3rd Person POV

18 years ago...

The sounds and smells of the maternity ward were mostly calming to Perla. To her, this area was where life came to be, so how could she not love being around it all the time? Tonight, however, Perla is on edge. A young woman brought in unconscious and then having her undergo an emergency c-section was more action than this place has seen in awhile. What brought chills to the seasoned nurse wasn't the surgery. It was seeing the state of the poor woman and the fact that she was dropped off this way. Left at the front door like a stray.

Fortunately the surgery went well and the momma and newborn were both resting and recovering well. Perla was constantly checking up on the woman in hopes of catching her conscious to gather all the required information. On the fifth trip she was successful and found the woman looking around in confusion and what she thought could be fear.

"Good to see you up, dear," said Perla in a soft voice in an attempt to gain the attention of the woman without scaring her. The woman's eyes still snapped to her with an accompanied flinch as if she were hearing the voice of the devil himself. Perla, noticing her reaction and the now clear fear in her eyes, walked up to her side slowly with her hands open in surrender. It appeared the patient realized Perla wasn't a threat and released a large breath. With that, Perla lowered her hands and began her duty.

Not wanting to ask the wrong questions and scare the woman off right away, she figured to start with questions about the baby and basic care.

"Do you know where you are?"

Even with a bruised face and swollen eye, Perla could tell this young lady was beautiful. She refrained from making eye contact and kept her gaze in search of something.

After a moment of silence, the girl nodded her head while still looking everywhere but on the slightly older woman. Perla released a shaky breath in relief. The woman seemed coherent which was always a good sign. With that, she asked more yes and no questions before she asked something that would require a verbal response.

"What's your name? We couldn't find any ID on you and I'd very much like to call you by it." With that question, the woman finally looked at Perla, her one good eye seeking the trustworthiness in her face.

"Chrystal," came a low and hoarse response from the woman. 

"That's a beautiful name," Perla quickly responded with excitement at the progression of the conversation. When Chrystal tried to twist her body, she let out a painful yelp and Perla decided it was time to inform her of everything that happened. "You arrived here unconscious, honey...when you did wake up originally you were very out of it, then you started screaming about the pain you were in. Turns out you were also in labor on top of the...well the other things and we had to do a caesarean delivery due to you having a narrow pelvic bone." 

While Perla was discussing what happened, Chrystal was trying to piece together everything prior to her waking up. Vaguely, she remembered pain and being surrounded by people in various colors of scrubs, but her imagination wanted to chalk that up to being a dream. The groggy feeling kept her from being able to focus on anything until she heard 'labor' and 'delivery'. That made her sober up more and with that the pain in the lower half of her body became a bit more prevalent. 

"H-how is the baby?" she asked in a fearful whisper, cutting Perla off. Her mind was battling to keep focus and also mentally prepare for bad news about the poor baby she tried to protect with everything she had. 

Perla's face warped in understanding and warmth before gently placing her hand on Chrystal's shoulder. 

"She's beautiful. 20 inches long, 6 pounds 8 ounces, and has the lungs of an opera singer," Perla joked lightly. "Would you like to see her?"

Chrystal's mind began to spin. She had a girl. When she first learned of her pregnancy, she opted out of learning the sex of the baby. She could have changed her mind and asked the doctor at any time, but circumstances changed rather quickly and seeing a doctor became impossible. She knew everything she had to do to stay safe and healthy and was relieved it worked out and this baby was born healthy. 

If that baby could survive a few months in a broken woman, she could survive anything Chrystal thought to herself. 

Before she could get too lost in thought, Perla arrived back with a small bundle in her arms. Chrystal's pulse quickened and her hands became clammy at the idea of seeing what she spent the past eight and a half months growing inside of her. Again, Perla was too quick and broke her out of her spell when she bent over her with the bundle being gently placed on her chest. 

The newborn baby was pink, much more pink than Chrystal could have imagined. Then again, she spent more time reading about pregnancy in the beginning than looking at pictures or watching videos. Very fine and short hair peaked out of the small cap that rest upon the baby's head. Though the baby's eyes remained closed, her upper body and arms moved repeatedly as if wanting to break out of the blanket cocoon she was wrapped in. Perla, sensing the slight distress, loosened the blanket and allowed the baby's arms to break free. Tiny, delicate fingers made their way out into the open air and Chrystal couldn't help but gasp in awe at the life she created. 

Chrystal was never one to believe in love at first sight, but this moment changed that ideology for her. Even with one eye swollen shut, she could still take in all the beautiful details with one good one. When the small fingers of the newborn wrapped around her pinky, she could have died happy. The feeling spread through her body and made it feel as if it were almost healing her broken body. The sensation brought an unstoppable stream of tears to Chrystal. Tears of happiness and dread. 

"Do you know what you want to name her?" asked Perla, who mistook the crying for happy tears only. Having seen this sort of moment very often it was easy to think it was due to overwhelming happiness. 

"I can't keep her," Chrystal replied in a broken voice. Perla's heart dropped to her stomach with the words. It wasn't the first time someone has decided not to keep a baby, but seeing the broken woman and why she may not be able to keep the baby made Perla ache for her. 

"My dear, are you in trouble? You can tell me and we can get you help," Perla said in a low, scared tone. Chrystal immediately shook her head and sniffled, much too quickly that it made Perla suspicious. "How about you sleep on it? My next shift will be tomorrow morning and I'll come back to your answer then, alright?" Perla all but got on her knees to beg. She knew giving a child up couldn't be taken lightly, and also knew that it takes time to sort through your thoughts to get to the conclusion. In her mind, this poor woman was just reacting on her initial thoughts and emotions. Giving her a bit of time would help her come to a more coherent solution. 

After a long pause, Chrystal nodded her head lightly and held up the baby to Perla to take away. Perla prayed to whatever god would listen that the mom and baby stay together, but she would not force her one way or the other. More than anything, Perla hoped the woman and the child would be safe and healthy, whether it was together or apart. 

~~

After a horrible week of sleep due to constant worry about a certain woman and her baby, Perla made her way to the hospital on edge. She only hoped the woman made the best decision for her and her baby--that the week spent at the hospital healing and seeing the baby would sway her decision. Not wanting to see a child separated from their parent, Perla hoped she would decide to keep the baby and perhaps seek other help with the condition she arrived in. Most of the people who worked in the maternity ward had a soft heart full of empathy and would go out of their way to get help for their latest patient. 

Once entering the hospital, Perla began her normal routine before making her way into her ward, the place she called her second home for the past 6 months. Being new to the area and the hospital was nothing out of the ordinary in Perla's life. Where help was needed, Perla went. She had worked in 4 different hospitals the past 7 years of her life and being a nurse with experience in the NICU and maternity side was highly valuable. The downside was building roots in a new place...meeting new people and learning a new routine. Broomfield wasn't so bad so far for her though. People were friendly and open, the area was beautiful. She could see herself settling here for a long time. Sure, constant work and picking up extra shifts whenever she could made it difficult to make personal connections, but helping people was her passion.  

Finally able to make her way to the maternity ward, Perla was full of excitement and anxiety to see Chrystal and 'Baby Jane'. Stopping by the nursery, she quickly spotted the newborn sleeping peacefully. Not trying to be biased, Perla couldn't help but find the baby to be perfect. Heading to the woman's room she greeted fellow workers and decided to look at the work charts after speaking to her. What she discovered upon entering made her heart break. A vacant room, recently sanitized by a custodian with the strong smell of cleaner in the air. 

Running to the front desk, Perla ignored questioning from others in her hurried state. The nurse at the front desk, Danielle, watched her incoming with wide eyes.

"Where is the young lady in room 3?" Perla shouted in exasperation. The people nearby stopped what they were currently working on to pay attention to the nurses outburst. 

After searching through charts then the computer, Danielle was able to find out what happened. "Looks like she checked out a few hours ago. Refused any more treatment and Dr. Schreiber had no other option but to let her go," the older nurse replied. 

Refusing to believe the woman would just leave, Perla continued to panic shout. "Did someone come for her?! Did she say anything about where she was going? What about her baby?! She had a C-section only a week ago! How could they let her go?" 

Danielle let out a long sigh before responding. "I wasn't here when she was discharged, and this chart doesn't give out the info. You can ask Charles or Sonya when they get in. Their shift ended an hour ago." The tears began to fill in Perla's eyes as Danielle continued. "As for the child, she'll remain here till the state files the paperwork to put her in foster care."

Of course Perla knew the protocol for an 'abandoned' child. She couldn't fathom what made the woman decide to leave her child behind, but after seeing her state of worry throughout the week, she was certain it was because she was in some type of danger. Her heart still ached nonetheless. 

"She filled the birth certificate out?" Perla asked and received a quick nod back from Danielle. "Can you at least tell me what she decided to call the girl?"

Searching the computer for a brief moment, Danielle finally found the information. "She named the baby girl Fleur.  Fleur LeDoux."

After receiving all the information she could, Perla felt defeated and exhausted. Trying to keep busy with work wasn't working till she was able to make it to the nursery to check on the few newborn babies that occupied the room. Unconsciously, she gravitated to the one baby wrapped in a light pink blanket and delicately placed her in her arms. 

In that moment, Perla prayed that this precious, little baby would find a home and a family full of love. She also hoped that the woman, Chrystal, would find her peace and perhaps one day find her way back to her child. 

⚜️⚜️⚜️⚜️

Hey all. A huge thank you for all your patience. Sadly, writing is only a hobby and I can't always commit as much as I'd like. I appreciate all of you who read and especially those who engage. You keep me going ❤️

Happy reading 😘