Day Forty-Two
Haley sat beside her husband's bedside, holding his hand. It had been six weeks since she got the call. She had been in the hospital every day, she but hadn't been a patient herself since the first few days. Now, she spent all of her time in the worn chair in room 437, gazing at Nathan, praying to see his stormy blue eyes look up at her. She wasn't hopeful. She knew the odds.
She had lost some weight, but not much. Peyton, Quinn, Brooke, and Deb basically force fed her at every meal. She knew she had to eat for two to keep this baby healthy, but she could barely stomach chicken broth. She had no appetite. She didn't want to eat or drink or walk around or read or do anything. She just wanted to sit with Nathan until he woke up, took her into his arms, and kissed her. That was all she wanted.
She couldn't really be trusted to take care of herself and the kids, so Peyton, Luke, Sawyer, and Anna Elizabeth had moved in with her, Jamie, and Lydia for the time being. Deb had moved back in too. Brooke and Quinn were always around too, and Julian and Clay were happy to help whenever they could. Julian liked to clean and keep the house in order and Clay kept the lawn mown and played basketball with Lucas and Jamie. Mouth, Millie, Skills, and Junk and Fergie made sure to stop in whenever they could as well. Haley was surrounded by family and friends, but she barely noticed. She should be ecstatic to have Lucas and Peyton back in town and to have her favorite people filling the house, but she couldn't even muster enough energy to care. She was completely indifferent.
She just sat by Nathan's side at the hospital until someone dragged her home to shower, eat, change, and sleep. Well, try to sleep. She couldn't sleep without Nathan's body curved behind hers, holding her, caressing her. He loved to rest his hand on her stomach and feel their child move. But now, there was nothing. She was all alone in their huge bed and she couldn't sleep. She didn't know how. Even when Quinn and Brooke had curled up with her, she had tossed and turned all night, having nightmares of living life without Nathan.
She was five months pregnant now. Her back ached, her feet were swollen, and she had to pee every five minutes. If Nathan were awake, she knew that he would insist on massaging her back and rubbing her feet every night before they went to bed. She loved how caring he was, especially when she was pregnant. He always spoiled her, but he waited on her hand and foot during those months. When she had asked him why he was so good to her, he had flashed his gorgeous smile and said "you are carrying a life inside you. A life we created. You are giving me the greatest gift I could ever ask for, and the least I could do is make sure you are safe and comfortable and loved while doing it." He had seen it as so simple, and Haley loved him all the more for it. She put a hand on her stomach, feeling the baby kick. She didn't want to know the sex of the baby because she couldn't share it with Nathan. She didn't want to know without him.
She lifted Nathan's hand and put it to her stomach. "Look baby, that's our baby. Do you feel it?"
She moved his hand around to the new place their child was kicking. She flinched when the baby kicked particularly hard.
"He's strong. Or she." She smiled. "Just like her dad." She laid Nathan's hand back on the bed and ran her fingers through his black hair.
"You're so strong, Nathan. You can do this. You can come back to me." She sighed. "Come on, baby. Come back to me. You can do it." Her voice was barely a whisper. Tears slipped silently down her face. She kissed his cheek, leaving a tear on his face. She gently brushed it away.
"Please, Nathan. I need you." She put her hand on her stomach. "We need you. Please, Nathan, come home."
