Gift of Love

Twelve hours later, Andy finally arrived at the nurse’s station in the maternity ward of UCLA. Getting a flight back home on such short-notice had been Hell for him, Jake, and Jinxx, and they were all terrified of losing Ash and the baby. Obviously, considering that it was his husband’s and child’s lives on the line, Andy was the most worried and terrified, but they all loved him. He was glad to have two of his best friends with him to calm him down, glad that CC and Sammi finally made it to the hospital to be with his sweetheart.

Considering that his mother couldn’t be left alone with five children, the majority of which were under three, by herself, CC’d had the good sense to call their old friends Marissa and Shelby to come help babysit. That put his mind slightly more at ease, knowing that while his husband and newest child could very well be fighting for their lives at this point, the others were taken care of.

The nurse at the nurse’s station quickly gave him his husband’s room number, telling them to keep it down just in case he or any other patients were sleeping. The trio nodded and quickly took off in search of the bassist’s room, hoping that he was doing better than he was when he’d called the night before. It hadn’t taken Dr. Hill’s explanation of pre-eclampsia to know that his sweetheart was fighting for his life, and they could very well lose their baby because of it. A lump formed in the young frontman’s throat as they scurried down the halls until they found his room, and grew bigger as Jake knocked on the door.

“Come in!” they heard someone call softly, but it didn’t sound like his sweetheart.

“Sierra?” he asked in shock as he walked in.

“Yep, that’s me,” she chuckled. “How’ve you been?”

“Better, that’s for sure,” Andy answered. “Sierra, these are some more of our friends, Jake and Jinxx. Guys, this is the nurse that cared for Ash during his first pregnancy, Sierra.”

“We’ve heard a lot about you, Sierra,” Jinxx told her, shaking her hand.

“Likewise. I’m guessing you’re the Jake that CC’s been talking about nonstop?” she chuckled.

“That’d be me. Speaking of, where’s my husband?” Jake countered, shaking her hand as well.

“He went with a woman he said was Sammi down to the café. Pregnant men gotta eat,” she told him.

“We’re gonna go down there with them, if that’s all right with you,” the multi-instrumentalist said, turning to the baby of their group.

“Go. You guys need to see them,” he answered, nodding. “We’ll still be here when you guys are done.”

Nodding, the pair left the room and set off in search of both the café and their spouses.

“So, how’s he doing?” Andy asked, taking a seat beside the woman that’d helped them through a rough time in their lives.

“Much better now,” Sierra answered. “His blood pressure’s come down to a more normal range ever since your son was born twelve hours ago.”

“We have another boy?” he asked in awe.

“Yep. This is him right here,” she answered, showing him a picture on her phone. “I tried sending it, like you and Ashley asked, but it wouldn’t go through.”

“What’s his name?”

“He hasn’t named him yet. He said he wanted to wait till you got here so you could help choose his name.”

“Ash knows he’s better at picking names than I am,” he chuckled, squeezing his sweetheart’s hand. “I’m just glad they’re doing okay.”

“The only problems the baby seems to have at this point are a few issues breathing,” she told him, taking on a serious tone. “Considering that he was born twelve and a-half weeks early, I’m surprised that’s the only problems he’s got.”

“But otherwise, he’s perfectly healthy?” the frontman asked, a stake of fear stabbing itself into his heart.

“Other than that, he’s doing just fine, all things considered,” she answered. “If Ashley’d waited a few more hours to call for help, neither of them would likely be good as well as they are.”

“So what brought you out here to California?” he asked curiously.

“Drs. Morgan and Hicks set up a private practice to care for more patients like Ashley,” she answered. “I needed a change of scenery, so I moved out here and got a job as a paramedic. I was actually one of those that responded last night because they knew of my background as an obstetric nurse, and that the patient was pregnant. I didn’t know it was Ashley till I got on-scene.”

“I’m kinda surprised that you’re still here then,” he mused.

“My shift ended while we were en route to your house, and he needed the moral support.” The ex-nurse shrugged. “I figured it was the least I could do for you guys.”

“Answering his call for help was the least you could do. Sticking around for him after the fact was going above and beyond the call of duty,” Andy told her. “But I’m grateful that he had someone here for him that he knows and trusts.”

Smiling at him, Sierra wrapped her arms around him and gave him a tight squeeze, telling him again that it was no problem and the least she could do. He still disagreed but decided to keep his mouth shut, deciding that it was better to focus on his husband and premature son than anything. He turned back to Ash’s sleeping form, gently rubbing his thumb across the back of the hand that he held, tears welling in his eyes as he realized just how lucky he and their son were to be alive right now.

The angelic outlaw he’d fallen in love with and chosen as his husband lay there silently, a bit pale from the blood he no doubt lost during surgery, but otherwise fine. He watched his chest and now flat belly rise and fall with every breath he took, glad to see him at peace. He’d have preferred that their son not be born until he was due, but if it meant they both lived, he supposed this was better than losing both of them.

A short while later, a nurse came in to check on his sweetheart, the guys and Sammi following close behind her. They all took seats on the couch under the window, Sammi and CC taking a seat in their spouse’s lap, as they watched the nurse perform her duties, then leave as silently as she’d entered. Once she was gone, Andy gave them a quick update on his sweetheart’s and son’s conditions, the group cooing softly when they found out that they’d had another boy. He couldn’t help the smile that stretched his face, despite this being such a grim time, at knowing they were safe and their friends were happy for them.

Before long, visiting hours were over and the only one who could stay besides Sierra was him. Unfortunately, the ex-nurse-turned-paramedic was going to be on the clock soon, so she had to leave, as well. She said her goodbyes, told him to tell Ash she’d come back to see him and the baby, and would even drop by their house as soon as she had the time. He nodded his agreement, not wanting to make much noise since his husband was beginning to stir a bit restlessly, and watched her leave. Once the door to his recovery room was closed, the frontman focused his attention back on his sweetheart, watching the dim lighting glint off his wedding set and rubbing his hand with his thumb.

“Mmm,” Ash groaned, trying to shift slightly. A hiss through his teeth followed, and that concerned him.

“You okay, mio deviante?” he asked softly as his chocolate-brown eyes fluttered open.

“My incision hurts, mio profeta,” the bassist answered, grimacing.

“Other than that, how’re ya feeling?” Andy asked, pressing the “Call” button on the rail of his bed as he spoke.

“Pretty good, all things considered,” he answered, hissing again. “I still haven’t gotten to see the baby, though.”

“Well, you had to have a C-section and need rest,” he said sensibly.

“I know. I just wanna see him so bad, but they can’t bring him up here right now.” He released a depressed sigh. “Being born so early, he’s gotta stay in the NICU.”

“What’s the problem, Mr. Biersack?” a nurse asked, having just walked into the room.

“He says his incision is hurting. Is there anything you can give him for the pain?” Andy countered, squeezing his hand.

“Certainly. And you are…?” She gave him a look since visiting hours were over.

“His husband and the father of his child, Andy Biersack,” the frontman answered. “Don’t try to kick me out of here unless he’s dying, ’cause it ain’t happening.”

“Wasn’t going to after you identified yourself,” she chuckled, pulling a small bottle and a syringe out of the stand next to the bed that held the monitor Ash was connected to. “Anything else I can do for you?”

“When am I gonna get to see my baby?” Ash countered, sounding worried.

“Once you feel up to walking around. When you can get to the bathroom on your own or with minimal help, we’ll take you down to see him,” she answered. “Until then, just try to get some rest.”

Unable to argue with her, he merely nodded his head and released another depressed sigh.

“Don’t worry, mio deviante. You’ll be able to see him sooner than you think,” Andy assured him, giving him a quick kiss. “In fact, that’s incentive to rest and build up your strength faster now, don’t you think?”

“True enough,” he agreed, grinning for the first time in a while.

“Why don’t I see if they’ll let me see him and you get some rest?” he suggested. “And if we can decide on a name, I can tell ’em while I’m down there.”

“Personally, I like the name Adrian Kendall-Abrocket,” the bassist told him. “But since you weren’t here, I didn’t wanna name him and you not like the name I chose.”

“When have I ever disliked a name you chose for one of our babies?” the frontman chuckled. “Besides, you’re better at picking them than I am. Anyway, I’ll go see if they’ll let me see him while you get some more rest. If they won’t, I’ll be back sooner than you think, but either way, I’ll be back soon.”

“Sounds good to me, mio profeta,” Ash agreed, smiling slightly into the kiss he was given.

Trying not to worry too much, Andy headed down the hall to the nurse’s station again after tucking his sweetheart in the way he liked. One of the nurses was more than happy to accompany him down to the NICU, and he thought it was because she was a fan who wanted his attention, whether he was married or not. However, he had eyes for his husband and no other, and even if he didn’t, he was too worried about his son to worry about an attention-seeking fan right now.

* * *

Back in his recovery room, Ash laid back against the mound of pillows he’d requested and tried to get some more sleep. He’d been pretty tired after they wheeled him down from the OR the night before, and he didn’t know if it was the lingering exhaustion from being pregnant until then, or if the surgery had really taken that much out of him without his realizing it.

It was hard to believe that he was no longer pregnant and would never get to experience such a joyous occasion again. Considering that he shouldn’t have even been able to carry children in the first place, all his babies were a medical miracle, and with all the scares they’d had in the past month and a-half, he felt he’d made the right decision. It was better to have a hysterectomy and lose the ability to carry children in the future than to wind up pregnant again, and that pregnancy cost both his and the baby’s lives, should something like pre-eclampsia or another condition equally as serious crop up again.

Just the thought of that condition caused him to worry about how his premature son was doing down in the NICU. According to Sierra and every nurse he’d talked to since his birth no more than fourteen hours ago, the only problems he had were a few breathing problems, but he was otherwise fine. They all said that he was a lucky little boy, considering the circumstances and timing of his birth, and that he should be just fine. In fact, he should be able to leave the hospital and go home within a few weeks’ time.

However, that didn’t stop him from worrying about him almost to the point of giving himself an ulcer. It wouldn’t be natural, as a mother, for him not to worry about his child when birth occurred almost three months prematurely. Ash sighed again as he rubbed his hands over his belly gently, wincing and hissing as he ran them over the incision they had to make not only to deliver his son, but to remove his female reproductive system since the pain medication still hadn’t quite kicked in. He was going to miss being able to feel a little life growing under his heart, but if it meant that that heart kept on beating for several decades to come, he found it more than worth it to give it up.

Notes