August 25, 1979

Walking through the hospital, the young intern nodded in greeting as he passed some familiar faces, but did not stop for a chat. A high profile patient had recently arrived, and it had cost him a pretty penny to be the on call when they arrived. He reached the elevator bank and pressed the button, standing back to wait for his car. Fairly quickly, it arrived and the doors slid open, revealing the buxom blond candy striper he’d been hitting on recently.

"Hey bunny" he said with a smile

"Hi" she replied with a little blush "You goin to the party tonight?"

"You goin?" He stepped into the elevator, brushing against her as he passed, giving her a charming smile.

"Yeah, for a bit, last one was ‘Dyn-o-mite’ don’t wanna miss this one."

"I hear that. Yeah I’ll be there" he reached out and smacked her on the ass "I got a patient waiting, bunny, catch ya later."

She blushed again as she walked out of the elevator, glancing over her shoulder at him as the doors slid shut.

As the doors shut he shook his head and tried to focus. This was a big deal, and he didn’t need images of her distracting him. He’d worked hard to get this chance, greasing the right palms; losing focus now could be disastrous. He went over things in his head, but all too soon the elevator dinged and the doors slid open. The sounds of people talking and medical machines beeping filling his ears.

Stepping out he went right to the nurses’ station. "I’m looking for Dr. Peterson." He said with a smile.

Without looking up from her papers, the nurse pointed "Room 514."

With a polite nod he quickly walked in the direction he was pointed. On his way he passed this floor’s waiting room, and noticed several men gathered around the television, talking familiarly amongst themselves. As he continued on, he nervously ran his fingers through his thick black hair, feeling his pulse quicken as his heart rate went through the roof. He paused right in front of the door, and thought to himself "You can do this, you are ready." Taking one last deep breath, he stepped into the room.

The first thing he noticed was the patient, a youngish woman, with dark hair and obviously pregnant. The nurse was hooking an IV up to her left hand, and the doctor was looking at his watch, timing something.

"OK, looks like the contractions are 4 minutes apart; your blood pressure is where I’d like it to be. The nurse will check to see your dilation, and we will know where we are." Looking around, he noticed the young man who’d just entered the room. "Ah, take Mrs. DiSantiago’s blood samples down to the lab, and hurry back, Ramon."

The intern took the vials, and hurried off, wanting to get back into the room before too much happened. He knew running was frowned upon, so he walked as fast as he could, and delivered the vials to the lab. As he walked back, he passed the waiting room again, two of the men were still watching the television, the third was pacing, the cigarette in his hand all but forgotten if the ash was any indication.

Upon entering the room, the doctor had left, and the nurse was standing next to the mother to be, chatting softly. He busied himself by cleaning up, collecting the little plastic bits and putting the gauze and medical tape back in their proper spots. As he did he overheard some of the conversation.

"I’m nervous, these are my first babies. I want everything to be perfect."

"No need to be nervous, the doctor is going to check your labs, and likely he’ll come break your water, and within an hour or 2 you’ll be holding your babies."

His cleaning took him out of earshot, but as he glanced over at the two chatting women, he could see the patient relaxing abit, and smiled in admiration. The nurse was a pro, probably handpicked by Dr. Peterson for this patient specifically. Finishing his busy work, he stepped outside, and almost ran into Dr. Peterson.

"Get Mrs. DiSantiago a cup of ice chips." He said to the intern, and then to the patient. "It should be about a half hour on your lab work but unless something is troublesome I’ll be breaking your water then."

90 minutes later

The air was filled with sounds; the nurse and doctor talking, the fetal monitors beeping, the patient’s own monitor beeping in counter point.

"OK Mrs. DiSantiago, breathe, just breathe." The nurse coached, holding the patient’s hand, and wiping her brow with a clean towel. For her part the patient nodded quietly gritting her teeth, looking as if she had other things besides breathing on her mind.

Dr. Peterson was at the foot of the bed, checking her dilation "OK, the first head is coming soon, just listen to the nurse and breathe, and push when I tell you."

The intern was all but forgotten in the corner, the expression on his face a mixture of awe and anxiousness. It was obvious this was his first live birth and he was at a loss.

"OK… Push… Push dear."

With a grunt that would have been at home at any Wimbledon match, the little woman pushed, and gave a little cry at the end.

"Excellent, the head is crowning, breathe for me and push again." The calm, soothing voice of the doctor requested.

Shaking her head, Mrs. DiSantiago closed her eyes and pushed again, tears starting to trickle down her cheeks, only to be wiped away by the very attentive nurse.

"Great job, one more and the first baby is free."

Watching her, the intern could not imagine where the woman pulled her strength from. She looked about ready to pass out, but with a glint of determination, she did as she was asked, and shortly after the air was pierced by a baby’s cry.

"Congratulations! It’s a boy!" Standing up, the doctor motioned the intern over, and in a hushed voice "Get over here, and clamp off the cord for me."

Staring numbly at the doctor, it took a second for the young man to realize he was being spoken to, and he hurried over, and applied a surgical clamp to the umbilical cord, and looked at the wriggling baby in the doctor’s hands. Another nurse came in, and took the baby as the doctor finished up with the cord, and smiled at the intern "Well Ramon, that was your first, but you’re going to get your second in short order, the twin is coming along soon. Go let the father know, and hurry back here."

Nodding, he watched the second nurse as she weighed and cleaned off the baby, and stepped out of the room. It was a quick walk down to the waiting room, where the men had abandoned the television to talk amongst themselves. As he came into the room, one of them stood up and looked expectantly at him.

"Mr. DiSantiago…" the intern’s voice faltered, thick with emotion "You have a son. Congratulations, sir. The doctor says the other baby should come very soon."

A huge smile broke out on the man’s face, so full of happiness and pride, Ramon wondered if he’d ever seen a man as proud as this one was right now. The other men leapt to their feet and clapped him on the back, congratulating him. One of them broke out a box of expensive looking cigars and started passing them out, pushing one into Ramon’s hand, and giving him a smile. Leaving the men to their celebration, he tucked the cigar into a pocket and ran back to the room, ignoring the glare he got from the nurse behind the reception center.

Stepping into the room, he froze at what he saw. Mrs. DiSantiago was cradling the boy in her arms, pure unadulterated love shone on her face, as she cooed and nuzzled with him. For the second time in moments, he was struck at the emotion he was witnessing. The love this new mother was showing her baby boy was overwhelming. He felt the tears starting to form in his own eyes, and quickly he looked at the ground and rubbed his hands across his face.

The gasp he heard, coming from the patient brought his attention up, and a grimace of pain was evident on her pretty face, and her heart monitor started beeping loudly.

"Doctor!" he called, as the nurse stepped in to take the baby away.
"Something… feels wrong…. "Another grimace contorted the pretty woman's face, and her body shuddered in pain.

Dr. Peterson ran in, looked at the patient and the monitor and called out over his shoulder "Dr. Vincent, please come here."

"What’s wrong, what.." Mrs. DiSantiago cried out in pain.

Dr. Peterson looked under the drape, and gasped. "She’s bleeding, get me some gauze…"

Ramon stared, his heart pounding in his chest, as he watched this idyllic moment go sour in seconds. He looked over at the woman who was so happy just before, her face was contorted with pain and fear, as the second Doctor arrived and started barking out orders. Not knowing what else to do, he took the nurses place at Mrs. DiSantiago’s side and took her hand in his. Her head turned and she looked into his eyes, and he saw the fear and pain, and he started crying again.

"It’s going to be ok, listen to the doctor’s, they are going to deliver your other baby, and everything will be fine. Just be strong, ok Mrs. DiSantiago?"

She nodded, and gave Ramon a half smile, just as Dr. Peterson spoke.

"Ok, Mrs. DiSantiago, this is going to hurt but I need you to push again, now!"

Ramon felt her squeeze his hand as she bore down and pushed, and then her hand went slack, and slipped from his onto the bed. At that same moment he heard the second doctor swear under his breath.

"There is something wrong with the baby, the girl." Dr. Peterson said, "She isn’t breathing and she’s pale. The umbilical cord got tangled around her neck." As he whisked her out of the room, Mrs. DiSantiago’s monitor started to flat line, a haunting monotone beep that Ramon would never forget.

"She’s crashing; get the paddles in here STAT." Dr. Vincent called out. "I think she’s got an obstetrical hemorrhage, we need to stop that bleeding NOW."

With those words, time seemed to slow for Ramon, and he knew this was why he was here, this very moment. All the weeks he’d spent creating Ramon, putting him in just the right spots. All the research he’d done, this was it, to save the woman in front of him. To save the woman who gave birth to him, Sebastián, to save his mother.

Time resumed its normal pace, as two more nurses rushed into the room, one pushing the crash cart. As Sebastián reached for the paddles, his vision was flooded with flashes, images of the future. Things that would come to pass if he saved his mother. He saw his father, haggard and slovenly, a drunk. He saw himself, alone and destitute. He saw a headstone bearing the name Ophilia DiSantiago. All those images and more flashed before his eyes, and he knew he wasn’t meant to save her. Saving her would change too much, alter too many lives.

His hand reached for the paddles, to pull them anyway, to save this woman the price be damned. For a split second he hesitated, and in that moment he was pushed aside by Dr. Vincent. He retreated, and let the doctors go through the motions, knowing they would not be able to save her, hating himself for not being able to do what he’d come here for, and hating God for making him choose between saving his mother and keeping life as he knew it.

He watched them struggle, trying to stop the bleeding, doing everything they could in this time, to save her. All he had to do was speak up, but he kept silent, and hated himself all over again. He wasn’t even looking up when he heard Dr. Vincent’s exasperated voice say "OK, get her up to the O.R., move it people move it!" The bed was hurriedly pushed out the door in the direction of the elevators. He started after them but one of the nurses stopped him. "Stay here and clean this up." In seconds he was left alone, in a room that reminded him of his failure. He kicked the trash receptacle, and went to try to find his sister.

45 Minutes later
Sebastián stood outside the Operating room, looking through the open doorway. He could have entered at any moment, but it was as if his body wouldn’t respond to his commands. Eventually, he crossed the threshold, walked over and picked up his mother’s hand, and the tears started again. His shoulders shook with huge wracking sobs, as he slumped over her body.

"I’m sorry, that I couldn’t save you. I’m so sorry. I knew what to do, but I couldn’t do it. I was too weak, and I couldn’t do it. I just hope you understand, and you can forgive me."

He stood there for a long while, tears tracking down his cheeks, staring down at his mother. Finally he let go of her hand, placed it carefully on the bed, and walked out of the room. He stopped at the nurses’ station, and got the nurses attention "Please let Dr. Peterson know that this isn’t working out for me." Without waiting for an acknowledgement, he quickly passed the waiting room, and took the stairs down to the basement, where he’d stored his things. After a thorough check to make sure he was alone, he went through the ritual that would open the portal to take him back, back to his time.