Blair woke up to the sun shining through her bedroom window. She had slept very well, and she almost felt guilty about it. How could she relax with Mrs. Garrett's life in danger? She immediately reached for the phone and called the ICU. A voice answered, "Hello, ICU. May I help you?"
Blair knew it was one of the nurses. "Yes," she replied. "I'm calling to check on one of your patients…Edna Garrett Gaines."
She heard a pause on the other end of the line. Then the nurse spoke up. "Is this a family member?" the woman asked.
Blair was afraid something had happened. "Yes," she said, not really feeling like she had lied. "Is something wrong?"
The nurse answered quickly. "Oh no," she said. "She is doing very well actually. I didn't mean to frighten you. She's sleeping now, but earlier she awoke briefly and was asking for her sons. We told her they were not here yet. Then she asked for her girls. Are you one of her daughters?" The nurse asked cheerfully. Blair breathed a sigh of relief. "I am one of her girls," she said. "We will all be there as soon as we can."
Blair hung up the phone and immediately began to make phone calls. Mrs. Garrett needed them, and they needed to be there for her. She knew everyone would be ready to rush back to the hospital. For the first time in days, Blair felt a tiny bit of hope.
Natalie woke up to the sound of the shower in the bathroom. She was so used to being alone that it frightened her a bit at first. The she remembered… Snake. They had spent the night together. He had held her in his arms and reassured her. She smiled thinking of their night together.
She heard the shower turn off, and Snake emerged from the bathroom…a towel wrapped around his waist. He walked over to her and kissed her on the lips. "So," he joked. "You decided to wake up, huh?" He laughed a little. Natalie got out of bed and went into the bathroom to take her shower.
She hadn't been in the shower long when she heard Snake knocking on the door. "What?" she laughed. "You just can't stay away?"
Snake peeked through the door. "It's not that," he replied. "Blair just called."
Natalie panicked. All she could think of was Mrs. Garrett, lying in the hospital while she was in a hotel room with Snake. How could she have been so concerned about herself, when Mrs. G. was so near death? "What is wrong?" she asked nervously.
"Nothing," Snake smiled. "Mrs. Garrett wants to see you."
Natalie felt immense relief. She had tears of joy in her eyes. "Well let's get over there," she answered quickly.
Snake laughed. "Don't you think you should get dressed first?" he asked. Then they were both laughing.
Tootie woke up to the sound of the phone ringing. Jeff and Ontario were still asleep. Tootie smiled thinking about what a good baby Ontario was. She reached over to the nightstand and answered the phone. "Hello?" she said sleepily.
Blair began talking immediately. "I have the best news!" she shouted into the phone. Tootie prayed it was about Mrs. G. Blair continued. "I called to check on Mrs. Garrett." She paused for a breath. "The nurse said she woke up and asked for us. What do you think about that?"
Tootie was excited. She forgot about Jeff and Ontario sleeping next to her and began a near shout into the phone. "We have to get over there!" She said quickly. Her loud voice woke little Ontario who then began crying. Tootie picked him up and tried to comfort him while she was still on the phone.
Blair was talking, "Can you tell Jo?" she asked. "I'd call her, but isn't she at the same hotel as you? It might be quicker if you just go over there. I still want to call Beverly Ann and have her call Andy…"
Blair kept talking, but Tootie was distracted by Ontario and now Jeff was awake too. "I'll tell Jo," she said. "See you soon."
Tootie hung up the phone. She changed Ontario and began feeding him a jar of baby food as she talked to Jeff about the phone call. They decided to go to the hospital together. Jeff wanted to be with Tootie and she needed him there. As happy she was that Mrs. Garrett seemed to be doing better, in the back of her mind she was still afraid.