by Red Phoenix
“I just want to see her little fingers and toes,” Kylie said wistfully.
“There’s no reason you can’t,” Brie assured her. “They swaddle them tightly to keep the baby calm, but there’s no harm in her mama taking a peek.”
Kylie carefully loosened the blanket and freed her tiny hands and feet. “Oh, my goodness. Look how perfect they are.”
Brie saw the flash of pride in Faelan’s eyes. “Perfect.”
Kylie stared up at him, shaking her head in amazement. “We did this! Can you believe it? We made this little bundle of cuteness.”
He chuckled. “You did all of the work. I just enjoyed the benefits.”
“I love you,” she murmured, tears filling her eyes.
Reaching down, Faelan caressed Kylie’s cheek. “I love you more than I can say.”
Kylie smiled. “Me, too.”
With Brie’s help, she wrapped the baby back up.
Staring at her, Kylie laughed. “I still can’t believe we have a little girl.”
Brie got out her phone and instructed Faelan to get closer to Kylie so she could take a picture. “No need to say cheese. The looks on your faces say everything.”
She took several pictures and then looked at them, murmuring, “Adorable.” As she was putting her phone away, an alarm sounded on the monitor. She looked up and saw Kylie was suddenly as white as a ghost.
Kylie stared at Faelan and whispered, “Help…”
Kylie
After she cried for help, Kylie’s body suddenly went limp and the baby rolled off her chest, getting wedged against the railing of the bed.
“Kylie!” Faelan screamed, grabbing her.
Brie picked up the wailing child and backed away, staring at Kylie in horror as alarms sounded all around them.
Dr. Glas came rushing in with a team of people and a crash cart and began barking orders.
Faelan shouted at him, “Help her, God damn it!”
The room erupted into pure chaos. Brie just stood frozen in place as memories of Tono dying in the recovery room flashed in her mind.
“You need to get out of here. You’re in my way!” Dr. Glas told Faelan. The desperation Brie heard in the doctor’s voice frightened her.
Faelan yelled at Dr. Glas. “You have to save her!”
“That’s what I’m trying to do!”
“Kylie!” Faelan screamed in anguish, reaching out to her.
One of the nurses whipped the baby out of Brie’s hands and headed out the door. Understanding how dire the situation was, Brie grabbed Faelan and pulled him out of the room. “We have to give Dr. Glas room to work.”
Once in the hallway, Brie wrapped her arms around him as they listened to the staff frantically working on Kylie.
One of the other nurses tried to direct them to the waiting room, but Faelan refused to budge. “I’m not leaving my wife!”
Knowing nothing would convince him to leave Kylie’s side, Brie assured the nurse by saying, “I’ll make sure we stay out of the way.”
Faelan stiffened when Dr. Glas shouted to his staff, “Charge to 300. Clear!”
The sound of the defibrillator echoed through the open door. Brie whimpered when the terrifying whining of the monitor continued without any change.
Each second was agony.
“Again!” Dr. Glas commanded. “Clear!”
Faelan squeezed Brie tighter as the minutes passed, a sense of dread consuming them both.
Come back, Kylie! Please come back! Brie begged silently.
Dr. Glas worked tirelessly trying to get Kylie’s heart beating again.
It came as a shock when Dr. Glas finally announced to his team, “I have tried everything I can and am ready to call the code. Anybody else have anything?”
Brie heard Faelan gasp.
The question was met with silence by the staff.
“Okay…” Dr. Glas sighed from exhaustion and defeat. “Code called at 4:52.”
The nurses began the process of removing all of the monitors. Brie saw the tears in Dr. Glas’s eyes when he turned to leave and noticed the two of them standing just outside the doorway.
He joined them in the hall. “We did everything we could to save her, but she’s gone. I’m…” He cleared his throat, his voice gruff with sorrow. “I’m profoundly sorry.”
Faelan stared at him in silence, the shock of her death not registering.
Brie’s voice quavered when she asked, “What happened?”
“She suffered a cardiac arrest.”
“How is that possible?” Faelan demanded.
Dr. Glas frowned, shaking his head. “Her vitals were excellent the entire delivery. I have to assume it was a blood clot. They’re known to cause ischemia during labor.”
He put his hand on Faelan’s shoulder, looking at him with profound sorrow. “I wish I’d been able to save her.”
Faelan stared past him into the room, his voice distant. “I never got the chance to say goodbye.”
Dr. Glas immediately ordered the nurses to stop what they were doing and leave the room. “Please take as much time as you need.”
Faelan entered the room and slowly shut the door behind him.
Brie couldn’t breathe as she turned and walked to the waiting room. She felt completely numb, but the moment she saw Sir, the tears began to fall.
“What happened?” Sir asked, rushing to her.
“Kylie’s gone…” she muttered, not believing it.
“Come,” Sir insisted, escorting her to a private room set aside for grieving families.
As soon as they were alone, Brie unleashed her tears. She grabbed onto Sir, sobbing uncontrollably, completely rocked by Kylie’s unexpected death.
“How did this happen?” he asked her gently.
She swallowed several times, trying to find her voice. “Dr. Glas said it was cardiac arrest.” She looked up at him, her bottom lip trembling. “One moment she was smiling at her baby, and the next I hear her cry ‘Help’ and she was gone.”
She pressed her head into his chest. “There was nothing they could do…”
“Oh, my God,” Sir groaned. “What about the baby?”
“She’s completely healthy.”
“‘She?’”
“Turns out the ultrasound was wrong. They have a little girl.”
They have… The present tense no longer applied now that Kylie was gone, and Brie broke into a fresh set of tears.
“Was it a complicated delivery?” he asked gruffly. Brie could tell Sir was struggling with the shock of Kylie’s death.
“No…” she whimpered. “It was an easy birth.”
He squeezed her tighter. “I can only imagine what Wallace is going through right now.”
Brie nodded, choking out, “He’s living out the nightmare I almost experienced with you…” A sob escaped her lips. “I don’t know how he is going to survive this.”
Sir handed her several tissues, stating with compassion, “Wallace has friends and family who will support him.”
While Brie blew her nose and wiped away her tears, Sir called Marquis on his cell to let him know what had happened.
After a short conversation, he hung up and told her, “Gray and Celestia are coming.”
“Good.” Brie nodded, feeling numb. “He will need their strength.”
Lifting her chin, Sir looked into her eyes. “I know this is difficult for you, Brie. You’ve been through so much today. But, for Wallace’s sake, you will need to be strong. It is not only Wallace we need to protect, but their baby.”
Fresh tears welled up in her eyes. “At least he has her…”
Sir nodded, but she noticed the troubled look in his eyes.
“What are you worried about?”
“If I were in his position, I would find it difficult to care for the child. Especially in his current state—”
Sir was interrupted by a light rap on the door. He told Brie to stay where she was while he walked over to open it.
One of
the nurses informed him, “Mr. Wallace would like to speak with you.” He glanced over at Brie. “With both of you.”
Sir held out his hand to Brie. “Are you ready?”
Brie swallowed hard but nodded. Taking a deep breath, she forced down her heartache and wiped away her remaining tears with a huge wad of tissues. Throwing them in the wastebasket, she took Sir’s hand and headed out the door.
The nurse escorted them directly to Dr. Glas’s private office.
Sir informed her, “We have two friends of his coming. Could you bring them here when they arrive?”
“Certainly.”
When they entered the room, Brie saw Faelan standing near the window staring down at the courtyard below.
He glanced at them briefly before looking out the window again. His voice sounded hollow when he finally spoke. “I can’t believe it. One moment Kylie and I are celebrating the birth of our child and the next she is gone.” He lowered his head. “But she can’t be gone.”
“Is there anything we can do for you?” Sir asked.
Faelan shrugged, looking out the window again. With a tone of finality, he said, “There is nothing anyone can do.”
Brie felt the immense pain radiating from him and struggled not to break down again. She knew from her own experience that nothing could ease the agony he was suffering right now.
“I don’t want this,” he stated, staring out the window.
Sir looked at him with sympathy. “It’s a reality no one should have to face.”
A lone tear rolled down Faelan’s cheek. “The last thing she said was ‘Help’.” He let out a strangled cry. “I couldn’t do anything but watch her die.”
Brie swallowed hard, trying to keep the painful lump in her throat from choking her as images of Kylie’s last seconds replayed in her mind.
“There was nothing you could do,” Sir assured him.
Faelan turned on Sir, pounding his chest. “It was my job to protect her! She had a bad feeling the entire day, but I assumed she felt that way because it was her first time.”
“We all did,” Brie choked out.
“I didn’t listen to her!” he growled, turning away from them both. “And now she’s dead.”
Brie felt the hairs rise on her neck. Faelan was talking as if he was responsible for her death. “This is a tragedy, Faelan. It’s no one’s fault.”
He turned to face Brie. When he met her gaze, the depth of his pain paralyzed her. “You heard her, Brie. How many times did she tell us she was afraid?”
Brie’s lip trembled when she recalled the fear in Kylie’s voice. Sir put his arms around her in support.
“You did everything you could to comfort your wife,” Sir told him, adding firmly, “You are not at fault.”
Faelan shook his head and turned to stare out the window in silence. They remained that way until there was a knock on the door and Marquis Gray and Celestia walked into the room.
When Marquis entered and saw Faelan, he walked straight over and held out his arms in a fatherly gesture.
Faelan hesitated for a moment before accepting the embrace, muttering, “She’s gone, Asher…”
Brie closed her eyes, trying desperately to keep back the flood of tears. The rawness of watching Kylie die, a young mother with so much to live for, had her heart completely shattered.
“Can I pray for you?” Marquis asked him.
When Faelan nodded, Marquis motioned all of them to join him.
Laying his hand on Faelan’s shoulder, Marquis said in a powerful voice, “Lord, you said those who mourn will be comforted. We ask that you send your comfort now. Wrap Todd in your arms and hold him tight. Be with him in his sorrow, uphold him with your strength and, through the generosity of love shown by others, may he know he is not alone.”
They stood as one, silently grieving Kylie’s death.
The silence was broken when they heard a light rap on the door. One of the neonatal nurses peeked, in holding the baby. “I’m sorry to disturb you, but it’s time to feed her. Would you like—?”
Faelan immediately answered, “No…” He choked on the words when he added, “…not yet.”
She looked at him with compassion and turned to leave.
“Please, bring the child here,” Marquis stated. “I would like to meet her.”
The nurse hesitated until Faelan nodded his approval.
Marquis held out his hands and took the infant, gesturing to Celestia to join him. She smiled down at the child, taking her tiny hand. “Aren’t you a precious thing?”
Brie remembered how intently the baby had stared at Kylie just a few hours ago. It crushed her to know this little baby would never know her mother.
It was horribly unfair.
Tears pricking her eyes, Brie fought against them, not wanting to add to Faelan’s pain.
Marquis looked down at the child and smiled warmly. “Welcome to the world, little one.”
The baby squirmed in his arms and began to cry.
Celestia gently asked Faelan, “Would it be okay if the nurse instructed me on how to feed her? I’ve never had the privilege before.”
Letting out a long, anguished sigh, Faelan turned and stared out the window. After several seconds, he gave a curt nod.
Celestia quietly followed the nurse out of the room with the fussing baby. They left a painful silence in their wake.
“What am I supposed to do?” Faelan demanded angrily. “This was supposed to be the best day of our lives.” His whole body started shaking. “I can’t go back to an empty home. I won’t!”
“I would like you and your daughter to stay with us,” Marquis answered evenly.
Faelan turned on him, narrowing his eyes. “You can’t make this all better, Asher.”
Marquis met his intense gaze without flinching. “No, I can’t.”
“I want my wife back! I want…” His voice trailed off. “…Kylie to be fucking here with me.”
Brie choked on the growing lump in her throat. “I’m so sorry, Faelan.”
He glanced at her. “You were there. You’re the only one who understands.”
She nodded, filled with overwhelming grief. “I can’t believe she’s gone.”
“Kylie is everything to me,” he stated, his gaze boring into her.
“I know,” Brie whispered.
“She is the one who got me through the heartbreak after Mary. She’s the one who helped me heal from the guilt of killing Trevor.” Faelan unconsciously brushed the eye patch on his left eye, “She made me whole again after Russia. I became a better man because of her.” He stared back out the window. “But none of it matters now.”
Brie felt a prickling sensation when she heard his last words.
“It does matter,” Sir insisted. “You have a child to care for.”
Faelan turned on him, his eyes flashing in a warning. “Don’t even go there…”
Instead of backing down, Sir moved closer. “You don’t have the luxury of giving up, Wallace. You have a daughter who needs you.”
Faelan howled in rage, slamming Sir’s chest hard with both fists. The impact pushed him backward.
Sir steadied himself and looked Faelan in the eye. “Do that again.”
“Are you seriously trying to provoke me at a time like this? What the fuck is wrong with you!”
“Now is not the time,” Marquis warned Sir.
Sir raised his hand to Marquis. “Stay out of this, Gray.”
Brie stared at the two men, trembling in fear.
“Hit me,” Sir commanded.
Faelan sneered at him. “No.”
As soon as the word left his mouth, Sir punched him.
“This is enough!” Marquis stated, moving in to intervene.
Faelan held nothing back when he started wailing on Sir. Brie stood frozen in place as she watched Sir take Faelan’s pent-up fury without attempting to defend himself.
Eventually, Faelan stopped, panting heavily as he stared Sir down.
; Sir slowly wiped the blood from his lip. “Your wife is dead. It’s okay to cry.”
Faelan backed away from him as if he’d been hit. Shaking his head, he turned and retreated to a corner. After several moments, his shoulders began to shake as a heart-wrenching sob escaped his lips.
Sir walked to him, wrapping an arm around Faelan in support as he roared out in pain, releasing the anger and shock of Kylie’s death.
Hearing his raw anguish tore at Brie’s heart—the sound of it was something she would never forget.
Marquis joined Brie. He hugged her tightly, imparting his strength, as they stood back and listened to Faelan’s desperate cries of grief.
Dr. Glas appeared, opening his office door with a concerned look on his face. As soon as he saw Faelan was being comforted, he quietly withdrew. However, Brie did not miss the look of torment in the doctor’s eyes when he’d glanced at her before closing it.
It was obvious he was tormented by Kylie’s death as well.
So many lives shattered on a day that should have been a celebration.
Hours later, Sir was able to convince Faelan to leave the hospital. He refused to see the baby when the nurse asked.
“I need time to adjust to this,” he explained.
After she left the room, he frowned. “Right now, I would switch out the baby for Kylie in a heartbeat.” He muttered, “The child doesn’t deserve that…”
Before he was allowed to leave, Faelan was handed a form and instructed, “You’ll need to fill out the birth certificate and get it to us when you come to pick her up tomorrow.”
Faelan stared blankly at the piece of paper, then said in a strangled voice, “We never came up with a name for her.”
Marquis clapped him on the shoulder, taking the paper from him. “There is time for everything. Right now, you need to rest.”
Faelan shook his head, choking out the words. “Oh, God… I have to call Kylie’s parents.”
“I’ll call them,” Sir replied.
Faelan nodded, saying nothing as he unlocked his phone and handed it over.
After Sir had added the number to his and handed it back, Celestia slipped her arm around Faelan. “Let’s get you out of here.”
Before he left, Faelan turned to Sir. “How did you know to do that?”
