I take up my place beside Christian's bed, grasp his hand and begin to tell him everything I can think of about the twins, how Taylor is doing, what Elliot is doing with the businesses. All in all I think I must rabbit on for at least half an hour and I didn't hear my Dad come into the room.
"Hey sweetheart, how is he doing?" he asks.
"Stable, scan was encouraging, just needs to heal I guess" he has come over and put his hands on my shoulders.
"He is strong Ana, to get this far and you have given him the ultimate reason to pull through, Max and Melissa. I don't know if he can hear you when you are telling him all about them but I hope he can" he reassures me.
"I hope so too Dad"
"I haven't told you as I didn't think you needed anything else to fret about but your mother is on her way" he looks sheepish.
"It's ok Dad, I can't keep her away from her grandchildren but you are going to stay here aren't you?" I almost plead as the thought of her being here without Dad to help keep her in check fills me with dread.
"I'm not going anywhere sweetie, I am here for as long as you need me" he smiles as he sees the relief on my face.
"When does she arrive so I have time to prepare?" I ask.
"Flight lands at 4pm and she will come straight here from the airport" he starts "I am not sure if Frank is coming but she is booked into the local hotel for a couple of nights"
"Ok, thanks Dad, I really appreciate you being here, I hope Angie doesn't mind" I say
"No she understands Ana" he smiles; I don't think he would tell me if she felt differently.
Grace comes in moments after "Hello Ray, Ana darling, how are you feeling?"
"I'm fine Grace thank you" I reply.
"How are you Grace? Have you slept much?" I ask as she looks tired.
"I am fine dear and I have slept a little" she tells me but I am not convinced.
"How are things?" I say
"I have just been over to see Max and Melissa, I spoke to their paediatrician and she says they are doing beautifully so much so Max is completely off oxygen and maybe able to leave in a day or so. Melissa still needs a little oxygen, every time they try her off, her sats drop but again that is not unusual for premature babies" she smiles a tired smile.
"That's great" I extoll.
"Christian is doing well too, he is healing and I expect him to come off the ventilator in the next day or two, no signs of infection which is excellent and he is holding his blood pressure" she smiles again and brushes his face tenderly with her hand.
Grace tries to stifle a yawn, fails and sets off a chain reaction of yawns from the three of us and we laugh.
"Right, I am heading to the staff room for a shower and a nap and I suggest you have a sleep too Ana" Grace advises.
Elliot, Kate and Carrick turn up at that moment; Carrick and Elliot stay with Christian while Kate takes me back to my room. I make her promise to come get me if any changes and she agrees.
"Kate, will you go and see Max and Melissa for me?" I ask
"Of course I will, Auntie Kate wants her daily cuddle from her niece and nephew" she chuckles.
"And thank you Kate for being here and helping us" I lean forward and give her a hug.
"Anytime sweetie, now sleep!" she orders and I am grateful to be able to slip into a slightly more restful sleep.
I awake a couple of hours later feeling a little more refreshed, the nurse comes in with a tray of food, I realize how famished I feel when I take the first bite into a sandwich and it is eaten quickly along with an apple and two digestive biscuits. No one is about so I get dressed in my baggy sweat pants and a t-shirt but keep my slippers on as they are so comfy right now and I make my way to see my babies.
As I near the Nicu I hear an all too familiar voice shrieking, I can't make out exactly what's being said but my Mom is evidently moaning about something.
As I get closer I can hear what she is saying.
"But they are my grandchildren, don't you understand?" Mom shrieks
"Yes I understand Mrs Van Grutten but I cannot grant you access without the mother's permission and we have restricted guest visiting hours to allow the parents to bond and feed" I see nurse Diane holding her ground against my mother.
My Mom is standing there with her hands on her hips, tapping her foot in that impatient way "When is my daughter getting here?"
"She is right behind you Mrs Van Grutten" Diane barks back and Mom spins around to see me slowly coming towards her.
"Hi Mom" I say smiling although I have feeling that this is not going to go well.
"Ana, they wouldn't let me in to see them without your permission, why didn't you give your permission?" she growls at me.
"Well I have been rather busy and I didn't know when or if you were coming to be honest" I snap, I see a small smile cross Diane's face.
"Hello Ana, How are you?" Diane asks
"Well I am up and dressed which is a good start. How are they?" I ask
"Good, very good but they want some Moma time and feeding if you can" she tells me.
"Of course" I say "Would you mind if my mother comes in and has a cuddle with her grandchildren?" I feel I have to be overly polite to make up for my Mom's rudeness.
"That's fine" and she smiles again.
"About time" Mom mumbles under her breath and I choose to ignore it as I just want to spend some quality time with the twins.
"Mrs Van Grutten, you need to come over here, wash your hands and put on an apron please" Diane takes her elbow and half drags her over to prevent any argument. I of course have to do the same but having got into the routine; I am sitting waiting for Melissa to be put into my arms. Diane shows Mom to the seat next to Max's incubator before settling Melissa in my arms and helping me position her properly to try and breast feed. She leaves me to help Mom with Max.
I think she is momentarily speechless which is a first. I see a softer side to my Mom as she is cooing over Max. I catch some of the words she is using, like cute nose, beautiful eyes and handsome little chap. It's a side that unfortunately doesn't come through as often as it should. Melissa is doing really well, as am I according to Diane and it's time to swap for me to feed Max. Diane takes Melissa; another nurse takes Max so Mom and I can swap places. She gives me such a warm smile as we pass; perhaps there is hope after all I think to myself. Max does brilliantly as well and Diane hints that he may be able to go home and soon which is fantastic but the logistics begin to hit me.
Max at home, Melissa and Christian here, I can't drive and Gail is looking after Taylor. Perhaps Dad will stay for a while... no he doesn't have a car, could hire one I suppose but he can't stay forever, Angie will need him back at some point. No point and too stressful to ask Mom as it will be a problem besides she is only here for a couple of days anyway. Oh well, will sort something out I guess but as Max is now contented and asleep it's time for me to go and see Christian.
"Diane, can you take him for me?" I ask
"Sure Ana, are you off to see Christian now?" she questions
"Yes I am" I smile a huge smile.
"Do you want me to get you a porter?" she says "Don't want you to overdo things Ana"
"No thanks Diane, I will walk slowly and carefully" I chuckle
"Ok, see you later then" Diane waves.
"Mom, am heading over to ITU to see Christian, Are you coming?" I ask her.
"Later Ana" she is totally engrossed in her granddaughter so I leave her in the Nicu.
It takes me about fifteen minutes to reach ITU. Mia is curled up asleep on a sofa in the waiting area. I walk into his room, nothing has changed and I am a little disappointed. I sit down and grasp his hand as I always have and begin to tell him everything about Max and Melissa, how Mom is here and is totally enthralled with her grandchildren. How I can't wait for him to be able to see them. I pick up a hair brush from his side table and gently brush it through his hair. He would hate to look messy and unkempt so I pull out his electric shaver and run it over his face. I wet a flannel and pat over his face, neck and hands where I can. When I have finished he looks a little tidier and Mia notices when she comes in that I have cleaned him up a little.
"Hey Ana you have done a good job" she kisses my cheek "he looks a lot better"
"He would hate to look scruffy" I smile as I dry his hands with a towel. "There, much better" I whisper in his ear and feel he has heard me when an eyelid flickers.
"Did you see that!? I exclaim
"I did, I think he heard you" replies Mia excitedly.
"Hello Darling's, how are you both?" Grace has come into the room and neither Mia nor I heard the door open.
"Hi Mom" Mia gives her a kiss on the cheek.
"Hello Grace" I kiss her cheek too.
"My my we do look smart today" she comments when she sees my handy work.
"His eyelid flickered when I talked to him earlier, is that a good sign?" I ask eagerly.
"It could be reflex action but his is gradually being weaned off sedation so his senses will begin to get sharper as time goes on" she smiles.
"I hope he can hear me" I say and Grace smiles again.
"Ana dear, a detective from Seattle police want to talk to you but only if you are feeling up to it" Grace tells me.
"What do they want to talk to me for?" I absent mindedly ask.
"Formalities I imagine dear" She smiles.
Doh Ana, of course they want to talk to me after what has happened. I walk out of Christian's room and the detective guides me into a room vacated by a nurse for us to have some privacy.
"Hello Mrs Grey, I'm detective Matthew Coles" he holds his hand out to shake which I dutifully do.
"Hello detective, how can I help you?" I ask.
"I need a record of events from you and then I will explain what will happen from here so if you could start from the time you were trying to leave SIP building I would be most grateful" he says.
"Ok, well when we exited the elevator, the plan was to leave by the back exit as our security was concerned at the level of press and well-wishers that had gathered out the front. However as we turned down the corridor, we found building security trying to restrain a man who has a grudge against the company. He was fired for harassment and I was given the job he wanted. One of our personal security team aided building security whilst Mr Grey, myself and two other personal security men took us out the front" I pause.
"So your personal security decided to go out the front?" he asks.
"With my husband's agreement" I am not sure where he is going with this.
"Ok, please carry on" the detective prompts.
"Well, we exited the front doors, SPD had police officers helping with crowd control but the noise was quite deafening and then….." I look down "it all went wrong.