Ghost Bird Fanfiction: Sang's Lyric, The Story of Sang Sorenson's Mother

Leaving- 16 Years Earlier

I hugged the maternity ward nurse and wiped away tears. "Is this normal?" I asked.

She smiled at me and nodded. She'd been my night nurse, showing me how to diaper the baby, swaddle her, and nurse her. She'd helped me into the bathroom the first time I needed to pee, and watched all of us run around like crazy people the first time the baby cried.

The baby.

I looked over at her. She was swaddled tight. James was our official swaddler. He knew just how to do it so it didn't unravel the moment we put her down. Taylor was the official swayer and lullaby-hummer, and Kell was the fastest diaper-er ever. I didn't have much to do except feed her and snuggle her.

It was wonderful. Exhausting, but wonderful.

The entire room was packed up, and I was saying goodbye to the nurse I'd come to see as my lifeline.

"All the new moms feel this way," she told me, tucking my hair behind my ear. "I promise. You'll be fine. You have three awesome guys who are just dying to take care of that girlie."

I looked over at the baby who was sleeping happily in her car seat. She had a small pink hat on her head, and little pink mittens. James had somehow managed to swaddle her and buckle her in.

"Safe and comfortable," he'd said.

I looked at her and felt my heart fill with love. I loved my boys, but this was a different kind of love. It was the sort of love that made the way I'd grown up even more unbelievable. It also made me sad. I knew how much I loved my daughter, and I realized my mother had never loved me. I would protect this girl with my dying breath.

The nurse gave me another hug as the door opened and the day-shift nurse came in.

"One more dose of antibiotics," she told me, "and then you can hit the road. I think the guys just took the last bunch of stuff to your car."

"I can't believe how much stuff we collected!" I said, looking around the room.

It had taken the guys three separate trips. It was just me and the baby now, waiting for them to wheel me to the car.

"Have you come up with a name yet?" the day nurse asked.

I shook my head. "We want to wait until we're home. Then we can really get a sense of her."

The nurse laughed. "You're not the first family that's done that, but let us know, okay? We'd all love to know."

She held the pills out to me and I put them in my mouth, swallowing them with the water she handed to me.

The night nurse gave me another hug. "Be in touch Lyric!" she said. "I've got to make my rounds."

The day nurse gave me another hug and then helped me into the wheelchair. She gave me a small wave and left as well. I looked at the baby, who was shifting a little in her seat, her face scrunching and lips pursing as if she was dreaming of nursing. I watched her breathlessly, wondering if she'd wake up. I saw her lips curl into a smile and I smiled in response. When she smiled for real, she was going to slay us.

I put my elbow on the wheelchair and propped my face on my hand. I watched the baby sleep, and when she yawned, I yawned. My eyelids felt heavy and I let them close.

The next thing I knew I was being shaken awake by a panicked James.

"Lyric! Lyric!"

My eyes snapped open and I met his terrified eyes.

"Where's the baby?"

I looked at the bed where the carseat had been placed, but all that was left was an indentation in the blankets.

I stood up fast, losing my balance, but James caught me.

"Jamie!" I screamed. "Jamie!"

I wanted someone to run in and tell me they brought her to the nursery. But no one did. He held me and kissed my head while I screamed, and then held me when I went numb and the police came. He didn't stop holding me until he could put me in Kell's arms. And then he held me until he could place me in Taylor's.

But my arms were empty.