A Gift or A Curse

She looked around; her view was blurry and dizzy. Everything seemed to move in such fast pace that she couldn’t pinpoint a single thing clearly. Her pain was unbearable that she had to hold on to something. She grabbed the white lab coat of a person running next to her and didn’t care if her screams will murder the whole floor.

“Val, Val! I can’t follow you in. I’m gonna call Matt and the others. You can do it, sis! Just keep breathing!”

She reached out her hand for Michelle who seemed to fade away and went missing behind the door.

“We’re almost there, Mrs Sanders. Just breathe. Follow me. Like this,” She saw a moving glimpse of a nurse whom she didn’t know, teaching her how to take a deep breath and exhaling it after and she followed her instruction. The pain struck again, as though she was about to ripped apart in pieces. Her screams echoed through the room as they arrived in a dark ambient, only lit by a huge lamp above her head.

“Keep breathing, Mrs Sanders. You’re 10 cm dilated, I think you’re good to go. Doctor!” the nurse covered her mouth with a mask and off she went to call the doctor. Valerie was left alone, and at war with life but she was left alone.

“AAaaaagghhh!!!!” she screamed loudly but no one seemed to ever approach her. She wondered why. If Matt was here he would yell the fuck out of these doctors and nurses for leaving her alone here. At times like these she wished that Matt wasn’t a rock star but a regular guy instead.

Suddenly the lamp above her flickered crazily, making buzzing noise and then shone brightly that she can catch a glimpse of a figure – wearing a white suit with pink colored necktie and the familiar black hair with black eyeliner on the eyes.

“Ji-Ji-Jimmy??” she called. The room went silent. Her pain abruptly gone and those figures of doctors and nurses froze – it was like the time had stopped but she can still move and so did Jimmy.

“Hey Val.”

Her eyes pooled with tears. After 9 months of learning to really let him go, he came back and she can see him now?

“I – I – how??”

“I can’t be long. I just want you to know that River is going to be fine. Raise him well, and don’t forget to tell stories of uncle Jimmy for him.”

“River?”

“Blue like the river.”

“I don’t understand-”

“Shh. Just go to sleep. Everything’s going to be okay.”

Jimmy hovered his hand on top of her face and she felt sleepy. So sleepy that she actually closed her eyes tight and drifted off to sleep.

“Mrs Sanders?! Mrs Sanders?!”

The doctor who dressed in a green scrub slapped her face gently a few times but Valerie remained sleeping.

“Shit, how can she fell asleep in the middle of labor?! We have to do C-section! Nurse! Cover her up!”

*******************************************************************************************************

“Thank you Alberta!!!”

Matthew raised his arms high and flashed the devil horn signs after their encore and ran to the back stage with Brian and Zacky. They were sweaty and exhausted after a 2 hour show in Alberta and they can’t wait to get into bed after this.

The first thing he searched for everytime they were done playing a show was Valerie. His almost-due wife was his source of energy before and after show but he couldn’t find her anywhere.

“Has anybody seen my wife?” he called but nobody answered him. They just shrugged and murmured a few words about she went that way or the other. Suddenly Jason, their drum tech running up to him in panic.

“Matt! Matt! Michelle called, she said Val’s in labor!”

“WHAT?! But she’s due next week?!”

“I dunno! She said that her water broke like two hours ago!”

“OH GOD! Brian! Christ! Zacky! Arin! Let’s go! Val’s in the hospital!”



Michelle paced around, back and forth waiting for her husband and the guys to arrive. She was informed by one of the nurses in the labor room that Valerie fell asleep in the middle of the labor. She was worried to death at this point.

Nevertheless she envied her twin sister for being so fertile. Though she had tried again and again to have a baby but it just didn’t work. Sometimes she would cry in the shower and if Brian caught her crying, he would wrap his arms around her and tell her that it’s going to be okay. They have Pinkly anyway and that dog was practically their child. But to Michelle, it wasn’t enough.

“Come on guys, what’s taking you so long?”

She fumbled with her phone, wanting to call Matthew again but her phone accidentally slipped from her hand and she couldn’t prevent it from falling down to the floor. But suddenly the time stopped, her phone hung in the air, her surroundings froze but she can move freely. Slowly she stood up, bulging her eyes around the waiting area and felt confused. Her charmbracelet clinked, and she looked down at it. It had been a while since she took a good look at it.

“Jim…?” she can felt the presence of her best friend approaching from behind. Her heart pumped fast in horror. She had never experience anything like this before but she felt happy at the same time because it was really Jimmy who came up to her slowly and flashed his boyish grin at her.

Her tears fell down like a river, but she couldn’t move her feet.

“Michelle, don’t be sad. You’re gonna be a great mom.”

She frowned at him. “What – what – what are you talking about, Jimmy?”

“Everything’s going to be okay.”

Suddenly her phone crashed to the floor and in split second everything was moving again. She looked down to the floor and saw what was left of her phone. She glanced back at Jimmy and he was gone. It was like nothing really happened in the first place. She bent down and picked up the shattered pieces.

“Chelle! Chelle! How’s Val?! Oh God, why are you crying?!”

Michelle felt her body was shaken by someone and she slowly realized that it was Matthew and Brian tried to calm him down.

“I just saw-”

“Oh dear God, please tell me Val is okay?!”

Michelle snapped back and shook her head. Trying to brush those hallucinations off her mind.

“Val’s okay, but she fell asleep in the middle of the labor. They have to perform C-section on her.”

“Oh thank God! C-section? Is it dangerous?”

“Well, actually not. They already induced her with – umppf!”

Michelle jerked her body upwards, hand clasped on her mouth.

“Michelle, are you okay?”

She nodded, but then her body jerked again. “Excuse me.” She went to the nearest ladies room and quickly ran for the sink. She felt so nauseous that she almost puked out all of her dinner.

“Chelle baby, are you okay?”

Michelle flinched and saw Brian was there, looking worried as hell.

“Brian, this is ladies room.”

“I don’t fucking care. What’s wrong with you, baby?”

He went closer and caressed her face gently with his fingers. Michelle remembered something, something Jimmy said – just about two minutes ago and smiled. Thank you Jimmy.

“Brian, I think I’m pregnant.”

Brian stood still and stunned. His brown eyes wide open but his mouth remained closed. Nothing came out of his mouth as he stared into his wife’s eyes, trying to digest.

“Brian, did you hear me?”

“I’m…I’m…I’m going to be a…dad?”

“Yeah.”

“WOOOHOOOO!!” He screamed in happiness as he picked his wife up and spun around – in the middle of an empty ladies room.

“Brian put me down, I feel dizzy already!” She slapped his broad shoulders and he obeyed. As soon as her feet touched the floor Brian caught her lips and kissed her passionately.

“I love you, Chelle.”

“I love you more, daddy Gates.”

Notes

A/N: just one more chapter and it's the end :)