Noah ran to the operating room door and tried to force his way in.


    But the door was locked, and he couldn''t get through. Losing control, Noah pounded on the door, shouting, "Stop, please stop! Don''t hurt my baby... Cynthia..."


    Noah''s frantic banging made a hugemotion.


    The operating room door finally opened, and a doctor and two nurses emerged.


    Noah ignored them, instinctively trying to rush past into the operating room, but the doctor and nurses blocked his path.


    "Sir, please calm down."


    "Where''s my wife? How are my wife and the baby?" Noah grabbed the doctor, his voice tight with anxiety.


    Before the doctor could answer, a nurse came out, supporting Cynthia.


    Cynthia was wearing a loose-fitting blue surgical gown that concealed her belly. Her face was deathly pale,pletely drained of color.


    "Cynthia." Mr. and Mrs. Scott saw her and immediately rushed over to help.


    "Is the surgery over? Was it terribly painful?" Mrs. Scott asked, her eyes welling up with tears.


    Cynthia shook her head, but before she could speak, Noah pulled her into a hug. "Cynthia, why?" he asked, his voice choked with emotion.


    Cynthia, however, was unnervingly calm. "I told you, it was either the baby or Nic. When you left us at the hospital that day, you made your choice."


    "No, Cynthia, let me exin. Nic was in a car ident..." Noah tried to exin urgently, but Cynthia cut him off.


    "It doesn''t matter anymore, Noah," Cynthia said.


    Noah''s eyes were red, his voice hoarse and cracking. "The baby... was it a boy or a girl?"


    Just as Cynthia was about to answer, Noah interrupted her. "Don''t say it. Don''t tell me. I don''t want to know."


    "Cynthia." Another nurse came out of the operating room with a form for Cynthia to sign.


    "You''re still running a fever, so we''ll give you some medication for that over the next couple of days. We''ve rescheduled the procedure for next Monday. The form lists all the necessary precautions; please review it."


    The nurse finished speaking and handed the form to Cynthia.


    Cynthia read it, signed her name, and returned it to the nurse.


    "Doctor, my wife didn''t have the termination procedure?" Noah stared at the nurse in disbelief, his voice trembling uncontrobly.


    "Your wife still has a fever. It would


    be dangerous to perform the


    procedure now. It''s been


    rescheduled for next week tel


    nurse exined.


    Noah pulled Cynthia into a tight embrace, finally feeling the slight curve of her stomach against him.


    By now, Noah''s back was slick with sweat as a wave of pure, dizzying relief crashed over him.


    "Noah, I can''t breathe. Can you please let me go?" Cynthia said weakly.


    "Didn''t you hear the doctor? Cynthia has a fever. Take her back to her room," Mrs. Scott said.


    Noah immediately swept Cynthia into his arms, carried her into the elevator, and all the way back to her hospital room.


    Cynthia looked exhausted, lying pale on the hospital bed.


    "Are you hungry? I brought back some breakfast. You should eat something," Noah asked gently.


    "I don''t have an appetite right now. I''m tired. I want to rest," Cynthia replied, wearily closing her eyes.


    Noah remained by her bedside, watching over her and their child.


    Although the termination hadn''t happened, Cynthia had rescheduled it for the following week. Clearly, she hadn''t given up on the divorce, hor on her decision to end the pregnancy.