Crossroads of Life

Another month passed without much going on. I got bigger and Korklan still refused to turn over his rights. He was too proud to think of what his own child needed, a good, steady home to grow up in. One with love, and tenderness, and two parents rather than one with the other one visiting occasionally. Sure when Matt was on tour he would be away, but for now, they’re ready to be parents. They’ve even started on working on the nursery.

I breathed in and out as I felt a pain shoot through my lower back. It was the worst pain I’ve felt to date, and it was the second time it had happened.

“Are you okay over there?” my brother Brent asked from the living room couch. I was sitting at the kitchen table, my head resting on the flat surface and my hands balled into fists. I just got over another pain, pain number three.

“Where’s Brian?” I breathed in reply.

“Right here,” Brian replied, carrying a hand full of bags from the store.

“I think we need to go to the hospital,” I muttered to him, wincing as a forth pain shot.

“Why?” he asked, taking a bite out of a cookie.

“I’m feeling pains all over my lower back, and they feel like they’re coming from my uterus,” I replied, standing up. “Something’s wrong, I can feel it.”

“Okay, so let’s go,” Brian replied, chugging a class of milk. As he helped her to the car, she stopped dead and cried out in pain.

“Oh shit that hurt,” she muttered, her hand on her stomach.

“What?” Brian asked, finally realizing something really was going on with her.

“That time it was directly through the stomach,” I replied, squeezing my eyes shut tightly.

“Let’s go!” he shouted, grabbing my hand and dragging me to the car. We were waiting at a red light when the pain went through me again, but this time it was much worse.

“Damn,” I heard Brian mutter as he started driving again. He pulled into the emergency room parking lot and cut the engine.

“Wait here,” he said as he rushed into the entrance. He came back with a wheelchair, helping me ease myself into it.

“Can I help you?” a woman behind a desk asked.

“My sister’s seven months pregnant and having bad pains in her stomach.” Brian explained for me. At that moment the pain shot through me again, and this time I screamed louder than before. The woman panicked and called for a doctor to come right away.

“What’s going on?” the doctor asked the minute he appeared by us.

“Something’s wrong, I’m having pains and I’m only seven months,” I said, clenching my teeth to more pain.

“Let’s get her back,” he said. “I’m sorry, you’ll have to stay in here for now.”

“She’s my sister,” Brian said, starting to follow.

“I’m sorry, but you’ll have to stay here, we’re going to be running tests and…” I screamed in even more pain, so the doctor rushed into the back room.

“Call Matt and Val,” I told Brian. “And Korklan too I guess.”

“I will,” Brian muttered as I was rushed back.

~POV: Brian~
“Matt, you and Val need to get to the hospital right now,” I said through my cell phone as I waited for news on Madison. She was taken back not even five minutes ago and I was already a wreck.

“What’s going on?” Matt asked, alarmed.

“Madison’s here, she’s having pains and something’s just not right.” I explained. I looked up as I saw the doctor from before looking around the waiting room. “I’ll call you back,” I said snapping the phone shut.

“Mr. Haner, your sister is insisting you come back with her, I hope you’re not too squeamish.”

“Why?” I asked, following him into the back.

“She’s in pre-term labor,” he explained, “and she’s too far in to be able to stop it. Her baby is going to be born tonight.”

“It’s too early,” I said shocked as I walked into my sister’s room. She was scared, that was plain the minute I looked at her. She was also in pain, and it seemed there was nothing they could not do help her with it.

“Brian,” she muttered when she saw me.

“I’m here sissy,” I said, grabbing her hand. It shocked me how cold it felt. “Everything will be fine.”

“It’s too early,” she cried, closing her eyes. “She’s coming way too early.”

“She’ll have a chance of surviving,” I said trying to sooth her. “She still has a chance if there’s no complications.”

“Oh my…” she said, gasping for breath. I looked up at the machine connected to her and saw she was contracting. I went completely numb as it peaked, but started again.

“Let’s get her to the OR,” the doctor said. I watched as my sister was taken into the hallway.

“You need to put these on,” I was told, getting handed scrubs and a mask and gloves. I quickly put the items on, and was taken to the operating room Maddy was put in.

“I love you Mad,” I said. “It’ll all be fine.”

“I hope so,” she muttered. “I really hope so.”

~Three Hours Later~
“Brian, what the hell’s going on?” Matt asked as he and Val rushed toward me. I was still in the scrubs, minus the mask and gloves, and was still in shock. My nephew was born two hours ago, and he was extremely small. Weighing in at only two pounds even.

“The baby was born, two hours ago.” I informed them, sighing as I scrubbed my hands over my face. “It was a boy, he weighs two pounds, and he’s in the NICU.”

“Wait, he’s early, like, two months early.” Val said, flabbergasted by the news.

“I know,” I muttered, sitting in one of the plastic chairs. My gaze went unfocused as the images played in my head. My sister’s face of fear as she looked at her son. My nephew, red and small, nearly as small as the palm of my hand.

“He’s so small,” I muttered finally. “He’s so damn small, I don’t see how he’ll survive.”

“We just have to hope and pray,” Matt replied, sitting next to me. “Make sure he gets the best care possible.”

~POV: Matt K.~
“What are you waiting for?” Jeff asked me as we sat backstage in his locker room.

“I don’t know, I don’t want to lose my baby I guess.” I replied as my phone rang. I looked at the screen, and knew it was from Huntington Beach, I just didn’t recognize the number.

“Hello?” I answered.

“Matt, this is Brian Haner,” Brian’s voice filled the phone. “You need to get here as soon as you can.”

“Why, is it Maddy? The baby, what’s wrong?” I asked, standing up and starting to panic.

“The baby was born last night,” Brian replied, a heavy sigh in his voice. “Madison went into premature labor and the baby was born.”

“Fuck,” I muttered, rubbing my hand over my face. “Was it a boy, girl? Is she healthy, what?”

“The baby’s a boy, and we’re still waiting for test results. He’s small, which is understandable. He weighs two pounds right now.”

“That’s it?” I sighed and started throwing my stuff into my bag. “I’m on my way, I’m catching the first flight and I’ll be there, I was actually wanting to talk to Maddy anyway. I finally realized I was wrong, letting Matt and Val raise him would be the best thing.”

“We’ll talk about that later, just get here please. Maddy really needs someone right now, and you’re probably the only one who will truly understand how she’s feeling.”

“I’m on my way,” I said, snapping my phone shut as I finished stuffing my bag. “I have to talk to McMahon.” I muttered as I struggled to zip my bag up.

“Matt, what’s going on?”

“Madison had the baby last night, he’s two months early.” I replied, storming out of the locker room. Ignoring the many confused looks, I walked straight into McMahon’s office.

“Vince, I have to take off, I just got a call from Madison’s brother Brian. She went into premature labor and the baby was born,” I informed my boss.

“Go then, you could of called. Go be with your child and the baby’s mother.” Vince said.

The flight was hell, the ride to the hospital was hell, but the worst part was seeing my son, my little baby boy, in an incubator with tubes and wires sticking out of his tiny little body. My heart broke with each beep of the heart monitor, with each puff from the machine helping him breath.

His skin didn’t even look like the skin of a full term new born. You could plainly see his vessels, his ribs was sticking out of his skin, and his coloring was all wrong.
The incubator announced the baby as “baby boy Haner,” which didn’t help my grief any.

“How you feeling?” Brian asked from behind me.

“He’s so small.” I said with a sigh.

“He is, but he’s healthy. He just needs to develop more, get his lungs going, get more weight on him and he’ll be able to go home.” Brian replied. “They’re going to keep a close eye on him though during that time, and even afterward, to make sure no disabilities pop up.”

“Damn,” I muttered, not wanting to think of my son as being disabled in any form. I continued to watch him as he slept, wondering if it was for nothing, but praying it would be for something.