Chapter 2: The Lie
Priya pushed the wheelchair forward, and the movement jerked Fallon back to reality. She held onto both sides of the chair, relaxing onto the headrest to reduce the pressure on her pelvis.
"Be strong." Priya whispered as she pushed Fallon. The squeak of the tyres of the wheelchair filled the air.
There were no more screams, perhaps the prince's wife had delivered, or so Fallon thought. Leroy was asked to remain outside the labour room. There was a doctor standing beside the matron.
He kept reiterating the words; ' She survived only by a hair's breadth.' Fallon was too bothered about her labor pains to think about what they could be talking about.
Fallon was quickly dressed into the typical hospital gown and cap. She experienced difficulty pushing the baby down her hips.
For two hours, young Fallon pushed and heaved.
Just as she was about giving up, the matron announced that there was another baby coming after the one whose head was now visible. Fallon thought she was going to divide into two. She was too weak to understand the signals and the coded words the nurses were exchanging. She was losing consciousness of her surroundings.
She closed her eyes as soon as the babies were delivered.
Someone's hand was resting on hers. Her eyelids were heavy, and it took her a great deal of willpower to force them open. Leroy was sitting beside her bed, and his head was resting on his biceps.
"Leroy." She called out. He raised his head and smiled on seeing her awake. He held her palm in his and enclosed it on his own.
"For how long have I been asleep?" She asked him. Her eyes roamed around the room. There was an intravenous injection attached to her wrist.
"Since after your delivery." Leroy answered. He was smiling widely.
"Where are my babies?" Fallon asked excitedly. Leroy's smile disappeared instantly. He stared at the girl lying on the bed, wondering if the pains of childbirth had stolen her sanity.
"Babies?" He asked.
"Yes. I heard the matron say there was another one coming." Fallon sounded unsure and out of her mind.
"You must be tired. You should rest. Do you want to see our baby?" Leroy thought she was tired. She decided to drop the matter. She might not have heard well. They couldn't possibly take her child away if there had been another one coming.
"Yes. I want to see her. Do you want to name her?" Leroy rose from his seat and went to the baby's crib already set up in the corner of the room. The one Priya bought to relieve Fallon of the financial stress of getting a crib for the baby.
"Do you want me to name her?" Leroy asked in return.
He bent over the crib, he rose back up with the baby in his arms, cradling her like the father he was.
"She looks so small." Fallon said when he dropped the baby in her arms. She sat up straight so she wouldn't interrupt the flow of the IV.
"She's just three hours old. Cut her some slack." Leroy retorted. Fallon smiled down at the sleeping baby.
"She looks like you, Leroy." Leroy shook his head.
"How can you tell?" He asked. Fallon thought he looked adorable with the smile he was sporting on his face.
"She has your fae ears, for example." Leroy chuckled.
"You don't have to exaggerate. I don't have fae ears." They laughed loudly, suppressing their laughter only when the baby stirred.
The door creaked open and three women strode into the room. Priya and two of the nurses who worked with the matron. The nurses were smiling, but Priya looked like she was torn between having to smile and maintaining her neutral countenance.
"How do you feel?" One of the two nurses, a blonde, came to Fallon's side, examining the IV.
"I feel fine, but my thighs hurt." Fallon answered. She handed the baby to Leroy.
"It'll hurt for some time, but it's nothing you can't handle. There are only few girls your age who would push out two-"
The nurse trailed off. The other nurse standing beside Priya coughed. Fallon knew at once that there was something up. She looked at Priya who offered her a wry smile.
"You'll breastfeed her when she wakes." The nurse's voice had lost its excited tone.
"We'll be leaving now. If you need something, we're just down the hallway."
The other nurse cleared her throat. Something was up.
Fallon's eyes glared at their backs as they exited the room.
"Did you see that?" Fallon asked Leroy. Leroy raised his brows.
"See what?" He asked indifferently.
"What if I had twins? I heard-"
"We're not doing this again. You didn't hear anything. You are just tired." Fallon pursed her lips and decided she wouldn't pursue the matter any further. A part of her was missing. She felt as though a part of her had been taken forcefully.
She was eighteen, but she wasn't dumb. She had either misunderstood the nurse or not. She felt it in her guts. But she couldn't bring herself to ask the matron. She would be sounding ridiculous and childish.
"Are you ready to give our baby a name?" She asked, attempting to lighten up the tension so Leroy would stop thinking she was going crazy.
"Do you want me to?" Leroy asked in return. Fallon thought for a minute. She had eight months and two weeks to think of of a name for their daughter, and she was still unable to pick a name.
"Yes."
"Let's name her Danika. It's a Slavic name."
"It's so beautiful Roy. Danika Jones. Danika sounds like royalty." Leroy smiled again.
"Do you think we could have had twins?" Fallon wished she had just kept her mouth shut. She couldn't help but ask. Leroy shrugged.
"We didn't go for any scan, but you've delivered. Danika answers the question. She's the only one." Fallon looked at Danika's crib. There had to be some sort of explanation as to what her guts was telling her.
She hated to imagine the possibility. The look on Priya's face earlier bothered her. Priya wouldn't know, or would she?
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