Be cool, be cool, be cool! Olive repeated the mantra in his head. His heart pounded in his chest. Am I sick? Am I dying? Do I tell someone? His thoughts were going into rapid fire mode. His face had physically darkened in color. Oliver shyly smiled back at a Dove, relieved that she was happy.
Dove grasped Oliver's shoulder and smiled at Natalie, "Everything's okay, right?"
Natalie nodded. "The baby's healthy. But……………." She shuddered.
"Oh?" Dove furrowed her brow, concerned.
Natalie took the bloody gauze and put it in the trash. "He's not taking Anthony. I promise Bry."
Dove stepped forward, "He?"
"It's a long story." Natalie slid her fingers through Briar's hair, trying to figure out if there was any other places on her head that were bleeding.
Dove frowned and looked towards Oliver, then Briar for more information.
BTW Oliver and Dove's ship name is Olive
(I'm going to be gone for 3/30-4/7, cuz I'm going to Disney-world. Feel free to carry on with my characters, but I might get on at night and on the mornings. Just wanted to give you a heads up.)
Briar pulled her knees close to her chest and just sat there, pondering what had happened only moments ago.
“I just wanna sleep..” was the only thing that had popped out of her mouth before someone familiar walked in.
“Briar, baby!”
She looked up to see her boyfriend, Mars Slateman (the most random name ever!)
staring back at her, his eyes wide with confusion and hurt. His scrubs were stained with blood, as always.
“You were pregnant, and you didn’t tell me?”
Natalie put her hand on Briar's shoulder. "Briar needs to rest right now. Can you guys talk this out later?" She asked the boy who had come in.
Caroline looks at Mars. "Nat's right, Bry really needs to rest. She'll be in a fragile for a good week or so."
Mars just looked at the two girls and ran a hand through his curly brown hair.
“I..just..can I talk to her for, like, thirty seconds? I promise I’ll leave right after..”
He looked to Briar for her approval. She gave him a tiny nod.
Caroline looked at Mars worriedly but raised her hands in surrender. "Ok. Sure."
Natalie frowned, but complied. "Bry we're right outside if you need us." Then she left behind Caroline.
Mars gave them a tiny smile as they left. The moment the door slammed shut, he raced over to Briar and pulled her into a bear hug.
“I’m so glad you’re okay..I thought you were going to—“ he choked up slightly.
Briar kissed him on the cheek and gave him a weak smile.
“I’m okay..I’m tired, but I’m fine..” she said softly
Mars pulled away from the embrace, skepticism etched into his brow.
“You aren’t fine, Bry! You just had a baby that you and I didn’t even know about..”
“I know, but-“
“But, nothing! Please, your friends and I, we’re begging you to take a break.”
“I…” She was cut off by the sound of a pager going off. Mars yanked it from his waistband and looked at the message that was being sent to him.
“I have to go..I’ll see you later?”
Briar crossed her arms over her chest and nodded.
“Before you go, say goodbye to the baby. You deserve a chance to meet your son..”
Mars turned to look at the baby in the incubator. His eyes watered over slightly.
“Hey, our kid is pretty great.” He chuckled.
(OMG NO PHILIIIIIP)
(OMG NO PHILIIIIIP)
(Daddy, Daddy, look..)
(My name is Philip, I am a poet)
(My name is Philip, I am a poet)
..and I just died..cuz frickin’ George Eacker couldn’t even count to nine.)
(OUCH NO STOP)
(Fine. We should probably get back on track, anyways.)
(yeah probably.)
Caroline peeked into the room. Mars was staring fondly into the incubator, Bry looking at her boys with a proud grin.
Briar looked up at the door, to see Caroline peeking in. She motioned for her to come inside.
“You can come back in, you know. I could use some company.”
“I thought I was the perfect type of company..” Mars turned to face his girlfriend and playfully pouted.
“And you are, But just not at the moment.” Briar joked.
Mars kissed her atop her head and raced out the door, giving Caroline a nod of recognition.
Caroline nodded back and smiled at Mars. She went to Briar's side, rubbing her back comfortingly. "How are you feeling?"
“To be honest, I just want to collapse on my bed, eat chocolate and watch Netflix..” Briar sighed.
“Or..go scrub in on a surgery—“
Just then the baby let out a high pitched wail, startling Briar terribly.
“Is he alright, what should I do? Is he hungry?” She began to shake a bit, scared and feeling helpless.
Caroline sat her friend down and went over to the baby. "No, Bry. This is amazing. He just took his first independent breath." She gingerly reached into the incubator and picked him up. She cradled him and brought him over to his mother.
Briar gently caressed him, gingerly kissing him atop his tiny head. She looked at his face, which was being guarded by tiny fists.
“He’s so beautiful..” she whispered, stroking his tiny hand.
