The nurse raised her eyebrows and Ella got the message. “Yes,” she said, nodding her head slowly as she grabbed the pen. “I am a blood relative.”
The nurse smiled. “Fine, just initial here. She’s in room 305.”
Ella initialed the box and mouthed the words ‘thank you’ to the nurse before she ran down the hall to find Hannah’s room.
Room 305 was just around the corner. The door was ajar and Ella could hear Trent’s reassuring voice trying to calm Hannah. Ella stuck her fingers through the door in a small wave. She didn’t want to just enter and interrupt their intimate moment.
“Hi,” Ella said softly, peeking in further so they could tell she was there.
“El! I’m so glad you—aaaaaahhhhh!” Hannah screamed in pain.
“It’s okay, babe, breathe, just breathe. Remember, in through the nose and out through the,”
“I’ll tell you what you can breathe out of!” Hannah hissed at Trent.
Ella ran over to Hannah’s bedside and grabbed her free hand. Hannah squeezed it hard as she screamed through her contraction. When it was over, she collapsed on the bed in a pool of sweat.
“You’re doing great,” Ella said, wiping Hannah’s head with a cold cloth.
Trent looked at Ella from the other side of the bed and nodded in relief. She could tell he was glad reinforcements were there.
They stayed with Hannah for another hour until the doctor came in and after examining Hannah, told her it was time to push. The nurses outfitted Trent and Ella with surgical masks, gowns and gloves and prepared them for what was about to happen.
Within minutes, Hannah was sitting up and pushing hard. After a few piercing screams, Hannah fell back onto the bed with tears rolling down her face as the doctor held up her little baby girl.
“It’s a girl! And she’s perfect!”
“Oh my gosh!” Trent cried when he saw his daughter. He kissed Hannah and held onto her hand, tears forming in his eyes as he gazed at his new baby.
Ella stood perfectly still, shaking at the enormity of what had just taken place. “She’s, she’s amazing…” she said softly, unable to put words to the miracle that she saw in front of her.
“I want to hold her,” Hannah said, pulling her hand out of Trent’s and reaching for her baby. The doctor clamped the umbilical cord and the nurses cleaned and swaddled the little girl. A few seconds later, a clean and fresh baby was nestled snugly in her mother’s arms.
“She’s so beautiful,” Hannah said through her tears.
“She is, she's just perfect,” said Ella, unable to control her emotions as her own eyes filled with tears of joy for her friend. They sat in silence, just looking at the child as she wriggled in Hannah’s arms.
Trent reached down and picked her up, holding her close as he spoke. “Well hello, Jessica, my beautiful little girl!” He kissed her rosy skin and smiled down at her.
Ella wasn't sure how much time passed as she stood gazing at the new family, then Trent looked up at her.
“Do you want to hold her?” he asked.
Ella looked at Trent and then at Hannah. Of course she wanted to hold her! She nodded through her tears and held her arms out.
Trent placed the little bundle in Ella’s arms and she wrapped her hands around the child. Her heart filled with emotions she couldn’t describe as she stared down at Jessica, unable to take her eyes off of the beautiful little girl in her arms. Ella instinctively rocked back and forth and began cooing to the baby. A few moments later she handed Jessica back to her parents.
Ella hugged Trent and then leaned in and kissed Hannah on the cheek. “I’ll leave you guys alone,” she said, smiling. She walk
ed over to the door and turned back for one more look. She saw Trent, sitting on the edge of the bed with his arm wrapped around Hannah. His eyes moved from Hannah to Jessica and were glistening with joy.
“I love you,” he said to Hannah, leaning down to kiss her on the lips.
She turned her tear stained face to meet his. “I love you so much,” she said, reaching up to take his face in her hands. They pressed their foreheads together and smiled, looking down at the new life they had created.
Ella felt her heart tumble over with joy. She walked out of the room, closed the door behind her and then leaned against it, letting the whole experience sink in. She felt her body shiver with happiness for her friends, gratitude that their baby had come out okay. She closed her eyes and felt so much joy for what they had. They had real, true love, the kind of love that fairy tales are made of, the kind of love in the old movies that she loved to watch. They had the love that she wanted, that she longed for with Karim.