Chapter 17

Stephanie's POV

I turned away from the window and made another circuit around the room. I'd been doing this for over three hours now, first pacing, then stopping and staring out the window at nothing, only to start pacing again. All the while I was doing that, I was praying that Luci and the baby would both be okay. If anything happened to either of them…

I was vaguely aware of voices murmuring, but I wasn't interested in what was being said because the only one I wanted to listen to right now was Dr. Thomas telling me my friend was going to make it.

At some point I was aware that Alexander had arrived, andI knew he was sitting with Alessandro. On the other side of the room were Lester and all of Ranger's men. Neither side had ventured into the others' space, and for that I was grateful. The last thing we needed was for an all-out war between the two sides.

I stopped at the window and let my gaze go to the scene outside, not really taking in what I was seeing as my mind raced with all the possible outcomes.

The sound of a throat being cleared was suddenly loud in the room, and I turned back to see that Dr. Thomas had finally joined us. I hurried over to where he was standing, asdid all the others.

Dr. Thomas held up a hand. "All I can tell you is that the next forty-eight hours will tell the story. For now I have both of them stabilized. If they can hold on for the next twenty-four hours, their chances will increase drastically, but they won't be out of danger until the forty-eight-hour time has been reached. Luci suffered a uterine rupture, where the integrity of the myometrial wall was breached. It was necessary for us to perform an emergency C-section. We've repaired the damage as best we could and took the baby. She's in the neonatal ICU and is being monitored by a team of specialists." Dr. Thomas turned to Lester and Alessandro. "The two of you may go into see her, but we'll be restricting all other visitors for now. As soon as Luci is moved into a room, we'll allow two visitors at a time, but we ask that you limit the number of people going in to only those necessary."

He placed a hand on Alessandro's shoulder. "I wish I had better news, my friend."

Alessandro nodded. "I'd like to see my granddaughter."

Dr. Thomas nodded and motioned to a nurse.

A young woman in scrubs came forward and smiled gently. "I'll take you to see the baby, sir."

Alessandro turned, and his gaze met mine. "I want Stephanie to go with me."

The young woman seemed like she was about to say something, but Dr. Thomas gave a slight nod, and she cleared her throat and said, "That will be fine."

Lester moved to join us, and for a minute I thought Alessandro would veto his coming along, but instead he gave a tired sigh and simply followed the nurse without a comment.

It took us five minutes traversing through the hospital till we came to the neonatal unit. When we finally reached the incubator where the baby was sleeping, I couldn't believe how tiny she was. She looked to be around fifteen inches long, and her poor little body was all skin and bones and couldn't weigh more than three or four pounds. There were tubes and wires hooked up to her, and it was all rather frightening.

Lester reached out a hand and touched the side of the incubator. His voice broke as he said, "Hang in there, angel. You have to make it for your momma. She worked hard to bring you here, so now you work hard to stay for her."

Alessandro let out a harsh sigh. "I hope she never finds out the choice I made."

Lester turned and looked at him.

Alessandro just shook his head and waved his hand. "Go ahead and tell him. That way he'll know the lengths I'd go to for my little girl."

I gave a slight shrug. "Alessandro asked Dr. Thomas to make sure Luci made it no matter what. That if there was a choice, she'd be saved."

Lester laughed, but it was a broken sound, not a real laugh, as he said, "I did the same thing, so your secret is safe with me."

I winced. "We're all in the same boat, because I lied about having the paperwork. If I'd handed it to him, hewould have had no choice but to put the baby first."

We looked at each other. As if by some unknown string being pulled on each of us, we all said in unison, "Luci's going to kill us."

For the first time, there was a twinkle in Lester's and Alessandro's eyes.

The older man held out his hand. "Truce? You hurt my baby again, and you won't have to worry about breathing."

Lester took his hand. "Truce. And if I hurt her again, I'll hold you to that."

Alessandro turned to me. "Has she mentioned any names that she was thinking about?"

I shook my head. "Not that I know of."

"Too bad. I'd like to start calling her by her name, so she knows how important she is."

Lester shook his head. "We can't name her without Luci."

Alessandro nodded his head. "I know you're right. Still..."

I bit my lip as I thought of a way they could both have what they wanted. When it came to me, I rolled my eyes at how simple it was. "Each of you will have your own nickname for the baby. Lester's already calling her angel. So Alessandro, you just need to decide on what you'll call her and just start calling her by that now."

Alessandro smiled. "That's brilliant. See, I knew bringing you along was important."

When the three of us returned to the waiting room thirty minutes later, Bobby joined us and said, "Luci's being settled into her room now, so you'll be able to head back in about twenty minutes."

Les nodded. "Thanks, man."

Once again, when the nurse came to take Alessandro and Lester back to see Luci, Alessandro requested that I join them. Dr. Thomas must have warned the rest of the staff to abide by Alessandro's wishes, because she didn't veto the idea. The three of us followed a nurse again, only this time it was to Luci's room in the ICU.

When we walked into the room, it was just as frightening as when we'd seen the baby. Luci was lying too still, and her color was very pale.

Lester moved to one side of the bed, and as if by tacit agreement, Alessandro moved to the opposite side so that each of them could take hold of one of her hands. There was a chair that Alessandro was able to sit in, and Lester just squatted down so he was level with the bed. It was hard watching strong men such as these two confronted with a situation that was heartbreaking and out of their control. So much emotion was coming from both of them, mixed with all the emotions that I was feeling, and it was no wonder that I felt outside my comfort zone.

Lester's POV

I closed my eyes and laid my head against Luci's hand. My voice broke as I struggled with the words I was trying to get out. "Luci, I'm here, baby. Stay strong for me, okay? I need you to be okay. Our little angel needs her momma. She's going fight to stay, so that's what you have to do too. I can't lose you now that I've finally gotten you back in my life. Please, baby. Stay with me."

Lifting my head, I placed my lips on her hand. God, I hoped she could feel all the love I had for her inside of me and it was enough to hold her here with me. I couldn't even think of the alternative.

I glanced over at her old man and saw tears rolling down his cheeks. I could understand a bit of how he was feeling because I felt that way too about my little angel fighting for her life in the neonatal unit. I could see his lips moving, even though I couldn't hear what he was saying. I turned away to give him a bit of privacy as I continued to hold on to Luci's hand.

Luci's purse was on the nightstand by her bed, and there was a crumpled piece of paper wadded up on the top. Reaching out, I lift the paper and brought it closer so I could see what was written there. Usingmy chin to hold one end of the paper, I used my free hand to help straighten the page and then read what was written on the page. My jaw clenched as the first words were like a knife to my heart, and I wondered if this was what I'd done to her. I vowed to make everything up to her if she'd just stay with me.

He broke my heart once,

Do I trust him not to do it again?

The only one to matter,

Has yet to see the sun.

Things have been said,

Never to be taken aback,

The swords that hurt the most,

Are spoken by the mouth.

Lives have been intertwined by the one,

Who has yet to see the sun.

I try to let go,

Only to be reeled back in.

The paths have been split,

Nobody knows if they will meet again.

The story will unfold by the eyes,

Who will soon see the sun.