief.

She survived.

"Oh, God," I rasp, unknowingly dropping to my knees, gripping my chest. I can't form any words. Nothing can explain how grateful I am. Before I can even thank the doctor, Aiden beats me to it.

"Thank you," he exclaims, his eyes glistening with happy tears as he jumps toward the doctor, hugging him tightly. "Thank you. Thank you so much for saving my mom and sister, Doctor. You're the best doctor in the world."

The doctor just laughs, shaking his head.

**

"Mom!" Aiden runs toward the bed, toward Cassie, who has been transferred to a new room. His grin is so big, covering his entire face .

Cassie smiles, but she still can't sit up. I approach her and take her hand in mine. When her eyes dart to me, she frowns, noticing how weary I am.

"You look so pale," she gasps.

"You made me..." I don't even know how to explain to her. "Traumatized."

Yeah. That's the word.

Cassie plasters another smile on her lips, squeezing my hand.

"I don't know what happened after the surgery was over.

I remember what happened during the process, but I think I was drugged again after that, because the doctor wanted me to take a rest. In the end, I fell asleep, and when I woke up, I was already in this room. "

"How are you feeling now?" I ask.

"I'm good." She shrugs. "I think I might need the painkillers for a while, though." She chuckles lightly, ruffling Aiden's hair as he lays his head on the mattress. Her eyebrows furrow as she scrutinizes me. "How are you feeling?"

I let out a long sigh. "I told you."

"Traumatized?" She grins, and her eyes soften. "Come on. You said that you wanted to have four children?"

I did?

I shake my head in disagreement. "No. No way," I deadpan.

The sound of the door being opened shifts our attention, and I watch as a nurse comes in, pushing a tray carrying a baby box, in which Luna sleeps, wrapped in her pink blanket.

Aiden's eyes sparkle in delight, while I'm still starstruck myself, staring at my daughter in awe. I can't express the feeling—there's just too much beauty in that little form.

The nurse takes Luna out of her box and places her beside Cassie so that they are now lying on the bed side by side. As Cassie leans closer to Luna, I notice that her eyes become teary. She's staring at our daughter with so much adoration.

"She's so tiny." Aiden giggles. He can't take his eyes off Luna either .

I never thought that I could be happier until now, with Luna finally here with us. Her presence brightens our life even more.

"Say hi to you little sister, Aiden," Cassie says.

Aiden grins. "Hi, Luna. Welcome to the world. I'm going to be the best brother ever."