-3 Weeks Later-
“Thomas, I’m scared,” Shayna said after the nurse left the room. She was in labor and felt overwhelmed and trapped in her hospital bed. The IV in one wrist and the fetal monitors strapped across her bulging belly confined her to the spot, and she wanted nothing more than to tear them off and run away.
“It’s going to be okay. Our little boys will be here before you know it.” Thomas gripped her hand.
Shayna took a deep breath and tried to calm her nerves, but the smell of bleach and antiseptic turned her stomach. In the brief silence, they heard two nurses in the hallway.
“Such a tragedy,” one voice said. “First the Andrews’ baby and now the Praters have lost one too.”
Thomas opened his mouth to speak, but Shayna put a hand up to stop him. She leaned to the side and tried to hear more.
“I know. And I heard they lost one at the hospital downtown last week. That’s three of the six sets of twins.”
Shayna’s hand flew to her mouth to contain her gasp.
“Terrible.”
Their voices grew distant as the nurses walked further down the hall.
“I really didn’t appreciate Dr. Garcia stepping into that cesarean either… Dr. Riley was on his way here.”
“An emergency is an emergency though.”
Thomas pushed the door closed the rest of the way and their voices faded out completely. Tears filled Shayna’s eyes and her shoulders shook with suppressed sobs.
“Honey… no. Our babies will be fine.” He rushed to her side and wrapped his arms around her.
One heart monitor’s alarm sounded before he could say anything more. Nurses rushed in, followed by a doctor they’d never met.
“What’s going on?” Thomas asked as one nurse moved him out of the way.
“Baby B’s heart rate has dropped,” she said. But she spoke to the doctor.
Another nurse grabbed a bag of fluids to attach to the IV and the other pushed one of Shayna’s legs to force her into a different position.
But no one else spoke. Everyone ignored Thomas and Shayna as they checked charts and the machines around the bed.
“What does that mean? Where’s Dr. Riley?” Shayna asked and tried to return to her original position. Her tears streamed down her face and fell off her chin.
“He’s busy. I’m Dr. Garcia.” He spared her a glance before he checked the monitor again. “We need to move her to the OR now.”
“What?” Thomas exclaimed. “What’s going on here?”
“Prep for an emergency caesarian now.”
One nurse ran to the phone and spoke to an operator.
“Why? Tell us what’s happening!”
Dr. Garcia gave Thomas an exasperated stare and finally acknowledged him.
“We need to get the babies out. Now.”
“But why? I’m dilated to a-”
“No time to wait. And pushing might cause more distress.”
Dr. Garcia unhooked the cables and flipped up the brakes on the bed with the other nurse’s help.
“Thomas-” Shayna reached for him.
“You’ll have to wait here, sir,” the nurse said, and barred his path at the door.
“Excuse me?” Thomas clenched his fists, but kept them at his sides. He could not hit a medical professional.
“There’s no time. We need to go now if we’re going to have any chance of saving all the lives involved. You’re not prepped, so you’ll have to wait here.”
“Thomas!” Shayna reached out her hand, but a nurse pushed it back on to the bed.
“Ma’am, Mrs. Walters, I need you to remain calm. Can you do that for me?”
“Don’t talk to me like I’m a child!” Shayna snapped. “He’s my husband and these are my babies and none of you will tell me what the hell is going on!”
Dr. Garcia rolled his eyes and then put a bitter smile on his face. “Mrs. Walters, is it? One of your babies is in distress. There is too much pressure on his lungs and if we don’t do something right now, he will die. The babies need to be taken out right now in order to save his life. Your husband cannot come. There isn’t time to get him prepped. He can wait in the hall. But we need to go now. Understand?”
Shayna’s mouth hung open. She glanced at Thomas and he nodded at her, his lips pressed into a thin line. She nodded at Dr. Garcia.
“Let’s go!”
They resumed their rush down the hall.
Thomas followed until they reached the doors to the operating hallway and a security guard stopped him. Shayna disappeared from view and he crumpled into a chair in the waiting area.
Two hours went by and he didn’t move. He held his head in his hands and his shoulders slumped over. The guard looked at him from time to time, but no one paid him any mind. At last, a nurse emerged from the operating hall and approached him.
“Mr. Walters?” She hesitated to speak too loudly or tap his arm in case she startled him.
Thomas looked up and tried to wipe the tears from his face. In one glance, though, he could see she had bad news for him. The corners of her mouth turned down and her eyes filled with pity. He stared at his shoes as she spoke.
“I’m sorry to have to tell you that one of your children didn’t make it. Your wife is getting cleaned up and they will take her back to the recovery room with your son shortly. I can take you there now.”
With the sensation of the world falling out from under him, Thomas stood and followed the nurse.
*
-1 Week Later-
Six infants slept in little pink and blue bassinets in a row. Pale green blankets swaddled their tiny bodies, and they had matching caps pulled snug on their heads.
Dr. Garcia joined Dr. Lawrence at the nursery window to watch them sleep.
“All six children have been harvested, sir,” Dr. Lawrence said and handed him a clipboard without looking away. He still couldn’t believe these tiny things were going to be the key to unlock their scientific discovery.
“Good work.” Dr. Garcia flipped through the pages. “I still wish there’d been more, but six will do.”
“We can run the planes again, sir.”
“No, no need. We don’t have time. And we don’t want to draw more attention to the topic. We might not get away with it a second time.” Garcia handed the clipboard back and smiled in satisfaction.
“Now what?”
“Now, we wait. In one year, we will begin the injections. We can’t rush this. It needs to be done right.”
“Yes, sir.”
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