"We have to follow the ambulance," Harry insisted. "My car is parked at the back where the deliveries come in."

"I'll drive." Salvatore held out his hand for the keys he had in his left hand.

They dashed through the kitchen, slamming out the rear entrance to the restaurant.

"What if Gaia dies?" Harry moaned.

"Didn't you say your father had a vision of your seventieth wedding anniversary? And has he ever been wrong?" Salvatore countered as he swung the heavy Cadillac around two corners catching up with the ambulance as it roared down the road toward the hospital.

"Can't they go any faster?" Harry complained. "They have the two most important people in my life in there."

"I'm sorry." Salvatore chuckled. "I shouldn't be laughing. I'm sure Maxine will make sure everything is well with Gaia."

"Tell me it was different for you when you lost Rosina." Harry stopped speaking and slapped a hand over his mouth. "Forgive me Sal, that was uncalled for."

The tall dark Italian winced before replying, "It wasn't the same. Rosina was gone in an instant. Not a bleed like our darling Red, but something stopped her heart. It was her time. It isn't Gaia's. Trust your father's predictions."

"You're a better man than I am, my friend. You are correct. Ronan O'Connor has never been wrong. It's hard to trust when I saw the pain in Gaia's eyes. And the blood. Why does hers scare me to the bone?"

"Because you love her. She's the center of your life. It makes all the difference." Salvatore turned into the parking lot at the hospital and drove right up the the entrance to the emergency room. "Go, my friend. It will be a long night, and your daughter needs you. Gaia needs to know you are here, and Gloria will be safe." The big Italian squeezed Harry's shoulder.

"Thank you, Sal."

"I'll park your car over there." He pointed to a free spot against the hospital wall. "It will be there when you need it in the morning."

Harry opened the car door and turned back to duck his head back inside. "Let Nonna know our little one is safe. I will give them a call as soon as I know how things turn out for Gaia."

"Of course, now go inside. Your wife is probably already on her way to surgery to fix whatever it is that went wrong."

Harry slammed the door and hurried into a crowded waiting room. Skirting the line of people waiting to be seen, he went to the front. "Excuse me, my wife just arrived by ambulance, with my newborn daughter."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Gaia felt like she was swimming in quicksand. She couldn't seem to find her way to the surface. Her abdomen ached ferociously.

"Come on, dear, wake up. Open your eyes for me."

She groaned and then she remembered. She forced her eyelids open. "Where's my baby?"

"She's fine. Healthy as can be and waiting for you to wake up and feed her." The nurse in her white cap with a black stripe across the tope of the white wings reached for her wrist.

She started to pull it away, and remembered Maxine doing the same. Taking her pulse, she said. She waited patiently, and her eyes drooped shut.

"No, you don't. Take a deep breath, Gaia. You need to stay awake. We're taking you back to your room. The doctor will see you there and tell you what happened. You're lucky to be alive."

"I knew that. I wasn't sure I would make it. Everything went black on the way to the hospital."

"I'm glad to hear you remember. No brain damage. It was touch and go." The nurse pointed up to a glass flask with a tube attached to her arm. "That is the last unit of blood you needed. Lucky for you, you aren't a rare blood type. Your daughter is. Like her Daddy."

"What time is it?" Gaia scanned the walls looking for a clock.

"Not quite eleven o'clock. Here come the orderlies. These nice gentlemen will take you down to your room. Your husband and daughter are there waiting for you."

Gaia smiled and turned her deep blue eyes toward the white clad men who started to roll her bed toward a set of swinging doors.

"How fast can you get me there?"

"Let's see if we can set a record," one of the said.

His partner laughed. "I promised. We won't wasted any time, Red."

"How do you know my name?"

"With your hair? I took a good guess. Let's move Art."

"Yes. Let's go." Gaia felt cool air blowing over her face. It drove the last dregs of wooziness away, and she giggled as they flew by doors and swerved around corners until they had to stop to wait for an elevator.

"You're room isn't very far down the hall," Art said as they arrived on the correct floor.

"Thanks guys. I don't care what this surgery did. I'm alive and that's what matters." She spotted Harry as they pushed into the room. He cuddled a small bundle in his arms, the mewling protests of a newborn grew into a full wail as the orderlies helped to move over onto the bed.

Her breasts ached, heavy on her chest. "Bring my daughter to me. I think I have what she needs." Gaia yanked the snaps on her shoulder open exposing a breast as Harry eased their daughter into her arms.

The sensation of her daughter tugging on her nipple brought an answering slow roll of her heart as she examined her baby. "She truly is healthy. The nurse upstairs said she was."

"I feed her a bottle of what Maxine called formula earlier. She was getting ready to cry as you arrived. Maxine left before I could even get Gloria to take the bottle. Said she was going to make sure you lived." Harry ran a gentle finger over her breast. "Gloria is the most beautiful creature I have ever seen, except perhaps her mother. I had know idea how quickly I could fall in love."

Gaia nodded. "She's perfect, isn't she?"

Maxine knocked on the open door. "She is. Tiny, but everything is there, and she's doesn't need to stay in the hospital. You do though, Gaia. It was touch and go. I was able to save the uterus, but I doubt you'll ever have another child. I have a private theory that saving it is best for women if it is at all possible. I'm sorry, Red. You won't have another baby."

Gaia nodded. "I'm grateful to be alive. I feel so heavy, like I can barely hold Gloria."

Maxine nodded. "That's expected. You lost a lot of blood, and the aftereffects from anesthetic will make you sleepy too. Rest, good food, and taking care of your daughter's needs are all you need to worry about. You're a strong woman. You'll heal well. I'm keeping you here for at least a week before we send you home."

"She'll take it," Harry said before she could protest.

Gaia sighed. "I'll take it. I just tried to sit up straighter. I'm hurting."

"If you can, don't take anything for it. Asprin is out. It will promote bleeding. You've already done enough of that. Everything you take into your body will go into your milk. We don't want to drug Gloria as well."

Gaia shifted her daughter to her other breast. "Harry can cast a spell which will help heal me and take the pain away. Do you mind a magical assist, my friend?"

Maxine's eyebrow flew up and she shrugged her shoulders. "Some heal far more quickly than others. It's always been like that."

Harry smiled. He retrieved his wand from inside his jacket. "Do you want to see it happen?"

The doctor moved toward the door. "I'll leave you to it. Better that no one sees."