Don’t Leave Me This Way
Chapter 1
Aladdin woke one morning after a calm, peaceful sleep. Immediately after waking up he turned over and looked at his wife sleeping next to him, as he had done so many mornings. She never looked more peaceful than she did when she was sleeping. Sometimes, if he got up early enough, he would watch her for hours, as if in a trance. And a few times, he caught her doing the same thing on mornings when he slept late.
After smoothing some stray hairs off her face, Aladdin walked toward the large balcony where they had shared their first kiss. Not only did it bring back warm memories, but it gave a gorgeous view of Agrabah from above. As he gazed at the sun slowly rising above his beloved city, he felt Jasmine’s slender arms around his waist. She moved next to him to follow his gaze towards the sunrise, her steadily growing pregnant stomach protruding in front of her. She was about six months along, and both her and Aladdin were excited about becoming parents. In fact, everyone was excited about the upcoming birth. Aladdin turned and stared at Jasmine in a way he never had before. She looked radiant, her face bathed in the sunlight, with a glow coming not only from the sun, but from her heart. For the first time in a long while, she looked really and truly happy.
Locked on the beautiful view of the sunset, Jasmine did not notice at first that he was staring. Finally, she turned around and caught him.
“What?”She asked.
“Nothing...”Aladdin replied slyly, showing off the boyish smirk that Jasmine loved.
“Yeah right”, Jasmine said playfully.
Aladdin smiled, and turned back towards the sun, which had almost competed it’s journey across the sky to settle over the city. Still admiring the view, he decided to start some small talk before they went downstairs for breakfast.
“So...how are you feeling?” he asked. Jasmine’s first few months of pregnancy had been rough. She threw up often, her ankles swelled, and she was upset easily. Although she insisted she was fine, Aladdin still constantly worried about her.
“I’m fine”, she replied nonchalantly. Though she was not feeling very well, she didn’t want Aladdin to worry, and was even sometimes annoyed at the way he fussed over her like a child, even though she knew he did it out of love.
Because she didn’t seem to want to elaborate on her brief answer, Aladdin did not discuss the matter any further and changed the subject. The sun had completely risen, and there wasn’t much to look at anymore, so the two turned to face each other.
“Ready to get some breakfast?” he asked cheerfully.
“I’m not hungry”.
“Jasmine, you haven’t eaten in a while. You need to keep your strength up.”
“Would you please stop treating me like a child? I’ll eat when I get ready!”she snapped. Seeing the hurt on Aladdin’s face, she immediately regretted what she had said and sighed deeply. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you like that.”
“It’s okay, I know you’re not feeling well”.
“What are you talking about? I told you, I’m fine”.
“Jasmine, don’t you think after two years of marriage I know my own wife? It’s obvious you’re not feeling well... Why don’t you rest for a while? It’s early, and there’s still plenty of time before we have to go downstairs”.
“Nothing gets past you, does it?” she said, the playful tone back in her voice.
“Nope”, Aladdin said with a laugh.”Now get some rest.”
“Only if you’ll sit with me for a while”.
“Where else would be?”
They both laid down and decided to take a quick nap, since they had both woken up earlier than usual anyway. Jasmine fell asleep first. Aladdin made sure she was asleep before he dared close his eyes — she could be so stubborn about resting, even when she really wasn’t feeling well. Finally, when he was sure she was asleep, Aladdin fell asleep as well.
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A hour or so later, when Aladdin woke up, Jasmine was shaking in his arms. When he saw her crying and clutching her stomach, he immediately realized what was wrong.
“Is it the baby?”he asked urgently. He knew what the answer was, but didn’t want to believe it.
“I think so”, Jasmine barely managed to say. She knew she couldn’t be having the baby now, she was only six months pregnant. Yet she was experiencing all the symptoms of labor that she had been told about, and she even thought her water may have broke.
Meanwhile Aladdin was in shock. The palace physician was away on business, thinking that Jasmine would not give birth for three more months. There was only one other person Aladdin thought he could ask to save his unborn child.
“I’ll go get Genie”,he said, and hurried to the night stand to get the lamp. After rubbing it repeatedly, Genie emerged in a large night shirt yawning and stretching. But before he could make one of his infamous wise cracks, he saw Jasmine and knew why he had been summoned.
“Don’t worry everything is going to be fine”, he said, trying to calm down a hysterical Jasmine.
Aladdin immediately went downstairs. After briefly explaining the situation, the hurried back upstairs to Jasmine’s room. By now she was going into labor, so they had to wait outside. Soon Iago, Abu, and Rajah came in as well.
“Hey, can’t a parrot get some sleep around here? What’s with all the screaming?” he yelled.
Aladdin quickly told the guys what happened, and all of them stood in disbelief, hoping that Jasmine and the baby would be alright.
After an hour of waiting that seemed like an eternity, the screaming finally stopped and Genie emerged from the room, a sad look on his face.
“What happened? Is everything okay?”Aladdin asked frantically.
“Jasmine’s okay — weak, but okay”.
“And the baby?”
“I don’t know. She was born far too early. She needed more time to develop in the womb”.
“So, it’s a girl?”
“Yes, but she is very sick, and.....”
“And what?”
“And....there’s a big chance she may not make it.
Hope you liked it. Don’t forget to R/R. If enough people like it, I’ll put up Chapter 2.
Don't Leave Me This Way by StoryWriter92