Thanks for the reviews. I know the character development of some of the other characters may not be that exciting to some 7th Heaven fans but it makes a lot more sense when you understand character motivations and dynamics I think. Don't worry Lucy won't be stuck in the hospital for ever.
Back at 1872 Lilac Drive, Paul lay in bed holding his wife as she slept, yet sleep eluded him. He worried about Kristin and the baby yet in his heart he held optimistic dreams of their daughter. Happy, healthy, and toddling around kicking a soccer ball. He chuckled at the soccer image however he wondered if it would even be possible for Kristin to have a child who didn't play soccer.
Through his embrace he felt Kristin stir, and he caught his own breath. Kristin opened her eyes to an overwhelming wave of nausea, what a wonderful way to wake up she thought lying very still.
"Kristin?" Paul called softly.
Kristin debated responding to her husband, occasionally if she lay very still and willed herself she could get past the nausea. She really didn't feel well though, sweaty and uncomfortable, she felt her heart beating faster and irregularly. She squeezed Paul's hand and tried to bear down in an effort to break the process of the arrhythmia something she'd become very accustomed to.
Paul sat up in bed, "Honey? What's wrong," he asked reaching to turn on the light.
Kristin's appearance frightened him. She was diaphoretic and pale. "Kristin can you talk to me?"
"Nifedipine," was all she said and Paul understood. He brought her a bottle of pills and she allowed 1 to dissolve under her tongue. She could feel her heart rate slowing whether it was due to the medication she had taken or her own efforts with valsalvaing was something she was never really sure about but she didn't question. She was just glad to feel better.
Paul took her hand again and sat down next to her on the bed. "Is it getting better?"
"Yeah," Kristin said softly.
"Good, your face has a little more color."
"I feel better." Kristin said but Paul noted that her voice still sounded weak.
"Really?"
"Yes," Kristin said kissing her husband.
Derek awoke to the sound of the nurse telling him that they didn't allow non family overnight visitors on the adolescent unit. He opened his eyes and took a moment to orient himself, his watch told him it was almost midnight but he couldn't imagine he had slept that long, and all in the uncomfortable chair by Lucy's bed.
He stood and kissed Lucy gently and then followed the nurse out of the room. As Derek lay in his own bed later that night he thought about what he and Lucy had talked about. Lucy was worried about all the class she was missing, which Derek could understand was distressing to her. Apparently her doctor, Dr. West, had suggested that she would be in the hospital for several more weeks unless there was someone she could stay with during her convalescence. She didn't want to go back to her parents since that would ensure she miss the rest of the semester. Of course Derek thought he had a perfect solution. Lucy could just stay with them.
However, the next morning when Derek broached the idea to his father instead of the 'of course son' he was expecting, his father said, "I think we really need to give that some thought and talk more about that. I need to go coach a soccer game and then we'll be rushing to make it to Danielle's game but I promise you that we can discuss this tonight providing your mother is able to be home."
"I'm not sure what there is to discuss," Derek said storming up the kitchen stairs angrily and nearly colliding with Kristin and Paul who were on their way downstairs.
"Is Derek ok?" Kristin asked her dad as they entered the kitchen.
"I gave him an answer he didn't like basically." Her father explained.
"Oh." Kristin said uncertain if she should question further.
"Does it look like mom will be able to join us for Danielle's game?"
"When I talked to her a few minutes ago she had finished all the lines she needed to put in but had just heard about a child who swallowed a coin yesterday and was being sent to Pembroke for removal."
"Oh it must not have moved, too bad she didn't know about him last night."
"Yes, but she's hopeful that she can finish before we need to leave. She's upset about missing Kati's game though," Matt said as Kati bounced down the stairs.
"Yes because my soccer game is going to be fun and exciting," Kati said giggling.
Kristin hugged her little sister as her grandmother came into the kitchen. She was going to stay with Laurel while the family was away. Laurel hadn't been as happy about the arrangement as Kristin had hoped she would be. Kristin had always felt safe and comfortable with her grandmother and was certain that Laurel would feel the same eventually.
While her dad and Paul were loading the cooler full of lunch and several blankets into the back compartment of their ford windstar Kristin went up to say goodbye to Laurel. She was surprised to see that Laurel was dressed. She was sitting on her unmade bed brushing her hair. "Can I go to Danielle's soccer game?"
Laurel's question caught Kristin off guard. It was the first time that Laurel had voluntarily wanted to do something supportive of Danielle or Kati or something with the rest of the family. "It will be a long day Laurel are you sure you feel up to it?" Kristin asked.
"Well couldn't I just sleep in the van if I got tired?" She seemed to have a point Kristin realized. She would miss her Amphotericin infusion but they had been thinking about moving that to later in the evening anyway so that perhaps she would sleep through the associated unpleasantness.
"Get your jacket and we'll check with dad ok?" Kristin suggested gathering up a pillow and an extra blanket from Laurel's bed.
She led Laurel down the kitchen stairs and through the kitchen, dining room, and parlor into the front hall and out the front door. Her dad looked up from his challenge of trying to fit both the cooler and soccer equipment in the back compartment of the van. "Good morning Laurel."
Laurel turned to Kristin and buried her head in their embrace in response to her foster father's comment. Intellectually she knew she was being silly but he didn't understand how fathers in general just made her uncomfortable. It was hard for her to believe that not all fathers were like hers.
"Laurel is going to come with us," Kristin explained.
"Great. Just make sure you have warm clothes I think it's usually about ten degrees cooler in Madsen."
At Community Commons Laurel huddled in a blanket watching Kati and the rest of her 8 & under team trounce another group of munchkins. She supposed Kati was pretty good since she seemed to be able to run faster than a lot of the other kids and had scored several goals. Laurel had never been into playing soccer or other sports. She had been cheerleader in 7th grade though and that had been kind of fun. Danielle was a cheerleader and a soccer player and she knew that Kristin had cheered when she was in high school. Danielle wasn't a very happy cheerleader she found the other girls on the squad to be mostly petty and superficial and rather cruel. From what Laurel understood Danielle had only tried out to lend moral support to one of her friends who had then not made the squad and Danielle was stuck on the squad.
Laurel reflected on the unfairness of life. She wondered what it would be like if the traumas of her life involved being "stuck on the cheering squad" or crowned homecoming queen like Danielle had been. The whistle signaling that Kati's game was over interrupted her thoughts.
Later in the van as the pulled out of the parking lot Kati was talking happily about their 5-0 win and her 3 goals. Laurel tuned out and reached for her discman and put in her favorite Sheryl Crow CD. They stopped at PEMBROKE REGIONAL HOSPITAL and surprisingly Cynthia was waiting for them inside the main lobby and then they were off and on the road to Danielle's soccer game.
Matt and Cynthia occupied the two front seats of the mini van with Laurel in the first of 3 rows of bench seats, Kristin, Paul, and Kati in the second row playing hearts. The back row was empty. Cynthia was a little surprised by the occupants of the van. Or mainly that Laurel was there and that Derek wasn't.
"Did Derek decide to drive himself?" she asked.
"Actually I think he's upset with us and unfortunately Danielle will suffer." Matt began.
"Did something happen?"
"Well I think I gave him an answer he wasn't expecting or very happy with."
"What was the question?"
"He would like Lucy to stay with us for awhile after she is released from the hospital. From what he says I think there is also possibly an option for an earlier release if she does stay with us. I told him it was something we would need to discuss with him further and that we could do that this evening. Your pager willing of course."
"I see."
"Well I have some concerns about this and I wanted to talk to you before we talked to Derek anyway," Matt said.
Cynthia hesitated to continue, she glanced back at the children. Laurel seemed to be drifting off behind her discman and Kristin and Kati seemed engrossed in their game and the rear speakers were on. "What were your concerns?" she finally asked.
"I guess I just wonder why Lucy wouldn't want her own parents now. If Kristin was sick I would want her to come home to us."
"And Kristin would, at least to you. You have a slightly different bond with the girls one that I'll never have and that's ok but I admit there were times when I wasn't always sure Kristin would come to me. My prayers were that somehow God would keep her safe. What if that's all Lucy's parents wanted?"
"That's fair and I think it's what all parents want. I just worry that if we do this we may increase the distance between Lucy and her parents. I sense things are pretty vulnerable right now and perhaps this is a critical point in their relationship. Of course there is another possibility that I don't want to think of. Perhaps Lucy has reason to not turn to her parents."
"Perhaps and perhaps seeing how much we love our children will remind Lucy how much she is also loved by her parents. If that is the case. I only think we are interfering in their relationship if we knew that if we said no Lucy would go back to California. I personally think it's highly unlikely that she will."
"You may be right. I guess we did help Daphne find her way back to her family, perhaps the same will be true for Lucy."
They arrived at Danielle's game just as the players were finishing their warmups. The family had just gotten settled in the stands when Matt heard his cellphone ring.
"Hello"
"Dad? It's Derek. Listen I'm sorry about before but right now I'm hopelessly lost."
Matt smiled and helped redirect his son. He replaced his phone and pulled Cynthia closer to him. "Derek's growing up, he rethought his decisions from the morning and decided to come to Danielle's game after all. His sense of direction hasn't improved much though. I think now that he's going in the right direction again he's about 15 minutes away." Matt explained as the Danielle's game began.