Page 19 of Until Waverly

Waverly

The exhaustion I’d experienced when I started my shift had nothing on the fatigue creeping through my bones. Add in the pain of being thrown against the wall and striking the floor, and I limped along the corridor like an old lady unfit for the job.

If Mack saw me, he’d tease me and offer a cane to help me out. Little did my big brother know, I’d more than likely hit him over the head with it than use it to keep me propped up.

I groaned.

What I really needed was my bed. My daughter. Some pain meds and sleep. In that order.

Even though L&D was on lockdown, nothing stopped babies from being born. As luck would have it, Jackie’s labor kicked back in.Had to be the full moon.Downside of her labor, speeding through to fully dilated, was no anesthesia and no doctor. For a while there, I thought all of us nurses would be the ones to deliver the remaining babies, including Jackie’s. Thankfully, our doula had been here the whole time. She swooped in at the right moment to help Jackie birth her son.

I wouldn’t say my parents sheltered me or Macey or even Mack when we were younger, so we didn’t understand the harsh realities of life, but this... What the fuck? I had no way to prepare. Being held hostage by a grieving husband while praying that no mother or child emergencies occurred felt like a crapshoot. Lady Luck hadn’t been on our side for at least twenty-four hours now, so our luck had to change soon, right?

I glanced over to where the man paced and frowned.Highly doubtful.

A bonus though. Lucy’s mom had showed up moments before everything happened, and due to the boyfriend not being back from grabbing a bite, he’d been locked out. Mother and daughter’s reunion went well, and once Lucy had been relaxed and rested, she had her baby a few short hours ago. Both new mom and baby were doing as well as expected while being held hostage too.

My thoughts wander to my daughter. I knew she was safe. The daycare would’ve called my mom since I had her listed as my emergency contact for Alandria. No doubt she’d contact the rest of my family, or at the very least my dad would know what I’d been hiding for the last year plus. The second I walked out of the hospital; I’d have a lot to atone for and explain.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t focus on that.

I’d been in the thick of it with Jackie and her husband Matt, holding her right leg while Matt held her left, encouraging her to push. This was the part of my job I loved. Getting to see all of mom’s hard work come to fruition and their baby crying for the first time. This even made being stuck in lockdown bearable.

I hoped I never lost that wonder and excitement.

“One more time, Jackie,” the doula said, “and we’ll meet your son.”

With one last push, Jackie delivered her healthy baby boy, who started crying the second he came out. From there it was a blur of activity as we not only cleaned up Jackie but her son too. By the time the other nurses in the room had her prepped to be moved to a family suite, I cleaned up the used equipment and made sure the biohazard waste was in the proper receptacles. Thanks to the additional boost of adrenaline, I could ignore how sore my right side had been.

“Go take a break,” Joyce said. Exhaustion ripped through each syllable of her words. “Get something to eat.”

We were both in the same boat. However, she was my senior. I shook my head. “You should go first.” My stomach chose the most inappropriate time to growl loudly, and Joyce grinned while I was mortified.

“I’ve worked long shifts before. I’m used to this. You haven’t been required to work a double. When you come back, I’ll go,” she promised.

“Fine.” I frowned at the idea of leaving her to do most of the work while the other nurses checked on our remaining patients on the floor. If only the father would just let us out or better yet had gone to the right floor, maybe none of this would have happened.

The kitchen was always stocked with packets of peanut butter, crackers, cookies, ice pops, and a wide range of drinks. It was also supplied with high-protein foods for moms who delivered after the cafeterias that serviced the patients closed. I didn’t touch the dozen pre-made meals in the fridge in case one of our mothers got hungry and we were here for another day. Instead, I pulled out two packets of peanut butter, a package of cookies, and two mini-cans of lemon-lime soda, and cranberry juice.

Combined, everything in my hands would give me the extra boost I’d need to make it the rest of my shift or our captivity. Whichever came first.

Eventually, though, I’d come down from my high, and I’d crash hard.

I promised myself when this was over I was going to sleep for days, even if it meant calling my mom and asking her to come stay with me to take care of Alandria. I knew it would put her in a rough position, but if I’d learned anything through this shift, it was the fact I’d always need my family. We didn’t have to be alone.

As I made my way back to the nurse’s station, the father was pacing again. He raked his fingers through his hair, causing the salt and pepper ends to stick out in every direction. Agitated was a good way to describe him. Inconsolable was another. Even though he’d said he had a gun, I was grateful he hadn’t pulled it out or used it. Over the last handful of hours, we’d decided he must have been bluffing, but none of us also wanted to tempt fate either.

“I want to see my son!” he commanded again. He sounded like a broken record, demanding the same thing over and over, even though we’d all explained to him why it’d been impossible to do. “Why won’t you bring me to him? He’s all I have left.”

My heart went out to him. I couldn’t imagine his pain. It must’ve been soul-crushing. Yet, I was furious with him for how he was responding to the loss of his wife. I didn’t know the woman, none of us did. But I was almost positive she wouldn’t agree with what he was doing and how he’d gone about it. His focus should’ve been on his son, not holding innocent people hostage on a floor where babies took their first breaths of life.

Mostly, we’d been ignoring him. Going about our business of dealing with the laboring moms and newborns on our floor. At least he hadn’t stopped us from doing our jobs. However, the longer we were there, the more I wondered what would happen next.

Amy remained behind the desk, standing guard. Our gatekeeper and protector. I didn’t know how she’d done it, but she’d effectively kept him where he’d been since this shitstorm all started—away from us. After twenty-plus hours, I thought for sure he’d give up or at least be so tired he’d pass out and we could get security in here. If anything, as more time ticked by, the angrier and more agitated he became.

Making him unpredictable.

“Joyce is in Lucy’s room checking on mom and baby.” Amy then turned her attention to the distraught father. “Sir,” she stepped forward, trying to get through to him maybe? Amy had been a saint, taking on the responsibility of corralling the father, which allowed the rest of the staff to help keep the patients calm. “As I explained to you before, your son is in the NICU.”

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