" It's a girl! "
The doctor gushed, placing the wailing infant on the woman's chest.
She heaved trying to catch her breath in the aftermath of her gruelling labour. Tears of pain mingled briefly with tears of joy before dissolving into tears of sadness.
She had once again given birth to a girl! Her third daughter. What would her husband and in-laws do to her now?...
"You're so beautiful." She weakly sobbed as she stared at the little being as it was placed on her bare chest. Moving her shaking hands, she placed them on the baby's small form and caressed it.
"Are you alright Ma'am?" Asked one of the nurses that had helped her through her gruesome labour and had decided to stay behind after the doctor and her fellow nurses had left so she could check on both mother and daughter's vitals.
A sob escaped her slightly chapped lips, before the dam of saltiness broke from her honey coloured orbs.
"Ma'am, are you alright?" Asked the nurse more concerned and more adamant than before." Ma'am can you please tell me what's wrong? Maybe I can help you."
Pain passed through her glossy orbs as a choked sob escaped her trembling lips.
Who knows what they'll do to her.
She's lucky that her stomach was small, barely noticeable throughout her pregnancy, making it unnoticeable to everyone including herself. She only found out about the baby two months ago and hadn't uttered a word to her husband about it in fear of the baby's gender. The doctor couldn't quite see if her little angel was a boy or girl because she was busy hiding herself, so Sydney had hoped that it would be a boy, but she was wrong. She already has three beautiful girls, which her husband had clearly specified that they were enough.
His controlling family already enough with the three girls had threatened to harm her next child if she were to have one, unless it was a boy.
But then here she was, utterly in love with her newborn daughter but fearing for her just as much.
"Ma'am?" Carefully, softly called the kind nurse," Are you alright?"
Sydney turned with swollen red eyes and trembling pale pink lips.
"No." She quietly admitted.
"What's wrong?" Softly asked the nurse with concern etched on her youthful, kind looking face.
"My poor...baby." Sydney barely answered as she was once more wrecked with heart breaking sobs," I need to protect her before they hurt her."
"Before who hurts her?" Asked the nurse as she slowly made her way towards Sydney's shaking form.
"Before-" She stopped as her hospital room door smashed open and slammed the wall at the intense force.
Horror filled her being at her husband's disappointed, emotionless face," You thought I wouldn't find out." He coldly mumbled as he slowly made his way to her hospital bed, her body frozen in place as it shook with horror.
"Sir...s..ir. Please vac-" Stuttered the nurse before instantly going quiet at the cold stare from her husband.
He turned his cold eyes back to her before threateningly saying," Time to say goodbye." And jumping towards her, filling the room with screams of terror.
With a gasp, she shot up from the bed, her heart racing as sweat trailed down her neck.
"Sweetheart, are you alright?" Asked her husband, Toni as he sleepily sat up on the bed," Don't tell me, you had a nightmare?"
Shy shyly nodded, remembering how much he had warned her and asked her not to watch the movie.
"Hon, I don't know why you always watch those crazy movies when you know that they'll give you nightmares at the end." He sighed as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to him.
"I'm sorry, the discription just caught my attention. It always does." She chuckled, leaning her head onto his naked, warm chest.
He lightly chuckled as she laid back down with her in his arms. Filling her with a sense of safety, calmness and most importantly, peace.
"Sleep my Love." He softly coaxed as he ran his hand through her hair, making her turn into mush as sleep creeped back into her tired form.
As she was about to succumb to sleep, the sudden cries of her baby filled her ears, making her jump up in urgency to sooth her.
"No no, you sleep. I'll take care of Sienna." He immediately said.
"You sure?" She asked.
"Definitely. Now sleep while I go take care of our baby girl." He coaxed, giving her a kiss on the cheek before climbing off the bed and slipping out of their room.
A smile laced her lips as she thought of her family of six and how blessed she was to have them, before sleep welcomed her into its relaxing grasp.