Quade's Babies - Brenda Jackson [43]
“I want to believe that, Quade. But she is so little and she looked so helpless.”
“But she’s a fighter, baby,” he said, wrapping his free arm around her shoulder. “She can’t help but be a fighter, because she has Westmoreland and Steele blood flowing through her veins.”
“Yes, she’s a fighter.” She had needed to hear that. She needed to have hope.
“Cheyenne?”
At the sound of the feminine voice, Cheyenne glanced up to see the wives of her cousins entering the waiting room. Kylie, Jocelyn and Lena were not only her cousins-in-law, she considered them close friends, as well. And since marrying into the Steele family, they had made their husbands very happy. Quade released her to stand. Cheyenne stood, also, and gave the women hugs. Then she introduced the women to Quade.
“We came as soon as we heard. The guys are on their way, as well,” Kylie was saying. “Have you spoken to the doctor yet?”
“No,” Cheyenne said, shaking her head. “We’ve been here for almost an hour but no one has come out and told us anything. That has me worried.”
No sooner had Cheyenne said the words the man who Cheyenne recognized as one of the babies’ pediatricians entered the room. She quickly raced over to him. “Dr. Miller, how is Venus?” Quade was right by her side. “This is Quade Westmoreland, my babies’ father.”
The man shook Quade’s hand and then gave them both a reassuring smile. “We have an idea of what’s wrong with Venus, but I’ve ordered more tests to make sure. Hyaline Membrane Disease or HMD or RDS, as it’s often referred, is one common problem of babies that are born premature. Usually it’s detected within the first few hours of birth, but, as in your daughter’s case, sometimes later.”
“What causes it?” Quade wanted to know.
“Usually from an insufficient level of surfactant in the lungs. Babies begin producing surfactant while they’re still in the womb and usually before they are born they have developed an adequate amount. Evidently Venus did not.”
“So what’s being done to help her?” Cheyenne asked in a frantic voice.
“Venus’s age is in her favor. I’m hoping her condition isn’t a severe one, and there won’t be any lasting effects once we begin treatment. However, in the worst case we could be looking at damage to other organs, possibly even her heart.”
Cheyenne swayed against Quade and he wrapped his arms around her waist. “When can we see our daughter?” he asked in a low voice.
“Not for a while yet. She’s still having difficulty breathing. I’ve placed her on a ventilator.”
Cheyenne gasped and the arm around her tightened as Quade continued to hold her close to him. “Thank you, Doctor,” Quade said softly. “Please let us know as soon as we can see her.”
After the doctor walked away Quade took Cheyenne’s hand in his. “Excuse us a moment,” he said to Kylie, Jocelyn and Lena, and gently pulled Cheyenne with him out of the waiting room. They walked down the hall until he suddenly turned and entered an empty room and closed the door behind him.
Still holding Cheyenne’s hand, he placed her in front of him and met her gaze. The eyes staring back at him appeared grief stricken, in shock, afraid. “Get it out, Cheyenne, get it out now.”
At first she just stared at him and then as if she suddenly realized what he was asking her to do, she dropped her head on his chest and began sobbing. And he held her while she cried. He closed his eyes while the weight of what the doctor had said sunk in.
He never knew, had never understood, the full extent of fatherhood until now. Fatherhood had nothing to do with a name change or wanting to create a family atmosphere for his children. It had everything to do with being there for them when they needed him, giving them what was required for them to grow and live. And, he thought further, being there for their mother,