Chapter 15 - Alone
Tilly and Melora stayed with Emma until the hospital kicked them out. Tilly promised they would be back in the morning to take her and Caterina home as Dr. James said they were in excellent health and only needed to stay overnight.
The nurses tried to take Caterina to the nursery so Emma could get some sleep, but she refused. She kept her in the bassinet beside her bed so she could hear whenever she cried or fussed.
Emma couldn't stop staring at her daughter with adoration. She was so in love with the little girl that she thought her heart would explode. As Emma finally fell asleep, she rested her hand on Caterina in the bassinet.
The following day Emma worked with a lactation nurse to show her how to breastfeed. She felt like crying when Caterina wouldn't latch on, but the nurse told her that was normal in the beginning.
By midmorning, Caterina had figured it out, and Emma happily cried as she fed her daughter. The nurse told her that it might take a few days for her milk to come in fully but to go ahead and continue breastfeeding regularly. She explained that the colostrum that comes out before the milk is very nutritious for babies, and they don't need as much of it as they do the milk.
Tilly and Melora arrived soon after Emma had fed Caterina for the first time. They kissed all over the baby as Emma put a little green dress on her that was way too big.
"The nurse said they would come and take her for her newborn pictures, and then we should be ready to go. I'm so glad I had her while you were still here so you could meet her." Emma hugged Tilly as Melora held Caterina.
"She is so beautiful, Emma. How do you not just kiss her all over?" Melora kissed one of the baby's little rosy cheeks.
"I want to touch her all the time; not holding her now makes my heart ache. I never knew I could love another person so much." Emma took Caterina from Melora just as the nurse walked in.
"It's time for her pictures. The doctor has already signed your discharge paperwork, so you can get dressed to leave, and once I bring her back, we can get you out of here." Emma felt a moment of fear of her daughter being out of sight.
"Why doesn't Mel stay with you and help you change, and I'll walk with the nurse for the pictures, okay Emma?" Tilly had seen the expression on the young mother's face and understood. Emma took a sigh of relief.
"Thank you, Tilly." The nurse smiled as she took Caterina from Emma and put her in the bassinet before pushing her out of the room, with Tilly following.
"Emma, you look like you're going to be sick." Melora said, concerned as she looked at her friend, who was looking pale.
"I know it's crazy, but I'm so scared something will happen to her if I can't see her." Emma took the hospital gown off with Melora's help and put on a pair of sweats with a t-shirt. They packed up everything in the room, including the diapers the hospital gave her and the little hat for Caterina's head.
Emma was feeling anxious and was ready to start searching for her baby when the nurse and Tilly walked into the room. The nurse showed Emma the pictures that had been taken on the computer and told her she would get them in the mail in about a week.
The nurse then reviewed all the discharge paperwork and helped Emma into a wheelchair placing Caterina in her arms. Tilly and Melora took everything to the car so they could pull in front of the hospital while the nurse pushed the wheelchair.
When they got outside, Emma took a deep breath. It was a lovely warm sunny day, and there was a slight breeze in the air. She couldn't wait to get home and settle in with Caterina.
When they got to the apartment, Anthony, Scott, and Ryan were all waiting inside with a sign that said welcome home and bunches of pink balloons. Emma, whose hormones were still all over the place, began crying happy tears. There was even a little cake that had a baby on it, and it said welcome home, Caterina.
"Thank you for doing this." Emma gave each of them a hug as they took turns holding the baby.
"Emma, are you going to be okay being here by yourself? I'm worried that there isn't going to be anyone to help you, and I hate leaving you on your own." Anthony was holding a sleeping Caterina while he looked at Emma.
"I'll be fine, Anthony. All I care about is keeping this little girl safe. I have enough money saved up so I can stay home with her for two months. I'm going to make sure I have a sitter set up before I go back to work. Don't worry about me." Emma smiled at him reassuringly. She was nervous about losing her biggest supporters, but she was confident that she could make it on her own.
As the days went by, Emma got more and more comfortable caring for Caterina. Melora's family came by every day to check on them until the day they left for Texas. Emma was sad to see them go but happy that her friend would go to school to live out her dream of becoming a doctor.
Emma spent her days loving on her daughter and working out a plan for who would watch her while she was at work. She knew that Claire, the school nurse had said she would help, but Emma knew she would be at school during the day. She also remembered Ezra said he and his wife would help; however, Emma felt a little strange asking them to watch Caterina every day.
She had never felt more alone than she did when she was looking for someone to babysit her daughter. Emma had thought she had it all together, but it was more challenging than expected.
One day as she sat in her living room holding her sleeping baby, who had just eaten, there was a knock on her door. Emma was concerned because, as far as she knew, no one knew where she lived. She smiled and quickly opened the door when she looked out the peephole.
"Ezra, what are you doing here?" Emma hugged him and noticed the tall woman standing behind him. She had tanned skin, short black hair, and dark brown eyes.
"Emma, you're a hard girl to track down. I didn't have your new phone number and didn't know your address, so I had to ask one of my buddies at the station to look it up for me. This is my wife, Willow." Ezra indicated the smiling woman standing behind him holding gift bags.
"Emma, it's so lovely to meet you finally. Ezra has told me so much about you."
"It's nice to meet you too. Please come in." Emma held the door open.
"I'm sorry to drop in on you like this, but we wanted to see how you were doing." Ezra looked down at the little girl she was holding and was thankful she looked nothing like Martin.
"We're doing okay. I plan to return to work next month, so I've been looking for babysitters to watch Caterina while I'm working. It's a harder task than I thought." Emma saw Willow look at her husband, and they both smiled.
"Emma, let us watch her for you. I've retired from the police station, and Willow is a retired nurse. Who better to watch her than a police officer and a nurse?" Emma looked between the two in shock.
"You would do that for me? Don't you want to enjoy your retirement and travel or do whatever retired people do?" Emma asked as she tried not to get her hopes up.
"Our family lives here, so there's nowhere else we want to be right now. We would love to take care of Caterina for you. It will keep us busy." Ezra reached for the baby when he finished talking. Emma handed her to him as she started crying, looking at the two people who had just answered her prayers.
"Thank you. I can pay you. Not a lot, but please let me give you something." Willow stopped her before she could say more.
"We don't want any money, Emma dear. You are doing us a favor by letting us be part of this little one's life. She'll keep us active, so we don't get lazy in retirement." Willow took Caterina from her husband and smiled at the sweet little angel.
"Thank you so much. You don't know how much it means to me to have people I trust to care for Caterina."
Willow handed Emma the gift bags she had brought with them, and they were filled with clothes for both Caterina and Emma. The couple visited for about an hour, and Emma ensured they had her number before leaving. Once they were gone, she felt the heaviness leave her shoulders.
"Well, princess, it looks like we're not as alone as I had thought. You're going to love Ezra and Willow. They'll be like your surrogate grandparents because what makes a family is love, not blood." Emma then started singing one of her favorite songs to Caterina. The Rose by Bette Midler.