Lucy cradled her newborns gently, the exhaustion of childbirth softened by the overwhelming joy of finally holding them. After years of fertility treatments, heartbreak, and prayers whispered into the night, she and her husband Ross had finally been blessed with twins—a boy and a girl, just as the ultrasound had confirmed.
Ross stood nearby, his eyes glassy with tears as he gazed at their tiny miracle. “You did it,” he whispered, pressing a kiss to Lucy’s forehead. “We did it.”
Moments later, a nurse entered the room and politely asked to take the babies for their routine examination. Lucy hesitated but nodded, watching as the nurse wheeled their newborns away in the clear plastic bassinet. It would only be a few minutes.
Or so they thought.
Twenty minutes later, the nurse returned, smiling, her arms cradling two swaddled infants in pink hats. She placed them gently in Lucy’s arms and cheerfully said, “Here are your girls—healthy and perfect.”
Lucy blinked, confused. She pulled back the soft blankets to take a better look.
Two girls.
Her breath caught in her throat. “Excuse me,” she said, her voice shaking. “There’s been a mistake.”
The nurse’s smile faltered. “What do you mean?”
“I gave birth to a boy and a girl,” Lucy said, her voice now firmer. “The ultrasound was clear. I saw them both when they were born. My son had dark hair and cried louder than his sister. Where is he?”
Ross stepped closer, tension rising in his shoulders. “Where’s our son?”
The nurse glanced down at the babies, confusion flooding her features, then quickly excused herself, saying she would “double-check with the nursery.” The door shut behind her with a thud that echoed in the suddenly silent room.
Lucy’s arms tightened protectively around the babies. Her heart thudded in her chest, loud and uneven. What was happening? Had they made a mistake? Switched the babies?
Ross pulled out his phone, already preparing to call someone—anyone—who could get answers.
Five minutes passed. Then ten.
Every second felt like an hour.
Finally, the nurse returned, this time with a supervisor. The older woman carried another infant, wrapped in blue.
“Mrs. Bennett, we’re terribly sorry,” the supervisor said, her face flushed. “There was a mix-up during the ID tag process. Here is your son. Both babies are safe and healthy. We sincerely apologize for the error.”
Lucy stared down at the baby boy in her arms now, instantly recognizing him by the tiny swirl of dark hair and familiar frown. Relief swept through her, followed by something colder—fear. What if she hadn’t noticed? What if someone else didn’t?
She looked at Ross, who was clutching the edge of her bed with white-knuckled fists. He was shaken too. The joy of the moment had been fractured, tainted by a mistake that could have altered their lives forever.
“I want this documented,” Lucy said quietly. “And I want to speak with the hospital administrator.”
The supervisor nodded quickly. “Of course. Right away.”
As they left, Ross sat beside Lucy, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as she held both babies—her babies—close.
“We almost lost him,” she whispered.
“But we didn’t,” Ross replied softly. “Because you knew. You knew.”
Lucy looked down at the boy and girl nestled against her, her heart beating a little steadier now.
She wouldn’t forget this moment. And she would never let anyone take what they had fought so hard to bring into the world.
“Where has my son gone? What exactly did you do to him? And whose baby is this other girl?” she screamed, gazing at the nurse who had just brought the kids in.
“They are your daughters, ma’am,” the nurse, Savannah, said, her eyes fixated on the documents. “I double-checked the reports and I’m confident there is no error.”
“Have you lost your senses?” Lucy snapped. “I have all the reports with me as proof that I was supposed to deliver a boy and a girl. And I was informed about the same after delivery. There’s no way they’re both girls!”
Lucy noticed the fear in the nurse’s eyes when she looked up from her reports. She was about to say something to her when Dr. Linda Carter walked in. “Would you please keep quiet, ma’am? This is a hospital, and there are other patients,” she explained to Lucy.
“Quiet? Seriously?” Lucy glared at her. “Your nurse brings me a random child, then tells me she’s not wrong! Is that how your hospital administration operates? Should I contact the chief doctor and inform him of the situation?”
“I agree with my wife, doctor. We don’t want to create a scene either,” Ross intervened. “But your nurse is lying. We don’t know why she’s doing that, but if we don’t get our son back, we’ll have to call the police!”
“Please, sir, calm down,” Dr. Carter said. “I’m sure there’s just some misunderstanding. Savannah has been working at this hospital for several years. Perhaps she brought the wrong documents. Savannah, may I have a look at the papers?” Dr. Carter inquired. But Savannah didn’t give it to her and instead started stammering, “There’s no need, ma’am…I mean, I checked it, and they’re fine.”
Dr. Carter sensed something was wrong and softly told her, “It’s fine. Let me quickly check the reports.” However, when she read through them, she realized Lucy was correct.
“Please give me a minute, ma’am,” she said as she flipped through the pages. “I assume Savannah brought the incorrect paperwork. There was another patient named Lucy Matthews, and Savannah got confused.”
“I’m glad you noticed your mistake,” Lucy said, glaring at her. “I would recommend that you hire responsible people as members of the staff the next time!”
“I’m sorry, ma’am,” Dr. Carter apologized again as she turned to face Savannah. “Would you mind accompanying me, Savannah? I need you to find the correct reports for me.”
Savannah swiftly followed Dr. Carter, but Lucy spotted the tears in her eyes as she walked away. She got a strange feeling Dr. Carter and Savannah were up to something, so she decided to follow them.
She watched them both enter Dr. Carter’s clinic and then heard someone crying. It had to be Savannah, she reasoned. Fortunately, the door was slightly ajar, so Lucy sat on one of the chairs just outside the room and listened to what they were saying.
“What were you thinking, Savannah?” Dr. Carter spoke in a firm tone. “Lucy Matthews delivered twins: a boy and a girl at 10:30 a.m. today. Even the reports said that. Why are you lying to them? Be honest!”
“I didn’t have a choice, ma’am,” Savannah sobbed. “That other newborn girl belongs to my sister. Her spouse had abandoned her after he learned about the pregnancy, and unfortunately, she didn’t make it post-delivery. I could have adopted her, but my husband refused.”
“Why don’t you place her in a nursing home?” Dr. Carter proposed. “She’d be well taken care of there.”
“I’m afraid I can’t, ma’am. It was my sister’s last wish for her daughter to grow up in a loving home,” Savannah sobbed.
“When I saw Mrs. Matthews this morning and how she and her husband were supporting each other, I thought they would be a beautiful family for her. So I decided to swap Mrs. Matthew’s son with my sister’s daughter and place him in a nursing home instead.”
“But that’s not right, Savannah,” Dr. Carter pointed out. “We can’t let that happen. Get Mrs. Matthews’ son right now. And, yes, this should stay confidential between us. Let me see what I can do for you.”
Lucy’s eyes had welled up when she heard the story. There wasn’t a nefarious intention behind exchanging the kids. A helpless woman wanted her niece to end up in a lovely family. I feel sorry for the child, honestly. Lucy pondered as she returned to her room.
A few minutes later, Dr. Carter returned to Lucy’s room and handed over her newborn son. “Sorry about the mixup, ma’am. I apologize on behalf of my staff,” Dr. Carter said.
Having overheard the whole story earlier, Lucy, decided not to file a complaint against her. But every time she tried to sleep at home that night, her thoughts returned to the poor child, and her innocent face flashed straight in front of her eyes.
“I can’t forget about her, Ross,” Lucy told her husband at breakfast the next day. “I had a dream yesterday in which I saw a girl who had come to our house by mistake and was living peacefully with us. I know it doesn’t make sense, but I can’t get that out of my head.”
“It’s because of what happened yesterday, honey,” Ross explained. “Try to distract yourself with something else. How about we go somewhere? You’ll feel better.”
“No, Ross,” Lucy looked at him. “I don’t feel like leaving that child alone. I want to adopt her.”
“But honey!” Ross cried. “Are you sure? We already have two children to look after, and a third would be far too much! Don’t make emotional decisions! We need to be practical.”
“I understand, Ross, but please. I can’t persuade myself. I pondered it all night and decided to adopt her. Can we please go to the hospital today?”
“Well, honey. I am there with you in all your decisions, but I’m worried it’ll be too much work for you.”
“I can manage that, Ross. Please?” Lucy insisted.
Ross initially opposed the adoption, but his feelings changed when he held the child in his arms. She had brown eyes with a slight green tinge, and she kept staring at him. Ross was moved by her innocent looks, to say the least.
“I’m delighted you considered adopting her, Mr. and Mrs. Matthews. She is indeed lucky,” the doctor told them.
“Well, doctor, we tried a lot for kids, and now, when a child wants to come to us, we can’t just let it go. Just let me know when we can take her home,” Lucy said.
“It’ll take some time, but for now, I’ll submit the documents to expedite the process.”
As the doctor had said, it took some time, but Lucy and Ross had no regrets about their decision. When they brought the child home, they felt as if their family was finally complete. They named the baby girl Amelia.
Savannah visited them after learning Lucy and Ross had adopted the child and couldn’t stop thanking them. Since then, she’s become a regular at the Matthews’, and she mostly spends the weekends with Lucy’s kids: the twins Sia and Mark and Amelia.
What can we learn from this story?
Relationships are formed through love and care, not necessarily by blood. Lucy and Ross’s adoption of Amelia as their kid is a beautiful example of this.
Some accidents are beautiful. Savannah brought Amelia to Lucy simply because she wanted her to be adopted by a good family, and in the end, the poor child was blessed with a lovely family.