Nicholas POV:
More nurses came in, shooing people out, and I put William back on his feet and knelt down to talk to him. “Now you mind your grandma and grandpa. Okay? I’ll see you in just a little bit.”
He nodded, his face serious. “Daddy, can I tell you a secret?”
“Sure, Buddy.”
He leaned in to whisper in my ear. “I asked Santa to bring Mommy and the babies home.”
I almost choked on the lump in my throat, not even sure how to respond. Not that he waited for a response anyway.
He grinned and patted my head. “Bye, Daddy!” Then he was off, running out in front of my parents.
I didn’t have long to ruminate over his secret because I was shuttled out to change into sterile scrubs. When I made it to the operating room, the screen had already been put up and Willow had been prepped for surgery.
She was shaking a little when I took her hand. “I love you.”
A tear fell from her eye. “I love you more.”
People bustled around us, this scene much more harried than William’s delivery had been. I tried to ignore them all and focus only on her because I knew as scared as I was, she had to be much worse.
“Nina, Natalie, and Naomi Rowe,” she said.
I nodded. “I like those.”
Dr. Whitney started asking Willow questions and talking to her through the procedure. My eyes stayed on Willow’s face, looking for any signs of pain.
It wasn’t until I heard the first baby’s cry that I let out a breath of relief. Then the other baby. My whole body seemed to relax somewhat, like I hadn’t even been aware of how tense I’d been. I got a glimpse of our triplets when they were carried over to a different area and checked over, but knew it was a good sign that both of them were wailing.
“They’re okay, Willow. They’re great.”
She nodded once and then my world crashed around me. A dozen different alarms started blaring at the same time and Willow’s eyes closed as her body shook with tremors.
She was unconscious, and I was suddenly being pushed out of the room. I struggled against whoever held me. “What the fuck is going on? What happened?”
A couple more people joined in, practically dragging me out into the hall. “Please wait out here, Mr. Rowe. A doctor will be with you shortly.” That’s it. That’s all I got.
My fucking wife was cut open, convulsing, and fuck knows what else, and I just had to sit here and twiddle my fucking thumbs.
I tore the hat and mask off, throwing them to the floor as I paced back and forth in front of the door to her room. She had to be okay. She had to.
I couldn’t do this without her. Had she somehow known this was coming? Was that why she made me make that promise? Nurses and doctors ran in and out, and each time the doors opened, the blaring alarms mocked me.
Every minute that passed sucked a little more out of me. My mind was a dark place as I slid down the wall and hunched on the floor.
“Mr. Rowe? Nicholas?”
I lifted my head, my eyes bleary with grief and worry, and found Dr. Whitney standing over me. I had no idea how long I’d been out in the hall waiting. “Willow?” I could barely get her name out of my mouth.
“She’s going to be fine. She’s in recovery now.” I jumped up and almost tackled her in a hug. It was hard to even listen to everything else she was telling me, my mind was stuck on the fact Willow would be okay. She was alive. She was okay. My world was righted again.
I learned over the next several days that Willow had a seizure during delivery and the medication they gave her to counteract it had caused her heart rate to stop. Her bad reaction to the drug had been unexpected, but they revived her and she seemed to not have any lingering effects from the pre-eclampsia. Willow had been out of it for almost a whole day before she became fully aware and cognizant again. The first thing she asked for was her babies.
The babies were perfect, thriving in the NICU incubators over the next several days and my heart almost burst out of my chest the first time I got to see Willow hold each of them.
“I told you, Daddy!” William patted my leg, before running ahead and yelling for Laura. Yes, he’d been right. Or at least he’d gotten his wish.
It was Christmas morning, and we were bringing Willow and the girls back home. I escorted a slow-moving Willow into the den, and my parents followed, each holding a baby in their own carrier. William was playing on the floor while I helped everyone settle down. I turned on the tree lights and Laura appeared with food and drinks. I’d never felt more in the Christmas spirit than I did at this moment.
I had everything I ever wanted right here in this room. Love, family, everyone safe and happy. I didn’t know whether to thank Dr. Whitney, thank God, or maybe even thank Santa, but I was more grateful than I could say to all of them. “Hey, Buddy?” William ran back over to me. “Guess what time it is?”
His face turned serious and he shook his head. “I don’t know, Daddy.”
“It’s time to open all your presents. Look at all those gifts under the tree.”
His eyes popped out and his mouth fell open. “But I got my present already.” He leaned in close and whispered, “Don’t you remember, Daddy?”
I laughed and hugged him. “Yeah, you did. But you were such a good boy this year, Santa decided you needed a bunch of toys, too.”
He squealed and ran back over to the tree, grabbing box after box. “Babies!” William shouted. “Watch me!” He started tearing into his gifts. “Do it like this!”
We all laughed. Apparently, we’d have to talk with him some more about what the babies could and couldn’t do. Willow leaned over and kissed me. “What was he whispering to you about?”
I pretended to zip my lips. “It’s a secret.” She scowled a little, but couldn’t hold it very long. There was too much around us to be happy about.