by J. O Mantel
“Sienna-”
“Where’s Lukas?” Sienna asked again, this time a little louder.
“Sienna, just calm down. Take some deep breaths” Robbie tried to calm her.
“Honey are you all right?” Margaret asked, looking at Sienna’s pale complexion.
“Where’s Lukas?” She asked again, this time she was almost yelling.
Everybody now turned their attention to Sienna. The sudden revelation had caused her to go into severe shock, as she continued to stare at the stage.
“Where’s Lukas?” She kept saying.
“Honey… ” Carl paused as he looked at his daughter. “Sienna, darling please calm down.”
“I want to see Lukas. Where is he?” Sienna asked.
Jake watched in horror as Sienna just sat there, staring at him, wondering what in the world had just happened. Everyone was whispering things like ‘how the fuck?’ Or ‘surely this is a joke.’ But Sienna, still hadn’t said very much at all. All she kept doing was calling Lukas’s name.
“Someone get me Lukas. I want to see Lukas.”
“Sweetheart… Jake… is Lukas. Lukas… is Jake. Oh my God” Margaret sobbed.
“How the hell?” Emily gasped.
“I love you Sienna and I know you probably-” Jake was in tears, he hated seeing Sienna like this.
“LUKAS!” Sienna yelled, finally standing up.
“Sienna… I AM Lukas. I’m Lukas Dark, I have been all this time.” Jake was pleading with her.
“No! I need to see Lukas” Sienna continued.
“She’s in shock. This isn’t good for her” Ivy said.
Carl and Margaret consoled their daughter, trying to keep her as calm as possible.
Sienna’s eyes rolled in her head and she suddenly let out a large cry of pain as she doubled over. She could feel a gush of water pour down her thighs. She held her stomach in pain and screamed.
She was in labor.
Jake watched as Sienna suddenly bent over in pain, screaming, he quickly jumped off the stage and ran through the crowd to her.
“Sienna-”
“Don’t, Jake!” Olivia snapped.
“But, mom-”
“Can’t you see what you’ve done?” She snapped again. “We need to get her to the hospital.”
Dick pulled out his cell and immediately rang for an ambulance.
“How could you do this, Jake?” Margaret asked.
“Please, I-”
“Jake, I think you need to leave” his mother said.
“But, mom-”
“Drop it son” Tom cut in.
“But you don’t understand-”
“JUST GO JAKE!” Ivy yelled at him.
All Jake could do was look around him. His family just stared at him with nothing to say. Ivy, Robbie and Margaret helped Sienna to her feet, and escorted her out of the center.
Jake just stood and watched, as everyone he loved, turned and walked away, leaving him standing there on his own.
He had to do something; that was his family.
After watching everything unfold before them, the two bands made their way off stage and headed over to Jake.
“I can’t just stand here and do nothing” Jake said, looking at Matt.
“Come on Jake, you can’t tell me that you didn’t see this coming.”
“I didn’t expect her to go into labor.”
“That’s not what I meant, Jake” Matt replied.
“I love her, Matt. I can’t lose her.”
“When we created this secret Jake, I warned you-”
“Hold on, Matt, you knew?” Tori interrupted.
Matt looked around at his band, and the members of Lightning Ridge. “It wasn’t my secret to tell.” Everyone was speechless.
“I’m not going to stand around here and do nothing. I’m going to the hospital” Jake said.
He quickly ran backstage, grabbed his things and headed for the car.
The others did the same and quickly followed Jake to the hospital.
When he arrived at the hospital, Jake ran straight to the nurses’ station.
“Sienna Forrester” he yelled at one of the nurses.
“What?” The nurse replied.
“I’m looking for Sienna Forrester. Where is she?” Jake demanded.
“Excuse me sir, you can’t just barge in here-”
“Mom” Jake called out, noticing his mother at the end of the corridor and running over to her.
“Mom. Where is she?” Jake asked.
Olivia and Tom both remained silent, they looked at one another before turning their eyes to Jake.
“They’ve taken her straight to O.R.” Olivia said.
Jake tried to make a run for it, but his father reached out and pulled Jake back.
“Not a good idea, son” Tom said.
“But dad-”
“Jake, she doesn’t want you in there” his mom said.
“What? But I have to see her-”
Before he could finish his sentence, he felt a hand collide with the side of his cheek.
“What the fuck were you thinking?” He turned and saw a furious Emily staring at him, Chris was by her side.
“Em, I-”
“Don’t even try and give me excuses, Jake. I want to know the truth. Why? Why the hell did you do this?”
He looked around, everyone stared right back at him. Clearly they all wanted answers.
“I have to go in there and see Sienna. She needs me.”
At that moment, Margaret came crashing through the doors.
“Carl? Margaret? How is she?” Jake asked.
“Well she’s in labor Jake, how do you think she is?” Margaret answered.
“Please, I have to see her.”
“You’re not going anywhere until we get some answers, Jake. Or do we call you Lukas?” His mother asked.
Frustrated, angry and concerned for Sienna, Jake was outnumbered. There was no use fighting this.
“Please. That’s my family in there. I love her.”
“Why, Jake? Why did you do it? It’s one thing to fool the world for five years, but your parents? Your own family?” Olivia said, angrily.
At that moment, Robbie and the rest of Sienna’s brothers and sisters arrived at the hospital.
“Mom, I’m sorry. Please try to understand.”
“I’m trying Jake, believe me I am.”
He looked at them all, no one was letting him into that O.R until they had some sort of answers.
“I did it because I love her. I’ve always loved her. And I’ll never stop loving her.”
“Do you have any idea what you’ve put her through?” Margaret said.
“What you’ve put us all through, Jake. Not knowing whether we were going to be the grandparents of those children, but yet, you knew all along that those twins were yours.” Olivia continued.
“Mom, I know.”
“Do you? Do you Jake? I don’t think so.”
“Mom please let me explain later. Right now, I really need to see Sienna. I need to make sure she’s all right.”
“She’s fine! Ivy’s with her. She doesn’t want you in there Jake, and I’m not going back on her wishes” Margaret said, forcefully.
“This wasn’t easy for me. I had no choice. I did it for Sienna, for us” Jake started to cry. He loved her, and all he wanted, more than anything right now, was to be in that O.R with his family.
Margaret left to go to back to Sienna, while Olivia went to sit in the nearby waiting room.
“Em, please understand-”
“Don’t, Jake. Just don’t” Emily replied. She and Chris turned and walked away, leaving Jake with his father, Carl, and Sienna’s brothers and sisters.
“Carl, please understand why I did this. I did it for her.”
Carl didn’t say a word. Jake could see the tears in Carl’s eyes, as he ran his hands through his greying hair. Tom looked at his son, lost for words himself. He quickly turned away and Jake could s
ee the tears forming in his eyes also. Carl and Tom walked down the corridor, leaving Jake standing outside the doors with Robbie and the others.
“If anything happens to Sienna or those twins Jake, you’ll have me to answer to” Robbie said. The rest of her family stared at Jake, before turning and following Robbie down the corridor. Jake was all alone.
He sat down on the chairs and put his head between his legs, running his hands through his hair.
“What have I done?” He whispered.
Inside the O.R, Sienna squeezed Ivy’s hand, almost breaking her fingers.
“Ouch” Ivy said.
“I’m sorry,” Sienna panted. Sweat was dripping down her face, Margaret wet some towels and gently dabbed her face, trying to cool her off.
“How far apart are the contractions?” Margaret asked.
“About ten minutes or so,” Ivy replied, still clutching Sienna’s hand. The door to the O.R opened and a midwife walked over to Sienna.
“Sienna, I know it’s hard, but I need you to not push. As you know one of the twins is breech, so you are going to have to have a Caesarian. We are just waiting for the anesthetist to finish up in another surgery, then we are going to work on getting those babies born. It’s going to be a bit scary for you, I know that, because there are going to be quite a few people in here helping you along. Once the anesthetist is here, he will numb your stomach area and then the surgeon will commence with the Caesarian. In no time at all you will have two beautiful babies to hold. Do you have any questions before we get started?”
“Can you please make the pain stop?” Sienna begged.
“I’ll be back shortly, with the doctor and the anesthetist, and then we can make the pain go away,” the midwife explained, before she left.
Margaret left with the midwife, leaving Ivy and Sienna alone.
“Why, Ivy? Why did he do this?”
“I don’t know, Sienna. I wish I had answers for you.”
“I love him.”
“What?” Ivy said.
“I do. I love him, Ivy.” Tears fell from her eyes, and she could feel another contraction coming.
“What the hell is taking these doctors so long?” Ivy said in frustration.
Sienna concentrated on her breathing, while Ivy continued to hold her hand. The pain was unbearable for Sienna and she was ready to push.
“I need to push Ivy.”
“No! Sienna you can’t.”
“Get them out, Ivy.”
Ivy let go of Sienna’s hand and ran out into the corridor.
“Please, we need some help. I don’t know how much longer she can hold off pushing,” Ivy told one of the nurses.
Margaret joined Ivy, and the two of them went back into the delivery room.
“Sweetheart, are you all right?” Margaret asked.
Sienna looked at her and bared her teeth.
“I’m sorry, that was a poor choice of words. Darling you need to try and stay calm, you can’t push, it’s dangerous.”
The two of them watched as Sienna’s contraction finally started to settle.
The doors opened again and the midwife entered the room.
She checked Sienna’s blood pressure, and ordered one of the other nurses to come in and assist her.
“DRUGS! I NEED FUCKING DRUGS!” Sienna screamed.
At that moment, one of the doctors stepped into the O.R, he had on a surgery gown, and asked a nurse to supply Ivy and Margaret with gowns to wear too. “Okay, Sienna. Let’s get those babies out” the doctor said.
“JAKE!” Sienna called.
“He’s here Sienna, right outside” Margaret said.
“JAKE!” She screamed again.
Margaret ran out the door and grabbed Jake from the corridor.
He crashed through the doors and raced straight over to Sienna, squeezing her hand.
“I’m here, baby” he said, pulling the hair out of her face. Margaret, and Ivy left the room, leaving Jake and Sienna alone. One of the nurses handed Jake a gown, and he put it on before sitting beside Sienna again.
“I love you,” he whispered, but Sienna didn’t say a word.
The anesthetist finally arrived and started to administer the anesthetic.
“Okay Sienna, are you ready?” The doctor asked.
Sienna nodded and the doctor slowly started making the incision.
Jake held onto Sienna’s hand, as the medical team performed the procedure that would bring their children into the world. At 11:30pm Jake and Sienna heard the cries of their first baby.
“Congratulations, you have a boy,” the midwife said, handing the baby over to a nurse, so she could wrap him in a blanket. Their next baby, a daughter, was born five minutes later at 11:35pm Once again, the nurse wrapped her in a blanket.
Jake looked at Sienna and smiled. She was pale and her eyes started to close.
“Sienna?”
“Sienna!” He yelled.
Suddenly the O.R was in panic, medical staff were rushing around everywhere.
“She’s hemorrhaged” the nurse said.
“What? What’s going on?” Jake asked.
“Get him out of here,” the doctor said.
Jake was forced out of the room by the nurse.
“Sienna! What’s happening?”
Olivia, Tom, Margaret and Carl came racing over to him.
“Jake?” His mom called.
“It’s-it’s Sienna. Something’s wrong.”
“Jake what happened? Are the twins okay?” Olivia asked.
“They’re fine. It’s Sienna. Oh God!” He sobbed.
“Jake what is it?” Tom asked.
“I don’t know. The nurse said something about a hemorrhage.”
“Oh, God. Sienna?” Margaret cried.
“Why won’t they tell us anything?” Jake said.
Inside the O.R the doctor tried to stop the hemorrhage. Sienna remained unconscious and unresponsive.
“SHE’S FLATLINED” the nurse yelled, as the heart monitor sounded a single long beep.
The doctor grabbed a defibrillator, charged it and placed it on Sienna’s chest.
“CLEAR” he yelled.
Sienna’s body jolted, but she remained unresponsive.
“AGAIN” the nurse called.
“CLEAR” he yelled once more. Sienna was still unresponsive.
He charged it up once more, and placed it on Sienna’s chest again.
“CLEAR” he yelled, as Sienna’s body jolted once again.
“CLEAR” he yelled, one final time. Sienna’s body jolted again, and this time, the heart monitor started beeping again.
“She’s back” the nurse said.
“What’s going on in there?” Jake said. “Why won’t they tell us anything?”
A midwife came out of the room. Jake was quick to run over to her.
“Excuse me? Sienna Forrester? What happened?”
“I’m sorry, I don’t have time to explain right now-”
“That’s my girlfriend in there and the mother of my children. I have a right to know what’s going on.”
Margaret, Tom, Olivia and Carl stood up.
“Sienna’s suffered a major hemorrhage, as a result of the caesarian, and some internal bleeding. She flatlined for some time, but we managed to revive her. We’re trying to control the bleeding at the moment.”
“Oh my God,” Margaret sobbed.
“Is she going to be all right?” Carl asked.
“The doctor is doing everything he can.”
“Wait! What caused he hemorrhage in the first place?” Jake asked.
“Her notes show that a few weeks back she suffered a fall down some stairs?”
“Yes, that’s correct. But her doctor told her that she was fine and just needed bed rest” Margaret said.
“It’s unclear at this stage, but it looks as though the fall may have ruptured her womb somehow. The pressure of carrying twins would have only added to the stress, that’s possibly what’s caused the bl
eeding. I’m sorry but I really have to go.”
She turned and raced back into the O.R.
“Oh God! This is all my fault” Jake sobbed.
“Jake. This isn’t your fault. You can’t go blaming yourself for what’s-”
“If she dies… ”
Olivia wrapped her arms around him and pulled him in. He sobbed in her arms.
Carl comforted Margaret while Emily hugged Chris and her father, tears streaming down all their faces.
Sienna had been in surgery for almost four hours. Jake and the others waited frantically for a doctor, or someone to come out, and give them some answers.
“I’m going to go to the nursery” Jake said, standing up.
“Jake I’ll-”
“Leave him, Em. He needs to be alone” Chris said.
Once Jake reached the nursery, one of the midwives handed him a gown to put on before entering. Once inside he crept over to the two cribs, where his children lay. He picked up his son and cradled him in his arms. His jet black hair was messy, much like Jake’s, beautiful blue eyes and an olive complexion. He kissed him on the forehead, gently before placing him back in the crib.
Next, he picked up his daughter. She didn’t have as much hair as her brother, but the very little hair that she did have was much lighter and thinner than his, more like her mother’s, but she too had an olive complexion.
Jake cradled her in his arms as tears fell, he just needed Sienna to be there with him.
“She’s beautiful,” Jake looked up and saw his mother standing beside him.
“Yeah, she is. Just like her mother. Would you like to hold your granddaughter?” Jake asked.
Olivia nodded in acknowledgment and put on one of the gowns. Gently, Jake placed his daughter into his mother’s arms.
He watched as Olivia cradled her granddaughter, kissing her softly on the forehead. Jake looked over her shoulder and saw Margaret walk inside the nursery. “Any word on Sienna?” He asked.
“No. Not yet” Margaret replied.
“Would you like to say hello to your grandson, Margaret?” Jake asked.
Margaret looked as if she was about to cry. Another midwife handed Margaret a gown and Jake picked up his son.
“Hey, buddy. There’s someone here who wants to meet you” he picked him up and gently placed him in Margaret’s arms, and she carefully cradled him.
“Hello there handsome” she said, kissing his forehead.
