A New Life

-Brayden-
Somehow, I knew tonight was going to be the night. Couts has been chasing that hat trick all season. He’s come so close so many times. In the back of my mind, I knew that the day he finally got it would be the day the girls would be born. The universe works in funny ways. I learned that from Bryz.

I just didn’t think it would be like this. And not this early.

Charlie has been so careful since she got put on bed rest. She complained about being stuck in bed, but she never once disobeyed the orders. Who would have thought that going to the bathroom would cause her uterus to rip and create an emergency situation? Sure, we knew it was a possibility. But we didn’t think it would actually happen.

Fortunately, the entire team listened to my pleas and agreed to stay home for the night. At least until we learned more about what’s going on.

Well, the entire team except for my captain. He pulled in to the hospital parking lot mere seconds after I did. I looked at him like he was crazy, but he explained why he had to be here. He’s the captain. He’s the one who everyone should be able to look to in times of trouble.

I think maybe he felt a little disappointed that Couts called me, instead of him. But he understands that I’m his best friend. And while “captain” gets a lot of respect, “best friend” gets more perks.

I think G feels like he’s partially responsible for the emotional well-being of everyone on the team. Therefore, he felt like it was his duty to be here as much as it is mine. I totally get it. And honestly, it’s a lot easier for me that he’s here. I don’t know how to handle the situation we’re in.

A little while after we get there, Couts’s parents come rushing in. They apparently were just about to board their flight when he called them. So they took a cab here as fast as possible. His mom tells me that Drew is also on his way, but won’t be here for a while.

We’re told to sit in the waiting room until further notice. It kills me to have to just wait here while two of my best friends are struggling.

We’re only here for about half an hour before a nurse comes out, asking for Couts’s mom. She looks disheveled, and has blood on her clothes. It worries the hell out of me. The nurse takes her back, talking quickly in a hushed tone.

About twenty minutes later, Drew comes panting through the doors. He spots us and I tell him that they’re not telling us anything except that her uterus ripped.

His face turns angry and he goes up to the nurse’s window, demanding in a quiet voice that they tell us something about his sister.

They tell him that the girls have both been rushed to the neonatal intensive care unit where they’re being treated. The older one seems to be fine, but the younger one needs special attention. They also say that Charlie is still in surgery.

It’s not much, but at least it’s something.

Drew starts to pace the floor, and it’s making the rest of us nervous.

“Andrew, you should sit down.” Sylvain says in a calm voice. “Wearing yourself out isn’t going to do much.”
He looks up from the floor where his feet have been moving.
“Charlie is the only family I have left.” He says quietly. “If something happens to her-”

He can’t finish his sentence, but we all get the implication. If something happens to her, he has nothing left.

“Drew, you’re Charlie’s brother. Charlie is my daughter-in-law. Therefore, you are my family. Regardless of what happens to her, you will still be our family. You have your nieces, your brother-in-law, and us.”

Drew thinks about it for a minute.

“Couts is our brother.” Claude speaks up. “Which means Charlie is our sister. Family of family is our family.”

I nod my head in agreement. Drew sighs, but finally sits down.

Eventually, Couts’s mom emerges from the door to the rest of the hospital. She looks like she’s been crying. The four of us all stand, expectantly. She ignores the rest of us and heads straight for Sylvain’s open arms. Their love is beautiful to see, despite the occasion.

“They’re both so tiny.” She says. “But they’re absolutely gorgeous. Madison Grace Couturier is healthy, despite being just under three pounds. Isabella Michelle Couturier is smaller, and she’s using a machine to help her breathe because her lungs aren’t fully developed yet. They said as long as her lungs develop fully, she shouldn’t have any more complications though.”

“And Charlie?” Drew asks.

Her face falls and suddenly I feel like I’m falling into a tailspin.

Please don’t give me bad news right now. I can’t handle that.

“Charlie has been stabilized. For now. She lost a lot of blood. She- she um-” Her voice cracks and Sylvan pulls her closer to him. “She died on the table at one point. But they were able to bring her back to us. She’s in a coma, though. From the blood loss. And they’re not sure how long it’ll be before she wakes up.”

The breath leaves my lungs like I just got punched. I can tell the others are feeling the same way. It’s almost too much to handle. Drew sits back down, his face pale and his eyes distant.

“I’ll go get him some water.” G says, heading for the nurse’s station.
“She’s- she’s going to be okay, though. Right?” I ask. “She has to be okay. I mean, she’s Charlie. She’s a fighter.”

No one answers me. No one has an answer to give.

“I’ll let the team know what’s going on.” My captain says, coming back with cups of water for all of us. “Schenner, will you help me?”

I nod and follow him out to the parking lot where it’s less likely someone will overhear us. Even though this is an emergency, we still have to be careful. We’re local celebrities here and people would kill to know our business. Plus it gives the actual blood family a moment by themselves.

Together, we make the necessary phone calls to management, coach, and our teammates. We explain carefully everything that we know so far, and assure them not to come visit tonight.

When we’re done, we go back into the waiting room. Drew is missing, and Sylvain explains that he was given permission to visit his sister briefly. Sean was given clearance to spend the night, but the rest of us have to wait until tomorrow to come back. Obviously we’re not too thrilled about it, but we understand. Charlie is still in critical condition and visiting hours are over.

----------------

The next morning, about half the team shows up at the hospital around the same time before practice. It’s a little too early for visitation, but the nurses agree to let us at least see the girls from outside the room they’re in with all the other premature babies. We’re not allowed to see Charlie either, since apparently she’s still recovering. The doctors had to rush in a couple times over night to stabilize her, and apparently she’s scheduled for another surgery in a couple hours.

I can tell there’s a lot more going on than they’re telling us. It’s not just a ripped uterus. But I respect my friend and his privacy. When they’re ready to tell us what’s going on, they will. And if they decide to never share what’s happening, that’s their business. I hope he does tell me, at least out of the principle of trusting his best friend. But I will understand if he doesn’t.

When we reach the baby room, we can see Couts through the window. He’s sitting in one of the rocking chairs and has got one of the girls in his arms, feeding her from a bottle. It looks so natural for him to be in this position, feeding his daughter.

Mase knocks on the window softly and his head pops up. He looks like complete shit. It’s obvious he hasn’t slept at all. Probably since his pre-game nap yesterday. He gives us a half smile and stands from the chair, still cradling and feeding her. It’s a move I showed him with Ellie, and it looks like the practice has already payed off.

“Madison Grace.” He says through the window.

It’s kinda comical, honestly. Watching the entire group of “Broad Street Bullies” crowd around each other, trying to peek at the little girl in his arms. They’re all cooing and gushing about how cute she it. It’s ridiculous and we probably all need to hand over our man cards to someone at this point.

His mom was right, she is incredibly tiny. She’s probably about half the size that Ellie was when she was born. And to think that her sister is even smaller, it makes me very grateful that my own little girl was born completely healthy and on time.

Despite the complete exhaustion covering his face, I can see the pride in my best friend’s eyes. He finally understands what it’s like to have his little girl in his arms. He knows what it means to be able to touch her. To feed her. To give her everything she needs. And really, that’s all a father could hope to be able to do.

He turns and says something to the nurse inside the room, and she nods her head. She then begins to wheel one of the baby boxes over to the window. There’s a giant machine connected to it, and I realize it’s the breathing thing his mom was talking about last night.

“Isabella Michelle.” He says as the nurse turns the box so we can see the little one inside.

Her tiny pale body looks so fragile. Like any sudden movement could break her in half. The tubes leading into her mouth are almost as big as she is. Her entire arm is probably the size of my first finger. But unlike Maddy, her eyes are wide open. She stares at Sean and starts to cry a little. He shifts so Maddy is in one arm and reaches down to run his little finger softly over her face, letting it fall to where she’s grabbing on to it. Her entire hand doesn’t even fit around his finger. But she’s stopped crying now.

“Can we take pictures?” Jake asks.
Couts nods and repositions himself so that we can all get both girls in the same shot.

As soon as I take the picture I send it to Janine, who responds immediately. She’s upset that she can’t be here at the moment, but she says they’re beautiful. She also tells me to find a way to make sure he sleeps. Because apparently she can tell even from the small picture that he looks horrible.

After a couple minutes, we say goodbye and head out for practice. I promise him that I’ll be back when we’re done. And I tell him I’m bringing food, and he has no choice. I would guarantee that he hasn’t eaten since after yesterday afternoon’s game. And for a professional athlete, that’s not exactly an ideal situation to put yourself in.

As soon as practice is over, we have a small media session. A couple reporters ask about Couts’s absence, and we all repeat the PR department-approved statement. “His daughters were born last night, and he’s still at the hospital with them and his wife.”

I decide to stop at Wawa on the way to the hospital and pick up hoagies for everyone I know will be there. I don’t doubt that his mother is making sure they’re all eating, but I might as well bring something for them just in case.

When I get to the hospital, I ask for Charlie’s room number. I actually have to show my license to get access, since she and Couts are considered “local celebrities” around here. I appreciate their security, but at the same time I know the nurse recognizes me. She knows who I am, and my relation to the Couturiers.

Eventually, she gives in and tells me her room number. I head up to the second floor and navigate my way through the hallways, finally finding her. I walk through the door and see Sean passed out in the chair next to her bed. The dark bags under his eyes are obvious and his whole body looks like it’s shutting down. It’s such a drastic change from the guy who scored a hat trick just 24 hours ago.

Charlie doesn’t look too great, either. Her skin is incredibly pale and her brown hair is a mess on the top of her head. Their fingers are intertwined with each other, but I can tell she didn’t reciprocate it. How could she, when she’s in a coma? The machines connected to her are beeping steadily.

I decide not to wake him up, and instead pull my sandwich and mac and cheese out of the Wawa bag. I set up on the other side of Charlie’s bed and begin to eat. I’m half way through my classic hoagie when Drew comes through the door. He eyes my teammate’s sleeping form and gives me a small head nod.

“I brought food for you all.” I whisper.
“Thanks.” He responds.

He digs through the bag and pulls out a hoagie he likes. He leans over to kiss his sister’s forehead and then takes a seat next to me.

“So how is she since this morning?” I ask.
“She had another surgery a little while ago.” He responds.
“Yeah, we heard. How was it?”
“It was successful. And she’s not dead. So that’s good.” His voice is dry and I can’t tell if he’s being sarcastic or not.

“Hey man, look. I’m sorry about all this.” I say.
“It’s not your fault. It’s not anyone’s fault. No one here, at least.”
“I know. But it’s still not right.”

He nods and his mouth pulls into a tight line.

“Have you seen the girls yet?” He asks.
“Yeah, a couple of us came by and saw them this morning through the window.”
“They’re perfect, aren’t they?”
“They’re beautiful.”

He smiles a little, and I can’t help but join him.

“I never thought this day would come. That I would be an uncle. Our entire lives, Charlie has always been so independent. So strong-willed and stuck in her own life. I never thought she’d want to settle down with a man. I never thought she’d want to start a family. I figured she would just become one of those lifetime military people who just spend their lives deployed and whatever. But Sean changed that. You know, it’s funny. I hated all of Charlie’s previous boyfriends. Well, there was one that I tolerated. But even then it took me a couple months to warm up to the kid. But with Sean, it took me about three minutes to realize that he was the perfect guy for my sister. I’ve never once felt any regret. I’ve never been worried about her or anything. Because I’ve always known as long as he’s with her, she’s safe.”

I don’t really know what to say. I think about my own two sisters, Maddy and Macy. Macy is still too young to have a boyfriend, but Maddy has had a couple at this point. And, like Drew, I’ve hated every one of them. Luke has too. It’s part of the big brother code.

“I hope one day I can feel that way about my sisters.” I answer.

He claps me on the back and the sound startles my friend. He looks up through his half-closed eyes at us.

“Hey, man.” Drew says. “Brayden brought some food.”
“I’m not hungry.” He responds.

I sigh and nod at Drew, silently telling him that I’ve got this.

“Couts, you’re going to eat. You haven’t had anything in about 24 hours. You’re a professional athlete. Your body relies on the things you put into it.”

He looks at me, his face a mixture between confusion, anger, and exhaustion.

“What’s the point in eating if she’s just waiting around to die?” He finally asks. “What am I without her?”
I shake my head.
“Clearly I have to take you back down to the baby room. Do you even remember why you’re here? Your wife just gave birth to two of the three most beautiful little baby girls I’ve ever seen. You’re a father now. Your whole life is downstairs. What’s going to happen if you can’t provide for them because you aren’t able to play anymore?”

He sighs, but nods his head. I notice Drew breathe a sigh of relief out of the corner of my eye as he grabs a hoagie from the bag and hands it to him.

When he finally starts eating, Couts demolishes the hoagie. Like I figured, he was starving. It’s unnatural for us hockey players to go a couple hours without food, let alone an entire day.

“Thanks, man.” He says.
“Don’t worry about it.” I respond.
“Seriously. Thank you.”

I reach over to clap him on the shoulder and give him a friendly smile. I know Charlie is going to be okay eventually. She has to be. And I know that he will be okay too.