Stanley Batton nodded silently before turning to address Stephen Harris.“Contact the guy who used to donate his blood to me just in case. He has the same blood type as my wife and myself.”With that, he followed the nurse into the emergency unit before Stephen could respond.After a rigorous disinfection procedure, Stanley changed into scrubs, and then he was led to where Xyla Quest was receiving treatment.There was already an empty bed next to her, so he hopped onto it even before he was instructed.Turning his head sideways, Stanley focused on Xyla, looking pale and still unconscious.There was a slight purple hue on her lips, making him feel even more panic.Nearby, the nurses were already getting ready to draw his blood directly into a tube connected to Xyla to save time.The Director, who oversaw the operation, looked at the nurses. “Make sure not to draw too much blood from Mr. Batton.”“Don’t worry about me. Draw as much blood as necessary to save my wife,” Stanley or
Stanley Batton instantly stood up and walked nearer to the emergency unit.Soon, the Director walked out, seemingly exhausted.Seeing Stanley, he removed his face mask and let out a long sigh.Stanley felt as if his heart was about to leap out of his chest then. His hands started to tremble as he looked at the Director with a frown. “How did it go?”As eager as he was to find out, he was also afraid.Mainly, he wanted to know if his wife was still alive, but he also dreaded hearing that something terrible had happened to her.The Director released another long sigh. “The babies have both been delivered, but they aren’t in good condition due to the extremely premature birth. They will need monitoring in a neonatal intensive care unit. As for whether they will survive, that is up to fate.“For now, Xyla seems fine,” he added.Relief rushed through Stanley as soon as he heard this.“Are you sure she’s fine?” he asked.The Director nodded. “The babies are in critical condition
Stanley Batton slowly shifted his gaze to the nurse’s face. “What’s the matter?”The moment his eyes fell on her, the nurse felt as if she was soon going to suffocate.She immediately took a deep breath. “Here’s the thing, you’ll be able to see your babies in about half an hour.”“Got it, thanks,” he answered rigidly before returning his gaze at Xyla Quest.He worried about his babies, but he was more concerned about his wife.With her still unconscious, all he could think about was her.He couldn’t care about anything else.The nurse didn’t comment further. Instead, she silently closed the door behind her and left.Once the door was closed again, the entire world became quiet.He gently held Xyla’s left hand, which wasn’t connected to the IV drip, and placed tender kisses against it repeatedly.Seeing her pale face made his heart ache.He swore he’d never let Xyla go through this pain again.Regardless of whether their two babies survived this time, he wouldn’t want her go
“Take me to see our children later,” Xyla Quest told him.She needed to check on her babies, as she was worried about their condition after being prematurely born at six and a half months along.She missed them dearly.Stanley Batton frowned. “I’ll check on them on your behalf and take some pictures for you. You’ve just come out of a major operation and still have a healing wound on your stomach. You shouldn’t be out of bed, walking around. The wound might tear open.”Xyla nodded helplessly in agreement before telling him, “In that case, record a video for me.”“Okay. How do you feel now? Does your stomach hurt a lot?” he asked with a look of adoration and tenderness in his eyes.Stanley once watched a video of cesarean delivery, so he knew how much it would hurt for a woman to go through something like that.Xyla shook her head. “It’s fine, I can take it. It’s probably because of the anesthesia, right?”“Yeah,” he uttered before holding her hand and placing it against his face
“Oh, how much do our children weigh at birth?” Xyla Quest asked.She wanted to know a little more about her children’s condition.Stanley Batton answered truthfully. “Our son currently weighs 1.32 pounds while our daughter weighs 1.31 pounds.”Xyla’s heart ached when she heard how tiny they were.They should have been absorbing nutrients inside her body and growing steadily, but they came into this world far too soon.Weighing so little, they must have been tiny in size.When Xyla thought of this, she couldn’t help but recall the images of premature babies she had seen before.Those babies were all tiny, their skin tender and pinkish.To keep them alive, they had to stay in a womb-like thermal box, connected to numerous tubes that provided them with fluids of sustenance.Her heart ached at the thought.Until now, she still couldn’t understand why her babies had to come so soon.She had been so careful all this time during her pregnancy.When she checked her pulse in the sho
“Okay. Honey, get in touch with Yaksha and your grandfather tomorrow,” Xyla Quest told her husband, thinking of those two who were more knowledgeable. They could provide some insight into this.“Yeah, I was thinking of doing just that,” Stanley Batton said.Knock, knock, knock—A nurse pushed the door open before standing hesitantly next to it. “Mr. Batton? Ms. Quest? You may see your children now.”As soon as Xyla heard this, her thoughts were instantly interrupted, feeling joyful as she grabbed Stanley's hands tightly.“Honey, don’t worry about me now. Go and check on our babies.”Compared to his wife, he appeared much calmer.He nodded slightly before looking at the nurse. “Stay here and look after Xyla, please.”Out of urgency, Xyla started nagging again. “Don’t mind me. Hurry up and check on our children.”Stanley smiled and gently caressed her cheek. “I’ll check on them, but I won’t neglect you, either. There has to be a difference in terms of priority.”Xyla instantly
The babies were placed in a transparent, round-shaped thermal compartment. Miniature duvets covered their bodies with various tubes connected to them.From far, it appeared as if they were sound asleep as they barely moved.Due to the distance, Stanley Batton couldn’t see their faces clearly. Even so, he could feel his heart breaking for his two children.If it was possible, he hoped his children could survive.He wished he and Xyla could take care of them and watch them grow.Right then, a transparent door slowly opened and a nurse clad in a sterile gown approached him with another pair in her hand.“Mr. Batton? Please come in and put on this sterile gown. You’ll be able to enter and take a closer look at your babies after you put on a face mask and get disinfected.”Stanley nodded slightly before walking in, following her instructions.He changed into a sterile gown and slipped on a face mask to cover his lower face before undergoing a full-body disinfecting process.After a
Hence, he was the older brother to his younger twin sister.Stanley Batton didn’t reply, but his gaze turned even softer.However, he couldn’t bring himself to smile.After staying by his children’s side for half an hour, Stanley finally left the neonatal intensive care unit with his phone and retraced his steps toward Xyla Quest’s ward.On his way back, he kept replaying the video he recorded of his children, feeling a mix of emotions.Right then, Xyla felt even more worried in her ward, hoping that her husband would hurry back to show her how their babies looked.For that reason, she refused to rest.Soon, Stanley opened the door and entered her room, prompting her to perk up immediately.“Quick, show me how they look,” she demanded eagerly.Smiling, Stanley stepped forward to show her the video on his phone.Seeing her children’s faces, Xyla instantly felt like she was melting on the inside.She was excited, but her heart ached at the same time.She was thrilled to see h