Chapter nine: Gillespie

POV: Jack Brewer

"Neither of your babies-" Kim cut the doctor off with a wail and started desperately sobbing into my shoulder. I swallowed hard, unable to keep back the tears as I thought about what the doctor was saying. "Please, just listen, neither of them died! They're alive." The doctor kept repeating something about them being alive… I stared at him, holding Kim in my arms, my cheeks stained with tears.

"Listen to me, listen." The doctor made Kim look at him. "They're alive! Neither of them died!" he told her. It took her a couple minutes to calm down. She finally did, wiping her eyes. "W-what?" She sniveled. "They are alive, however, there is a chance that they will be born with mental disorders, physical disorders, any number of things, and there is still a chance that they won't survive birth, but there is hope." He told us slowly and softly, and we listened, drinking in every word.

"Okay?" he prompted. We nodded. Kim let her head fall back on my shoulder. The doctor sighed. "We, would like to keep you for a few nights, to make sure that there isn't any damage to you or the babies that we overlooked, you as well." He had turned to me at the last part. I nodded, glancing down at my arm.

I only just now had started to realize I was in serious pain. I had been too preoccupied with the situation with the babies that I hadn't noticed. "Can, I get something for the pain?" I asked, cringing. "Of course." The doctor walked out. I sighed, sliding up into the bed next to Kim. Never before had I touched her baby bump with such care and tenderness. "You'll be alright." I whispered, talking to Kim and the babies too.

Kim leaned back, closing her eyes, not bothering to wipe her wet cheeks. I leaned back with her, holding her gently. "Are you okay?" I asked quietly. She nodded slowly, not opening her eyes. "Jack?" her voice sounded strained. "Yes?" She was shaking her head and her eyes were open again and she was staring blankly up at the ceiling. "I want things to go back to normal, the way they were, before all this began…" She was murmuring. I stared at the foot of the bed, listening to her words.

"I-I don't want to, but I-I just, wish they didn't exist, that they never existed. They're bringing me so much pain and I can't handle it." Her voice was beginning to break by the end of that sentence. I swallowed. Seeing her like this was one of the worst things to ever happen to me, second only to the heart-attack moment when I'd thought the babies were gone. I hugged her close as she started crying again. Not dramatic sobs, but a soft, quiet weep. It was heartbreaking.

After about ten minutes, my exhausted wife fell asleep. My phone started vibrating in my pocket. Figuring I wasn't allowed to have it on back here, I silently slid out of the bed and out of the room. I made my way back out to the waiting room, then, for sake of those who were in there, I slipped outside. "Hello?" My voice was still raspy from crying.

"Dude, have you seen Rudy? He's been gone all day." It was Jerry. I looked around, stunned that I hadn't noticed that it was pitch black outside. I must have been really out of it. "No, I haven't seen him." I croaked. "He was going up to your place, yo. I heard there was a bad accident right by the turnoff to your street." He told me. "Yeah, Jerry. I know. I was in it." I told him, clearing my throat to try to get it to sound normal again.

I had to pull the phone away from my ear because Jerry began screaming at me in Spanish, which didn't do my headache any favors. "Dude, calm down. I'm fine." I told him. "Sort of… I had to get ten stitches in my head and twelve in my arm." I told him. "Who was driving?" He asked. "My mom, Kim was with us. We're all fine, my mom didn't even get taken to the hospital." Come to think of it, where was my mom? I looked around as if she would suddenly appear just because I had remembered her.

"Man, I'm glad you're okay. Dude, I heard some guy died in that crash!" Jerry told me. "Really?" Was all I had to say to that. "Yeah, I also heard there was some pregnant lady in it too, I wonder if her kid was okay." He told me. "Oh yeah, they're fine." I replied without thinking. "Huh?" I had just realized what I'd just said. "Yeauhh, pff, the reason, I know that is… because, because she is in the hospital! I'm in. Yeah, right now." I nodded. "Oh, okay. Hey, I'm gonna come see you and Kim, okay?"

"No! Um, we're fine, and, It's late, why don't, you just, wait. We'll be out of the hospital in a couple days…" I stared ahead, chewing on my lip. "Oh…kay….Well, I got to go, man, hope you feel better." He told me. "Yeah, thanks Jerry." I told him. We said our goodbyes and I hung up. I let out a long breath of air, then, pocketing my phone, I went back in.

I caught the tail end of a conversation the front desk lady and a doctor were having. "…Gillespie. I pulled up his files, says he lived nearby, and that he-" I cut her off, walking boldly right up to them. "Wait, Gillespie? Do you mean, Rudy Gillespie?" I asked. The lady stared at me, then nodded. "What about him?" I asked. "He was in that car accident a couple hours ago." She told me, crossing her arms. My face blanked. I suddenly remembered something Jerry had said. 'I heard some guy died in that crash!' I felt the blood drain from my face, I suddenly felt sick and lightheaded. I hit the floor with a thud.

POV: Brooklyn Jackson

There's that young man! The one with the wife and children on the way. Once again, he looks so young, and he's so small, maybe he is just a child… I was thinking. He had walked up to us out of the clear blue, asking questions about the Gillespie man who had been brought in earlier. Suddenly, the boy looked extremely pail. I let out a cry of alarm when his knees gave out and he crumbled to the floor.

"Hun? Are you okay?" He was out. I checked his pulse. Fast but steady. I saw he had a patient tag on his wrist. "What's he doing out of his room." I muttered, taking him and picking him up with surprising ease. Yep, he was definitely just a kid. I carried him back to his room, room 14. I shook my head, setting him down on the bed and hooking him back up to the IV and heart monitor.

I sighed, my shift was over, but now that I knew they'd been brought to the hospital I worked at, I wanted to stay and keep an eye on them. I had only been asked to work for an hour that night, things had been pretty slow, and we'd had plenty of hands, therefore I had been working with X-rays and hadn't checked the patient list. I went and checked that, then, finding the all the room numbers with expecting patients, I narrowed it down to the two youngest. I didn't have to do that, I knew which one it was, but it was disturbing to think that the closest to her age was thirty. She was only just barely fourteen.

I shook my head as I walked into her room. She was asleep, her hands on her baby hump. Why did teens have to do this to themselves? I had brought the patient list with me. Let's see, her last name was Crawford, Crawford…. I scanned the list but she was the only one. I tried to remember what name had been on the boys tag. Jackson, Jackson… something…. Brauner? Brailey, Bernard… Bernard!? No. Brewner, Brewner? Yeah, maybe that was it. Jackson Brewner and his wife, Kim Crawford.

I sighed, sitting back and watching her sleep. I sighed. I should go check on mister Gillespie. I stood, and walked out quietly. I checked the patient list to see what room he was in, then headed there. He needed immediate surgery, but because of protocol, the hospital wasn't allowed to do it without getting consent from either the patient, or family of the patient. I made a face, disgusted by that rule. The surgery could save his life! To heck with protocol!

I stared sadly at the poor man. All the hospital had been allowed to do was give him pain medication, while he was lying there, in a coma, slowly bleeding to death. I shook my head, walking over to stand beside his bed. He had a nice face. I felt my heart break. He didn't deserve to die! I turned away. Don't get attached to your patients. I reminded myself. I calmed myself, then proceeded to check him over. I looked at the X-rays again.

If they didn't fix this soon, he'd be dead before the next sunrise, which, by now, wasn't too far away.

POV: Jerry Martinez

(right after hanging up with Jack)

I sighed, turning off my phone and slipping it into my pocket. "What'd he say?" Milton asked. I sighed, shaking my head. "We can't come and visit, he just said to wait until they get out of the hospital." I told them, plopping down on my bed. Eddie was sitting on the floor in front of my bed. "Hey, any chance we can sleepover at my house?" He asked. "What's wrong with my house?"

They all looked around. All my cousins were screaming and having a pillow fight, right in my room. "No reason." Eddie was shaking his head. "I have a good reason, my orthopedist banned me from sleeping in any bed but my own, it has special padding." Milton told everyone. We all turned to look at him. "Dude, orthopedist? What are you, eighty?" Eddie cried.

I shook my head, sitting up. "Yeah, you're right, let's get outa here. And I'm not just saying that because Pepito just pepeed the bed." I glared over at my cousin who was snoring over on his side of the bed. I shuffled away from him as far as I could, and ended up falling backwards off the high bed and square on top of Eddie. "Owww. I think I may need an orthopedist after this…" He moaned.

"I can refer you to a great one." Milton told him. I rolled off of Eddie and jumped up, screaming when all my cousins started throwing the pillows at us. Milton and Eddie scrambled up and started screaming and running too. We ran all the way to Milton's house.

POV: Jack Brewer

(a while later)

I woke up in a dimly lit room, the only light being cast by the light of the heart monitor's screen. I blinked, looking around without moving my head. My eyes were heavy and I felt more than a little groggy and lightheaded. I clasped my hand over the little red button and pushed it repeatedly. A doctor hurried in. "Yes?" She asked.

I stared at her. She rushed over and looked at me closely. "Are you alright?" She asked me. I blinked, still staring. Suddenly, I recognized her. She was the doctor who had held Kim's hand and kept her calm after the accident. I suddenly remembered my conversation with her out in the waiting room. My heart began to quicken. "Where's his body?" I asked quietly. She stared at me blankly. "What?" She asked, resting a hand on my chest and another on my forehead. I blinked solemnly. "Rudy Gillespie. He died in the car accident, where is his body? I want to see him." I told her, my voice monotone. She brushed my hair away from my eyes. "Sweetie, mister Gillespie isn't dead." She told me. I stared at her blankly.

"No, he's not dead, he survived the crash, but he's badly injured. He's still alive, but we need to do surgery or he won't be for much longer." She told me quietly. "Then, why aren't you doing it?" I asked. "Because, in order to perform the surgery, we have to have permission from either him, or one of his family members, we haven't been able to find any family of his, and he's currently in a coma." She said softly.

"B-but… Rudy doesn't have any family. Not that I know of… He's like a father to me, please, can you do the surgery?" I begged, my eyes staring into hers, pleading. She stared at me, her hand still on my forehead, and her other still on my chest. "I don't think we can, honey." She whispered. "But, he's going to die!" I cried softly, feeling my eyes sting and tears well.

She bit her lip, staring at me thoughtfully. "You say, he's like a father to you?"

POV: Brooklyn Jackson

"Doctor Meyers, can I talk to you?" I jogged over to the doctor who was in charge of surgical procedures. "Yes, doctor Jackson, what is it?" He asked, turning to me. "You know mister Gillespie? The man who was in the accident?" I asked. He thought for a moment. "Yes, the one we aren't allowed to do anything with?" he nodded. "I found some family of his." I smiled at him.

He smiled. "Really? Who?" He asked. "Come here." I brought him back to the room where Jack was. "Doctor Meyers, this is Jackson Gillespie, Rudy Gillespie's son." I told him. He stroked his chin and walked over to Jack. He took his wrist and inspected the tag. I chewed on my lip nervously. I had altered it using one of the computers, so that it no longer said Jackson Brewer, but Jackson Gillespie. I desperately hoped that he didn't notice that, otherwise, it could mean my job.

"Doctor, please, you have to save my dad!" Jack begged. Doctor Meyers was staring at him. "Please, I give you permission to operate!" He pleaded. Doctor Meyers smiled, patting Jack's shoulder carefully. "Of course, son." He told him. "We need to begin right away." With that, he left. I smiled and winked. Jack smiled back. "Goodnight, Jackson Gillespie."

(A/N: hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! I love leaving you guys hanging! I hope you enjoyed Brooklyn and Jack's little scheme! My thanks to Amber Johnston for helping me write this wonderful story! REVIEW with ideas on how the surgery should play out!