Jilted at the Altar

Chapter Thirty One

"Ariella, honey look at me" Dalton pleaded as her eyes rolled back into her head. Dalton lifted her up and rushed towards the elevators; never in his twenty six years had he been this scared.

He drove like a mad man down the street, honking and trying to keep a steady grip on the steering wheel. The car slid into the emergency bay at the hospital and he yelled out for help as he unbuckled an unconscious Ariella out of the car. She was laid on a stretcher and wheeled into the hospital.

Dalton pulled out his phone and called Dr. Denise as he rushed alongside Ariella. He told her the condition in summary.

The doctor presently on duty assessed and turned to Dalton.

"I am Dr. Evans. I am the on duty OB GYN. How far along is she and who is her OB GYN?"

"33 weeks and it is Dr. Denise"

"I will page her" A nurse hurriedly left.

"She felt these contractions, we thought it was Braxton hicks but then her water broke."

"She is dilating" Dr. Evans stood up from his examination and motioned to one of the nurses who hurriedly started setting up IV lines and finished setting up monitors.

"The baby...it is too early"

"Babies born at 33 week have 95% of survival rate so I assure you the baby is safe. The lungs might be compromised because if her water hadn't broken we could have delayed the labor and injected her with steroids to aid the development of lungs but Neonatal team has been paged and they are on standby. We need to take her in for a C-section. She is dilated well into second stage of labor but is unconscious so she can't push and if we don't get the baby out there might be complications"

"Please do whatever you need to save her and the baby"

"Maria, hand him the consent forms and prep the patient for C-section. Let OR 1 know we are coming in" he said to a nurse.

"Sir please, come this way" Nurse Maria said to him and guided him towards a reception.

"Please fill out the consent form for now. We have her full history with us." She continued as she handed him a sheet.

Dalton scrawled his signature on the dotted line.

"Thank you. We will keep you updated on her progress."

"Can't I come in?" Dalton asked.

"Sorry Sir. This is an emergency C section. The father is allowed in the OT in a pre planned C section as we explain all the precaution and protocols beforehand"

Dalton nodded. He understood. He would just get in the way. He sat down in one of the chairs and started the procedure of calling everyone. He told Aidden, Sienna, his parents and her parents on auto-pilot.

He ploughed a hand through his hair and leaned back.

"Please don't let anything happen to her or the baby" He prayed as he tried to keep his mind from conjuring up worse case scenarios. He knew wouldn't survive losing either one.

Aidden and Sienna showed up fifteen minutes later.

They all waited as the minutes seemed like eternity. All of them were too worried and keyed up to say anything.

Two hours later, though it seemed like two years to Dalton, Dr. Evans walked out in his OT scrubs.

"Congratulations, you have a beautiful daughter. You can see the mother now. She is in recovery."

"Oh thank God! Thank you" Dalton finally felt the air return to his lungs. Dr. Evans patted his shoulder and left.

"You go. We will come in later" Sienna said smiling through her tears.

Dalton nodded and rushed towards the recovery.

He reached the recovery ward and a nurse guided him to her room.

He opened the door and stepped in, gently closing it behind him. He walked up to her bed and sat down on a chair next to it. Ariella was asleep, the sedation keeping her under. He gently caressed her hand and then lifted it, bringing to his lips.

There was a knock on the door and a nurse walked in.

"I just came to update you on Baby Reynolds. She is in NICU and currently doing very well. A little warrior she is" The nurse smiled at Dalton. "You can both see her in the morning."

"Thank you" Dalton said and the nurse nodded in response, leaving them alone.

Baby Reynolds; a feeling blossomed in his chest, taking up everything in him. He was a father. He had a daughter.

He felt Ariella stir and then she opened her eyes, fixating her grey orbs on him.

"Where is the baby?" She whispered.

"We have a daughter. She is healthy and doing well. She is in the NICU. We can see her in the morning."

"I was so scared...I thought we lost her..."

"Everything is okay. You need to rest love" Dalton said as he pushed a stand of auburn hair of her face.

She reached out and caressed his face.

"Thank you so much Dalton."

"You don't need to thank me Ari. I love you and I love our daughter. I promise I will always protect and love you both"

"I know. I love you too" Ariella smiled. She couldn't have been luckier to have this man in her life and she knew her daughter would have the perfect father.

"Sleep now. You should rest." He leaned forward and placed a kiss on her forehead as her eyes fluttered shut, a smile still on her lips.

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