Bonnie's staticky words resonated throughout the small s.p.a.ce as she raised her voice. "Okay, you're gonna want to support the baby's head and shoulders. Be careful. The baby's body will be very wet and could easily slip out of your hands."

My entire body tightened to gear up as I opened my arms and prepared to pull my child into the world.

Nina gave one final push. "Oh my G.o.d, Oh my G.o.d, Oh my G.o.d!"

Within seconds, the baby was in my arms. Celine Dion's The Power of Love started playing above on the elevator speaker. It was the most surreal moment of my life.

Gasping for air, I said, "I've got it. It's out."

"It's completely out?" Bonnie asked.

Tears filled my eyes, and my lips shook. "Yeah."

The baby's cry was strong. I looked down between its tiny legs.

"It's a girl. Oh my G.o.d. It's a girl! Baby, we have a daughter."

"Really? A girl?"

Bonnie's voice interrupted our moment. "Grab a shirt and gently wipe the baby's nose and mouth."

I looked around me.

Shirt.

Shirt.

Shirt.

Cradling the baby, I grabbed one of Nina's tops from the pile and did as Bonnie instructed. "Okay."

"Now, wrap the baby in another clean shirt. Make sure the head is covered. This is to prevent hypothermia. Whatever you do, do not pull on the cord."

"Alright."

I carefully wrapped our daughter in one of my flannel b.u.t.ton downs.

"Make sure your wife is warm."

"Baby, are you okay?"

Nina groaned and nodded her head.

"Listen carefully, Mr. Green. Can your wife hold the baby? Have her place the baby on her stomach."

Nina reached out her hands, and I slowly transferred the baby onto her stomach.

"Mr. Green? You're doing great. The afterbirth will probably deliver soon."

"The after what? It's not over?"

"No. Have her hold the baby against her skin and place something over them both. This will help keep everyone calm until they can get you out of there."

I grabbed my coat and draped it over them.

"You'll stay on the phone with us?"

"Of course. You may want to grab a bag if you have one from your suitcase to put the placenta in. The baby will still be attached to it until the paramedics get there. So, you'll put it inside a bag somewhere close to Nina."

Nina muttered, "We have large Ziploc bags that the toiletries are in. Grab one of those."

"Ziplocs! Thank G.o.d for small miracles."

We spent the next ten minutes or so huddled together, cradling our baby before Nina said, "I'm feeling like I have to push again."

I hopped up. "She has to push again."

Bonnie immediately responded, "Okay, that's the placenta. Have her move into an upright position."

After a few pushes, the placenta came out.

Holding what looked like a piece of raw meat, I asked, "What do I do again?"

"Just put it in the bag and keep it next to you."

A pool of red surrounded the area underneath Nina.

"There's blood everywhere."

"That's normal."

"This doesn't look normal."

"The paramedics are almost there. I'm told the fire department is on site working with hotel maintenance right now. They should have you out of there shortly. Try to remain calm."

An indeterminate amount of time pa.s.sed. Nina was starting to sound disoriented. "Jake, I don't feel good. Something's really wrong. You need to take the baby."

My daughter's legs and arms flailed through the plaid flannel shirt wrapped around her tiny body as Nina handed her to me. I felt like I was about to have a heart attack.

Panic-stricken, I yelled into the phone, "She's still bleeding. She's losing a lot of f.u.c.king blood. You need to tell them to hurry! Please!"

"Does it look like more than a pint? Listen, Mr. Green, you need to ma.s.sage her lower abdomen immediately."

Suddenly, her head slumped over.

"No! Nina!" I cried.

Holding our baby in one arm, I repeatedly tapped Nina's cheeks with my other hand. "Baby, please. Stay with me. Nina. Please."

"What's happening, sir?"

"She's pa.s.sed out. She's unconscious." My vision was blinded by the tears in my eyes. My lips were trembling as I spoke, unable to catch my breath, "Nina, wake up. Wake up. Please!"

It felt like the middle of a nightmare, my baby's deafening cry a reminder that this was very real and not something I was going to wake up from. Bonnie's voice became jumbled in the midst of my panic.

Then, came a jolt followed by sudden and steady movement downward.

As Nina continued to remain unconscious, looking like she was bleeding to death, the descent felt more like a downward spiral into the depths of h.e.l.l.

The doors slid open, and even though light streamed in, darkness surrounded me.

The darkness of men rushing in.

The darkness of someone taking my crying infant away.

The darkness of Nina being put onto a stretcher with an oxygen mask over her face.

The darkness of their voices. "She's hemorrhaging."

It was all happening at lightning speed, the fate of everything that mattered to me hanging in the balance in the hands of total strangers.

Nina's words from years past haunted me.

There is nothing that could make me leave you.

You brought me back to life.

Yet, I was helpless to save her now.

How I'd gotten from the hotel into that ambulance and to the hospital was a mystery to me. Those twenty or so minutes were a blurry montage of terrifying sounds, voices and flashing lights as Nina lay semi-conscious and bleeding while paramedics tended to her and the baby.

Once at Saint Andrews, I tried to barge my way into the operating room, but they wouldn't let me inside. Medical staff in masks pushed me away from everything that mattered to me. Too afraid to take any focus off of the job they needed to do, I backed down and stayed in the waiting room as they instructed.

Now, as I sat with my head in my hands, I didn't know if she was dead or alive. They'd taken our daughter to the nursery, but my shock paralyzed me, making me unable to move from my spot long enough to go visit her.

Nina had to be okay. Not only for me but for our son and daughter.

A flash of her beautiful smile from when she first woke up this morning hit me. Life had changed in an instant.

It wasn't possible to imagine life without her. Before today, I thought I understood how strong my love for her was. Faced with the threat of losing her forever, the depth of that love was truly realized. Because even with my healthy baby girl and son at home, the future was blank without Nina. I didn't just love her. To me, she was love, was life.

My life started the day she entered it. It would end the day she left it. There was no gap between where I began and she ended. We were one.

I'd always accepted whatever hand I'd been dealt, especially with Ivy. I never blamed G.o.d or anyone else for the tragedies in my life. But if something happened to Nina, I knew I would never recover. I wouldn't be able to forgive Him. And that terrified me, what that would mean for my kids if their father was just an empty sh.e.l.l for the rest of their lives.

For the first time in my life, I was truly scared.

"Mr. Green?"

My head flew upward as I stood up to meet the doctor's face which held an indecipherable expression. My heart was struggling to keep up with the fear driving it to beat faster than what it could sustain.

"Your wife is stable."

Stable Alive.

Every muscle in my body relaxed at once as the breaths I'd been holding for what seemed like an eternity released out of me.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

"As you know, there was an excessive amount of bleeding from the hemorrhaging. We were able to compress the arteries supplying blood to the uterus without having to do a hysterectomy. There shouldn't be any long-term implications on fertility. She is very lucky to be alive given the circ.u.mstances you were found in."

"She's conscious now?"

"Yes. The fainting happened because of a sudden drop in blood pressure as a result of the bleeding."

"Can I see her?"

"Yes. But she should get some rest soon after. We had to give her oxytocin to help the uterus contract in order to stop the bleeding that ensued after the placental delivery, so she'll be tired from the drug not to mention the ordeal. We'll be keeping her here a couple of extra days over the norm for observation."

"Thank you, doctor. G.o.d, thank you so much. You saved her life. I could never repay you. Never."

"No need for thanks. It's what I do." He smiled. "I'm told your daughter is doing just fine, too. You're a lucky man, Mr. Green." He gave me a single pat on the shoulder and said, "Follow me."

Eagerly following the path to Nina's room, I said a silent prayer to the man upstairs for coming through when I needed Him most.

Her hair was splayed across the pillow, and her eyes were closed. An IV was connected to her arm. My poor baby was exhausted.

Exhausted but alive.

I wanted to be strong. She'd been through enough without seeing me break down. But the moment my face landed in the crook of her neck, I came apart. Smelling the scent of her skin, listening to the breaths I wasn't sure I'd ever get to hear again, my body shook. An endless flow of tears poured from my eyes and onto her hospital gown.

"Jake..."

"Shh. Yes, baby. I'm here. You don't have to say anything."

"Is the baby okay?"

"Baby's great."

"Why are you crying?"

"Because I love you."

"I don't remember much after I blacked out. Am I gonna be okay?"