I'm on a roll with these updates. Here's another chapter of Wild Young Hearts. The next one will be the last!
Dee & Melody belong to me. Everyone else belongs to themselves.
For Shannon Moore, the three hour flight from Orlando to Houston had been filled with anxiety. The last he had heard before boarding the plane was that Dee was conscious but by no means out of the woods yet. No news had been forthcoming about the baby, which the tattooed man hoped was a positive, after all, no news is good news, or so they say.
As he exited the airport and hailed a cab to the hospital, the North Carolina native heard his cellphone beep with a text message; a sound that spiked his anxiety levels as he silently prayed for good news. As he had suspected the message was from Dixie. She said nothing about Dee's condition, but gave him the floor and room number in which to find them. As soon as he had jumped into a cab he sent a quick reply to his boss, informing her of his arrival in Houston.
Dixie paced the hallway outside of her niece's hospital room as the doctor examined her vital signs for the third time in the past hour. The TNA President fiddled with the turquoise pendant around her neck as she looked on through the glass window into the room. Dee was sat up in the hospital bed as the doctor; a man of around forty with a greying goatee, shone a small torch into her eyes and checked her pupils.
"Ms. Carter?" the doctor caught her attention as he exited the room, closing the door after him.
"How is she?" Dixie enquired, wringing her hands nervously.
"Her vital signs are all good, but her blood pressure is a little too high and so we'll monitor that overnight," The man, whose badge read 'Dr. J. M. Howard' replied, "The nurse has gone to fetch the ultrasound machine in order to check on the pregnancy."
"Will she lose the baby?" the older brunette uttered the words she hadn't dared speak since Dee's collapse at the courthouse.
"Honestly, I can't say at this point in time. She hasn't experienced any bleeding, which is usually a good sign, but she does say that she can't feel any movement. We'll know for sure as soon as we see the ultrasound images." Dr. Howard offered an apologetic smile before checking on another patient.
"Dixie!"
"Shannon, you made it." the older woman sighed with relief.
"What's happening? Where's Dee?" the Prince of Punk enquired with a sense of urgency.
"She's in there," Dixie motioned towards the hospital room, but grabbed his arm to stop him before he could go charging in there, "You should know, they still aren't sure if the baby will be okay."
The tattooed man nodded silently, a frown settled on his lips and he pushed open the door of Dee's hospital room. Dixie watched through the glass window as her niece registered Shannon's presence and sat up a little in her hospital bed.
"What brings you here?" Dee asked as the North Carolina native took a seat on the edge of the bed.
"Dixie called me," he replied, "We were really worried about you."
"The doctor says my blood pressure is too high. Understandable, with the trial and everything." she shrugged.
"I'm sorry," Shannon apologised as he stroked the back of her hand with his thumb, "I should have been here with you."
"I'm the one who told you to stay away." the young Texan reminded him.
"Well now I'm not going anywhere." he smiled as he lifted her hand and pressed a kiss to it.
"Did you hear about Dee?" Josh enquired as he entered the apartment that Patrick and Melody were currently calling home.
"Shannon called me on his way to the airport." the blonde Knockout replied with a nod.
"As if she hasn't been through enough already." Josh ran a hand through his hair.
"I know, it sucks." his tag team partner agreed.
"Any news on the baby?" the older Gun asked cautiously.
"Nothing yet." Melody sighed, taking a seat beside her husband on the couch.
Josh nodded in reply, casting his blue eyes over to those of his tag team partner in a silent question.
"Yes, I told her about the house," Patrick confirmed, "It's all good."
"Wait, Josh knew what you did?"
"Only after the fact," Josh reassured her, "Out of guilt, most likely."
"Of course. I was feeling so bad about doing all this without telling my own wife."
"I'm actually surprised that you didn't tell Josh beforehand." the blonde Knockout admitted.
"I probably should have," Patrick sighed, "But I'm pretty sure he'd have stopped me from doing it."
"Wow, way to make me sound like a buzzkill." his tag team partner exclaimed.
"Yeah, isn't it the wife who's supposed to be a buzzkill?" Melody raised a brow towards both men.
"Well, your husband has publicly referred to me as his 'heterosexual life partner'." Josh replied.
Dee and Shannon watched and waited for what seemed an eternity as the doctor ran the doppler over her bump. The anxiety and anticipation in the room hung heavy like a cloud. Hot tears began to spill silently from the young Texan's eyes as she began to lose hope. The tattooed man held her hand tightly in his own, willing her not to give up on their child, even as second after second passed.
"Dee, could you just shuffle onto your side for me?" the doctor enquired.
"Sure." the brunette sniffed back her tears as she did as the doctor had asked.
Shannon counted the seconds. Four...five...six...seven...
"There you are," the doctor addressed the screen, "You had us all worried."
"The baby's okay?" the tattooed man enquired.
"See for yourself," he replied, turning the screen to face the couple, "Looks like someone's been sleeping!"
Dee let out a deep sigh as she looked on, mesmerised by the image on the screen; a tiny baby, her tiny baby, raising one arm to suck it's thumb and cradling the other arm around it's middle.
"Would you like to know the sex?" the doctor enquired.
"Do you wanna find out?" Shannon asked the brunette woman.
"I'd rather have a surprise," Dee declared, "Are you okay with that?"
"A surprise sounds great." the tattooed man smiled and pulled her into a gentle hug.
Once Dixie had been sure that everything was okay she had excused herself to the cafeteria to grab a coffee. She hadn't slept much and she needed a caffeine boost to keep her going for a little longer. The TNA president inserted some change into the drinks machine and pushed the corresponding button for her coffee. Her cellphone rang just as the hot liquid finished filling up the paper cup, the screen flashing up Detective Brenner's number.
"Hello?" Dixie answered the call.
"Ms. Carter, how is Dee?" he enquired.
"She's well, and so is the baby," the older woman replied, "Just high blood pressure and stress."
"I'm so glad to hear that," Brenner told her, "Because I have some good news for you both."
"Can I call you back? I want Dee to hear this."
"I'll be waiting on your call."
"Speak soon."
Dixie grabbed her coffee and began to make her way back to Dee's room. As soon as the elevator opened on Dee's floor the TNA president took out her cellphone and returned Detective Brenner's call. The cop answered just as the woman entered her niece's hospital room.
"Yes, I'm with her now." she told the man on the other end of the phone.
"Put me on speaker." Brenner told her.
Dixie complied, and soon the man's voice could be heard clearly within the room. "You're on speaker." Dee confirmed.
"I wanted to give you this news personally," Brenner began, "the Judge agreed that the trial could resume in your absence. The jury returned their verdict about a half hour ago."
"And?" Dee asked nervously.
"You did it, Dee. He was found unanimously guilty and jailed for eight years." the cop finished.
"Eight years?" the young Texan exclaimed. She had expected five years maximum from what the lawyers had been saying.
"Judge Solomon ruled that he would serve a year for every year that you lived with his actions, plus one year for his additional sexual assaults against other females."
"So, it's over? He's going to jail?" Dixie asked in a mixture of confusion and relief.
"Yes, it's over. Thank you, Dee."
"For what?" Dee frowned.
"For everything. Because of you reporting your attack and giving your evidence in court, a dangerous man is off the streets, and other women can feel a little safer." Brenner replied.
"You're welcome." Dee smiled.
"Guys! Look what just popped up on this news feed!" Melody exclaimed to the Guns as she waved her tablet in the air.
"What is it?" Patrick asked his wife, squinting a little to see the moving screen.
"Read for yourself." the Knockout replied, handing over the tablet.
Both men scanned the screen as the headline stared back at them:
TEXAS MAN JAILED FOR EIGHT YEARS AFTER JURY FINDS HIM GUILTY OF RAPE
"She did it," Josh grinned, "Our DeeDee did it!"
"She sure did!" Melody grinned.
Next chapter is the last! Review!