The Sacrifices We Make

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Christian's POV:

I arrive at the NICU to check on Charlotte and to sign the final release paperwork to get her home where she belongs. As I walk in to the room, I see my mother holding Charlotte's tiny hand through the porthole of the incubator, and that fills my heart with love and joy that my mother is so excited to be a grandmother.

I walk up beside my mother as she pulls her hand out of the porthole. I use hand sanitizer before touching Charlotte. As I reach in to touch her hand, she turns at the feeling of my touch.

"Hi, Princess. How are you today? Are you ready to go home today with Daddy?"

At that moment, Dr. Addison Montgomery walks up beside me.

"Hello there, little girl. We're going to miss you, but we're glad you finally get to go home with your daddy today."

I smile and rub Charlotte's hand. "Mommy wishes she could come home with us, too, princess."

Addison turns to me. "How is Ana doing, Christian?"

"I just saw her. She's weak but she's still fighting."

"Christian, she's going to be fine. She has a lot to fight for - you, her daughter, her family." I nod at Addison's statement, unable at the moment to express my fears.

"So how is Charlotte today?"

"Well, her vitals are good, she is taking a bottle, she is gaining weight and not losing any, and she's breathing on her own. As of this morning, she passed all the tests to be able to go home." I smile, relieved to hear that Charlotte can finally come home.

"I just need to go over some things with you to watch out for."

"Charlotte is doing fine, Christian. I don't mean to scare or worry you, but when you put her down for a nap or for the night, she needs to be on her back to reduce the chance of SIDS."

"What about her feeding timetable?"

"I would recommend feeding every three hours and burp her often. Gas is not good for her stomach."

"Okay, anything else?

"Yes, I would like to see Charlotte once a month for her first year to make sure she is hitting, or in range of, all her milestones for the first year."

I nod as I just look at my daughter, thinking about what our future might hold. After about twenty minutes more of filling out paperwork and a car seat check, Charlotte is in her car seat in the SUV with my mother and me in the back, and Taylor driving like he had breakable cargo in hand.

We arrive at Escala within half an hour and then we went up to Charlotte's Disney Princess themed nursery. As I bend down to undo Charlotte's car seat straps, she lets out a cry. So I take her in my arms and cradle her. "Shh, Princess, nothing bad will ever happen to you while I'm here to protect you."

Grace's POV:

I just watch my son and granddaughter and am just so filled with love at that moment for Christian, Charlotte, and Ana. I just hope that the new treatment they are doing with Ana will work because she deserves a happy life with Christian and Charlotte. I know that if this treatment does not work and Ana dies, Christian will be broken forever. There would be no putting him back together. His heart would be gone because it belongs to Ana.

Christian's POV:

As I hold my sweet daughter in my arms, all I want to do is protect her from the world and from the evil that is out there. I wish I could lock Charlotte away in my castle in the sky. I look down at her and see her yawn. I look at her sweet face and just smile at her. I see that she is getting tired so I kiss her cheek, gently place her in her crib, and follow my mother out of the nursery.

I grab the baby monitor and turn it on and head to the kitchen. As we enter the kitchen, it is overflowing with baby paraphernalia. Bottles are everywhere, along with baby clothes and toys on every surface available, thanks to Mia. She tried to throw a huge baby shower but I put a stop to it. I did not want that many people around Charlotte when she was just out of the hospital.

I need to keep Charlotte away from germs and bacteria because her immune system is so fragile. But, that did not stop hurricane Mia from buying everything baby related for her niece. Charlotte will be the best-dressed baby in Seattle, thanks to her aunt Mia. I look at everything that has taken over my kitchen and just smile. I am feeling so grateful that my daughter is so loved by my family.

I sit on a barstool at the island and run my hands over my face and tugging on my hair and my mind starts racing and my heart is beating like a drum and all the sudden I can't breathe. I pull on the collar of my shirt, trying to stop the tightness around my neck. All the sudden I hear this scream come from my throat. The next thing I know I am on the floor sobbing uncontrollably. I don't even know what triggered this. All the sudden I just felt so overwhelmed and out of control.

I mean, how am I supposed to deal without Ana by my side. I feel like the pain I have been holding in all this time has finally come to the surface and is being released.

Grace's POV:

I watch as my son's emotions finally come to the surface. I have truly been waiting for Christian's emotions to finally come out and him to finally break down. Christian has always tried to hold in all his pain and was unwilling to let anyone in, before Ana, to help him in any way. I have tried so many times to reach out to him, but every time I was rebuffed. I can't stand to watch my son in this much pain anymore, so I grab Christian and rock him like a child like I did at the hospital all those weeks ago.

"Shh, mama is here. You'll be okay. Just let all the pain out, my sweet boy."

Christian clings to me for dear life and I just hold him to my chest, rocking him like a baby.