*week timelapse*

Mid-Terms were finally over. We had been doing them for over a week, and finally, they were done for the year. That was the biggest joke ever; the exams were the hardest thing in the world. If the mid-terms were hard, I dreaded what finals would be like. They were even harder knowing that, when I left my testing room, I wouldn't have Jack to come out, comfort me, and let me rant to him about how pissed I was with the difficulty. What made it even worse was that being pregnant meant that you'd have to deal with your baby kicking or making you go pee every five seconds. Yeah, that was a doosey.

I walked out of school to see mama out waiting for me in her car. I had apologized to her a head of time about the lash out, and now, today, she was taking me tux shopping for prom. I had never been to prom before; Jack and I never went together. This was my first and last prom since I was a senior, so I wanted to make it count. I hopped in the car with a smile plastered on my face. "Hey, mama!" I greeted cheerfully.

"You sound happy today, Alex." Mama noted with a chuckle.

"I am feeling pretty good today. I mean, after mid-terms and all, I'm feeling pretty good."

"Well, I am glad. Does Jack know you're with me today?"

"Yeah. He has an all day shift at the auto shop, so I won't be seeing him until tonight." Mama nodded at my response but didn't speak another word. We were driving down the highway towards the tuxedo rentals when I began to have sharp pains up my back. I hissed at them, for they were becoming so unbearable and numbing. "A-Ah, ow.." Mama looked over at me with confusion.

"Alexander, are you alright?" Now, the pains were sending me into tears. I clutched my back, and soon, Melody began to practically do back flips in me. This wasn't a good feeling or sign at all. One more pain went up my back to my head which made me shout out, "Shit!" Oh my God, this was it. I think I was actually in fucking labor -- at seven and a half months pregnant! This wasn't good; no, this was fucking terrible. Mama was now panicking. "Alexander, what is it?!"

"G-Get me to a hospital," I heaved, "because it's time. She wants out..."

"But, it's so early!"

"Mama, I know! Just, please, get me to the damn hospital!" She proceeded to speed down the highway towards the exit to the medical center. As the pains went through my body, I began to whimper. My baby was coming early, meaning we were both right now in serious danger. What had I done to have my child be born so early? What have I done?

---

*Isobel's POV*


I was trembling in the waiting room seat as I waited for Jack to come by. Alex was in the OR for an Emergency C-Section. They couldn't tell us why he had gone into such an early labor, but they said that stress made have had something to do with it. I could see the stress was getting to him, but I didn't know it would affect the child as well.

I heard Jack fly through the doors yelling, "ALEX!" I called him over, and when he saw me, he ran to me in fear. "Where is he?! Where's Alex!?"

"He's in the OR. They're giving him an Emergency C-Section. We won't be able to see them for a while, and when we do, it won't be pretty. Alex apparently passed out before surgery, and they know the baby won't look healthy because of how early the baby was born." Jack let out a heavy breath before plopping down. I knew he couldn't believe what was happening; I couldn't either. I looked at him with teary eyes. "Jack, thank you."

"For?"

"For being there for Alex when he really needed someone. You really meant a lot to him." I saw Jack smile a tad.

"He was my best friend, and now, he's my boyfriend and father of my daughter. He's all I have, and I know that he will be in my life forever." I couldn't help but smile too. I was so glad Alex was being protected by someone like Jack; I knew we could trust him.

---

Four hours of waiting until we could go and see Alex. They had the baby in NICU, and we wouldn't get to see her for a long while. Jack and I were led to Alex's room where he lied in a bed almost lifeless. His stomach was flattened, and he looked an awful, pale white. Jack and I sat beside our loved one before the doctor began to explain what happened. "Alexander was extremely underweight when he got pregnant, so that was a minor cause of the labor. Also, he was over stressed. During the operation, he was unconscious, and he did lose a lot of blood. He will be out for a while. As for the baby, the baby had its cord wrapped around its neck after being removed, but luckily, we caught it just in time. With how small she is, her breathing was bad enough due to the small lungs. She currently can't breathe on her own, and she has an irregular heart rate."

"Is she and him going to live?" Jack asked with a croak.

"Alex, absolutely. He will just not look or feel so good for a while. As for your daughter, there's a slight chance of not pulling through due to how young she is." That shattered my heart knowing my granddaughter may not make it. I looked at Jack who was trembling and beet red.

"Jack, what's --"

"I need some air." With that, he shot up and left the room. I saw him press against the glass window of the room, and what I saw hurt my heart more; Jack fell to his knees and cried. I just turned to my son and cupped his hand. Sighing, I whispered,

"Alex, it's going to be okay. We're here."

Notes

so bam this happens

who thinks melody will pull through???

xoxo krys