SWEET INNOCENCE
Chapter Sixteen
In midmorning, Rose began to feel
pain. It was so horrible she couldn't move. She hit Jack on the shoulder. He
woke up, wondering what was going on. "Rose?"
"Jack, help me." She
lay there, moaning in pain.
He got up quickly and got his
clothes on. He moved so fast that Rose didn't even see him put her suitcase in
the car. Pain after pain came over her. She wanted to cry, but she didn't. Jack
was strong. He carried her to the car. When she was inside, he moved to the
driver's seat and put the key into the ignition.
He drove to the hospital fast.
They got there in fifteen minutes, if not less. He quickly found a parking space
and helped her out.
"Can you walk?" He held
her hand.
"Yeah. I think so."
Rose looked into his eyes, wishing the pain would go away.
"All right. I am gonna get
the suitcase. You start walking." He closed the car door behind her and
quickly grabbed the suitcase out of the trunk.
"Okay." Rose walked
sort of fast. He kept up with her until they reached the hospital entrance.
Jack put down the suitcase and
went to the counter. "Hello. I'm Jack Dawson. I think my wife is in
labor."
"All right." One of the
nurses quickly grabbed a wheelchair.
"Can I go with her?"
Jack was nervous.
"Sure. Here. Take these
forms and fill them out." She handed him a clipboard with insurance forms
and the like.
"Yeah. Thank you." Jack
quickly followed Rose to her room.
She was asked to remove her
clothes. She didn't really want to move, so she asked Jack to help her. He
lifted her dress over her head, and she did the rest. Through all of this, they
had forgotten to tell Cal. Jack didn't worry, though. He still had to tell him
about Mary.
Rose pulled Jack's shirt.
"Jack, it hurts."
"I know." He went out
to the hallway. "We need some help here." He saw Rose's doctor coming
his way. "Rose, the doctor is coming." He came back into the room and
helped her.
"Okay." She breathed in
and out.
When the doctor got inside, he
measured her to see how far along she was. "Rose, you’re ready."
"Delivery already?"
Jack was in shock. It usually it took hours for the first one, or so he
thought.
They gave him some shoe covers
for his shoes, a mask, and a paper robe. He put on everything and followed her
to the delivery room.
*****
Inside the delivery room, Rose
moaned in pain. Jack held her hand every step of the way. Sometimes the pain
hurt so much that she couldn't think about anything but the pain. This baby,
whether it was a boy or girl, wanted out, and it wanted out now.
"Jack, I don't think I can
do this." She looked up at him, crying a little.
"Nonsense, Rose. You're
strong. I know that you can do this." He gave her strength, by the look of
it. She needed it.
"Okay, Rose. Whenever you’re
ready," Doctor Collins said.
"Ready?" Jack held her
hand.
"Yes. I am ready." She
sat a little forward and gave it her all. She screamed as she pushed out the
infant.
She could feel it coming out of
her. It was a weird, warm sensation. When the baby started to cry, the pain
disappeared like she had never had any pain at all. She saw the infant.
"Mr. Dawson, would you like
to do the honors?" The doctor handed Jack a pair of scissors so he could
cut the umbilical cord. Jack took the scissors and cut the cord. He didn't even
bother to see what it was. He was excited.
"Would you like to hold your
son, Mr. Dawson?" Doctor Collins asked.
"Yeah." He took hold of
the infant.
The doctor wrapped the infant in
a blanket and put on a little long sleeved t-shirt. Jack took the infant into
his arms. He was so small. He felt like he would drop him. Rose looked over to
see her son. Jack lowered him a little so she could see. "Rose, look at
how small he is."
Rose was sweaty. She looked at
him as she felt the doctor sew her up. She wanted to rest. Having a baby was
hard work.
"Okay. We need to take the
baby now. He needs to be seen by a pediatrician, and some tests have to be
run," the nurse told Jack.
"Okay." He passed the
infant to the nurse. He sort of felt relieved. He didn't want to hurt the small
infant.
"Mr. Dawson, Rose is going
to the recovery room. She'll be asleep. Why don't you follow us and we’ll lead
you to Rose's room?" Doctor Collins asked him.
"All right. Is that okay,
Rose?" Jack looked at Rose for approval.
"Yeah. You go. He's right. I
am sleepy." Rose felt sleepy.
"Okay. Love you." He
leaned down and kissed her on the lips. "I'll see you when you wake up.
All right?"
"Okay." She smiled at
him and felt her eyes starting to close.