The Brambilla's, The Beginning

This chapter may be sad for some, I hope it isn't a trigger for those who went through what our lovely couple will be.

The doctor entered the room and got started on examining her, he listened for a heartbeat then did a scan. They both knew they were in for some bad news just by looking at his face. Eleonora felt Leone's hand lightly squeezing hers as they waited for the doctor to speak.

Doctor Simon swallowed the lump that was lodged in his throat. He was about to give them the worst news that no parents should ever have to hear. "Mr. and Mrs. Brambilla, I am so sorry and regret to tell you that your baby is gone." He could see the tears forming in their eyes, and his heart went out to them.

"What do you mean gone?" she cried out.

"The baby is not alive, I am so sorry. I will give you both a few minutes to digest what I have just told you. I will then answer any questions you might have and we'll have to discuss what we have to do next."

By this time she was sobbing into Leone's arms as he held her, his own tears rolling down his face. He was in shock, his heart was breaking and seeing the state she was in broke his heart. He could fix anything for her, but not this.

"Leone, the doctor has to be wrong. Just a few days ago the baby's heartbeat was strong and I felt him kicking a lot. How could this have happened?"

He tried to comfort her the best he could, but how was he to answer her when he himself didn't know? "I don't know, I'm so sorry but I have no answer to give you." He lifted her head and placed his hands on each side of her cheeks. "We will get through this, I promise."

By the time the doctor came back he found them holding each other. The tears had stopped, leaving their eyes red and swollen, but the sadness in them was heartbreaking. He answered their questions as best he could. Telling them it could be a number of reasons as to why the baby died. Giving them some examples and saying an autopsy should give them some answers.

Eleonora was unable to talk so Leone asked all of the questions. "What happens now?" he asked once the doctor gave them some examples.

"We have to do a surgical procedure to remove the baby. Your wife will be asleep and won't feel any pain. We have a psychologist who will come in and help you with the grieving process."

"I want to be with her when you do it."

"I wouldn't advise it, it won't help either of you. As soon as she is out of surgery we will let you know and you can go to her. Again, my sincere condolences for your loss."

Leone looked down at her, she was so quiet, not speaking a word. "When will you do the surgery?" he asked, feeling her body shaking.

"I'll arrange everything and we should do it within the next two hours. I'll leave you alone and if you need anything don't hesitate to ask." He left the room, only once in his career as a doctor did he ever have to give the parents such tragic and heartbreaking news.

Leone looked down at her, she was so quiet with tears falling from her eyes. He leaned over to kiss her on the forehead. "I'm so sorry my love. I wish I could solve this, but it is out of my hands. You and I will get through this."

Staring up at the ceiling her voice cracked when she spoke. "How could this happen? What did I do wrong?"

He took her hand in his and brought it to his lips. "You did nothing wrong, you did everything right. Whatever went wrong had nothing to do with you, don't you dare blame yourself." He saw her move her hand over her stomach as fresh tears slid down her face.

"I don't know if I can go through with this, how can I let them take my baby from me? For eight months I carried our baby, I felt him move inside me. It's not fair, we won't get to see our baby grow. We won't see him take his or her first step."

When she broke down and cried once again he wrapped his arms around her. All he could do was try to comfort her even though his own heart was breaking. They both looked up when the doctor walked into the room.

"It's time," he said, looking over at the couple with great sadness in his eyes.

She looked at Leone, shaking her head. "I don't want to do this. I want our baby to be alive, I can't let them take him."

He wiped her tears away, staring into her eyes. "It has to be done. I'm so sorry, but you have to be strong and brave. I'll be right by your side when you come out of surgery. I love you so much."

She let out a sob as she was taken away and Leone grabbed the doctor's arm. "Are you sure my wife won't be in any pain during the surgery?"

"No, she will be put out and will be given something when she wakes up for the pain."

When they had left he went out into the waiting room and sat down. He ran his hand over his face, looking down at the floor when he saw a pair of feet in front of him. Looking up he saw Eddie and William.

Eddie sat down and placed his hand on Leone's shoulder. "How are she and the baby?"

Choking back a sob he lowered his head once again. "The baby is gone."

Eddie dropped his hand, a shooting pain shot through his heart. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "What do you mean the baby is gone?"

"Just what I said, the baby died inside her womb. We don't know when exactly or why it happened yet."

"I am so sorry my friend. Where is she now?"

"She's in the operating room now, they have to take the baby out of her. It doesn't make any sense, she was in perfect health and the baby's heartbeat was strong just a couple of days ago."

Eddie squeezed his eyes shut for a second. "I don't know what to say."

"There's nothing you can say, nothing anybody can say to make this right."

Eddie looked up at William who, for a big guy had tears in his eyes. "Go get us some coffee will you?" He then put his arm around Leone's shoulder. "I can't imagine how you are feeling and my heart goes out to both of you. But you have to be strong for Eleonora. I know you are suffering as much as she is, but she has carried the baby all these months so you got to know how much harder it is going to be on her. So you have got to be strong not just for you but also for her. She is going to need you more than ever."

"She wanted this baby so badly and this is going to destroy her, Eddie," he said, looking up at him.

I know, but she is a very strong woman and with your help, she will get through it. I will also be here to help in any way I can."

When the nurse came to the waiting room she had on such a sombre look on her face. She didn't know the couple at all but knowing that the parents lost their baby was so heartbreaking.

"Mr. Brambilla, your wife is being taken to her room so you can go anytime."

He got up and looked at her, shoving his hands in his pocket to hide how badly they were shaking. "How is she?"

"She's asleep and will be for a while."

When she turned to walk away he called out to her. "Can you tell me if it was a boy or girl?"

She turned back around to look at him, swallowing the lump in her throat. "A girl," she replied and walked away.

"You and William might as well go home."

Eddie shook his head. "I'm not going anywhere, I will be here until I know that you both are going to be okay. I'll wait here and give you some time alone together."

When he opened the door to her room he stood there for a moment, watching her. She was asleep, her face was so pale and even in sleep, she looked like her world had just collapsed around her. He then entered the room and went over to the bed, pulling a chair up he sat down as he held her hand.

"I love you so much," he said, lowering his head, resting it on her shoulder as the tears finally came rolling down from his eyes. He wasn't sure how long he stayed in that position when he heard somebody entering the room. Lifting his head he already knew it would be Eddie.

"Has she awakened yet?"

"No, not yet."

Eddie walked over to the window and stared out. "She's going to need a lot of rest to heal so it's probably better for her to sleep for a while longer." He was glad that Leone did not tell him to leave. Eleonora was his friend and she was more special to him than anyone else in his life.

Two hours later when she opened her eyes she saw Leone looking back at her. His eyes were full of pain and suffering and she could see how badly he was hurting.

He was never so happy when he saw her eyes opening. He was beginning to think she was never going to wake up. "Hey my love," he said, getting up he placed a soft kiss on her lips.

She was so groggy and it took a few seconds to remember where and why she was here. She looked down when she placed her hand on her stomach. The realization of what had happened hit her and she started crying.

Eddie was still standing by the window but did not want to go over and interrupt them and the scene before him broke his heart in many pieces.

"It's going to be okay, I'm here with you and we will get through this."

She knew in her mind that the baby was no longer inside her, but it still felt like she was. "Was it a boy or girl?" she asked in between sobs.

"A girl, we had a girl," he replied, holding back his own tears.

"I want to see her."

"I don't think that would be a good idea, it will only upset you more."

She looked and him. "Please, I need to see her, to hold her in my arms if only for a few minutes."

He looked over at Eddie. "Would you go to the desk and let them know?"

He walked over to them and leaning over kissed her on the cheek. "Sweetheart, I am so sorry and if seeing your baby and holding her will help you then I will make sure they bring her into you."

"Thank you," she said with gratitude.

Moments later a nurse carrying the baby wrapped in a blanket came into the room with Eddie following behind her. "Are you sure you want to do this Mrs. and Mr. Brambilla?"

"Yes, give me my baby," she said, holding out her arms.

The nurse went over and placed the child in her arms. "I'll be back in half an hour."

Leone stood next to the bed and watched as she moved the blanket from their daughter's face.

She ran her finger over the baby's face, smiling down at the infant who laid so still in her arms. "Oh, Leone, she's so beautiful."

Through his tears, he nodded. "She's absolutely beautiful and has blonde hair like her mommy."

She looked up at him, the pain in her chest was so bad. She wondered how she would be able to go on living when her baby would not be alive to experience everything that life had to offer. "We need to give her a name."

He ran his finger over the baby's cheek. "Yes, we do and she looks like an angel."

"That's what we'll call her, Angel. Would you like to hold her?"

He wiped the tear from his eye and held out his arms. As he looked down at her in his arms he broke down and cried. "Angel, she is our angel and that is the perfect name for her."

Eleonora looked over at Eddie. "Would you like to see your goddaughter?"

He walked over, to him it looked like the baby was just sleeping, but he knew she wasn't. "She's absolutely beautiful," he said, then turned away so that they couldn't see him crying. After all that he had seen and done his whole life, he had never felt this sad until now.

Half an hour later the nurse came back. "I really need to take her now."

Eleonora started shaking her head, holding the baby close to her chest. "No, not yet. Please, just a little while longer."

"Okay, I'll come back in ten minutes."

For those ten minutes, she cradled the baby in her arms, leaving soft kisses all over her face as did Leone. When the time came she reluctantly handed the baby over. She then laid down on her back and stared up at the ceiling. She neither spoke nor looked at anyone the rest of that night.

Both men were worried about her, and they also knew she had to grieve. Eddie stayed for a few more hours before leaving the two so that they could be alone to grieve over their loss.

It broke Leone's heart to see his beautiful wife this way. She was going to be allowed to go home the following day with the instructions that she had to remain in bed for a few days. He also knew that she was in so much pain and wouldn't be able to arrange a service for their baby. So he would take it upon himself to arrange everything, he was also going to have a beautiful statue of an Angel as the tombstone placed in a nearby cemetery. There they could go visit whenever they wanted to. He wasn't going to rush things though, not until she was up and ready to.