Hey, sorry it's been a bit longer than usual, but here it is. I hope you enjoy it! :) x
Disaster day
Clara moaned as she got up for the sixth feed that night. They had one hungry baby. Of course Danny hadn't woken at all, he was the heaviest sleeper ever. She didn't blame him though, he had had a lot on at work recently with exam season and the new head of maths starting. He had been quite stressed. She walked in to Lily's room and picked her up. As soon as Clara rocked her, she settled down and stopped crying. As she held her in her arms she still couldn't believe how tiny and delicate she was. Ellie hadn't been a big baby but she hadn't been as small as Lily. Lily had been born slightly early, not enough to make any problems luckily. As she fed her quietly she looked at the big brown eyes staring up at her. Clara loved her eyes, they were like Danny's. She could stare into them and get completely lost. The dark, chestnuty pupils were mesmerising. That was one of the things that drew her to Danny in the first place, his eyes. Soon she had dropped off to sleep again so Clara gently put her back in the cot. Her little teddy was snuggled next to her and she looked so peaceful. Clara could have stayed there forever, that obviously couldn't happen though.
When she got back into their bedroom Danny still hasn't stirred. She crawled back into bed and looked at the clock. 6:30. Not really much point in going back to sleep, she thought to herself. Just as she moved slightly Danny turned over and smiled at her with his eyes shut. She couldn't tell if he was awake or if he was just smiling in his sleep. He did that sometimes. It made her laugh. He slowly opened his eyes to show that he was awake. She laid down and kissed him good morning. He sighed and stretched slightly.
"Morning beautiful." She smiled, she loved it when he called her that.
"Morning ugly." He laughed and grabbed her round the waist. He pulled her over until she was on top of him and she was squealing for him to stop. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
"You better be!" They kissed again and enjoyed the peace. They always savoured the peace as they didn't get much anymore. Just when they had settled a bit Ellie came running in. Danny let go of Clara so that she could move next to him instead of being on top of him. They didn't want to raise any questions after all. Ellie was a smart girl, the last thing she needed was prompting.
"Mummy I don't feel well." She slowly crawled on the bed whilst yawning and rubbing her eyes. She went all weepy in Clara's arms as she hugged her so she kissed her on the head to comfort her.
"What feels yucky darling? Your tummy?" She nodded.
"My tummy hurts lots."
"Does it ache or does it feel sick?" She took a moment to consider her answer almost as though she didn't know exactly how she felt.
"Both, my tummy is sad today." She looked up with sad eyes which made Clara feel sad too.
"Oh dear! Will a nice big mummy and daddy cuddle help make it happier?" She smiled and nodded so Clara helped her into the middle of the bed. They both snuggled into her and she soon fell asleep. Danny and Clara looked at each other knowingly. They were going to have a chat in the peace, a catch up that was meant to happen yesterday but never did. They sighed as they put the talking on hold now that Ellie was asleep again. There was no point risking waking her as she would probably feel better when she had had a bit more sleep.
A few hours later she woke up again and smiled widely. Clara and Danny had dropped off to sleep as well as Lily hadn't woken again. She poked Clara gently to wake her up.
"Mummy." Clara stirred.
"Morning again! Do you feel a bit better now you've had some more sleep?"
"Yes! Can I have some breakfast now?" Clara laughed, all Ellie thought about at the moment was food. She must have be growing. Danny moved to take her downstairs as he could see that Clara was still half asleep. They got up and walked out of the room holding hands. Clara stretched out to wake herself up before getting up to follow them downstairs. On the way she checked on Lily, she was still fast asleep so she left her quietly.
A few hours later the house didn't paint as happy of a picture as it did earlier. Ellie had been sick multiple times and was feeling really ill. Danny and Clara had come to the conclusion that it wasn't anything serious but, nevertheless, it was still quite scary. Danny was even more stressed as he had planned to get some work done that afternoon but he hadn't got round to it due to the Ellie situation. He had finally resorted to sitting at the kitchen table in attempt to get at least a little bit done. The new head of maths had made him plan extra lessons and get some marking that was meant to be done over the summer done for next week. He hadn't got any done so far and was clearly stressing about it. Lily had been crying all day too. She hadn't had her nap as she had slept for longer earlier in the day and now she wouldn't settle. Clara was trying to juggle a crying three week old baby, a three year old child that kept vomiting every ten minutes and a mightily stressed husband all whilst making dinner. She just about had it under control when Ellie ran in.
"Mummy I feel sick again." She was a quite pale and her usual bubbly charisma was missing. That was a sign that she felt really poorly.
"Okay honey, go to the bathroom and I'll be in in a second." She looked over to Danny for help but he didn't look up from his laptop. She sighed in frustration as she turned off the heat under the pan that was supposed to be left to boil.
"But mummy! You have to come with m-" She paused in mid-sentence and Clara knew exactly what was going to happen next.
"Ellie! Bathroom now please!" It was too late. She threw up all over the floor and then started to cry. Danny looked up and got up to rub Ellie's back. Clara put her hand on her forehead and groaned in frustration. As soon as she went to put Lily down so that she could help clean up the mess she started to cry again.
"Oh what is wrong with you today!?" She spoke to Lily in attempt to make her sleep even though it would obviously not work. Danny tried to reassure Ellie who was crying and still looking very pale. He began rubbing her back again as it seemed to calm her. Clara left Lily in her play cot carefully. It put her mind at rest slightly as she knew she was safe, she wasn't very happy about it but she was safe.
"It's okay darling! Everyone gets sick sometimes. We will clean it up, it's fine. Don't cry." She rubbed her eyes and leant on Danny for support. Being sick so many times had worn her out.
"My tummy still hurts." Danny gave Clara a concerned look. She replied with an even more concerned one. Earlier on it didn't seem like much but now they were worried. She had been sick a lot of times and was still complaining about feeling ill. Something must be wrong. Danny held her hand and took her away from the kitchen.
"Do you feel like you are going to be sick again?" She shrugged her shoulders and then nodded her head. She didn't really know how she felt. "Okay come on, let's go and sit in the bathroom for a few minutes just in case, yeah?" After a few minutes Danny briefly left her and went to help Clara. They could see the bathroom from the kitchen so Ellie wasn't out of sight at all. Half way through cleaning up the mess Clara looked over Danny's shoulder and saw Ellie reach for the toilet again. Soon enough she was sick again. Clara shot up and ran to her side.
"It's okay, it's okay. You're really not well are you?" Ellie leant back and sat on Clara's knee. She rubbed her tummy and shook her head whilst leaning on her mum's shoulder. Suddenly Lily started to cry again but even louder this time. Danny went to see to her but his laptop beeped really loudly, stopping him in his tracks.
"No, no, no, no! Don't do this to me!" It had shut down, loosing all of his work again. It had been paying up recently and had already lost the piece of work once before. He cursed under his breath and growled in frustration. He picked up Lily who had proceeded to cry and rocked her gently, trying to relive his frustration without taking it out on anyone in the house. Clara got up and looked in the medicine cupboard whilst keeping a close eye on Ellie.
"Damn it. We've run out."
"What's wrong?" Danny called from the other room.
"Have we got any of that medicine that stops you from feeling sick left? Ellie could really do with some right now." He walked in to the bathroom and shook his head.
"No, I don't think we have." Clara looked at him lovingly and he knew what she was going to say straight away. "Okay I'll go now." He didn't smile back, he was too angry with work to think about being pleasant. He handed her Lily and left out of the door.
"Don't drive too fast please!" She called after him knowing that he may get a little carried away because of his mood. Once he had closed the door she sat back down with Ellie. She sighed and sat on the floor.
"Mummy my tummy doesn't like feeling yucky. When will it go away?" Clara pulled a sad face and stroked her cheek.
"I don't know sweetie. You'll just have to be patient. I know it's not nice but sometimes you just have to put up with it." She smiled slightly and then looked at the ground.
A good twenty minutes later Clara was starting to wonder where Danny had got to. The chemists was only a two minute drive away and he wasn't exactly in the mood for taking his time.
"Where's daddy gone? Has he gone to get my special medicine?"
"Yes he has, I'm sure he will be back in a few minutes. Don't worry." As she spoke she realised that she was not only reassuring Ellie, but she was reassuring herself too. Suddenly her phone rang. She got to it as quickly as she could and answered it hopefully as Danny's number had appeared on her screen.
"Hey, where are yo-" She stopped as she sensed that something was wrong. There were odd noises in the background and other people speaking frantically.
"Hello? Is this Mrs Pink?" She tried not to get too panicky as she didn't recognise the voice.
"Yes, who is this?"
"This is emergency services. I'm afraid your husband has been in a car accident. We're taking him to A&E now, we're treating him as best we can. Will you be able to get to the hospital soon?" She stuttered over her words, she couldn't believe that this was happening.
"Umm yes, that's fine, thank you." That was all that she could muster. Shock took over her as she looked at her two children. Ellie was looking over at her, confused.
"Mummy is daddy okay?" She shook herself out of the trance she had got herself into.
"No he's not, daddy has had a little accident so we need to go quickly to the hospital to see if he's okay." She looked down and then went to get her shoes on. Ellie knew well enough now that when Clara instructed her to do something it was easier just to do it, no questions asked. They got in the car as quickly as they could. Clara was finding it hard to keep herself together but the panic was stopping her from crying. All she could think about was if he was going to be okay. She couldn't afford to loose him. Not now, not ever.
When they got there Lily began to cry again.
"It's okay." Clara tried to comfort her in the blind panic she had got herself into. She calmed down after a few minutes but when they got to the door Ellie's face went pale again.
"Mummy I feel sick." Clara grabbed her hand and got her to near the reception.
"Okay sweetie, do you think you are going to be sick again?" She nodded so Clara called the nearest nurse over.
"Excuse me, can we have a bowl or something, this one isn't feeling very well." She smiled.
Of course, give me a second." A few seconds later she returned. Clara smiled as a thank you. She didn't have the energy to speak again. "Have you been feeling sick all day?" Ellie nodded and her face went even paler.
"She's been sick multiple times today, I though it was nothing but then she was sick again a few minutes ago so I started to worry. Then I got a call from a paramedic saying that my husband has been in a car crash so I don't really know what to do. Could you help me out in any way?" Clara slumped down on the floor and took a deep breath. The nurse gave her a knowing look, almost as though she could tell how Clara was feeling.
"Yes of course, what's your husbands name?"
"Danny Pink, he was brought in not long ago." The nurse stood up and walked round to the other side of the reception desk. She checked up on the computer and then came back round. Clara desperately looked at her face to see her reaction but it was emotionless. That only worried her more.
"Your husband has been brought in but I'm afraid you can't see him yet. He's in theatre. It shouldn't be long." Clara's hand flew to her mouth. A tear fell as the realisation hit her.
"Oh my god... What's wrong with him!? Is he going to be okay!?"
"I don't know the exact details but I'm sure he will be fine. I'll be able to tell you more within the next ten or fifteen minutes. In the meantime I think you should come with me." The nurse took Ellie's hand to give Clara one less thing to think about. She let them into a small ward of their own. She plopped Ellie down on the bed and put some gloves on. "I'm just going to check her over, you said that she's been sick a few times so I just want to check its nothing serious." Clara looked at her and gave her a slight nod. She wasn't even really listening, her mind was going out of control. She needed to know that Danny was okay. "Is there anyone you could call? Just for support? It will make it easier."
"Ahh yes, there is." She grabbed her phone and dialled her dads number. The nurse continued to check Ellie over but then she started to cry.
"Ay there's no need to cry! I'm just going to check that you are okay and then you can play with the toys in the corner. Look!" The fact that the nurse was good with children put her mind at rest. Ellie seemed to calm down pretty quickly after that. Soon enough she put her things down and got rid of her gloves. Clara looked over anxiously. She really didn't want there to be anything serious wrong with Ellie, it would add even more to the pile. "Don't worry, it's nothing serious. It looks to me like an allergic reaction, to something she has eaten maybe?" Clara racked her brain to think of anything different they had fed her in the last few days. Then it came to her.
"Ahh she did some chocolate covered peanuts yesterday? Could that be it?" The nurse picked up Ellie and let her run over to the toys.
"Yes, that was probably it. It seems as though she may have a nut allergy then. So, like I said, it's nothing to worry about. Just keep her away from eating anything nutty and see if she gets any better. If she doesn't, bring her back in and we can run some tests." Clara nodded and said thank you. The nurse could tell that her mind was preoccupied though, she looked so helpless stood there. A crying baby in one arm and her phone in her other hand. Her glazed over eyes just confirmed the anxiousness she was feeling. All she wanted to do was to help but there wasn't really anything she could do. Lily began to cry again which shook Clara out of her trance.
"Shh, shh, shh, it's okay." As she said it a tear fell down her cheek and she felt the panic take over her again.
"Would you like me to see how your husband is to put your mind at rest slightly?" She wiped the tear away and nodded.
"Yes please, thank you."
As the nurse walked out Dave walked in. He sounded out of breath, he must have ran. Thinking about it she did sound quite panicky on the phone, he obviously thought that it was really urgent. When she saw him she couldn't contain her emotions anymore. She couldn't really explain how she was feeling, she was just so scared. It had all happened so quickly. After explaining the situation to her dad he tried to reassure her. As nice as he was being, it wasn't helping. The only thing that could calm her down now was seeing Danny and she couldn't do that. Dave took Lily gently out of her arms to free her and they sat on the bed.
"It will be okay you know. He's strong, he's a fighter. He'll be back up and running before you know it. He'll be back to annoying you again just like always." He put his spare arm around her and kissed her head. She smiled and was about to speak when the nurse came back in. Clara shot up and moved towards her.
"Okay, he's out of theatre but he's not awake yet. It's just a waiting game until his anaesthetic wears off. You can go and see him though, he's in ward 10, so just along the corridor." She smiled and was about to leave the room when Clara called her back. She moved closer to her so that Ellie couldn't overhear what was being said.
"Thank you, umm, do you know what he needed an operation for exactly yet? Or?"
"Yes, apparently he was very lucky, it was a close shave but he's okay. He had to have part of his abdomen operated on, part of the car pierced through some of his side so the debris had to be removed." Her heart sank. She was praying that it was something less serious. She tried to hide her emotion for another second so that she could thank the nurse.
"Thank you so much, you've been more than helpful."
"No problem, just doing my job! All the best." With a warm smile, she left the room. Clara quickly checked if her dad was okay to watch Ellie and Lily whilst she went to see him and then she left.
She found herself walking unusually slowly towards the ward. She didn't know what state he was in so she felt more nervous than she would have if she had seen the extent of his injuries. When she finally got to the door she paused and then forced herself to go inside. She walked round the corner and then stopped at the end of his bed. She took a deep breath and let a few tears escape. He looked terrible. It broke her heart. He had a black and bruised eye and a large cut down the side of this head. His mouth was slightly swollen like he had been punched and his left arm was bruised. The side that had been operated on was bandaged up tightly and machines were hanging off of him. His body laid there, motionless. She couldn't help but sob. Why him? Why her beautiful Danny? She wiped her eyes slightly and moved to sit next to him. She took his hand and kissed it softly through her tears. She began to speak to him, hoping that he could hear her and register that she was there by his side.
"Hey... I don't even know what to say. I wish we had been nicer to each other today because... then maybe this wouldn't have happened. I mean I know that you were stressed and Ellie was sick and Lily kept crying but... Maybe if we had calmed down I would never have asked you to go out and then you wouldn't have been hit by the car, and then you wouldn't be here... In this state. Oh god this is all my fault isn't it." She started to cry again and she put her head on his arm. Just as she began to sob she heard a noise.
"It's not your fault." She looked up to see him slowly opening his eyes to his surroundings.
"Danny... Oh my god Danny." He tried to move but then winced in pain. He obviously didn't remember what he had injured during the crash.
"What happened? Why am I here?" She wiped the tears from her cheeks and stood up so that he could see her face. She moved her hand to stroke his head gently.
"You went out to the chemists and... And then you were in a car crash." He looked up to stop himself from crying, he hated seeing Clara like this. He felt like it was his fault for putting her in this position again. "But don't worry because it's okay now. It's okay I promise. You're okay." He began to speak and then stopped himself like he was avoiding answering the question that was the elephant in the room.
"What have they done to me? What is injured?" She stood back to look at him, he was so frail she didn't know where to start. "Oh no, please don't tell me it's bad?"
"Well it's bad but nothing that you won't recover from, soldier boy. Part of the car went through your side so they had to operate, that's the worst thing. You've got a cut on your head and lots of bruises and your leg is fractured." She tried to carry on but the thought of his pain made her cry again.
"Hey it's okay, at least I'm alive."
"Yeah, it could be worse, but it's so not okay." He gripped her hand as that was about all he could do to show his affection at that moment. He knew it wasn't okay but at least he could liven up the situation a bit. Neither of them said a thing for the next ten minutes. Clara was just so, so glad that he was okay and Danny was trying to remember what happened. It all happened in a flash, they finally could calm down slightly now as they knew what was happening.
They sat in silence for a while not really knowing what to do or say next. This wasn't exactly planned in their daily routine, this wasn't meant to happen.
"Oh, how's Ellie?" She lifted her head off of his arm.
"She's fine, they checked her over though just in case. It's nothing serious, just an allergy. Not 100% sure what to yet but we will find out sure enough."
"Good, well not good but... You know what I mean." They laughed slightly.
"Should I ask my dad to take the girls home? I'm not sure how Ellie would cope seeing you so, so you know..."
"Injured?" She smiled.
"Yeah, injured."
"I think that's a good idea. I don't want to scare her with my terrifying face!" She giggled and walked out of the ward.
When she was gone it gave Danny time to think. He couldn't really remember much about the crash at that moment. It was such a blur. He remembered feeling stressed and then getting into the car but not much else. The crash can't have happened much after that but all he could remember was the car headlights, then everything went black. It made him shiver just thinking about it. They had been in this hospital way more times than he would have liked. It worried him...
Ooh tense ;) thank you for reading, not sure how long the next chapter will be. It depends on how busy I am! I won't keep you waiting for too long I promise :) x