Chapter 122 Risking It All

Chapter 122 Risking It All

​The delivery room lights glared with blinding intensity. The sharp scent of antiseptic stung Xavier’s nose. He squeezed Agatha’s hand with immense strength. Sweat drenched his wife’s entire face. Her hair clung to her forehead and cheeks in damp, messy strands.
​"Take a deep breath, Mrs. Agatha! Push now!" Pierre shouted.
​"Akhhh! I can’t! Xavier, it hurts too much!" Agatha screamed. Her voice was raspy and raw. Her eyes were wide with a mixture of agony and terror.
​"You can do this, sweetheart. You are the strongest woman I know. One more time. Follow Pierre’s count," Xavier whispered. He leaned his face close to Agatha’s ear, his voice a steady anchor in the chaos.
​"One, two, three! Push!" Pierre commanded.
​"Nngghhh! Ughhh! Akhhh!"
​Agatha lifted her shoulders off the bed. The muscles in her neck strained and stood out. Her face turned a deep, bruised red. She gripped Xavier’s hand until her nails dug deep into his skin. Xavier did not flinch. He continued to look into his wife’s tear-filled eyes, refusing to look away.
​"Good! The head is out! One more small push, Ma'am!" Pierre yelled.
​"Hah! Hah! Hah!" Agatha caught her breath in quick, shallow gasps. "I can’t. Ugh. I have no strength left."
​"Just a little more, sweetheart. Our first baby. Come on," Xavier urged.
​Agatha gathered her remaining strength. She took the deepest breath she could manage.
​"Akhhhhhhh!"
​A piercing cry filled the room. A second later, the sound of a baby’s wail broke the heavy tension. Pierre lifted a tiny figure covered in amniotic fluid and blood.
​"Waaa! Waaa!"
​"A boy! The first baby is a boy!" Pierre exclaimed.
​Agatha collapsed back onto the pillows. Her breathing was frantic and shallow. She offered a faint smile at the brief sight of the baby being carried by a nurse to the warming table. Xavier kissed Agatha’s forehead repeatedly.
​"Thank you. Thank you for holding on, sweetheart," Xavier whispered. His voice trembled with raw emotion.
​"Our baby. He’s crying, Xavier," Agatha murmured weakly.
​"Yes, he’s very loud. Just like you," Xavier tried to joke to ease the mounting pressure.
​"But do not rest yet, Ma'am! The second baby is already in the birth canal! The head is positioned very low!" Pierre warned with urgent intensity.
​"What? Right now?" Agatha asked. Her face tensed up again.
​"Yes! Don’t let the contractions stop! Push again!" Pierre ordered.
​Agatha did not have time for a long breath. The same crushing pain struck her lower abdomen once more. She groaned loudly.
​"Ahh! Mmh! Ugh!"
​"Come on, Agatha. You’ve done it once. You can do it again," Xavier said.
​"Nngghhh! Akhhh!"
​The process for the second baby felt faster. The birth canal was already wide from the previous birth. Pierre worked with great agility. His hands moved skillfully to help the baby out.
​"One more time! Push!"
​"Akhhh!"
​The cry of the second baby was even louder than the first. The sound filled the room. A nurse quickly stepped in to clean the infant.
​"A girl! The second one is a girl!" the nurse shouted.
​Agatha smiled broadly. She felt her burden lighten significantly. Two babies had been born safely. Xavier felt an immense wave of relief wash over him. He looked toward the nursing table. There were two tiny lives there.
​"Two, Xavier. We have two now," Agatha said. Her voice was nearly gone, a mere ghost of a sound.
​"Yes, sweetheart. Two. Only one more. Just one more," Xavier replied.
​Xavier stroked Agatha’s cheek. He suddenly noticed something strange. Agatha’s face was no longer flushed from the effort. His wife had turned deathly pale. Her lips were beginning to turn a frightening shade of blue.
​"Pierre, look at her face. Why is she so pale?" Xavier asked.
​Pierre did not answer. He was focused on Agatha’s lower body. He was waiting for the placenta or the third baby to appear. Suddenly, Pierre’s eyes widened in shock.
​"Blood! There’s massive hemorrhaging!" Pierre yelled.
​Xavier looked down. He saw the floor beneath the bed was already flooded with deep red fluid. The blood flowed out continuously without stopping.
​"What is happening? Pierre! Stop the bleeding!" Xavier barked.
​"The placenta detached prematurely! The third baby is still inside! Her blood pressure is plummeting!" Pierre began to panic. He shouted to the nurses. "Get more oxytocin! Prepare a blood transfusion right now!"
​"Xavier." Agatha’s voice was barely a whisper.
​"I’m right here, Agatha! Stay with me! Open your eyes!" Xavier shook Agatha’s shoulders gently.
​"Cold. I feel so cold," Agatha murmured. Her eyes began to roll back.
​"Don’t close your eyes! Agatha! Look at me!" Xavier cried.
​Nurses scrambled around the room. The clinking sound of medical instruments echoed loudly. Pierre tried to stem the bleeding with his hands.
​"Agatha, you have to push! The third baby needs to come out now or it will lose oxygen!" Pierre shouted.
​Agatha did not move. She was no longer pushing. Her body went completely limp. The hand that had been gripping Xavier’s now fell lifelessly to the side of the bed.
​"Agatha? Agatha!" Xavier screamed hysterically.
​The heart monitor beside the bed began to make a different sound. The rhythm became erratic. The wave lines on the screen started to flatten.
​"Beep. Beep. Beep. Tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!"
​The long, shrill sound pierced Xavier’s ears. He stared at the monitor. The green line was now a straight line without a pulse.
​"No! No way!" Xavier roared.
​"Her heart stopped! Mrs. Agatha is in cardiac arrest!" a nurse shouted.
​"Move aside, Sir! I have to perform resuscitation!" Pierre shoved Xavier away.
​Pierre jumped onto the bed. He placed both hands on Agatha’s chest. He began to pump her chest with intense, rhythmic pressure.
​"One, two, three, push! One, two, three, push!" Pierre counted out loud.
​"Agatha, wake up! Don’t leave me now!" Xavier tried to move closer but was blocked by another nurse.
​"Get the defibrillator! Fast!" Pierre ordered.
​A nurse brought the defibrillator machine. They applied gel to Agatha’s motionless chest. Pierre took the paddles.
​"Charge to two hundred joules! Everyone clear!" Pierre shouted.
​Agatha’s body jolted upward as the electrical current hit her heart. However, the monitor still showed a long, straight line.
​"Charge again! Three hundred joules!" Pierre barked. Sweat poured from his brow.
​Xavier could only stand frozen. He watched the medical team work desperately to save his wife. In the corner of the room, the third baby remained trapped in a womb that no longer held the pulse of life.
​"Agatha, please," Xavier whispered. He fell to his knees on the cold, bloody floor.
​"Tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!"
​The sound of the monitor had not changed. Pierre continued to pump Agatha’s chest without stopping.
​"Wake up, Ma'am! Don’t give up now!" Pierre kept shouting.
​"Doctor, what about the third baby?" a nurse asked with a terrified voice.
​Pierre did not answer. He kept focusing all his energy on Agatha’s silent heart. The room was now filled with the horrifying sound of the machine and stifled sobs.