Nancy woke up with a jolt. A sharp pain ripped through her body. It hurt so bad she couldn't breathe. For a second, she didn't know where she was. White walls. Beeping sounds. Then she remembered. The hospital.
Another pain came. And this time it was worse than the first. She screamed.This was real. It's happening. The babies were coming right now.
But it was too early. Way too early.
She tried to sit up but couldn't. Nurses moved fast around her bed. They talked in quick, sharp voices.
"She's ready to deliver!"
"Call the baby doctors!"
"Move her now!"
Everything went by in a blur. Bright lights flashed by as they pushed her bed down the hall. She held her big stomach. Tears ran down her face. Each new pain felt like her body was tearing in half.
She wanted someone to hold her hand. She wanted to hear a friendly voice. She didn't want just anyone, she wanted Theodore.
But nobody was there. Just strangers' hands and the scary truth - her babies were in trouble.
The room where they delivered babies was noisy and crowded.
Doctors yelled things she didn't understand. Machines made loud beeping sounds. Nancy pushed when they told her to push. She cried and clenched her teeth. Her body was having these babies, but her heart was breaking. It was too soon for this.
Then she heard it. A small, weak cry.
A nurse held up a tiny moving baby. "It's a boy!"
They took him away fast to a special clear bed called an incubator. He was so very small.
Nancy had to push again. The pain was so bad she couldn't see straight. She used every bit of her strength.
Another small cry came. Quieter this time.
"It's a girl!" the doctor said.
They took her daughter away just as quickly.
Then it was over.
Nancy fell back on the bed. She was wet with sweat and tears. Her whole body shook. The room got quiet. The doctors were busy with her babies.
A cold, empty feeling filled her chest.
Were they okay? Would they live? Where was Theodore?
Nobody told her anything. A nurse cleaned her and put a warm blanket on her. She said nice things, but Nancy couldn't hear them. All she could hear was the quiet where her babies should be crying.
She was so tired. Her eyes closed and she fell into a deep sleep.
*****
Far away in another country, Theodore's phone rang. It was his help who answered it and when he heard it was about the babies , he gave the phone to Theodore.
"The babies came," the helper said. "The news is bad."
Theodore listened without moving his face. The twins came too early. "The hospital says your daughter is gone," the helper said.
Theodore didn't speak for a long time. His brain worked like a computer. One baby lived. A son. That was enough. His family name would continue.
He didn't let himself think about the baby girl. That made him feel things. He didn't have time for feelings.
This was just business.
"What about Nancy?" he asked. His voice showed nothing.
"She's okay. Weak. She doesn't know about the baby girl yet."
Theodore nodded. "Get me a plane ticket home."
Back in the hospital, Nancy woke up slowly. The room was dark so it took time for her eyes to adjust. When it did, the first person he saw was a man in black suit. He was no stranger, he was Theodore's lawyer.
"You need to sign these papers," the man said. He held out a clipboard.
Nancy's throat hurt. "What are they for?" she whispered.
"Just normal hospital papers. For your baby's information."
Her head ached. Her body felt broken in pieces. All she wanted was to see her babies. She needed to know they were okay.
But she was too tired to fight. Her hand shook as she took the pen. She signed her name without reading the papers.
The lawyer took the clipboard. He nodded once and left.
Nancy stared at the door after he left. A bad feeling grew in her stomach. She hadn't asked about her babies. She didn't have the energy.
Later, a nurse came in. She pushed a small clear incubator.
Inside was a tiny baby girl. She had dark hair like her father. She was very small, but she was breathing.
"Do you want to see your daughter?" the nurse asked kindly.
Tears came to Nancy's eyes. She reached out and touched the warm plastic of the incubator.
She was so beautiful and she looked just like Theodore.
A powerful love washed over her. It was so strong it hurt. She wanted to protect her forever.
But the happy feeling mixed with a deep, empty sadness. She had been pregnant with two babies. A boy and a girl.
Where was her son? "Where's the boy?" She asked.
The nurses didn't look right at her. They gave soft answers. They said she should rest.
Theodore didn't call. He didn't come to see her.
She was alone with a horrible truth she was starting to figure out.
---
When morning came, Nancy knew the truth.
She knew her son had died.
She knew Theodore found out first. He sent a lawyer with papers before he even called to check on her.
He took away her choice. He took away her voice. He took one of her children before she could even hold her.
She wasn't just a surrogate mother anymore. She was a real mother. A mother who lost a child. And a mother who would fight like a tiger for the child she had left.
She looked at her daughter sleeping in her incubator. She breathed in her special baby smell.
She made a quiet promise to her and to the son she would never meet. She would protect her daughter. No matter what. Even if she had to fight Theodore Roosevelt himself.