#chapter69

“Bout an hour.” He held his little sister’s hand. “Doctor said he needed to talk to him, sign some papers.”

“Papers for what? For the baby?” She sat up semi frantic.

“Calm down!” Jensen squeezed her hand in comfort. “It’s okay.”

The door opened and Jared walked in. Lexi sat up and was preparing for bad news. She squeezed Jensen’s hand even tighter than she’d already had. 

“How’s-” Lexi began but Jared was quick to start talking.

“Hey! The baby’s okay.” He answered before she could get the question out.  Her shoulders instantly relaxed, tears formed in a single blink and fell down her face. “How long have you been awake? How are you feeling?” He pressed a kiss to her head. “The doctor said the meds would make you sleep for a while.” 

“What’s going on with the baby?” 

“He is doing good.” Jared sat next to her. “He is still in the NICU and on oxygen. He has trouble breathing. Doctor has him on steroids to help his lungs finish developing.” Jared pulled out his phone and showed her a picture of the small baby with several tubes attached to his tiny body. “He is almost eighteen inches long and four and a half pounds.”

“He looks so much like you!” She cried with joy. “Look at him!”

“I know, he is so beautiful.” Jared pulled her into him. “

“Is it just his lungs?” She looked up at Jared.

“No.” Jared gave a quick glance at Jensen then back to Lexi.

“What is it?” Lexi  looked at both. “How bad is it?”

“He is anemic and jaundiced.” Jared began. “He- he had a seizure- “  Jared saw Lexi ready to panic. “He is okay! It wasn’t too severe and the doctors are monitoring him. So far he has good brain waves and is stable.”

“I want to see him.” Lexi pushed the sheets off of herself.

“Whoa, whoa!” Jensen stood walking over to her bed.

“Baby, you need to have the doctor come in and check you first. Your blood pressure is just getting to a safe level. You have been through labor and delivery. You lost a lot of blood. You had a transfusion. You have huge amounts of meds in your system.” Jared counted off the reason for her to stay in bed. 

“My baby needs me.”

“Just let the doctor check you out first.” Jensen stood. “I’ll get her now.” He walked out the room.

Lexi looked back at Jared. “Wait, I had a blood transfusion?”

“Yes you did.” The doctor walked in, slipping her gloves on. “You have us quite the scare. These two have been going back and forth taking turns between you and the little one.” Lexi looked between Jensen and Jared. “By the way, you have a beautiful baby boy. Very strong. And stubborn.” She smiled at Lexi. “Why don’t you two go get some coffee while I check under her hood.” They all gave a chuckle.

The doctor was thorough with her check up and went over every aspect of her issues explaining how Lexi was nearly rushed to the O.R. for an emergency hysterectomy bc of bleeding. Between that, blood loss and high blood pressure, It was important to keep a close eye on her. “You’re doing well but still want to keep you for a day or two more.”

“Can I see him?”

“Of course!” The doctor answered. “We will wait another hour or so just to make sure you are okay to move around a little beforehand. I’ll go talk to the NICU.”

“I’ll call Gen and Danneel and give them an update.” Jensen followed the doctor out.

“You did so great, baby girl.” Jared sat next to Lexi pressing a kiss to her forehead. “You were so strong and determined.”

“At one point I wanted to punch Gen for making natural labor sound like a good idea.” She chuckled.

Jared let out a laugh. “You almost did if Dee wouldn’t have been between you two!”

“How’s Danneel’s hand by the way?”

“Uh, sore.” He chuckled and Lexi laid her head on his chest. “You were so amazing. You brought our baby boy into this world.”

“I can not believe I pushed a person out of my body.” Lexi let out a yawn. 

“The nurses in the NICU say that he is a little fighter. He was trying to cry but couldn’t because his lungs are still a little under developed. 

The door creaked open and a young nurse walked in with a wheelchair. “I hear you finally get to go see your munchkin.” She smiled at Lexi and Jared. “I hear he has the nurses quite smitten in the NICU.”

“Just like his daddy.” Lexi smiled at Jared.

Slowly and carefully Lexi transitioned to the wheelchair with shaking hands. She knew it would take her a while before she would be at full strength again. Jared followed behind as the nire wheeled Lexi into the NICU. The three of them went through the process of disinfecting and putting on gowns. 

The nurse set the wheelchair right in front of the clear incubator. Lexi instantly had tears in her eyes as she looked down at the sleeping baby. “He’s so small.” She spoke with a broken voice looking at the wires and tubes attached to him. 

“He is stronger than he looks.” A different nurse walked up to them. “I’m Shelly, Head nurse here.” SHe extended her hand and gave a gentle shake.” How are you Mrs. Padalecki?”

“I’m okay. What about-”

“He is doing well.” Shelly smiled, pulling up a chair. “He is on oxygen till his lungs are stronger. The feeding tube is there till he can learn to swallow properly. The rest of the leads are just to monitor his vitals.”

“How long will he need all of this?” 

“He will be here for a few weeks to a few months. It depends on how long it takes his body to catch up to being born so early. We don’t take chances here so we are being cautious and aggressive.”

“So we’ll be going home without him.” Lexi looked at Jared with fearful eyes.

“I talked with your husband earlier, preparing him for the reality that you will be going home without your baby. It will be difficult.”

Lexi nodded. “How often will we be able to see him?”

“You’ll be able to come daily. We give updates every few hours and when you go home in the evenings we have a number you can call to check in on baby.”

“He is in good hands, Lex.” Jared rubbed her arms. “This is the best NICU in the state.

“He is stable and should improve daily from here on out.” Shelly explained. “He is a strong one. He even tries to pull the leads off.” She chuckled. “Your biggest concern right now is naming this little guy.”

“I already know his name.” Lexi said, looking at the baby boy through the incubator. 

“You do?” Jared asked, surprised.

“Tristan Ross.” Lexi said with confidence. 

“Tristan Ross Padalecki.” Jared smiled. “I love it.” 

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