Well, as promised, here is the next chapter! It's kinda heavy and dark, but I hope you'll like it anyway. Please Read AND review! Thanks!
When Joe made it to the waiting room, all he could do was stand there. No words would come out. The others knew right away that something was very wrong!
"Joe, What is it?", asked Brenda. She recieved no response, so Marty tried. Getting directly in front of his son in law, he said,
"Joe, What's the matter? Is it Rhoda? The babies?" That somewhat snapped Joe out of his trance.
"The babies are fine. Rhoda… Rhoda…", He struggled to get the words out. Ida came up to him and grabbed his wrists.
"What happened to my daughter?", she asked. Joe mentally shook himself.
"I don't know! The second baby was born with no problems. Things seemed to be ok. Then…"
"Then what?", asked Gary.
"I was so excited when the doctor told us it was a girl. I said that to Rhoda and when she didn't respond, I turned to her. She was unconcious and there was blood coming through the sheets!"
"Well, will she be alright?", asked Ida. Joe shook his head.
"I don't know. They kicked me out of the room. They said she was in good hands. I assume they'll come get me when they're finished!" Joe sat down in the nearest chair and put his head in his hands. Brenda sat down next to him and put an arm around his shoulders and said,
"She'll be fine, Joe. We have to believe that!" It was hard for her to sound convincing because she was struggling to hold back tears.
"Of course she will!", said Marty with more conviction than he felt.
"My daughter is a Morganstern! That means she's a fighter! She'll be up and out of here in no time.", Ida said. Joe looked up and was about to comment when the doctor came back in.
"Mr Girard?" Joe sprung up from his chair and went over to her.
"How is she, doctor?" The doctor looked around at the others and said in a low voice,
"Maybe we should go somewhere more private to talk?" Joe shook his head.
"No. They're family, too. You can talk in front of them." Dr Grahem nodded.
"alright. Well, I'm afraid it's not good news. We stopped the bleeding and she is breathing on her own, but Mrs Girard has slipped into a coma."
"Is she gonna die?!", asked Brenda.
"It's really too soon to tell. The fact that she is breathing on her own is encouraging, but the thing you have to understand is that Coma's can be extremely unpredictable. I suggest you all take turns and go in and talk to her. That has been proven to be helpful for bringing a comatose patient around. I'm sorry I can't give you more hope than that. We are moving her to a room now. She will be able to recieve visitors in about half an hour. I am happy to say that both of your babies are doing well. They are in the nursery if you'd like to see them. Again, I'm sorry I couldn't bring better news."
"Thankyou, Doctor.", said Joe, hoarsley, before sitting down slowly. The doctor nodded and left. After several minutes of Silence, Brenda said,
"Joe? Are you ok?" Joe looked up with anger in his eyes and said,
"What do YOU think?! My wife could be dying and there's not a damn thing I can do about it! So, NO! I'm NOT ok!", Joe shouted before He got up and stormed out.
"Joe!", Ida called. Marty hugged his wife and said with a sigh,
"Let him go. He needs time alone right now. I'll go check on him in a few minutes." Ida nodded.
"What do we do now?", asked Gary quietly.
"Well, Brenda should go call Mary and probably Sally and Suzie. Then I say we go see the babies. The doctor will find us when Rhoda's in a room." The others all nodded in agreement and Brenda and Gary headed for the pay phone. A few minutes later, Brenda came back and announced,
"Suzie and Sally are both headed over here now and Mary is looking into getting plane tickets. She and Georgette will hopefully be here on the next flight out."
"Probably the best thing. They should be here just in case….", Ida began and then trailed off.
"MA! Don't even say that! Rhoda will be fine! We can't think anything else!", Brenda said before beginning to cry. Ida pulled her younger daughter into a hug and said huskily,
"Honey. We need to face facts. And the facts are that Rhoda is in a coma and the doctors don't know if she'll wake up."
"Brenda's right though. We should be realistic but also think positive. We can't give up on our daughter.
"You think I'm giving up?!", Ida asked angrily?!
"No! I don't think that! But we need to keep a positive outlook.", Marty soothed. Ida took a deep breath and nodded.
"Ok, Let's go see the babies before the others get here. Any of them who want to see them can go when they get here.", Marty said. His wife and daughter nodded and They all headed towards the nursery with Gary tagging along. Meanwhile, Joe was in the chapel. He was sitting in one of the pews and staring at the figure of Jesus on the cross.
"Why, God! WHY! She is the love of my life! Is this punishment for being a terrible husband?! If it is, I admit I deserve it! But we have two babies who need their mom! Please don't punish them when I screwed up! PLEASE bring her back to me! to US!", That was all Joe was able to say before he completely broke down. He cried for about five minutes before getting himself together. Rhoda needed him to be strong and so did his kids. A few minutes later, Marty came in and found him there.
"Joe, The doctor's back. She said she needs you there before she can talk to us." Joe nodded and said softly.
"Thanks, Marty. I'll be there in a minute.", Joe said. Marty came over and put a hand on his son in law's shoulder.
"Joe, I want you to remember you don't have to go through this alone. It's ok to let us in. We're worried too." Joe thought for a moment, then looked up at Marty.
"Thanks. That means alot. especially considering." Marty held out his hand to help Joe up and said,
"Lets go hear what the doc has to say. By the way, your babies are doing fine. We just saw them. Susan Albourne and Sally Gallagher are here and Mary and Georgette Baxter are on their way. We think. Mary was going to try and get them on the next flight out." Joe nodded, saying,
"Ok. That's fine." The two men headed back to the waiting room. The doctor was waiting for them.
"Ok. Your wife is still in a coma but you are allowed to see her now. No more than two at a time though. With the exception of Joe, I ask you all to try and keep it short." The family thanked her and she left. Joe turned to his wifes(and his) friends and family and said,
"You guys can go in first, since I'm going to be with her the rest of the time. I need to see my kids first. Rhoda will want to hear how they are doing from me." They agreed that Brenda would go in first. Gary went with her for support. Brenda sat down by her sister's bed and took her hand.
"Rho, It's me, Bren. You can't die! You've got twins to think about now. Joe can't handle them alone! Besides, I still need you! You aren't through being my big sister yet! Please come back to us! I love you! Don't leave us!", Brenda burst into tears at the last word and Gary pulled her into his arms. It was then his turn.
"Rhoda, I haven't known you long but I already consider you a great friend. It's been great having a big sister right in the building. I need you to stick around to keep me outta trouble. Well, I guess that's all I can say. Please just wake up!" After a few minutes, Gary and Brenda left and Rhoda's parents came in.
"Rhoda, Honey, I know you can beat this! You never did let anyone tell you what to do! You won't let the doctor or some dumb statistics keep you down. You need to wake up now. You're mother and I are here and Joe is here as well as Brenda, Gary, and your friends Suzie and Sally." Ida took her daughter's hand and Added,
"Mary and Georgette are on their way too. We love you Rhoda. Don't give up! Come back to us!" Ida and Marty soon left to give Suzie and Sally their turns. Joe came in after that and sat with his wife until he heard a soft voice behind him.
"How is she?" Joe turned to see Mary Richards. He got up to hug her and then sat back down.
"Well, she hasn't woken up at all. She still holding her own though."
"Rhoda's one of the strongest people I know. She'll be fine. You'll see.", Mary said, trying to keep the fear out of her voice. Joe asked,
"Where's Georgette? I thought she was coming with you." Mary smiled. She's here. She told me she'd stay looking at the babies longer to give me time with Rhoda. Joe nodded.
"I'll go say hi and get some coffee. Give you time alone with her. Do you want anything?" Mary shook her head.
"Thankyou." Joe left and Mary sat in the chair he'd just vacated and took her best friend's hand.
"Rhoda, It's Mary. I'm here. I couldn't beleive it when I got the call from Brenda that you were having more than one baby. That is incredible! I just saw them. They are so adorable. Your daughter looks just like you, but I think little Joey looks more like his father. apparently you never got around to naming your daughter. You need to wake up and do that. That poor child shouldn't have to go through like without a name.", Mary gave a watery chuckle and continued,
"Rhoda, you are my best friend and I can't loose you! I need you to wake up! Please come back to us. I love you!" Mary stood and kissed her friend on the forehead and stayed holding her hand until Georgette came in the room. Then Mary left to go back to the waiting room. A few minutes later Georgette came back and said,
"Joe, The doctor is checking her vitals now, but said you can go back in anytime."
"Thanks, Georgette.", Joe said as he headed back to his wife's room. After the doctor left, Joe sat down and took Rhoda's hand again.
"Rhoda, Babe? Please wake up! Our kids need you! I need you! Rhoda, I'm sorry I was such a Jerk. When you get on the other side of this, I promise to change. I want to move back in with you. I want to be a real married couple again, in every sense of the word. I want you, me, and the twins to be a family. We can live at your place until we can find a bigger one. yours is bigger than mine. I know we can't live there longterm. There wouldn't be room once the kids are older. What I'm trying to say is, Rhoda, I love you! Please come back to me and the kids so we can spend the rest of our lives together as a family!" Joe kissed his wife and sat back with tears running down his face. All of a sudden, he felt a squeeze on his hand, and a husky quiet voice said,
"I'm… not… going anywhere…Joseph Girard!"
Well, I left it on another cliff hanger somewhat but at least you know she's alive and awake! I promise to update soon. Monday most likely. Tuesday at the latest. Again reviews are MUCH appreciated! Please don't forget! Until next time, bye!
