It's the middle of the night when I'm awakened.

My eyes stare up at the ceiling as I try to recall exactly what woke me up, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Something wasn't right. I listened closely to the sounds of our new home. There were no creaks of the framework or leaking pipes. It was as quiet as the Californian coast could be in the middle of the night.

I looked over at Matt. He's laying beside me, on his stomach like a little kid. One arm is hooked underneath his pillow as extra support while the other lays beside his head, bent at the elbow. There are soft snores coming from him. Smiling at the sight, I roll onto my side and close my eyes to go back to sleep.

But then I feel it. It's a funny sensation covering my legs. I reach under the covers and feel it. The texture is wet and sticky, but warm and thick. I'm confused. What's on the bed? Sitting up, I reach over and turn on the bedside lamp. A soft glow lights my side of the room. I hold up my hand.

And scream.

Matt jumps up from his sleeping position, looking at me through half-lidded sleepy eyes. I tear the covers off my legs and scream again, the sight of all the --

All the --

"Oh fuck!" Matt yells, jumping out of the bed and pulling on a shirt over his head.

I stare at the dark red blood that has pooled out from my legs and onto the bed. It's everywhere. Some of it has even leaked over onto Matt's pajama pants. My legs are covered in it, and so are my hands now.

Matt grabs the quilt folded at the end and lays it out. He reaches for me, picking me up as gently as he can before putting me on top of the quilt. I'm wrapped in it, trying to keep the blood from getting on anything else. He picks me up again, and carries me down the staircase quickly, leading out to the driveway where his car waits. Somehow he unlocks the car with me still in his arms, and places me across the back seat.

"Deep breaths, Vi, deep breaths," he tells me, kissing my forehead as he smooths my hair out of my face. I just then realized how quickly I was breathing. I followed what he said. Deep breaths. "It's gonna be okay, Vi. We're gonna be okay. He's gonna be okay."

Matt gives me one last kiss before closing the door and jumping into the driver's seat. We're speeding down PCH within minutes, going well over the speed limit. We're five minutes from the hospital when the strange cramping begins. I groan, holding my hand against the lower part of my bump. A much more painful one hits, causing me to cry out. Matt's foot presses a little harder on the gas.

Suddenly, I hear the familiar shrill of police sirens.

"Fuck, I don't have time for this shit," Matt growls, his hands gripping the steering wheel as he continues at the crazy speed he's going. The hospital is two blocks away; I can see the sign from here. Matt completely ignores the officer following him on his tail, but as soon as we pull into the Emergency entrance, Matt shifts the car into park. He pulls me from the car and carries me inside. I look over his shoulder, and find a surprised officer watching us, his eyes following the trail of blood that leaks below us; his squad car's lights are still flashing a painful blue and red.

Matt rushes into the emergency room, yelling at the first nurse that he comes in contact with.

"You! Get her a doctor now!"

The nurse, surprised at his voice, but she goes still at the sight of my large baby bump and the blood slowly dripping down from the blanket.

"Karen! Code Red Stork! Get Dr. Ulrich down here right now!" the nurse yells, pointing to the woman sitting behind the counter. All the nurses in the vicinity stop whatever they're doing and rush over to help us. I'm being put on a hospital bed. The quilt is now soaked with the blood that won't stop flowing for some reason. Why won't it stop? Matt runs beside the bed as I'm rushed into the nearest room.

"Matt." He looks down at me, his eyes filled with fear and hopelessness. "We're gonna be okay, baby, okay? Owen and I are gonna be okay. We're gonna make it, and we're gonna go home in a few days and let his uncles spoil him until he's rotten to the core from all of our love, okay? We're gonna be okay, Mattie, we're gonna be okay."

His lips press against mine before two nurses are pulling him out of the room. Just as he leaves the room, a doctor enters with a machine being rolled in behind him.

"Is that your husband?" he asks softly, his voice calming. I nod, before wincing when I feel an IV being put into my arm. "Okay, well I'm going to have him fill out some papers while we figure out what to do to help you and your baby, okay? I'm Dr. Kevin Ulrich, I'll be taking care of you and the little one today. May I have your name?"

"Violet." My voice cracks from the shakiness that takes over my body. "Violet Sanders."

"Alright, Violet, let's do a quick ultra sound to see what's going on."

His hands are already covered in medical gloves. A nurse hands him a bottle of the familiar gel that they would use on me whenever I went in for my check ups. It's a burning cold against my hot, sweaty skin, as he uses the familiar wand to rub it into my belly. Suddenly, I hear a heartbeat fill the room and I know it's not mine. A nurse is cutting off my bloodied sleep shorts and underwear, before wiping off all the dried and flaking blood on my legs.

"Heart rate is a little high, but I don't see any breaks in the womb. I don't see anything causing the bleeding... Wait what's-"

My heart clenches in my chest as I stare at the black and gray screen.

"Penny, how dilated is she?" he asks hurried, taking a rag and wiping the gel off my stomach.

"She's... she's not, sir. She's not dilated at all, at least, not enough to be compared to any delivery dilation."

I hear him curse, and I'm left fearful, laying on the hospital bed with no idea what's going on. "What's wrong? What's going on? Why am I- fuck!"

One of my hands grips the metal railing of the bed while the other presses against the bottom of my bump just over a strong ache. My legs shake from the pain. The doctor curses again, and suddenly the room is bustling with nurses trying to get to certain places. My eyes are closed tight, with tears prickling at the corners from the pain. Dear lord, I had no idea childbirth was going to be so painful.

"Violet? Violet, can you hear me? Violet?"

I look up at Ulrich. He wears a worried expression.

"The only possible way for us to save your baby is to perform an emergency C-section. Do you understand that? We have to do a C-section." I nod, unable to speak from the pain. "We're putting a mild antithetic in your IV to dull the pain. It won't have any effect on you or your baby, okay, Violet?" I nod again, as I start to feel light headed.

My eyes close. There's a flurry of voices and clinks and suddenly two strong, warm, calloused hands are gripping mine. "Hey, Vi, baby." I smile weakly at the sound of Matt's voice. There's a strange pressure on my stomach that I can't place. There's pain, and although slight, I'm too hazed over to take any action against it. "They're gonna save Owen for us, and we're gonna be one big happy family and have so many other kids running around the house. We're gonna be so happy, just us and the kids, and we're gonna grow old and tell our grand kids all the crazy stories about the band and the guys, okay? Vi? Vi, can you hear me? Violet?"

My hand slackens in his slightly. I can't feel my fingers, and my body feels more than numb.

"Hey, what's going on!" Matt yells.

"She's losing too much blood. Matt, do you know her blood type?"

"Yeah, B-positive."

"Thank you. Laura! Go get a transfusion right now! At least two packets."

There's a weight on my chest, but I feel as if I'm floating. I don't feel the dull pain in my abdomen. I didn't feel Matt's hand clutching mine between his. I didn't feel the pounding of my heart-

Oh no you don't, Vi. You've got a little boy to raise. Get your ass back down there.

My eyes snap open as I sit up quickly in the bed.

"Oh, mother fucker," I cry, clutching at my sore abdomen. Matt runs over, helping me ease back down against the pillows.

"Hey, Vi," he greets me, kissing me passionately. I'm taken by surprise, but accept the kiss and return it. "God, baby, I was so scared," Matt confesses, hugging my body. I wrap my arms around him the best I can, still wincing at the hot stabs in my stomach. "You lost so much blood, Vi. They- they-"

"Shh, it's okay baby, I'm here. No need to be scared anymore." My hands run through his hair, and he sighs softly against my neck.

"You died, Vi. They couldn't get your heart to restart for over five minutes. I was so scared. I don't know the first thing about being a dad. I need you Vi, I couldn't raise Owen on my own. I don't think I could handle another death in my family."

I hold Matt tight to me, letting him get his feel of my warm flesh as he took in that I was alive and well.

"So he's okay?" I ask, my voice cracking slightly. "Owen's okay? There wasn't anything wrong with him? Do they know why I started to bleed so bad?"

Matt sits in the chair pulled up to my bedside. "Yeah, Vi, he's okay. He was a big baby, though. Even I wasn't that big. Eight pounds, seven ounces; and twenty-five inches tall. He's a monster baby compared to all the others in the nursery. They were so surprised by his size because he was only thirty-two weeks instead of the full forty."

"He's gonna be big and tall just like his daddy," I tease, kissing his cheek before pulling Matt back into my arms. "Can I see him, Matty? Can I see our little Owen?"

"Yeah, Vi, you can see him. Let me go get a nurse, okay? They probably want to check up on you anyways."

I nod, and slowly let him go. He helps me back against the pillows, and I sit there, looking around the private hospital room. Just a few minutes later, Matt comes back in with a nurse and Dr. Ulrich. He smiles happily at me.

"Hello there, Mrs. Sanders. How are you feeling?"

"Sore, and tired, but that's expected right?"

He chuckles and nods. "Yes, that's to be expected. Although, I must tell you that you will be staying at the hospital a bit longer than most mothers. Due to the circumstances that underwent during the C-section, we want to monitor your body white blood cell count to make sure no infection happens, alright?"

I nod, letting my hands rest in my lap. Matt walks over to my side before ushering the nurse over. She rolls a small bassinet slowly over to us, and my breath catches at the tuff of brown hair that sticks out from a pale blue blanket. She picks up my son carefully and walks over to place him in my arms. The moment he's in my arms, and it's just me supporting him, I start to cry.

"Oh god, he's beautiful," I gasp, running a smooth knuckle down the side of his chubby baby cheeks. He's asleep, but the movement must have woken him up, because he opens his eyes to me and I sob softly. Bright newborn-blue eyes look from me to Matt, and then back to me.

"Hey there, Owen. It's great to finally meet you. I'm your mommy."

His pudgy lips part slightly as he looks at me, his eyes opening just a bit more. Matt sits to my side, smiling down on the both of us.

"Mrs. Sanders?"

I look up from my son and quickly wipe at the tears in my eyes. "Yes?"

"We took much time to look over everything that happened while you were in the OR, and took a few blood samples once we were certain your blood ha accepted the transfusion..." The doctor trails off before he sighs and clasps his clipboard in both hands. "You were never meant to have your son, Mrs. Sanders. Your body was not in the correct functioning pattern of a pregnant woman, and your body was rejecting the pregnancy. That is why you were having the miscarriage in the first place. Why so far along? We're not sure and will probably know. We're not sure how either of you survived, but I think you have an angel watching over you."

My face breaks out in a grin, and I can't help but look up at Matt. He's returning my grin. We know just which angel is watching over us.

"I'm sorry to inform you, but because of the procedure you went under, and the severity of the outcome, we find it impossible for you to get pregnant ever again."

The doctors leaves us a few minutes later after a small 'congratulations'. I can't take my eyes off of Owen, but the words "impossible or you to get pregnant ever again" sings over, and over, and over in my head.

"C'mon, Vi, get some rest. You need it," Matt says, before slowly easing Owen from my arms as my head starts to lull to the side. I didn't realize just how tired I was until now.

"Okay," I give in with a yawn, before slowly sinking down into the bed. Matt leans over, giving me a kiss before I press a soft one to Owen's head. "Be here when I wake up?"

"Always, Vi."

Matt goes over and puts Owen in the small bassinet, before coming over and sitting in the chair beside my bed.

"Can't wait to go home," I tell him sleepily, squeezing his hand in mine. Matt moved to lay on the hospital bed with me. I turned to my side; while the stitches were still fresh and I shouldn't have been laying on my side, I wanted to feel Matt's arms around me. We laid there, settled down into the frumpy bed, and fell asleep.

Owen slept peacefully just five feet away.

While Matt and I slept, along with the other occupants of the hospital during that time of the night, Owen had awoken to find a strange, tall figure standing over him. Their blue eyes matched, but Owen's eyes were only meant to stay that blue for a few months - they would slowly turn into the hazel that his father had.

Hey there, Owen. Keep an eye out for them, okay? I'm trusting you to keep them in line, ducky.

Owen fell back asleep, and the night stayed a peaceful one, with the small influenced dream of what this "home" that they spoke of, was like.

Notes

sequel in the works! keep an eye out!