Futuretake Part 2 (Nicholas POV)

Nicholas POV:

"What's the bad news?" Willow asked, squeezing my hand.

"We're going to keep you here. You're going to spend the rest of your pregnancy in this bed. I'm sorry. I know it's the holidays, but it's safer to keep you on complete bed rest and under observation. We're going to give you injections, which will help mature the babies' lungs. This blood pressure monitor will take measurements every ten minutes, and we'll continue taking daily blood and urine samples, along with daily ultrasounds."

Willow and I were both quiet for a minute. "How long do you think I'll be here?" she finally asked.

"It's always best for the babies to mature as long as possible inside you, but at the first sign your health is being compromised, I'll deliver them." Dr. Whitney marked something off on Willow's chart before looking back over at us. "It could be hours, days, a week. It's difficult to give a firm timeline right now. But we want to keep you hear until the C-section is due."

As soon as Dr. Whitney left the room, Willow burst into tears. I wrapped her up in my arms as much as possible without disturbing all the monitors. I hated seeing her upset. I tried to comfort her, but she kept rambling on about how sorry she was, what a failure she was, how she hated disappointing William, and how she was ruining his Christmas, all in between sobs.

"Willow, stop," I finally demanded, hovering over her and putting my hands on her wet cheeks. "Don't blame yourself for any of this. Quit wasting your energy being sad about things out of your control. Concentrate on yourself and the babies."

She hiccupped and wiped her eyes. "It's just frustrating. I feel weak. Like I'm letting everyone down."

"You're not letting anyone down. The only thing I want is for you to be okay. For you and the triplets to come home to me."

When her crying had been reduced to sniffles, I pulled a chair over to sit next to her.

"Nicholas Rowe, don't even think about it."

I lifted my eyebrow. "What?" "You are not going to camp out here and leave William at home. You go be with him."

"I'm not leaving you here alone. He's okay with Laura right now."

She crossed her arms over her chest and frowned. "I don't like him being without both of us for too long."

She was right. But so was I. I needed reinforcements. Another nurse came in to check her monitors, and I started making calls. First to my parents, then to Lory and Courtney. It was obvious she wouldn't be happy if I stayed with her all the time, so I needed help if I was going to split my time between home and the hospital.

"Mom and Dad are going to be here soon," I told her after I finished my calls. "When they arrive, I'll go home and have dinner with William."

"Come here," she said, holding her hand out. I stood over her bed, letting her pull me down close. "I want you to promise me something." Her eyes started watering again.

"Anything." "No matter what happens with me, promise me you'll put our kids first."

"Of course," I answered automatically. It wasn't until later, and I was on my way home, that her request really sunk in. When I really understood what it was she was asking of me.

She was making me imagine a reality where she wasn't with me. She wanted me to promise the kids came first, even if my world was again without Willow. I watched the lights of the city whiz by as we drove home, praying I'd never truly have to face that situation.

.

It had been six days since Willow had been admitted to the hospital. Six days of constant worry. Six days of splitting time between home and her bedside. It was also six days before Christmas.

I had taken William to the hospital a few times, but he was confused and sad to see his mom in a bed with all the machines. It hurt to see some of the light in his eyes fade each time he asked if Mommy would be home today and I had to tell him no.

My parents and our friends had been a huge help; someone was always there with Willow when I couldn't be. As I walked into her room today with William, I found her there talking with Mom and Dad.

"Hi, Mommy!"

Willow's face lit up with a smile and she held her hand out. I let go of William and he ran over to her. "How's my boy today?"

I watched the two of them talking, and my father walked over to stand next to me.

"It might be today, Nicholas."

I turned toward him. "What happened?"

"Willow's been having some pain in her chest and headaches this morning. Dr. Whitney just left right before you walked in. I imagine she'll tell you that Willow will get the surgery today."

I walked over to Willow, leaning down to kiss her as William stood on a chair talking.

"And then Aunt Courtney took me to see Santa. I got a picture and sat on his lap, and he asked what I wanted for Christmas."

Willow sniffled, looking at the picture. "What did you ask for?"

"It's a secret, Mommy!" He jumped around and Mom put her arms around him with a laugh to keep him from falling off the chair.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry." Willow winced a little.

"Are you hurting?" I asked quietly.

She turned toward me. "I'm okay. Dr. Whitney should be back in a minute."

This time I knew for sure she was trying to hide her pain. Either from me or William. Or both. Just as I was about to go roaming the halls for Dr. Whitney, she walked back in.

"Okay, I'm going to have to ask the family to make their way to the waiting room. It's time to deliver the babies." She said it with a smile, but there was also a sense of urgency.

Like it needed to happen in a hurry. Mom kissed Willow and took my hand. "I'll make the calls and keep William with us."

"William, give me a kiss," Willow said, tears in her eyes. I picked him up so he could properly say goodbye. He kissed and hugged her.

"I love you, Mommy."

"I love you, too."

More nurses came in, shooing people out, and I put William back on his feet and knelt down to talk to him. "Now you mind your grandma and grandpa. Okay? I'll see you in just a little bit."

He nodded, his face serious. "Daddy, can I tell you a secret?"

"Sure, Buddy."

He leaned in to whisper in my ear. "I asked Santa to bring Mommy and the babies home."

I almost choked on the lump in my throat, not even sure how to respond. Not that he waited for a response anyway.

He grinned and patted my head. "Bye, Daddy!" Then he was off, running out in front of my parents.

I didn't have long to ruminate over his secret because I was shuttled out to change into sterile scrubs. When I made it to the operating room, the screen had already been put up and Willow had been prepped for surgery.

She was shaking a little when I took her hand. "I love you."

A tear fell from her eye. "I love you more."

People bustled around us, this scene much more harried than William's delivery had been. I tried to ignore them all and focus only on her because I knew as scared as I was, she had to be much worse.

“Nina, Natalie, and Naomi Rowe,” she said.

I nodded. “I like those.”

Dr. Whitney started asking Willow questions and talking to her through the procedure. My eyes stayed on Willow's face, looking for any signs of pain.

It wasn't until I heard the first baby's cry that I let out a breath of relief. Then the other baby. My whole body seemed to relax somewhat, like I hadn't even been aware of how tense I'd been. I got a glimpse of our triplets when they were carried over to a different area and checked over, but knew it was a good sign that both of them were wailing.

"They're okay, Willow. They're great."

She nodded once and then my world crashed around me. A dozen different alarms started blaring at the same time and Willow's eyes closed as her body shook with tremors.

She was unconscious, and I was suddenly being pushed out of the room. I struggled against whoever held me. "What the fuck is going on? What happened?"

A couple more people joined in, practically dragging me out into the hall. "Please wait out here, Mr. Rowe. A doctor will be with you shortly." That's it. That's all I got.

My fucking wife was cut open, convulsing, and fuck knows what else, and I just had to sit here and twiddle my fucking thumbs.

I tore the hat and mask off, throwing them to the floor as I paced back and forth in front of the door to her room. She had to be okay. She had to.

I couldn't do this without her. Had she somehow known this was coming? Was that why she made me make that promise? Nurses and doctors ran in and out, and each time the doors opened, the blaring alarms mocked me.

Every minute that passed sucked a little more out of me. My mind was a dark place as I slid down the wall and hunched on the floor.

"Mr. Rowe? Nicholas?"

I lifted my head, my eyes bleary with grief and worry, and found Dr. Whitney standing over me. I had no idea how long I'd been out in the hall waiting. "Willow?" I could barely get her name out of my mouth.

"She's going to be fine. She's in recovery now." I jumped up and almost tackled her in a hug. It was hard to even listen to everything else she was telling me, my mind was stuck on the fact Willow would be okay. She was alive. She was okay. My world was righted again.

I learned over the next several days that Willow had a seizure during delivery and the medication they gave her to counteract it had caused her heart rate to stop. Her bad reaction to the drug had been unexpected, but they revived her and she seemed to not have any lingering effects from the pre-eclampsia. Willow had been out of it for almost a whole day before she became fully aware and cognizant again. The first thing she asked for was her babies.

The babies were perfect, thriving in the NICU incubators over the next several days and my heart almost burst out of my chest the first time I got to see Willow hold each of them.

"I told you, Daddy!" William patted my leg, before running ahead and yelling for Laura. Yes, he'd been right. Or at least he'd gotten his wish.

It was Christmas morning, and we were bringing Willow and the girls back home. I escorted a slow-moving Willow into the den, and my parents followed, each holding a baby in their own carrier. William was playing on the floor while I helped everyone settle down. I turned on the tree lights and Laura appeared with food and drinks. I'd never felt more in the Christmas spirit than I did at this moment.

I had everything I ever wanted right here in this room. Love, family, everyone safe and happy. I didn't know whether to thank Dr. Whitney, thank God, or maybe even thank Santa, but I was more grateful than I could say to all of them. "Hey, Buddy?" William ran back over to me. "Guess what time it is?"

His face turned serious and he shook his head. "I don't know, Daddy."

"It's time to open all your presents. Look at all those gifts under the tree.”

His eyes popped out and his mouth fell open. "But I got my present already." He leaned in close and whispered, "Don't you remember, Daddy?"

I laughed and hugged him. "Yeah, you did. But you were such a good boy this year, Santa decided you needed a bunch of toys, too."

He squealed and ran back over to the tree, grabbing box after box. "Babies!" William shouted. "Watch me!" He started tearing into his gifts. "Do it like this!"

We all laughed. Apparently, we'd have to talk with him some more about what the babies could and couldn't do. Willow leaned over and kissed me. "What was he whispering to you about?"

I pretended to zip my lips. "It's a secret." She scowled a little, but couldn't hold it very long. There was too much around us to be happy about.