Daniel beamed with excitement as he came crashing down the halls of the hospital, waiving over the delivery workers behind them. He peeked through her room window only to see Marc watching in the corner as Wilhelmina laid asleep in the bed, an oxygen mask strapped securely around her face. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, walking in the room slowly, careful not to wake her.
"What happened?" He asked gesturing towards Wilhelmina.
"I should be asking you the same question seeing how you disappeared for 3 hours without saying one word to YOUR WIFE!"
"I was out buying her something...or some things."
"If you think that a Diamond Tennis bracelet is going to lessen the statistics of her death, than you are sadly mistaken."
"That's not why I brought it for her and why is she wearing a oxygen mask?"
"She couldn't breathe"
"Why?"
"If you haven't notice, the queen has asthma that RARELY acts up."
"And..."
"She's had about...3 panic attacks since you've left."
"Over what?"
"Are you dense?" Marc asked, looking over Daniel's disheveled body and worn eyes, his face darkened with stress and his clothes wrinkled and faded. "Yes, you probably are-"
"Marc, when can I talk to her?"
"Tomorrow...She needs her rest."
"But I want to talk to her she is my wife."
"Than treat her like it and not like the crap you find under your nails and flick."
NWJ
The next day Daniel laid lazily on the couch, his head hanging over the armrest as his hand cascaded down the gruff of his face. He sighed, his thoughts troubling him as he thought back to last year's craziness and this weeks bitterness. Even the sheer thought put a horrid reality to his head, not wanting to come to the realization that his wife could die. All he could come terms with where the memories that he had already embraced yet not fully understood. In his hand lay the framed photo of Audrey's first ultrasound, the photo crinkled and wrinkled with tears and strain from the night in turmoil.
Daniel stormed into the apartment. Not paying attention to the sleeping figure next in the bed. He tore through the drawers in search of one object. When he finally found it he ran to Wilhelmina's side of the bed. He turned on the light and shook her furiously.
"What the hell Daniel!" She screamed in his face.
"Look." He stabbed the black and white photo with his figure repeatedly nearly puncturing it.
"What the hell is that?" Her eyes squinting, she could barely make out the photo.
"It's our baby."
"Not now Daniel." She rolled her eyes and turned her back to him.
He snapped, grabbing her arm and spinning her out of bed. Not letting go, he pushed the photo in her face.
"Look!" He screamed repeatedly.
"Daniel let go, your hurting me." She tried to snatch her arm but his grip only got tighter.
"Am I?" He looked at her menacingly.
"Yes!" She shook her arm and looked at him, bewildered. "What the hell-
"-is wrong with me?" She looked at his eyes, dark and cryptic like he was at war with himself. "You! You wanna share everything with me, my life, my family, the magazine, my closet space, my toothbrush. Damn! Everything but a baby! Is it too much to ask of the queen, that she give up an ounce of her life for someone else."
"Dan-"
"God! I love you so much already. I've given up everything, I'll give up everything." He runs across the room and tares everything out the closet.
"Daniel, what the-"
"Armani suits, you want them, worth thousands."
"Da-"
He runs to his home office and rips out all the papers. "The business? Here, all of it!" He screams.
Ripping up his old family photos he screams again. "My family? Take it!" He smashes the photo frames on the floor.
"DANIEL!" She screams back him .Her black satin robe now worn from running after him and dodging the furniture.
He looks at her and takes in the ransacked surroundings. Unrolling his fists he sees that there in his palm still sits the crumpled ultrasound. "This baby? Me and you? Never."
"Dan-" Her eyes now pleading with him. This outburst scared her. She had never seen this side of him before and she didn't like it.
"No matter how much you deny it, you are mine. Your heart belongs to me and my heart, you. And this baby." He waves the picture in the air. "You know that deep down you would kill for this baby. You would never-" His voice cracking Little. "Get rid of your own child. You may fool everyone else with your steel armor but I know the truth."
He walks up to her and places a hand to her stomach. " I know you feel that Wilhelmina." She looks down at his hand and then back at his face. "That heartbeat...this baby's heartbeat, beats for me and you too."
He shook his head, placing the frame down and rising from the couch, determined to make it right.
NWJ
Wilhelmina's eyes fluttered open silently, her hand waving towards the mask as Daniel slid it off softly, his other hand still grasped onto hers tightly, not wanting to let go. She looked at him straight faced, her eyes monotonous as if looking right through him yet piercing at the same time. Daniel smiled weakly, trying to soothe the pain she felt yet to no avail. Soon, he slowly felt the feeling slip out of her hand as if he still held it yet the love had literally left the building. They stared at each other, the silence ringing in Daniel's ear as he yearned to say something but was too afraid of rejection to put himself out there. Wilhelmina, nearly numb from heart, felt empty as the stinging of betrayal still lingered in the chambers of her heart, hesitant to leave. He sighed, deciding to break the silence and the ice. "Look around...Do you see anything different?" He asked hopefully, a small smile on his face. Wilhelmina flicked her eyes left and right, examining each vase of roses and pile of teddy bears that crowded the large private room. Her eyes quickly returned back to Daniel, clearly unimpressed as her face remained unchanged and unamused. Daniel chuckled nervously, her cold stare seeping into his pores and causing a chill. He shivered slightly, trying not to let her see his fear.
"Willie, I know your angry." Daniel stated slowly, feeling his way out of the situation. "I have been the most terrible person to you over the last few days and I'm sorry. I treated you like crap when I should have been caring the most and you don't deserve that, nor do you deserve being...pressured into doing something you don't want to and I am sooooo sorry that I took your pills and-...It's all just a mess and I caused it because I wanted what I wanted, not even thinking of what could happen to you and the the losing you is just...I can't even."
Wilhelmina stared him, unmoving, not even a flinch or a blink. Daniel, growing frustrated spoke up again in question. "So your just not going to talk to me?"
"I scheduled ...an abortion... for Friday."
