Triplets Make Five

“Delilah!” I roared. “Delilah! Wake up!”

“Get him out of here!” a doctor shouted.

“I’ve got the third baby out!”

I could hear the babies crying as I was shoved out into the hallway. The door was slammed in my face as I banged on it with my fists. I moved around and saw her body lying open on the table as my knees grew weak.

My Delilah. She was alone and scared, and there was nothing I could do for her.

I saw one nurse carrying two children over towards me. One wrapped in blue and one wrapped in pink. And even though I should have been focused on the two healthy children in front of my eyes, my mind was elsewhere.

Focused on the one nurse running with my last child in her arms.

“Where’s my other baby girl?” I asked. “I’m supposed to have two baby girls.”

“She’s going to be just fine, Mr. Walker. Some precautionary measures need to be taken, but I’m sure she’ll be fine.”

“You’re sure? Sorry if I don’t take the word of the nurse who shoved me away from the mother of my children. Is Delilah going to be okay? Is she going to make it?”

“Mr. Walker, you need to calm down. You have two perfectly healthy children who need the strength of their father right now.”

I looked down at my baby boy, Aiden. It was the name Delilah had been set on ever since we found out one of them was a boy. And as I looked over at one of my daughters, I could hear the names rolling around in my head.

But there was one that seemed to suit her. More than any of the others we had picked.

Charlotte.

I was looking at Aiden and Charlotte while my third child fought for her life in the NICU and Delilah fought for her life on the table.

“Let’s go give them a bath. Then we can feed them. How does that sound?” the nurse asked.

She moved past me and I followed her, my mind blank and my heart thumping in my ears. My throat was clenched with fear, unable to speak as the nurse guided me towards Delilah’s room. Her parents sprung to their feet, each of them taking a child as I collapsed into a chair.

Then I placed my face in my hands and blinked away my tears.

Twenty-Six

Delilah

My eyes fluttered open as the glaring light of the room pierced my gaze. I could hear the beeping of monitors as I shifted in bed, pain searing through my abdomen. I looked down and saw my toes. A sight I hadn’t beheld in months.

Then, the crashing memories of the day came flooding back to my mind.

“Hey look, Mommy’s up.”

Preston’s voice hit my ears like smooth honey. I propped myself up in bed as a pair of arms hooked underneath mine. I groaned as I sat up, my lips chapped and my throat dry.

“Here, try this.”

Daddy. My Daddy was here.

I felt a straw play at my lips as my eyes tried to adjust. My hand fell onto my stomach. My stomach that had shrank inches upon inches in the span of just a few hours.

At least, it had felt like a few hours.

The smooth water fell down my throat, quenching my thirst as I grasped the cup. My father’s hand came down onto my shoulder, massaging it lightly as I looked around the room. I found Preston, his eyes cradling a bundle wrapped in a blue blanket.

“Aiden,” I said with a whisper.