Listen to Your Heart

*John's POV*

"She's what!?!" I asked astonished.

Pat nodded his head up and down trying to make a point. "Yeah, she's in the other room, across the hall!"

"What a small world." Garrett sighed.

"So you mean, she giving birth...now?"

"Yeah man, well she's in the process. It's gonna be awhile until she actually delivers the baby." Garrett informed me.

"Have any of you guys seem her yet? Like, at all?" I asked feeling a tad but light headed.

"No, Rachel wouldn't let us go in there, she said Annie was having a talk with the doctor, something real serious was going on in there."

I nodded taking everything in, in the room across the hall, there laid my pregnant girlfriend ready to give birth. And here I sat, with a fucked up face feeling sorry for myself. Something was definitely wrong here.

"I feel like shit man." I groaned loudly flopping onto the bed.

"Yeah, look at your face. Your eyes fucked up, along with your lip; Kennedy got you good." I shot Jared a glare across the room. "No offense, bro."

I rolled my eyes not knowing what to do with myself. "How is he anyways, Kennedy."

"Fine and dandy. Left with no scratches, you didn't really put up much of a fight." Pat snickered from beside me.

"Shut up!"

"I think you should go see her." Garrett insisted. "Trust me, she's gonna need you there."

I bit my lip unsure of what to do, "I don't know, I don't think she wants to see me right now."

"Uh she will, you wouldn't want to miss the birth of your child right? And I bet she could use some moral support, make sure when she squeezes your hand that it doesn't turn blue; you'll lose the feeling in it for a long ass time."

"Yeah okay..." I got up from the bed and walked out of the room. "Wish me luck."

"Good luck!" Pat cheered. I walked across the hall and lightly knocked on the door. I could hear a faint voice telling me to come in.

I hesitantly walked him, closing the door quietly behind me. Looking up from the ground, I could see her pale face as the lamps light shine against her reflection. Her messy brown hair curved around her face leaving you too see her perfect bone structure.

"John," She croaked sounding week. I nimbly walked over crouching down beside her.

"I'm sorry," I said in a near whisper. Seeing her like this made my heart shatter.

"No," She held out a hand for me to hold onto, which I took gratefully. "Life's too short to be sorry."

I eyebrows knotted together, the words that left her mouth left me in confusion. "What?"

"Life's too short to be sorry." She repeated, this time a single tear fell from her eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"There's something I have to tell you." Her saying this made my heart skip a beat. "Promise me, promise me that you won't be mad."

"No guarantee," I said half-jokingly.

"John,"

"Okay, I promise not to get mad."

She sat up straighter on the bed, struggling a tad but succeeded. "The doctor came in here earlier, he wanted to talk to me about the baby."

I shifted uncomfortably beside her, this was not what I expected. "No, tell me there's nothing's wrong with the baby."

She shook her head slowly looking straight into my eyes. "There's nothing wrong with the baby...he's 100% healthy."

I sighed with relief, what could possibly be wrong? "Then what is it, love?"

She closed her eyes as she gripped onto my hand. "T-The doctor, he said-he said that...there might not be a chance...a chance for me to make it through the delivery."

I heart sunk to the bottom of my stomach. Shock rode through my body, leaving my mortified.

"No,"

"And hearing that made me realize--"

"No," I said again, this time a little too aggressively.

"John--"

"No, there's no way I'm letting this happen."

She shook her head keeping the tears from falling. "There's nothing you can do! It's already too late, it's me or the baby!"

"Then I pick you!" I said kissing her hand. "I'd rather have you."

"Tough luck John, cause I chose the baby." I tried to butt in but she shushed me. "Listen to me, if we were to have the baby...he would have a future. He has so much more to look up to then I do. I've lived life for the past 22 years, I'm not going to take an innocent infants life who've barely seen a speck of light. There's just no way."

"But--"

"There's not buts John, I've already made up my mind. This baby is going to be delivered today no matter what, with or without you on board. Whatever happens to me happens, it's life." By now tears were rolling down my face, not just hers.

"Annie, please don't do this to me...to us." I pleaded. "I'll do anything, I can't lose you."

"What you can do is be the best father figure you can to this baby." I shook my head not looking at her in the eyes. "Look at me John, look at me and promise, you'll be there to raise this baby with or without. Make his life worth wild, take care of him like he is your life. And one day when you're ready to move on--"

"No,"

"One day when you're ready, find someone worthy of you. Not some whore-bage like Raquel, someone who can take care of you. Love you till the end of the world, someone who can make you happy. Someone who you'd be proud to one day make Mrs. O’Callaghan the Vl."

"Please stop," I begged burring my face into my hands. "There has to be some other way!"

"John, there is no other way. My body's just not strong enough, and you have to accept the one way or another." I could feel her long slender fingers stroke my out grown hair. Just her touch made my body melt. "Even if I did make it through the delivery, it wouldn't be no longer than 24 hours. My body would slowly stop working, so please just don't make this harder for me."

"Then we'll make the best of the time we have left together." I said looking up at her. "Like you said there's a chance you will survive."

"We will, we will make this the most memorable day in history." She said cracking up a smile.
Seeing her smile made me smile, even if the inside be burning, feeling that I've reached the end point.

"Yeah we'll--"

"Ahhhhh!" She yelped in pain making me leapt backwards. "Ahhhhh!"

"Oh my god, what's wrong!?!" I asked frantically, not knowing what to do. Seeing the red button on the side bed I hit it in one swift motion.

"Ah, it's time babe!" She screeched.

"Wait time for what!?!" I yelled. In came a crew of nurses already in gear, next came the doctor.
"What's going on here!?!"

"Well are you the father of this child?" The doctor ask. I nodded looking at him unsurely. "I guess, it's time to get this sucker out to meet his parents!"

Annie grabbed onto my hand causing me to topple over. The doctor spread her legs apart as she screamed. Everything started to become chaotic, all I could think was about what has happened in the past hour. The horrifying news of me losing the mother of my child, the love of my life. To the fact that she was in the worst pain, and I was standing on the sidelines doing nothing to ease her pain.

Moving the piece of hair from her face, I rubbed the side of her arms trying to comfort her.
The doctor were already telling her to push, I wasn't sure if I was ready for this, either way the baby was coming.

"Breath baby breath, deep breaths." I cooed. Her breathing became inconsistent, her face was peachy and she seemed out of it. "Come on, big push."

"Okay, 1-2-3" The doctor started to count. "-8-9-10, one more big push Ms. Brock, you've got this."

She let out a long screech and hard push, before I knew it the baby was out and crying. He was placed onto her stomach where they started to clean her up.

"You did it baby," I said kissing the top of her head.

"No, we did it." She was once again crying, but this time it was tears of joy.

The nurses took the baby away for an examination, for some odd reason there was a quick impulse in me that triggered. I ran out of the room and back into my room, I dug through my backpack that was sitting in the corner. Seeing the objective, I picked it up and ran back to the room.

I didn't think I was gone that long because Annie already had the baby in her hand. She looked up at me tiredly, a smile plastered on her face.

"John O’Callaghan the V, meet John O'Callaghan the Vl! He came in at 7.5 lbs., looking like his father."

"Oh my," She held out the baby, I took him into my embrace. His short and thin brown hair covered his head, little fingers hanging onto my own, and his little eyes beginning to open. "He's...cute."

"Nice choice of words John," Annie said meekly. "Can you tell everyone to come now?"

"Yeah," I said giving little Jay a quick kiss on the head. I walked out of the room and into the waiting room where the guys and Rachel were sprawled across the chairs passed out.

Walking over to Jared, I took little Jay's arm and started to whack Jared in the face, he groaned and opened one eye. "Ugh, John stop hitting me with the baby." He close his eyes and went back to sleep.

I grinned stepping back waiting for a different reaction. Something must have clicked in his head cause he popped out of the chair and started to clap.

"Oh shit! Congratulations man, you're a father!"

"Thank man, you wanna hold him while I go talk to Annie?"

"Yeah sure," I handed Jared Jay and made my way back to Annie's room. I gripped the velvety object in my hand, feeling the sweat accumulating on my hands.

As reached the room, is seemed to me all the nurses and doctors were crowding Annie, as a natural instinct I rushed over and shoved my way through.

"What it going on!?!" One of the nurses tried to calm me down but I pushed her aside.

"Sir we're going to have to--"

"Tell what the hell is going on with my girlfriend!" I shouted again.

"John," She whispered weakly. "Calm down please."

"No I will not calm down, what's going on!?!"

"Her blood level is sky rocketing and she's having a fever, we're gonna have to take her to the ER, now." The doctor finally informed me.

"Is she going to be okay!?!" I asked taking her hand.

"We don't know yet, please sir back away so we can take her." The nurse pleaded.

I shook her head looking down at Annie. "Baby, you're gonna be alright, promise me you'll fight."
She nodded her head giving me a small smile. "I promise John, now go out there and be with the others, I'll see you soon."

"Before you go, I have to ask you something though."

"What is is?" The color from her face was draining, her voice cracked, and she looked helpless.

"Annie Christine Brock, I'm going to make this short and simple. Will you do me the honor of being the future Mrs. O’Callaghan? Will you marry me?"

Her moth jutted open, confusion written on her face. "John,"

"Annie, simple yes or no."

"Yes,"

"Wait what?"

"Yes,"

I got up from the ground and put the ring on her finger, planting the kiss on her chapped lips. The doctors took her away, hopefully this won't be the last time I see her.