Stolen Course (Wrecked and Ruined #2)

The nurse leads us back to large room with babies in small beds lined against the wall. I look at each one as I pass, searching for one who looks like Emma. Damn it! I’d give anything for her to be here with me right now.

“Here he is.” The nurse stops in front of a little bed with the tiniest baby I have ever seen in my life.

“Oh my God,” Sarah breathes from behind me.

“Oh, shit… I mean… Oh God,” I stutter in awe.

He’s lying naked except for a diaper. There’s a tube in his mouth and wires and monitors covering his tiny chest. Warm tears slide down my face before I even realized they were falling. I’ve seen him for less than thirty seconds and I know unquestionably that I would give my own life to protect him. I didn’t think I would ever be able to love another person as much as I love Emma, but looking at this tiny baby we somehow created together proves me wrong completely.

“He’s so small. Is going be okay?” I ask, moving even closer.

The nurse giggles for a second before answering. “Yeah, he’s actually a pretty good size for his age. He weighed in at five pounds two ounces. I first want to congratulate you on your new baby. He is a very handsome little man. How about I go over what we have done with him so far and tell you how he's doing?”

“Yeah, um… Sure,” I say absently as my eyes stay glued to his tiny chest rising and falling.

“I know it's overwhelming and a lot to take in. You will probably forget half the stuff I tell you as soon as you walk out the door, but don't stress. We are here twenty-four hours a day, and there is no such thing as a ‘dumb question.’ First, let me give you his footprints so I don't forget.”

She hands me a piece of paper with impossibly small footprints. I stare at it for a minute, trying to figure out what the hell I’m supposed to do with them, when she keeps going.

“Those are yours to keep, a small memento for the baby book. I sure bet your wife would love to see it.” She pauses to smile. I absently nod. “So like I said, he's doing very well for being five weeks early. He's breathing on his own, which is wonderful, and he has a very strong heart rate. He is breathing a little fast, but that's very normal for babies that are born by C-section. That typically resolves itself in a few days. The tube we placed in his mouth will be used to feed him until his respiratory rate slows down. Eventually we will remove it and he will take all of his feeds by bottle or by breast. The tube goes right into his stomach so he does not have to put forth the work to suck and swallow the milk…”

I pray to God that this is not the only time she is going to tell me this information because this sounds important and I can’t for the life of me process her words as fast as she’s saying them.

“The wires you see on his chest and foot are hooked to this monitor. They allow us to watch his heart rate, respiratory rate, and how well his body is oxygenating. Because he is small, we placed him in an isolette to help keep his body temperature normal. As he grows, we can slowly drop the temperature and then place him in an open crib. When he is in an open crib and eating all of his feelings by bottle or the breast, then he will be ready to go home.

“Now I know you want to know how long he is going to be here, and I will tell you what I tell all my parents. He is running the show.” Yeah, that’s definitely Emma’s baby. I laugh to myself. “If he does everything as he is supposed to, then he could leave as early as a week. As a rule of thumb, we tell people to expect them home by their due date. Your son, Mr. Jones, is doing very well, and we will do our best to get him home to you and your wife as soon as we can.”

Oh, I definitely understand those words and enthusiastically nod my head.

“Now, would you like to hold your son?”

“What? No.” I put my hands up and instantly back away like she’s holding a weapon. I know it’s my child, but I can’t hold him. He’s too frail. What if I hurt him or pull out that little tube that’s in his stomach? No way. I can’t do that.

“I’ll hold him,” Sarah says with a grin before turning to look at me. “I mean, if that’s okay with you.” She immediately glances down at the floor.

I look over at the little guy all alone. He needs someone to hold him—someone who loves him—even if I’m not man enough to do it.

“Yeah, go ahead.” I wave to the nurse my approval.

They wrap all his wires into a blanket, and before I know it, they pass my entire life into the arms of a woman who, just hours ago, I would have told you stole everything from me. I watch as she cradles him with such tenderness that it make me jealous. Besides the doctors and nurses, Sarah Kate Erickson is the first person to ever hold my child. Who would have thought?

She looks down, runs her hand over his blond peach fuzz, and pulls his arm from the blanket. When he curls his tiny hand around her finger, I completely change my mind.

“I’m ready. I want to hold him.”