Our Last Chance – Chapter 5

Sheridan’s contractions were harder and closer together. Her body was finding its rhythm now. She looked into Luis’s worried eyes. His concern, his love astounded her. She wanted to ease his fear. “LJ is a fighter. We’ll be fine.”

LJ? Was she delirious? Gently he asked, “Who’s LJ?”

Sheridan beamed. “Your son.”

“Son? I thought you didn’t know the sex for sure. I thought we were kidding when we called him ‘he.’”

“That was Antonio who said we’d wait to find out. After I left him, Eve did another ultra-sound. I found out then.”

Luis nodded and asked again, “LJ?”

Sheridan raised her hand to the side of his face. “Luis, junior.”

The mid-day sun broke into the cabin. It lit Luis’s face. Obviously, she’d chosen the name, hoping the boy was his son. He repeated the name, testing the sound of it. “LJ. I like it.” Leaning to kiss Sheridan’s forehead, he said, “And I love LJ’s mother.”

Sheridan’s muscles worked again, urging LJ to be born. For the first time, she felt the pressure to bear down. Coming up on her elbows, Sheridan said, “I need to push.”

“Not yet, wait,” Luis warned her. He came to his knees and moved to the end of the blanket. He paused with his hand ready to lift the blanket. Scanning Sheridan’s face, he asked, “Mind if I go under the blanket.”

Sheridan snarled, “I think you’ve been under my blanket one too many times already. Look what you’ve done to me.”

Luis smirked at her inference, at the swing in her mood. “Sheridan, I need to look.”

“No, not yet.”

“Baby, I need to know if it’s time to push.”

As her body tensed again, she pulled her knees up and ground out, “Look, damn it. Look.”

Luis lifted the blanket and moved Sheridan’s knees apart, forming a tent over her lower half with the blanket. No wonder she wanted to push. She had to be ten centimeters dilated. The baby’s head was crowning. He heard a grinding mechanical sound in the distance.

Sheridan rolled her head toward the sound. “What is that?”

“Julian and Eve. Hold on, baby. I don’t want you to push until Eve gets here.”

At the end of the drive, Julian spotted the SUV Luis had abandoned there. He told Eve, “I think we can make it up the drive in this. If not, we’ll at least get closer.” Two minutes later the Hummer came to a groaning stop in an embankment of snow.

Julian turned to Eve. “This is as far as we’re going. Stay put until I come around for you.” The snow was deeper on Eve’s side. She gathered her medical bag and supplies into her arms as Julian worked to dig the snow away from her door.

In the cabin, Sheridan turned her face back to Luis. “Well, don’t keep me in suspense. How are we doing?”

Luis answered, “I can see the top of his head.”

Sheridan’s knees shook as the next tremor took over her body. She gasped, “I’ve got to push.”

“No, hold back. Not yet. Hold on.”

Sheridan defied him; her body defied him. She began to bear down.

Luis ordered, “Stop!”

She glared at him as the pressure eased. “I’m not in control here and neither are you. I think LJ is some sort of alien. He’s taken over my body.” She bore down again on a wave of pain. Grinding her teeth, she groaned, “I want him out.”

Luis moved up to her side and took her hand. He leaned over Sheridan’s face, smoothing the damp hair back from her forehead. When her face tensed, he said, “Go ahead. Push hard on this one. Yell, Sheridan, let it out.”

Julian supported Eve under one arm as they tread through the snow. “We’re almost there.” As if at his command, the cabin came into view. Bile rose in Julian’s throat as a cry from the cabin pierced the icy air. He clutched Eve’s arm tighter and pulled her through the last deep drift.

Sheridan regretted screaming. She saw the fear cut across Luis’s face. She tried to justify it. “It’s like a freight train driving out of my body.”

Luis calmed her. “It’s ok. You’re so strong. You’re doing great.”

“How’s LJ?”

Luis moved to her feet and peered under the tent. He placed his hands on each of her knees. Meeting her eyes he said, “LJ is ready.”

Julian and Eve slammed through the cabin door. Shaking the snow from her hair, Eve quickly assessed the situation. She threw her coat off as she moved across the room and dropped to her knees on the floor next to Luis. One glance told her, the baby was in good position. “Have you been pushing?”

”Yes, yes.” Sheridan reached for Luis. He moved to her head. On the next surge, Luis supported her shoulders as she bore down.

Eve coached her. “Good, good. He’s almost here.”

Julian paced near the door, feeling useless. He wanted to join them, but the intimacy of the experience overwhelmed him. He had not been present at the birth of his own children. This scene was foreign to him. Eve spoke to him without turning her head away from Sheridan. “Julian, bring me that second bag.”

Julian moved toward them hesitantly. He felt like an interloper. Eve turned to look at him over her shoulder. She saw is reluctance. “Julian,” she coached him as she rattled off the supplies she wanted him to remove from her bag. Julian came to her side and followed each instruction. Eve directed a comment to Luis. “You’ve done fine, Luis. Everything looks good.”

Julian glanced at Sheridan and saw a flash of irritation cross her face. He interjected, “Eve, I believe Sheridan deserves some credit here.” Julian raised his eyes to Luis, hoping he wasn’t offending him.

Luis blinked his agreement, covering his surprise at Crane’s sensitivity.

Eve said, “Yes, your sister is the one.” There was a long pause as they waited for the next contraction.

Luis leaned closer to Sheridan’s face. She blinked her eyes, trying to focus on him. He drew her attention with a question. “That last contraction. Rate it on a scale of one to ten.”

He had her full attention. She spat, “Is a ten as high as I can go?” Her muscles began to tense like a wave rushing over her. All four of them grunted in unison as she bore down.

Julian was part of the team now. He announced, “The head’s out.” Eve supported the baby’s head in her hands. Julian placed his hand on Eve’s back, smoothing the tension, murmuring, “You’re doing fine.”

His words echoed as Luis murmured, in unison, the same words to Sheridan, “You’re doing fine.” Luis raised his head and looked across Eve to Julian. Julian’s eyes met his. His hand still rested on Eve’s back. Their expressions of encouragement, their tones had matched. In a flash, Luis discovered Eve and Julian. Their connection mirrored his to Sheridan. Knowing what Luis saw in his face, Julian sat back on his heels and withdrew his palm from Eve’s back. Eve looked over her shoulder at him, missing his touch. Luis saw that too. Never had he seen this connection between Eve and TC. Never had he seen this connection between Julian and any other woman. In a split second, Luis knew their bond.

Their attention turned to Sheridan for the next several minutes. LJ was born.

Eve passed him to Julian first who wrapped him in a small soft blanket and rose to carry him around the bedding to Luis. Before placing him in Luis’s arms, Julian cooed at Luis’s son, “Oh my, what a big boy you are.” He placed him carefully, slowly in Luis’s arms as if reluctant to give him up. LJ mesmerized Luis, but even so, his eyes met Julian’s during the exchange, and he thought, ‘Who is this man?’

As Eve tended to Sheridan, Luis knelt and brought LJ into his mother’s arms. Sheridan’s expression was indescribable, but in a moment, she said weakly, “Luis, you hold him.” The color drained from her face.

Julian paced around the group. There was nothing for him to do, but he couldn’t walk away. He noticed how pale Sheridan was. He knelt down at her side opposite Luis. Over his shoulder, he asked Eve. “How’s she doing?”

Without turning her face from Sheridan, Eve spoke calmly, “Julian, take Luis to the kitchen. The two of you can clean the baby up. He’s doing fine.”

Julian understood her message when he heard her emphasis on the word ‘he.’ There must be a problem for Sheridan. Julian stood up and said to Luis, “You heard her, Doctor’s orders.”

Faintly Sheridan said, “Go on, Luis.” Her eyes closed.

Luis rose and started to question Eve. Julian took him by the elbow and urged him away from Sheridan. “Let Eve finish. I believe she’s banishing the three men from the room.”

A few minutes later Julian and Luis stood at the kitchen sink. Julian ran water and tested it with his wrist. He said, “The hot water heater runs on gas. Good thing. Aahh, that’s just right. I think he’ll like this.” Luis and Julian gently bathed LJ.

This unimaginable experience ended when Eve cried out, “Julian, I need you.”

Julian rushed out of the kitchen. Luis bundled the baby back into his blanket and followed. Eve said, “She’s hemorrhaging. I can’t stop the bleeding. What blood type are you, Julian?”

“O positive.”

Eve instructed, “Get the IV lines from my bag. You can give her blood.”

Julian never hesitated. Sheridan was deathly pale and sleeping silently. Luis knelt beside her holding LJ. Eve did everything she could to stop Sheridan’s bleeding and then turned to Julian as he rolled up his sleeve. She found a vein in his arm, but paused."

I think I’ve stopped her bleeding now, but she lost so much blood before I did. I’m afraid she won’t make it without this.”

Julian met her eyes. “Do it.” Eve inserted the needle into his vein. She rigged an IV for Sheridan.

Hours later, Sheridan awoke to a quite different scene. Luis was sitting beside her, smoothing her cheek with his thumb. She turned her head looking for LJ.

Across the room, Eve was placing LJ in Julian’s arms. The baby made a small mewling sound. Julian raised his eyes to Eve. “What do I do?”

“Sing, Julian, sing,” Eve encouraged him.

Julian froze. He didn’t know any baby songs. What did they call them, lullabies? He began to hum and then words came as he rocked on his feet to a melody he knew. "They say we’re young and we don’t know.....I Got You Babe."

Luis stared at Julian. It was impossible to process this scene.

Julian repeated his chorus, "I Got You Babe."

The corner of Luis’s mouth twitched into a smile. ‘I’ll be damned,’ he thought. ‘Sonny and Cher.’

Eve came to check Sheridan, but turned her face to look at Julian over her shoulder. Luis caught the look on her face. There was no doubt about it; she loved him. Eve Russell loved Julian Crane.

Sheridan asked, “Have I been sleeping? I was so tired.”

Eve answered, “You lost a lot of blood. You’re going to be fine. Julian is your blood type. He gave you the blood you needed to replace some of what you lost.”

Sheridan locked her eyes on Luis. “I’d rather die than...”

Luis pressed his forefinger to her lips, stopping her. He knew her thought: ‘I’d rather die than have a drop of Julian’s blood.’ Luis couldn’t let her say that in front of Eve. He told Sheridan quietly, “Julian was our last chance.”

Eve said, “Julian, Sheridan’s ready to hold her son.”

Eve and Luis laughed as they heard Julian sing one more chorus of I Got You Babe before he brought LJ to Sheridan. Luis moved aside as Julian knelt down next to Sheridan and gently placed LJ in the crook of her arm.

Sheridan said, “Julian?”

He heard the question in her voice. Julian’s voice broke with emotion as he answered, “Before Mother died, she asked me to look out for you. Today, I honored my promise.”

Tears streamed down Sheridan’s cheeks.

Julian and Eve moved away and left the new family alone. Sheridan couldn’t take her eyes from LJ. “He’s so beautiful.”

Luis said, “Julian and I gave him a bath.”

Sheridan looked at Luis, amazed again. Luis tried to explain. “We don’t know this Julian. This is Eve’s Julian.”