Home for the Holidays Ch. 05-07

"It'll be okay, Mom, you know Bekka's too tough to let anything happen to her or the baby. She's strong and she'll be fine."

We stood against the wall, watching as they wheeled Bekka out of the room and down to the delivery room. Steven held her hand until a nurse pulled him from her side and took him to get ready.

"We love you, Bekka," Mom called. "We love you."

"Come on, Mom, there isn't anything we can do now." I took her hand and pulled her toward the waiting room.

We stood in the middle of the room, holding hands in a circle while Mom said a prayer for Bekka. When the final Amen came, I sank down into my chair, adding my own prayer. Deep down, I feared something bad was about to happen, something that was going to change everything.

In what seemed like no time at all, Steven was back at the door. He was dressed in scrubs over his street clothes and still had on the hat and mask. Above the mask, his eyes were rimmed in red and his hands shook. "Good God, Steven," I said, going to him and leading him to a chair. "What's wrong? It's not Bekka and the baby..."

"The baby is fine," he said, his voice monotone, betraying his shock. "She's a bit on the small side and has to go into NICU for a few days."

"What about Bekka?" Mom asked.

"Her blood pressure was all over the place. They got her stabilized, but they need to keep an eye on it. They're worried about a stroke or something." He let his head drop into his hands. "She could have died in there."

"He actually looks as if he cared," Nicky whispered to me.

"Yes, he does." I sat down next to him. "You've almost got me convinced that you care, Steven."

"I didn't know I did, not until I could have lost her." He looked up at me with tears in his eyes. "Bekka can be very hard to live with, Kenna, you know that. But she's been the only woman I've ever been with who has had faith enough in me to think that I can do anything I put my mind to. I can't lose her now."

"What about the baby?"

"Her name is Rose Elise," he said softly. "She's beautiful. She has Bekka's golden hair and my eyes. I never thought I'd be so excited to have a baby."

"What about Diane?" I whispered.

"In the past," he stated. "I'm a father now. I have to act like one."

He glanced up at my parents. "I hope to one day have a family like you do, sir."

Just then, the doctor came in, seeing Steven and heading his way.

"We have your wife situated in her room. She needs quiet and rest. We'll continue to monitor her blood pressure but we've got her stabilized. You can go in and visit but keep them short and don't excite her in anyway."

"Thank you, doctor," my mom said, giving the startled man a hug. "You've given us two Christmas miracles tonight."

The doctor flushed. "You're welcome." He beat a hasty escape. "Merry Christmas to you all."

"Can we see the baby?" I asked, eager to see my niece. I would stay away from my sister, I didn't want her upset and my presence always managed to make her upset.

"She's in an incubator down at the nursery. They aren't going to move her to peds, at least not tonight. She mostly needs some oxygen and some time under a heating lamp."

I gave my mom a hug. "Congratulations, Grandma. I'm going down to see the baby. Give Bekka my love, okay?"

Mom nodded, understanding. "We'll be down there after we see Bekka, then I think we need to get home and get some rest. Bekka's going to need a lot of help when she brings home little Rose."

Nicky followed me down to see the baby. She was beautiful, not all red and wrinkled like most babies. She had rosy cheeks and her eyes were open and looking at us.

"Wow," Nicky said, coming up behind me. "She is beautiful."

"Steven's going to have his hands full when she figures out boys don't have cooties."

"It'll do him good."

We stood and watched her stretch in her small crib, her arms flying about as she kicked her feet. Her fist brushed her little rosebud of a mouth and she opened it, trying to stuff her fist into her mouth. "I think she's hungry."

"Aren't they always," Nicky said.

"I don't know. I don't know much about babies. I helped Mom with Mara but I didn't do much babysitting when I was a kid."

We stepped aside when Mom and Dad showed up with Mara. They cooed and fussed over pretty little Rose until Mom was finally pulled away.

"Let's get home. We don't want Santa thinking we aren't in bed waiting for him now, do we?"

"Oh come on, Mom, I think even Mara realizes that there isn't a Santa."

"I do not," Mara declared, her hands on her hips. "There is too a Santa and he has a huge Discovery card with no spending limit."

"Sounds like my dream man," I mumbled to Nicky, who shook his head at me. I yawned. It had been a long day.

"All right, troops. Let's go home," Dad said. We left the hospital, marching across the frigid parking lot and piling into the car. Despite my nap earlier, I was having trouble staying awake. So I leaned my head against Nicky and closed my eyes, letting the others talk above me.