Disclaimer: They belong to Janet Evanovich. I hate that bitch.
A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews for the last chapter. They meant a lot to me. The last few chapters were very emotionally exhausting for me, so I took a few days off from the story. There are only 2-3 chapters left for this one. I promise a comedy or some fluff for my next story. Thanks to all of you who have stuck in there with me for this story. Thanks again to my beta-extraordinaire, FairTaxGirl.
HELLP Chapter 8
It was about midnight and I was alone in the room with Stephanie. Both of our families and most of my men had finally gone home for the night. I had a man stationed at each entrance to the unit and one outside the room, but no one else besides medical staff would be entering her hospital room again for at least 7 hours.
I was thankful that my body was accustomed to going without sleep because I was ready to drop. The letdown from the earlier adrenaline rush was hitting my body and mind hard, but I knew that Stephanie could wake up any moment and I wasn't going anywhere.
I jumped up as I heard the sound a low moan coming from the bed. I watched as Steph slowly opened her eyes. "Babe," I said, relief evident in my voice. She turned toward the sound of my voice, though I could tell it took her a moment to focus. I brushed back her hair and kissed her forehead.
"How are you feeling?" I asked.
She croaked out, "Water." She had to be thirsty. It had been so long since she'd had anything to drink. Plus, the intubation tube usually makes the throat sore.
I picked up the bucket of ice the nurse had brought in a little while and shook some into a cup. "I've got some ice for you. It'll help your throat feel better." I fed her a few teaspoons of ice and she motioned for me to stop.
"How's the baby?" she asked.
I sat beside her and said, "He's beautiful and healthy, Babe. Just wait until you see him." I pulled the picture the nurses had taken out of my pocket and held it up for her. Her eyes filled with tears and she said, "He looks just like you."
I watched as she wiped her eyes and said, "Can you take me to see him?"
"It's the middle of the night, Babe, and I don't think you need to get up yet. You're body's been through a lot in the last 24 hours."
Stephanie thought for a moment and said, "I'm dying to see him, but you're right, I feel like hell. I feel like I've been beaten from head to foot. I thought only the female parts would be sore. What happened?"
Shit. Some part of me expected her to just know what had happened. I don't know why, she was unconscious. "There were some complications…"
Before I could continue she let out a gasp and said, "But you said Luca was healthy!"
I shook my head and said, "I wasn't talking about Luca, I was talking about you. Luca is healthy. He's fine. You got very sick after the surgery. "
She looked at me for a moment and then said, "But I'm okay now?"
I nodded and said, "Yeah, Babe. You're okay now."
She nodded slightly and said, "Is there more ice?"
I smiled and held up a spoonful of ice for her.
For the next several hours, Stephanie would doze for a while and then wake up and ask for more ice. We talked a little, but not about anything of any importance. She was still pretty loopy and wasn't able to focus for long. She finally fell into a deeper sleep around 4:00 and slept through until 6:30. When she woke up, I had a bowl of warm, soapy water ready and washed her face, neck, arms and hands. She moaned and I knew I'd been right about what she needed. I also got her a toothbrush and toothpaste and then tried to help her brush out her hair a little.
When I eased the head of the hospital bed up, I noticed Stephanie wincing from the pain of changing positions. She was willing to use the Morphine pump for pain, but didn't want me to ask the nurse for anything else, saying she wanted to be alert when she saw the baby.
At 7:00, Dr. Foster and the morning nurse came into the room.
Dr. Foster said, "Good morning, Stephanie. How are you feeling?"
Steph replied, "I've been better, but I'm dying to see my boy."
Dr. Foster gave her a small smile and said, "I know you're ready to see him, but I don't think you're up to it today. I think you should wait until tomorrow. We don't want you to do too much too soon."
I could see that the doctor was trying to be kind, but there was no way this was going to work. Surprisingly, Stephanie just said, "I'm going to see my babe."
The doctor tried again with, "You know, when I had my twins I got up too soon and almost passed out in the NICU. The nurses had to get a wheelchair to bring me back to my room."
Steph's eyes narrowed slightly and she repeated, "I'm going to see my baby. Now."
Dr. Foster looked like she was getting ready to argue more, so I stepped in. "My wife needs to see our son. I understand that you are concerned about her welfare, but this will not wait any longer."
The nurse, in a fit of misplaced helpfulness said, "Mrs. Manoso, why don't I bring you some breakfast first and then we can see how you're feeling." She had a falsely cheerful voice and I could see Steph's rapidly approaching rhino mode.
She narrowed her eyes further and said, "Look, either help me or get the hell out of my way. I'm going to see my baby whether you like it or not."
The two women finally seemed to realize that they were making it sound as if Stephanie wasn't allowed to go see our child yet. They relented and the doctor explained, "We'll help you, Stephanie. We didn't mean anything by it. We're just concerned for your health." Stephanie was still angry and didn't acknowledge her words.
Rather than risk her standing yet, I picked Steph up and placed her in a wheelchair. The nurse adjusted the catheter that was still in place and she still had a saline drip, so the IV pole had to come, too. Dr. Foster was concerned that her oxygen level hadn't quite returned to normal, so we had a portable oxygen tank with us as well. We looked like a portable medical unit walking down the hallway.
When we got to the NICU I helped Stephanie scrub her hands and add all the required protective gear and then rolled her over to Luca's cubicle. When we reached his isolette, Stephanie sat there staring for a moment and then reached her hand in to run her fingers down his cheek. She looked at his fingers and then his toes and then looked up at me with tears in her eyes. "Will you put him in my arms, please?"
I reached out and picked him up and gently put him in her arms. She was very weak and I stayed close in case she needed me to take him.
I watched as Steph raised him to her face and took a deep breath, inhaling his scent. She then placed a kiss on his forehead and his cheek and said, "Hello, Luca, I'm your Mommy. I can't believe I'm finally getting to meet you. I'm so sorry I didn't get to see you and hold you yesterday." She sat there holding Luca and unconsciously rocking a little in her wheelchair. I wanted her to have this moment with him, so I tried not to intrude. After a few moments, she looked up at me and smiled that breathtaking smile that I love so much and I leaned down and kissed her and then Luca.
"Oh, Carlos, he's beautiful." I nodded and said, "He is beautiful. He may look a lot like me, but he's got your mouth and when you hear him cry you'll know he got your lungs, too." She choked out a little chuckle and said, "I don't think we could've made a more perfect child."
Before I could respond, one of the nurses came in and said, "I know it's the first time you've been able to see the baby together. Would you like me to take a picture for your first family photograph?"
Stephanie and I both nodded and she used the unit's camera and then emailed it to me. I'd make sure to send it out to all of our family and friends later.
Stephanie was starting to look increasingly tired, but she didn't want to leave yet. She finally agreed after I promised her we would come back to see him later in the day. She gave him another kiss and whispered, "Mommy loves you" and I put him back in his little bed.
We made our way back down the hallway, some of the staff stopping us to tell Steph they were glad she was doing better today. She looked a little confused, but mostly just smiled and thanked them. As we got to her hospital door, I knew the second she noticed the wreath. She laughed and then cradled her stomach because the laughter made her hurt. She looked up at me and said, "Lester?" I smiled and said, "You got it, Babe."
When I opened the door to her room, we saw Lester standing there, nervously waiting for us. He beamed at Stephanie and gave her a gentle hug. "Beautiful, I'm so glad to see you up and around. You had us all worried for a while." She kissed him on the cheek and said, "I'm glad to see you, Les. Thanks for the wreath. I can guarantee no other mother on this floor has one like it." I helped her back into bed and the nurse quickly adjusted all of the medical paraphernalia that we had been travelling with. I noticed she leaned down and asked Stephanie something quietly and then stepped out of the room.
I raised my eyebrow at her and she said, "Pain medicine" and then turned her attention back to Lester. I watched her closely for signs that she was getting overly tired or in severe pain. About 20 minutes after the nurse brought her pain pills, Lester and I looked over at her and she was completely out and snoring a little bit, not that we would ever tell her about the snoring part.
Lester looked over at me and said, "Ranger, is she really going to be okay?" I nodded and said, "I'm sure it'll be a tough recovery for her, but yes, she's going to be fine."
Lester let out a sigh of relief and said, "I'll stay with her for a while if you want to go get some rest."
I shook my head and said, "Thanks, but I'll be here until she goes home." Lester only nodded and made his way to the door.
Throughout the day both of our families visited, along with Connie and Lula. The Merry Men brought Stephanie flowers and chocolates, as well as a meatball sub and two dozen donuts. Our mothers had apparently gotten together and decided that Stephanie needed foods high in iron. They brought steak sandwiches and spinach and artichoke dip, as well as several bags of dried fruit. Mrs. Plum also bought 4 Pineapple Upside Down cakes. She must have cooked all night. She said she wanted to bring something for the nursing staff that was so good to Stephanie last night.
The food certainly woke Steph up and she enjoyed the company, though she tired easily.
Five days later Stephanie and Luca were discharged together. He had gained enough weight at 5 pounds to be discharged. I was glad because neither of us wanted him to stay in the hospital after Stephanie was discharged.
Stephanie had a hard time for the first few weeks. She was very forgetful and still very weak. All of this was to be expected after what she went through, but she couldn't seem to accept that. After two weeks at home, she came to me one night after we had just put Luca back down after a middle of the night feeding and started asking questions. Up until then, she had not asked any questions about what happened in the hospital. She didn't seem to want to know, so I never pushed it.
She asked me for details and I told her everything. When I got to the part about her flat lining, she grabbed me and held me. I knew it was hard for her to hear and expected her to be upset, but she said, "Carlos, I know that had to be horrible for you and for everyone else, too. I'm so sorry you had to go through that."
I pulled her arms from around my neck and said, "Babe, you're the one who went through it."
She shook her head and said, "No. I don't remember anything. Even if I did remember some of it, it's harder watching that happen to someone you love." She thought for a moment and said, "The happiest day of my life was having our child, no matter what else happened. It's easier for me because I don't have the memories of it that you have."
"I'll tell you anything else you want to know." I said.
"No," she said. "Unless you need to talk about it, I'd rather not."
I nodded and we lay down together in our bed and I was struck again at the thought that we were now a true family. Stephanie's head was against my chest and I had one arm around her. After a few moments, she looked up at me and said, "I'm the luckiest woman in the world. I'm married to a man I love so much that there have been times I thought my heart would explode. And now we have a beautiful, healthy baby boy. I couldn't ask for more."
I smiled and pulled her back against my chest and said, "Me neither, Babe."
A/N: Just the epilogue left now. I hope to post it this weekend.
