Chapter 84 Everything Happening At Once
Chapter 84 Everything Happening At Once
POV: Lina
The room changed immediately after the nurse looked at the monitor.
One second everything was quiet.
The next, people were moving too fast.
“Okay, Lina, I need you to breathe slowly for me.”
The pain hit again before I could answer.
Harder this time.
Sharp enough to make me grab the side of the bed instantly.
Daniel was beside me immediately.
“What’s happening?”
The nurse pressed another button near the monitor.
“I’m calling the doctor.”
That sentence alone made fear crawl straight into my chest.
Another contraction hit before I could process anything properly.
I inhaled sharply, my eyes squeezing shut for a second.
“Oh my God,” I whispered.
Daniel grabbed my hand immediately.
“Look at me.”
I tried.
But everything suddenly felt too loud.
Machines.
Footsteps.
My own heartbeat.
The doctor rushed in less than a minute later with another nurse behind her. Her eyes moved quickly between me and the monitor before her expression tightened.
“How long have the contractions been increasing?”
“Just now,” the nurse answered quickly.
The doctor looked at me.
“Lina, I need you to stay calm for me.”
I almost laughed.
Stay calm.
Right.
The pain eased slightly again, but not fully this time.
It stayed there now.
Heavy.
Tight.
Wrong.
Daniel’s hand stayed wrapped around mine so tightly it almost hurt.
“What’s going on?” he asked again, sharper now.
The doctor answered while checking the monitor.
“Her body isn’t responding well enough to the medication anymore.”
I stared at her.
“What does that mean?”
She looked at me carefully before answering.
“It means the contractions are progressing.”
Everything inside me went cold.
“No.”
The word came out immediately.
Too fast.
Too scared.
“No, it’s too early.”
“We know,” she said gently.
Another contraction hit before she could continue.
This one made me gasp properly.
Daniel stood up immediately beside the bed.
“Hey. Hey, look at me.”
I tried focusing on him, but fear was spreading too fast inside my chest now.
The doctor turned toward one of the nurses.
“Call obstetrics again. Now.”
The room moved even faster after that.
More voices.
More movement.
More panic trying to climb into my throat.
I looked at Daniel again.
His face had changed completely now.
He looked terrified.
Actually terrified.
And somehow that scared me more than the contractions themselves.
“Daniel—”
“You’re okay,” he said immediately.
But his voice sounded strained now.
Tight.
Like he barely believed himself.
The doctor checked something else before looking back at me again.
“We’re moving you upstairs.”
“For what?”
“Closer monitoring.”
The nurses were already unlocking the hospital bed wheels before she even finished speaking.
Daniel walked beside me immediately as they started moving.
Everything blurred together after that.
Bright lights overhead.
Hallways.
People speaking too quickly.
Pain coming harder now.
I grabbed Daniel’s hand again during another contraction and his entire face tightened instantly.
“It hurts,” I whispered.
“I know.”
And God, he sounded helpless saying it.
That nearly broke me.
—
By the time we reached the next floor, I was shaking.
Not dramatically.
Just enough that I noticed it.
The contractions weren’t stopping anymore.
They kept coming.
Closer together now.
The doctor checked me again while nurses adjusted monitors around me.
Her expression gave everything away before she even spoke.
Daniel noticed too.
“What?”
She exhaled carefully.
“She’s progressing faster than we want.”
My chest tightened instantly.
“What does that mean?”
The doctor looked directly at me.
“It means we may have to deliver early if this continues.”
The room went completely silent.
I stared at her.
Daniel stared at her.
Nobody moved for a second.
Then finally he spoke.
“No.”
The word came out rough.
Immediate.
The doctor stayed calm.
“We’re trying to stop it.”
“But you said if it continues—”
“I know what I said.”
Another contraction cut through me before anybody could continue.
This one was bad enough to make tears spring into my eyes immediately.
Daniel grabbed my face gently.
“Breathe.”
“I am breathing.”
“Lina.”
“I’m trying!”
Fear cracked through my voice before I could stop it.
The doctor exchanged another look with the nurses.
Then quietly:
“We need to prepare in case we have to intervene tonight.”
Tonight.
The word hit like a slap.
Tonight meant now.
Not weeks later.
Not eventually.
Now.
Panic finally crashed into me fully after that.
“No,” I whispered again. “No, no, no…”
Daniel looked worse every second.
He turned toward the doctor sharply.
“She’s not even ready yet.”
“I know.”
“The baby’s too early.”
“We know.”
Nobody was saying anything reassuring anymore.
That was the problem.
Nobody was lying.
The doctor moved closer to me again.
“Lina, I need you listening carefully to me.”
I tried focusing on her through the fear.
“Your blood pressure is rising too quickly, and your body is under significant strain right now.”
I swallowed hard.
“What happens if it gets worse?”
The pause before she answered terrified me.
“We act quickly.”
My breathing became uneven immediately.
Daniel noticed first.
“Hey. Hey, look at me.”
I shook my head weakly.
“I can’t do this.”
“Yes, you can.”
“I can’t.”
His hands held my face more firmly now.
“Yes, you can.”
For the first time since all this started…
Daniel looked close to breaking too.
And somehow that made everything feel even more real.
A nurse suddenly entered quickly.
“Family’s here.”
Of course.
Maya and Clara.
Daniel looked torn for a second before nodding.
“Let them in.”
Maya entered first and immediately froze after seeing my face.
Clara looked even worse.
“What happened?” Clara asked instantly.
Nobody answered immediately.
That alone was enough.
Maya’s expression changed immediately.
“Oh my God.”
The doctor stepped aside slightly.
“She’s having significant contractions.”
Clara looked like all the air left her body.
“Now?”
The doctor nodded once.
“We’re trying to stabilize things.”
Trying.
Not succeeding.
Trying.
Maya moved closer to me immediately.
“You okay?”
I almost laughed at the question.
Instead I whispered,
“No.”
And hearing myself admit it out loud made tears finally spill properly down my face.
Daniel tightened his grip on my hand immediately.
Clara looked seconds away from crying too.
Everything suddenly felt unreal.
Too fast.
Too much.
The baby moved suddenly during another contraction and I gasped sharply.
The doctor checked the monitor again.
Her expression changed instantly.
That terrified everybody immediately.
“What?” Daniel asked sharply.
“We’re losing stability.”
The room exploded into movement again.
Nurses rushed around us immediately.
Machines started sounding louder.
The doctor turned toward another nurse quickly.
“Prep an OR now.”
Daniel went completely still beside me.
“What does that mean?”
The doctor looked directly at him.
“We can’t wait anymore.”
My heart dropped instantly.
“No—”
But another contraction hit so hard I couldn’t finish speaking.
Pain ripped through me sharply enough to make me cry out this time.
Daniel grabbed onto me immediately.
“I’m here. I’m here.”
The doctor’s voice stayed calm despite the chaos around us.
“We’re doing an emergency delivery.”
Everything after that became noise.
Fear.
Movement.
People speaking too quickly.
Someone adjusting my IV.
Someone explaining surgery papers.
Clara crying quietly near the door.
Maya trying to stay calm and failing.
And Daniel—
Daniel looked like somebody had ripped the ground out from under him.
He stayed beside me while they moved the bed again, refusing to let go of my hand even once.
“I’m scared,” I whispered finally.
The words broke out of me before I could stop them.
Daniel’s face nearly shattered hearing it.
He leaned down immediately, forehead pressing lightly against mine.
“You stay with me, okay?”
Tears blurred my vision completely now.
“I’m trying.”
“No,” he said roughly. “You stay with me.”
The fear in his voice destroyed me more than the pain did.
Because Daniel never sounded afraid.
Never.
But right now?
He sounded terrified of losing me.
The operating room doors came into view too quickly.
Nurses stopped Clara and Maya outside immediately.
Daniel moved with me automatically until another nurse stopped him too.
“You can come in after prep.”
His face tightened instantly.
“I’m not leaving her.”
“Sir—”
“I’m not leaving her.”
I grabbed his hand weakly before things escalated further.
Daniel looked down at me immediately.
And suddenly his expression cracked completely.
Real panic.
Real fear.
Raw enough to hurt just looking at him.
“You’re okay,” he whispered again.
But this time…
his voice broke halfway through the words.
Everything inside the operating room felt too bright.
Too cold.
Too fast.
People moved around me while machines beeped steadily somewhere near my head. I could hear metal instruments clinking softly, nurses speaking in low urgent voices, doctors preparing things I didn’t want to think about too hard.
Fear sat so heavily in my chest it almost made breathing difficult.
A nurse adjusted something near my arm gently.
“You’re okay, Lina.”
Everybody kept saying that.
But nobody sounded fully sure anymore.
The contractions hadn’t stopped.
Even lying there, I could still feel them tightening painfully through my stomach while the monitors kept tracking everything around me.
The doctor stepped closer again.
“We’re moving quickly now, alright?”
I swallowed hard before nodding weakly.
My mouth suddenly felt dry.
“Where’s Daniel?”
“He’s coming in.”
The answer relaxed me slightly before another wave of fear crashed right back in.
Because this was real now.
Actually real.
Not appointments.
Not warnings.
Not discussions about risks.
This.
This was happening.
The curtain near the door moved suddenly and Daniel stepped inside wearing hospital scrubs. The second his eyes found me, his entire face changed.
Relief.
Fear.
Love.
All at once.
He came toward me immediately.
“I’m here.”
The shakiness in my chest eased slightly hearing his voice.
His hand found mine instantly.
Warm.
Tight.
Steady even though I could feel how badly he was trying not to panic.
I looked up at him carefully.
He looked pale.
Actually pale.
“You look horrible,” I whispered weakly.
A broken laugh escaped him softly.
“You’re insulting me during surgery?”
“You deserve it.”
His eyes immediately became shinier after that.
Like hearing me joke even now nearly undid him completely.
The doctor started speaking again nearby, explaining things rapidly to the team around her.
Most of it blurred together in my head.
But then I heard one sentence clearly.
“If her bleeding worsens—”
My eyes snapped toward the doctor instantly.
Daniel heard it too.
“What does that mean?”
The doctor looked at us briefly.
“It means we may need to act aggressively to save her life if complications increase.”
My entire body went cold.
Daniel’s grip tightened painfully around my hand.
“No.”
The doctor stayed calm.
“We’re monitoring carefully.”
But that wasn’t an answer.
And we all knew it.
Fear climbed so quickly into my throat I thought I might throw up.
Daniel leaned closer immediately.
“Hey. Look at me.”
I tried.
But tears were already burning behind my eyes again.
“I don’t want to die,” I whispered.
The words shattered something in his face instantly.
“You’re not going to.”
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
His voice cracked completely now.
“You are not leaving me.”
Emotion hit me so hard I couldn’t even answer for a second.
Because this man—
this man who used to hold everything inside himself—
looked seconds away from completely falling apart.
The doctor touched my arm gently.
“We’re starting now.”
Everything blurred again after that.
Pressure.
Movement.
Voices.
Daniel holding my hand so tightly I could feel his heartbeat through his fingers.
At some point, the pain changed.
Not gone.
Just distant in a strange foggy way.
But the fear stayed sharp.
Very sharp.
I stared up at the bright lights overhead while tears slipped silently into my hair.
Daniel noticed immediately.
“Hey.”
I looked toward him weakly.
“You stay with me,” he whispered again.
I nodded faintly.
Then suddenly—
a different sound filled the room.
Small.
Sharp.
Crying.
Everybody froze for one tiny second.
Then the room shifted instantly.
“That’s the baby.”
My breath caught completely.
The crying came again.
Tiny.
Alive.
Real.
Emotion slammed into me so suddenly it hurt.
“Oh my God,” I whispered.
Daniel made a sound beside me I had never heard from him before.
Half laugh.
Half broken sob.
His entire body bent forward slightly like the relief physically hit him all at once.
The nurse lifted the baby briefly and my vision blurred immediately with tears.
So small.
So unbelievably small.
But alive.
Alive.
Daniel looked completely destroyed beside me now, staring toward the baby like he couldn’t process what he was seeing.
“That’s our baby,” he whispered shakily.
The words nearly broke me apart.
I started crying harder immediately.
Not graceful crying.
Real crying.
Messy.
Overwhelmed.
The nurse quickly carried the baby toward another team nearby while the doctors continued working.
And suddenly—
the atmosphere changed again.
Fast.
Sharp.
Wrong.
The doctor’s voice became tighter immediately.
“We need more suction.”
Daniel looked toward them instantly.
“What’s happening?”
Nobody answered him immediately.
That terrified me more than anything.
The doctor spoke again, firmer now.
“She’s bleeding heavily.”
Fear crashed through the room instantly.
Daniel stood up halfway without letting go of my hand.
“What do you mean heavily?”
The doctors moved faster around me now.
Machines started sounding different.
One nurse rushed toward another tray while somebody adjusted something near my IV.
I felt cold suddenly.
Very cold.
The doctor looked directly at me now.
“Lina, stay with us.”
Panic exploded inside my chest.
“What’s happening?”
Her eyes softened slightly.
“Your uterus isn’t responding.”
The words barely processed through my fear.
Daniel looked completely lost beside me.
“Fix it,” he snapped immediately. “Whatever it is, fix it.”
The doctor’s jaw tightened.
“We’re trying.”
Trying.
Again that word.
Always trying.
Never certainty.
My breathing became uneven again immediately.
Daniel grabbed my face carefully.
“Hey. Look at me.”
Tears slipped harder down my face.
“I’m scared.”
“I know.”
“No, I’m really scared.”
His own eyes looked wet now too.
“You’re okay.”
But his voice sounded wrecked saying it.
The doctor suddenly looked toward him.
“We may have to perform an emergency hysterectomy.”
The room stopped.
Actually stopped.
Daniel stared at her blankly.
I did too.
My brain couldn’t even process the sentence properly at first.
Then slowly—
hysterectomy.
My stomach dropped violently.
“No,” I whispered instantly.
The doctor moved closer.
“It would stop the bleeding.”
“No.”
My voice broke immediately.
“No, no—”
Daniel looked horrified now.
“What does that mean exactly?”
The doctor answered carefully.
“It means removing her uterus.”
The tears started falling harder instantly.
Everything inside me shattered at once.
No more children.
Never again.
The reality hit so brutally I couldn’t breathe properly for a second.
Daniel looked back at me immediately after seeing my face.
And the panic in his expression changed instantly into something worse.
Pain.
Deep real pain.
“Lina—”
“I don’t want that.”
The doctor’s voice stayed calm but urgent now.
“If we cannot control the bleeding quickly, we won’t have another safe option.”
Another machine sounded sharply nearby.
The room moved even faster.
My body felt freezing now.
Daniel looked completely torn apart beside me.
Then suddenly he grabbed my face carefully again.
And said the one thing that broke me completely.
“I choose you.”
I stared at him through tears.
“What?”
His own tears finally fell too.
“I don’t care about anything else. I choose you.”
The rawness in his voice destroyed me instantly.
“You hear me?” he said shakily. “I choose you.”
A sob broke out of my chest immediately.
Because I understood what he meant.
The baby was alive.
But now it was me.
Or the possibility of more children later.
And without hesitation—
he chose me.
Every single time.
The doctor looked at me urgently.
“Lina.”
Everything blurred through tears.
Fear.
Grief.
Pain.
And somewhere underneath all of it—
love so overwhelming it nearly crushed me.
I looked at Daniel again.
Really looked at him.
This man who stayed.
This man who loved me through every ugly broken terrifying part of this story.
And suddenly…
I knew.
I nodded weakly through tears.
Daniel’s face crumpled instantly hearing the silent answer.
The doctor turned quickly toward the team again.
“Prepare now.”
Daniel bent down immediately, pressing his forehead against mine while tears slipped down both our faces.
And for the first time since all of this started—
he cried openly with me.
The first thing I noticed was the silence.
Not complete silence.
Just that strange hospital quiet where everything sounds far away.
Soft machine beeps.
Muted footsteps.
Voices somewhere distant.
My body felt heavy.
Painfully heavy.
I tried moving slightly and instantly regretted it.
A weak sound left my throat before I could stop it.
And immediately—
“Lina?”
Daniel.
I forced my eyes open slowly.
The room looked blurry at first, bright light making my head hurt immediately. But then his face came into focus beside the bed.
He looked awful.
Actually awful.
Red eyes.
Exhausted face.
Hair completely messy like he’d been dragging his hands through it for hours.
The second he realized I was awake, relief hit his face so hard it almost looked painful.
“Oh my God.”
His hand grabbed mine instantly.
“You’re awake.”
My throat felt dry when I tried speaking.
“…water.”
“Yeah. Yeah, okay.”
He reached for the cup beside the bed immediately and carefully helped me drink a little.
Even that hurt.
Everything hurt.
I leaned back weakly against the pillow afterward, trying to gather my thoughts properly.
Then suddenly—
memory crashed back into me.
The operating room.
The crying baby.
The bleeding.
The doctor.
My stomach tightened immediately.
“The baby.”
Daniel’s entire face softened instantly.
“She’s okay.”
The breath left my chest so fast it almost hurt.
“She?”
A tiny exhausted smile appeared on his face.
“We have a daughter.”
Emotion hit me immediately.
Hard.
A daughter.
I swallowed against the sudden tightness in my throat.
“She’s okay?” I asked again quietly.
“She’s small,” he admitted softly. “But she’s okay.”
Tears burned behind my eyes instantly.
Not panic tears this time.
Relief.
Daniel squeezed my hand carefully.
“She’s strong.”
Something about hearing him say that nearly broke me again.
I looked down weakly toward my stomach automatically.
Everything felt different now.
Empty.
Sore.
Wrong.
And suddenly…
I remembered the rest.
The hysterectomy.
The tears came before I could stop them.
Daniel noticed instantly.
“Hey.”
My voice shook immediately.
“They did it?”
The silence before he answered was enough.
My chest cracked open painfully.
“Oh.”
That one word hurt more than I expected.
Daniel moved closer immediately.
“You were bleeding too much.”
I nodded faintly even through the tears.
I already knew.
I remembered agreeing.
But somehow waking up afterward made it real in a completely different way.
No more children.
Never again.
The grief hit quietly first.
Not dramatic.
Just deep.
Daniel’s thumb moved slowly across my knuckles while I cried silently.
“You’re alive,” he whispered.
I laughed weakly through tears.
“Very inspiring.”
His face tightened instantly.
“Lina.”
“I know,” I whispered quickly. “I know.”
But it still hurt.
God.
It hurt.
Not just physically.
Something deeper.
Something final.
Daniel leaned forward carefully, resting his forehead lightly against my hand.
And suddenly—
I realized he’d been crying too.
His eyes were still swollen from it.
That shocked me more than anything else.
“You cried?”
A broken laugh escaped him softly.
“You almost died.”
The raw honesty in his voice destroyed me immediately.
Fresh tears slipped down my face.
“I’m sorry.”
His head lifted so fast his expression almost looked angry.
“Don’t ever apologize for surviving.”
The room went quiet after that.
Heavy quiet.
Emotional quiet.
I stared at him carefully.
“You look tired.”
“I am tired.”
“When did you sleep?”
He didn’t answer.
That answered enough.
“You should rest.”
Daniel shook his head immediately.
“No.”
“You can’t just sit here forever.”
“Yes, I can.”
I almost smiled despite everything.
Almost.
A soft knock interrupted us before the door opened carefully.
Maya stepped in first.
And immediately burst into tears the second she saw me awake.
“Oh my God.”
I blinked at her weakly.
“Maya—”
“You scared me so badly.”
She walked over immediately, grabbing my hand carefully while trying to wipe her face at the same time.
Behind her, Clara looked emotional too, though she was holding herself together better.
Barely.
“You look horrible,” Clara said softly.
I stared at her.
“That’s the second time somebody has told me that today.”
“You almost died,” Maya snapped immediately.
Daniel muttered quietly,
“That’s what I said.”
I looked between all of them weakly.
“I’m literally right here.”
“And you’re staying right there,” Maya replied instantly.
That actually pulled a tiny laugh out of me.
A painful one.
But still.
The tension in the room loosened slightly after that.
Clara moved closer carefully.
“How are you feeling?”
I thought about it honestly.
“Sore.”
“That’s expected.”
“And emotional.”
“That’s also expected,” Maya said immediately.
I sighed softly.
“Everybody keeps saying ‘expected.’”
“Because your body just went through hell,” Clara replied gently.
The room got quieter after that.
Not awkward.
Just emotional again.
Then finally I asked the question sitting heavily in my chest.
“Can I see her?”
Daniel’s face changed instantly.
Softened completely.
“Yeah.”
He stood up immediately.
“I’ll get the nurse.”
The second he left the room, Maya sat closer beside me.
Her expression shifted immediately into something gentler.
“You really scared us.”
I swallowed hard.
“I know.”
“You stopped answering properly during surgery.”
I frowned slightly.
“What?”
“They made Daniel leave for a few minutes at one point,” Clara explained quietly. “And things got bad really fast after that.”
My chest tightened immediately.
I looked down at my hands.
“Oh.”
Maya’s eyes filled again instantly.
“We thought…”
She stopped talking.
Because she couldn’t finish the sentence.
And honestly?
Neither could I.
Daniel came back a few minutes later with a nurse pushing a tiny hospital bassinet carefully beside him.
Everything inside me stopped immediately.
The baby was so small.
Smaller than I imagined.
Wrapped tightly in a soft hospital blanket with a tiny pink hat covering her head.
Emotion slammed into me so suddenly I started crying again immediately.
“Oh my God.”
Daniel stood beside me quietly, watching my face more than anything else.
The nurse smiled softly.
“She’s doing very well.”
I stared down at her carefully.
Tiny nose.
Tiny hands.
Tiny little face.
Real.
Completely real.
The nurse helped place her carefully into my arms and fear instantly shot through me.
“I’m going to drop her.”
“You’re not going to drop her,” Daniel said immediately.
“You sound very confident for somebody who’s also never done this.”
That actually made Clara laugh softly through her own tears.
I looked back down at the baby again after that.
And suddenly everything else disappeared for a second.
The pain.
The grief.
The fear.
All of it.
She moved slightly against my chest and my heart nearly exploded.
“She’s beautiful,” Clara whispered.
I couldn’t even answer properly.
Because I was too busy staring.
Daniel sat carefully beside the bed again, looking down at both of us with an expression I had never fully seen on him before.
Complete love.
Unfiltered.
Real enough to hurt.
His hand touched the baby’s tiny head gently before his eyes lifted back to mine.
And suddenly fear crept quietly back into my chest again.
I looked away first.
Daniel noticed immediately.
“What?”
My throat tightened.
“You’re going to pity me now.”
The room went completely silent.
Daniel stared at me like I’d said something insane.
“Lina.”
“I can’t—”
“No.”
His voice came firm immediately.
“No.”
I looked at him again weakly.
“You lost something because of me.”
His entire expression broke apart instantly.
“You think I care more about that than you being alive?”
Fresh tears filled my eyes immediately.
“You don’t understand—”
“No,” he interrupted softly. “You don’t understand.”
His hand found mine again carefully.
“I would lose everything else in my life if it meant keeping you here.”
The tears slipped harder down my face instantly.
Daniel leaned closer carefully.
“You hear me?”
I nodded weakly.
But honestly?
Part of me still hurt too much to fully believe it yet.
Maybe he noticed that.
Because his expression softened again afterward.
“You gave me both of you,” he whispered. “That’s more than enough for me.”
And somehow…
that hurt and healed me at the same time.