Monica Reyes made her way slowly down the hospital corridor to her partner's room, half an hour later than she was supposed to pick him up due to a seemingly never ending bout of morning sickness. For a moment she stood outside watching him as he sat on top of the bed flicking between TV channels, ready to leave. Would she be able to keep this from him? At least until she decided what to do? It was so hard to stand there so close to him knowing that a part of him was within her in this child and to have decided not tell him about it. It was even harder knowing that she had been considering the fact that the best option for the child would be not to bring it in to the world.
"I can feel ya watching me you know." John Doggett told his partner as she stood in the doorway.
"How you feeling?" Monica asked him sitting down on the bed next to him and absently placing a hand on her flat stomach, rubbing it gently.
"I'm fine. Can't really see what all the fuss was about in the first place." He told her noticing the gesture.
"You
okay?" He then asked her concerned. "Your stomach okay?"
He asked her putting the remote down and studying her carefully
hoping that he could coax out of her what was really
the matter,
hoping that she wasn't in any pain or that there weren't any
complications if she was pregnant.
"I'm fine." She replied quietly putting her hand at her side.
"You look pale." He told her still looking at her carefully, trying to get her to talk but not wanting to push her if she wasn't ready.
"John could we please drop this, you're the one in hospital." She told him snappily then looking down at the bed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you."
"Hey it's fine. You sure you're okay?" He asked again giving her hand a gentle squeeze.
She looked at him and wanted so badly to tell him everything and have him say something to make it better but it wouldn't be fair. She just gave him a small smile.
"I'm fine, I promise." She told him squeezing his hand in return. "You still want some polish sausage?" She then asked him.
His face lit up and she laughed.
"Come on I'll treat you on the way home." She then told him helping him up off the bed then making her way to the door.
John stopped suddenly as the most surreal thing happened. It was as if the room had changed around him and he had now found himself in a field covered with daisies, his partner in front of him, a little boy in her arms who she was singing softly to. She looked so radiant, so natural. As the vision became clearer he could see the child was William. Monica looked down at the infant and smiled then looked up to where John was. 'Look at the signs John...'
"John?" Came a gentle voice.
"John?" He heard called again, the worry in the voice pulling him out of the surreal vision he had just seen and back into his hospital room where his partner was standing at his side, a hand on his arm. "Is something wrong? Is it your head?" She asked worriedly.
"What signs?" He asked her looking at her puzzled.
"John what...?" She asked both scared and confused about what had just happened to him.
"You just said something about signs. You said I should look at the signs."
"No I didn't. John the last thing I said was about us leaving, then I turned round and you were stopped dead in the middle of the room like a zombie or something. Like you were in some kinda dream. What signs?"
"I dunno...I guess I musta just hit my head harder than I thought." He told her rubbing the sore part of his head in confusion as to what just happened.
"I'm gonna get the Doctor." Monica told him making her way to the door.
John gently took her arm. "You don't need to do that." He told her. "Let's just go, I'm sick of hospitals."
"John I'm not letting you leave if you still need medical care." She told him firmly.
"Well I am not staying. Mon really I'm fine."
She looked at his determined face and sighed then nodded.
"Okay, but any sign of you doing that again and you are straight back up here." She told him linking her arm in his and leading him out of the hospital and back to the SUV.