You and Me Forever (Oh Captain, My Captain 6)

Maybe I can do this. I’m still pretty cautious, but I feel better about it.

Hadley will be happy to hear this. Hopefully, she’ll be able to relax more.

Before my game, I send her a text.

Me: I’m ready, Hadley. To be your husband and a father to Valeria. I’ll call you later.

I’m whisked onto the ice before I can wait for her reply. The first period starts with an impact as a Mustang scores within the first thirty seconds. Before we get to the five-minute mark, I hear Coach yelling for me. My shift isn’t over, but I go to the bench anyway.

“You need to go see Mr. York.”

“What? Now?”

Play stops and he says, “Hurry up, go.”

What the hell? I hurry back across the ice to take the exit towards our locker room. Down the hallway is a solemn looking Mr. York. Why would they pull me from the game?

“What’s going on?”

“Luca.” He’s never called me by my first name. It’s always been Zotov. My pulse quickens immediately. “You need to change right now. Hadley’s been rushed to the hospital. My plane is on standby at the airport and waiting for you. There’s a driver outside, too. You need to leave. Right now.”

“She’s...she’s in the hospital?” I feel lightheaded and I lean against the wall for support. “What happened? Is she okay? Is the baby okay? What do you know?”

Mr. York is very calm as he answers me. “All I know is that Amy called me. Hadley passed out at the office and apparently, she was bleeding. Amy called 911, and they rushed her to the hospital. Luca, you need to leave right now. You need to get to her.”

I’m sure my heart has already jumped out of my chest. Mr. York follows me to the locker room where I shed my clothes and skates and quickly change. He escorts me out to where the driver is waiting. My mind is reeling and I feel like I might pass out. Mr. York says something before he closes the door, but I don’t hear him.

God, what if something happens and I don’t make it in time? He didn’t know what happened and I won’t know until I land. Time passes too slowly as I head to the airport. It seems to take forever before we’re in the air. I keep repeating in my head over and over that I hope Hadley’s okay. I hope she and Valeria both are okay.

I just need to get to the hospital. I need to keep my shit together until then.

When we land, another driver is waiting for me. Thanks, Mr. York. I don’t know if I would be able to deal with having to find a ride to the hospital. Time finally seems to pick up pace. I run into the hospital and rush to the nurses’ desk.

“I need to find Hadley Lincoln. She came in earlier and she’s pregnant and I need to see her and talk to someone who can tell me what’s going on,” I rush out in one breath. My mind goes blank for a second as I try to remember Hadley’s doctor’s name. “Maybe Dr. Jones? She’s Hadley’s doctor. Is she here?”

“It’ll be just a moment. You can wait in the waiting room and she’ll come find you,” the nurse tells me.

I have to wait? I’ve been waiting for who knows how long it took me to get here! I don’t say that, though. Instead, I go stand in the waiting room. Sitting isn’t an option at this point. I’m too worried. The nurse still didn’t say anything whatsoever about Hadley and how she’s doing. She could have given me some sort of update.

It takes about five minutes before I see Dr. Jones walking towards me. I meet her halfway. “What the hell happened? How is she? Can I see her?”

“Luca, we need to talk. Follow me to where we can go somewhere quiet,” her voice is firm and I know I won’t be able to argue with her about it. I nod and she leads me to a private waiting room. This can’t be good. She hasn’t told me anything yet. What if I’ve lost Hadley? What if I’ve lost them both? “I want you to sit down and listen to everything I have to say before you ask anything, all right?”

I don’t sit. I can’t. Not yet. “Just tell me if she’s okay or not first,” I plead, desperate to know this one piece of information. “You’re killing me.”

“Hadley is fine.” I let out the breath I was holding. “But a lot has happened in the past few hours that you need to know, okay? I need you to remain calm and listen to me.”

I take a seat in the chair, inhale deeply, and nod. “Okay, go ahead.”

“When Hadley talked to me about the pains, I thought they were simple Braxton Hicks contractions. Hadley never indicated that they nothing more than small pains. If she had told me the truth, I would have done more testing.

“When she passed out, it was due to loss of blood. Hadley suffered a placental abruption. That’s when the placenta rips away from the uterus. This is very dangerous.” Dr. Jones has to take a deep breath herself, and I tense. “I had to make a decision when I arrived. I had to deliver your baby in order to save her and Hadley.”

What? “The baby is here? But it’s too early, isn’t it? She isn’t supposed to be here yet.” Suddenly, that horrible story from that wretched book replays in my mind. “Is she okay? Is she going to be okay? When can I see them?”

“Yes, she’s here. She’s about ten weeks early and weighs a little over three pounds.” Three pounds? My world slows, causing me to get dizzy. “However, she has a strong heartbeat and she’s a fighter, but I can’t even begin to speculate on the problems that could occur with preemie babies. Her lungs aren’t quite fully developed, and she’s in the NICU right now. As for Hadley, I was able to save her uterus and we gave her two units of blood. She’s resting. I can take you to see your little girl if you want first. But remember she’s very small, Luca,” she gently reminds me.

“Yeah, okay. Valeria and then Hadley.”