July 10, 2027
"C'mon sweetheart, push." Joe Kiriakis encouraged his wife.
"Shut up!" CD exclaimed. "You push." She was tired, sore and extremely irritated. "After this no more children."
"Now, CD, you aren't being logical�" Joe began.
CD cut him off violently. "Logical my ass! You can talk to me about logical when YOU are the one trying to squeeze a water melon through a straw."
Joe wisely chose not to answer her.
Lexie came in right then. She checked on her daughter's progress. She smiled. "You're doing great sweetheart."
"Mom." CD sounded desperate. "I am so sorry for every bad thing I ever put you through. I had no idea how painful this wa- AAAH." She yelled, sounding exhausted.
Lexie adjusted the cloth on her daughter's forehead. Tactfully she said, "It's always hardest the first time."
CD was panting. "Can I have more pain killers?"
"Sweetheart, the nurse was just in here." Joe said, concerned.
"It'll take a few minutes to kick in." Lexie assured her.
"No, you don't understand how much this hurts." CD tried to say.
Lexie looked at her oddly, then said, "I'm a three time veteran of the delivery room angel. I do know how much it hurts. You'll be fine."
"That's reassuring. Joe." She summoned her husband.
Joe took her hand. "Just a little longer CD. And then we'll have a baby." He encouraged her.
"Yes." She nodded. The painkillers were starting to take effect, but her body still hurt. She expected it would for a long time. "No one told me it would be this bad." She gasped, bearing down on the contraction as she had been taught to.
Joe replaced the cloth on her forehead. In doing so he realized something. "You're burning up!" He exclaimed.
Lexie took over all doctor now. She laid a hand across CD's forehead. Her expression told them it was bad. "CD, why didn't you say you felt hot?" She asked in an odd tone. It was almost angry.
"I thought it was normal." CD said. "Mom, what's wrong?" She was panicking.
Lexie didn't answer. She slapped the com button on the wall and ordered a nurse to get in there.
"MOM." CD was really frightened. Joe was trying to calm her down, but he was worried too.
"Celeste, I want you to think about this very carefully and answer honestly, OK?" Lexie said seriously.
CD sucked in a deep breath. If Lexie was calling her by her full name things were bad.
"How much weight have you gained in that last month?"
"About five pounds." CD answered, blushing slightly. She had always been very thin, and it was slightly embarrassing to her that she gained so much weight.
"Thank God." Lexie breathed. Then she noticed CD wasn't wearing her wedding ring. "Why aren't you wearing your ring?" She asked, concerned.
"My hands are too swollen." CD admitted.
"But she looks beautiful." Joe said, kissing her.
"Anything else weird?" Lexie's heart was in her throat as she asked the question.
"I was still having morning sickness into my sixth month, I had a lot of head aches, I would get dizzy from time to time." CD finally admitted.
Lexie's jaw tightened. "Damn it! Why didn't your doctor pick up on something?" She slapped the wall.
CD was terrified now. "I didn't want anyone to worry." She said in a small voice. "I thought it was normal." Joe held her hand and tried to soothe her.
A nurse arrived. She took CD's blood pressure. It was sky high.
"Tell the lab I need the results on those urine tests." Lexie growled. "And get someone else in here."
"Yes Dr. Carver." The nurse scurried out.
Lexie looked at the two would be parents. Her heart broke for them. She went to stand beside her daughter's bed. She took CD's hand. "CD, honey, I know this looks bad. But it might not be." Her voice held out little hope.
"Mom, I need to know." CD said.
"We need to know." Joe emphasized. "Is something wrong?"
"Yes." Lexie said. "Have either of you ever heard of preeclampsia?"
"No." Joe said.
CD shook her head.
"Well, it's a serious disease. It's a form of toxemia. Its symptoms tend to be high blood pressure, which you have, large weight gain or swelling, headaches, dizziness, nausea, sudden intense pains in your stomach, visual problems such as double vision and protein in the urine."
"What does it mean to the baby?" Joe asked the obvious question.
"We could've treated it if we caught it earlier." Lexie said.
"What do you mean?" CD was shaking.
"Relax honey." Lexie said. "It might not be this."
"Will my baby be okay if I do have this preeclampsia?" CD asked.
Lexie couldn't look at her daughter. "No. Not this late." She said softly. "You would have to have an immediate C-section to make sure you and the baby don't get hurt worse than you are now." She took a deep breath. "And we pray that you don't have eclampsia."
"What would that mean?" Joe asked.
"The baby would have seizures, go into a coma and eventually die." Lexie said slowly.
"Die?" CD breathed. "But, that isn't possible."
"The amnio results said everything was fine. This shouldn't be happening." Joe said.
"I know, she doesn't have all the symptoms, but I'd rather be too careful." Lexie said.
"Should you have a room prepared in case she needs a C-section?" Joe asked nervously.
"Stop talking about me like I'm not here!" CD said passionately.
They both turned to look at her. "Now, what risks am I in for?" CD asked, trying to be calm.
"There's a chance you could also have a seizure." Lexie made herself form the words. She left hanging the rest. She couldn't believe this was happening. 'Not to my daughter.' She thought in shock. 'Not to my family.'
Joe was holding his wife's hand, stroking her arm and whispering, "This is a dream, this is a dream, this has to be a dream."
CD was in shock. "Why didn't they catch it?" She asked numbly.
"Most likely they thought it was unlikely. You're over twenty, under forty, you don't have high blood pressure, you're not overweight and there isn't a family history." Lexie answered.
"With all that stuff going for me isn't it possible that isn't what's wrong?" CD was trying to stay calm, but discussing her life was not conducive to that possibility.
"I'm going down to the lab." Lexie said abruptly. "Hang in there."
"I will." CD promised faintly.
Lexie and Joe exchanged a glance. Joe nodded to show he would take care of her. He pulled up a chair and sat beside her. "We haven't really decided on a name yet." Joe said.
"I want to name her after-OH." CD gripped Joe's hand tightly.
"CD? Honey, is that a contraction?"
"No." She grunted. "It felt like someone just punched me in the gut."
Joe was worried. "It'll be okay." He promised. "I'll take care of you."
She groaned a little, feeling sick. "Joe, I know you mean well but please shut up."
He looked at her seriously. He'd never seen her like this. She looked awful. He brushed her hair off her sweaty forehead. He applied a cool wash cloth.
"If it's a boy I want to name him Justin." She gasped, as the pain lessened. "If it's a girl, Adrienne."
Joe nodded. "Those are both good names." He agreed. Right then he would've let her call their son or daughter Bozo the Clown as long as it meant the baby would live.
"Joe I'm scared." CD admitted.
"Me too." He said.
"Do you really think everything will be okay?" She asked.
"As long as I have you things have to be." He said.
She tried to smile. "It's my fault, isn't it?" She asked.
"Your fault? No of course not!" Joe exclaimed. "Don't blame yourself honey. You couldn't have known."
"But I did know!" She said desperately. "I knew something was wrong. Things just felt that way. I convinced myself I was just being superstitious, but maybe I wasn't." She said, nearly hysterical. "Maybe if I said something this wouldn't be happening now."
"CD, you could not have known. You could not have prevented this. Right now you have to be strong, so that nothing worse happens to our baby, okay?"
"Okay." She said weakly. "Joe thank you."
"For what?" He wondered.
"For taking care of me."
"But I didn't take care of you." Joe said. "If I did none of this would've happened."
"Joe you can't blame yourself." CD said. "You didn't know anything was wrong. I didn't really know anything was wrong. There's nothing either of us could've done."
"I know." Joe said, kissing her cheek. "I'll take care of you better from now on. And you too." Joe put his hand on CD's huge tummy.
"I'll take care of myself better." CD promised. "And you too." She addressed her stomach. "I can't wait to meet you."
Lexie raced into the room with two men hot on her heels. They transferred her to a gurney rapidly. "CD, honey, it's worse than we thought." Lexie was trying to sound calm. "You need a C-section right away."
"Now?" CD was aghast. Things were really bad.
"Yes. These guys are going to bring you to prep. I'll be watching, but not participating."
"Mom?" CD was panicked. "Joe? Someone come with me! I can't do this by myself." She was almost crying at the end. The men wheeled her out quickly.
Lexie held Joe back firmly. "It's better if you don't watch." She said compassionately.
"You don't understand!" Joe said forcefully. "That's my WIFE."
"AND she's my daughter." Lexie hissed. "But there's nothing we can do in there but watch."
"I could hold her hand." Joe offered.
"She'll be out cold. You want to do something useful go to the chapel and pray." Lexie snapped. Joe turned sadly. Before he left he asked, "Will she be all right?"
"It's too soon to tell."
Joe left with those cheerless words. He walked to the chapel with a cloud hanging around him. He didn't notice all the looks he was getting from the staff.
Joe knelt in the chapel. His head dropped to his folded hands as he prayed. He soon realized he was not alone. Abe was kneeling too.
They both sat back, regarding each other warily. In all the years Joe and CD had been together Abe had not spoken to either of them. Abe began haltingly. "Frannie called me." He paused. "She told me CD went into labor. It looks like I'll be a grandparent pretty soon." Abe was unaware of the complications that had arisen.
"Why are you here?" Joe needed to take his rage out on something and since Abe was here he'd do. "You hate me. You hate that I'm with your daughter. You haven't said a civil word to me in the five YEARS your daughter and I have been involved. You've made your feelings very clear. SO just leave us alone!" He said fiercely.
Abe stared at him, then said, "She's my daughter. I lost her because of some stupid notion that I had to protect her. Don't do that with your family. That's all I had to say."
Joe felt stupid. "I won't even have the chance." He admitted.
"What?" Abe was confused.
"Complications came up. I don't know what's going on but they took CD for an emergency C-section but they wouldn't let me in with her."
"Oh God." Abe moaned. "I really will lose her, won't I?"
"Don't talk like that." Joe said sharply. "She'll be fine. She has to be." He whispered more to himself than to Abe. "And so will the baby."
Abe looked at him compassionately. "Of course they will." Joe head dropped onto his hands again. Abe reached out and put a hand on the younger man's shoulder. "They're related to the Dimeras and the Kiriakises. They're practically unkillable."
Joe managed a small smile. "You'd think so. But you should've seen her. Even with that huge pregnant belly she looked tiny and fragile. Like she'd break." Joe's voice was hushed.
"I promise you, my daughter's a fighter." Abe's voice was rough with emotion. "She'll pull through."
Joe looked up. "I understand now." He said slowly.
"Understand what?"
"Why she loves you so much. Why she misses you."
"Why?" Abe was fascinated to hear from the lips of the man whom he most despised the welcome tidings that his daughter didn't hate him.
"Because you love her. Because you miss her too." Joe said dully, numbed by the days findings.
They sat together in silence for hours, listening to the clock tick and praying for the recovery of the woman who meant so much to both of them.
Lexie was the one who found them. She was more than a little surprised to see them sitting together without blood shed but she let it pass without comment. "She's out."
"That was fast." Joe blinked. It hadn't been, but he didn't want to say that.
"She asked for you."
Joe stood. "What about the baby?"
"It's a girl." Lexie sounded almost dead. "She's significantly underweight. She had a post partum seizure almost immediately."
"And?"
"Now we wait." Lexie said dismally. "We wait for whatever happens to happen with the baby and we watch CD to make sure the same thing doesn't happen to her."
"Thank you." Joe couldn't meet her eyes. He looked defeated as he walked toward his wife's room.
Lexie and Abe looked at each other. They hadn't been alone together in a long time. Their eyes communicated and Abe opened his arms. Lexie flew into them, sobbing. "Abe, she's just a baby." Lexie murmured through her tears.
Abe didn't know if Lexie meant the baby or CD.
"You should've seen her. She wanted everything to be perfect. Now it's just a matter of time till she loses her first child."
Abe didn't know what to say. So he held Lexie and let her cry.
"You know what kills me?" She asked.
He shook his head. "She kept thanking us. Just kept saying thank you. She's in so much pain, she saw how much we wanted to help, saw that we couldn't do anything and she thanked us." Lexie started to calm. "She asked for Joe. I don't know what they're going to say to each other."
"Maybe he'll just hold her and let her cry." Abe suggested.
Lexie nodded. "Maybe." Abe held her for a long time.
IN CD's hospital room
CD lay, still and quiet. Joe came in. He was almost afraid to touch her because she looked so fragile. He took her hand. Her eyes opened. "Baby?" She asked.
He just shook his head. Her eyes closed. Tears rolled down her cheeks.
"I'm sorry." He said as he brushed her tears away.
Her eyes opened again. "Girl?" She asked.
He nodded. "I want to see her." CD said weakly.
"Is that a good idea? You're both so weak�" He trailed off at the look of pleading she gave him.
"Fine." He asked a nurse to bring little Adrienne to them. "I talked to your dad." He continued. "He loves you so much. He wants me to make you promise to get better so he can tell you himself."
She tried to smile. "I will." She said.
Joe brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. "I'll hold you to that."
"Better."
A nurse brought the baby in. She looked tiny and sick. There was a breathing mask attached to her face. CD started to cry again at the sight. Joe took her from the nurse's arms, received instructions on how to hold the mask and tried to make little Adrienne comfortable. The nurse left.
CD turned her head to look at her husband and daughter. The tears were flowing down her cheeks.
"She looks like your sister." He said. "Has the same chin."
CD reached up to touch her. "How long?" She asked.
"A week, maybe two." Joe answered softly.
CD pulled herself up. Joe sat in the chair next to the bed. The young family sat together for a long time that night, and every night for the next week. Seven days later Adrienne died.
CD was released a week later. Joe tried to make her comfortable at home. But it wasn't the same. They came home. The clothes, diapers, and furniture they bought were a silent reminder of what they lost. CD moved out three weeks after Adrienne died. She moved in with Lexie.
Joe came to see her every day. He even bought a new house, so she would never have to go back to the place where all their dreams for a better future had died. Eventually she agreed to make up with Abe.
"Daddy?" CD knocked on the door to the house she grew up in. She felt silly.
Abe opened the door. "CD?" He breathed. Immediately he enveloped her in a hug. "I heard what happened honey. I am so sorry." He said.
She was shaking in his embrace. "Daddy, I realize how precious life is. I am so sorry." She sobbed.
"I'm sorry too." Tears ran down his face. "I'm sorry I said what I did. I'm sorry it took something like this to get us to make up. I'm sorry it took so long. And I'm sorry you had to take the first step."
"I love you Daddy."
"Shh." He held her gently, rocking her as he had when she was a little girl. "Everything's gonna be okay."
And CD believed him.
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