Destiny
Chapter 12
Lucas' relief of his wife's returning strength was increasingly evident as the days passed by. She had her first check up with Matt a week after she had been allowed to go home. Lucas, wanting to be included in every aspect of their baby's life, went with her. He had been delighted beyond words as Matt pronounced that her pregnancy was progressing normally. She was now three and a half months along and although she was beginning to show her condition, Matt insisted that she still needed to gain at least ten more pounds. The morning sickness had completely passed, as well as the lethargy she had suffered, leaving her able to enjoy the remainder of her pregnancy.
Mrs. Adams still helped with the house, having become very fond of Dara, she was relieved to see that Dara wasn't suffering the same malady that Judith Temple had, nor the same problems that Gail Emory had been rumored to have suffered.
Lucas was thoroughly enjoying his wife's condition; he hadn't been able to take part in Caleb's life from the beginning, so the chance to do so now and share the experience with his wife was extremely rewarding to him. The only disappointment came when he hadn't been able to accompany Dara for her scheduled ultrasound. Although he had been present when the first one was done in the cardiac unit, he desperately wanted to be there, since it would be the first time Dara would see their child move as well as hear its heartbeat. However, since there had been an attempted prison escape upstate he had had to forego the appointment to attend a mandatory law enforcement meeting which left him in a grim mood, until he heard a light knock on his office door. Looking up he was somewhat surprised to see his wife's smiling face peeking around the door. "I don't suppose you would like to hear something surprising, would you?
Lucas immediately got up, returning her smile as he ushered her in and helped her lower herself into a chair. Placing a kiss on her lips he nodded, "I could use something to lighten my mood right now, yes. What's the news?"
Just then, Ben chose to interrupt, "Lucas, I'm sorry but I saw Dara come in and I was going to get something to drink, so I thought I'd see if there was anything you two wanted."
Lucas silently chucked at his deputy's eagerness to please, he knew that he had developed a fondness and over protectiveness towards Dara, but since he was afraid of incurring Lucas' jealousy he always masked it in the guise of being hospitable, as he was now doing. Finally, Lucas nodded, "Yeah, Ben. I could use some coffee." Turning to Dara, he inquired "Juice?" At her nod of agreement he completed the request, "Orange juice for Dara, thanks, Ben."
Focusing his attention once more on his wife, he perched himself on the corner of his desk. "Now, what did the good doctor have to say that was so surprising?"
Dara glanced up at him shyly as she handed him what appeared to be some type of photo. "Look at that and tell me what you see."
Lucas took the paper from her hand and glanced at it, already having identified it as an ultrasound printout. "I see the baby, why?"
Dara shook her head, motioning to the photo once more. "Take another look, a good long look."
Walking around his desk, Lucas turned the desk lamp on and placed the photo beneath it. There, behind the image he could discern what looked like lines similar to the ones representing their child. Narrowing his gaze to study it closely he glanced back to his wife, "I think I'm seeing another baby here, does this mean what I think it does?"
Dara, pushing herself up from the chair came around and elaborated on his discovery, "See that line? It's another baby, we're having twins." Lucas looked at it for a moment longer, he hadn't contemplated the possibility of twins.
Dara, misunderstanding the look on her husbands face, was wearing a look of sadness on her own as she inquired softly, "You're not happy about it, are you?"
Lucas, seeing the beginning of tears in her eyes, rushed to assure her as he pulled her close to him, "Not happy? You've got to be kidding; I just never considered the idea of twins. Baby, I'm thrilled."
Ben, who had returned to bring them what they had requested, stood watching them with his mouth hanging open. Lucas, catching sight of him standing there, grinned broadly. "Ben, we're not having a baby, we're having two babies." Turning and grabbing Dara's hand he headed for the door, grabbing her purse and handing it to her, stated, "Come on, we're going to celebrate." Passing by Ben, he threw over his shoulder, "Ben, I'm off for the night."
Ben shook his head in astonishment as he walked over to straighten Lucas' desk. Glancing at the photo on the corner of Dara, taken on her wedding day, he picked the photo up as he stated, "Well, I guess we were all right about you, you've certainly worked miracles."
After their discovery of twins and Caleb's reassurances that if one brother or sister was fine, than two would be even better, Dara and Lucas began preparing in earnest for the arrival of their children.
The only unpleasant note came when Mrs. Adams informed then that she would be moving to Charlotte, to live with her daughter. Since her son-in-law had unexpectedly passed away, her daughter was in dire need of her help with her children, so she had asked her mother to come and live with her indefinitely.
Dara and Lucas, knowing how much she had already done for them, hastened to assure her that they would manage and that should she ever want it she always had a place in their home and family as well. Lucas had further surprised the woman by handing her an envelope the evening before her departure containing two thousand dollars. He had refused all of her arguments for not accepting the money, stating that after all she had done for not only Dara and himself, but her mother as well, that she had more than earned it.
A couple of nights after Mrs. Adams departure Lucas was giving serious consideration to the problem as he watched Dara preparing for bed. She was now five months into her pregnancy and since she had finally begun to pick up the weight that Matt had insisted was necessary, as well as expecting twins, she was beginning to find her stomach, more times than not, to be an obstacle.
Remembering her brush with death Lucas was determined to make the remainder of her pregnancy as trouble free as possible. That being the case they were most definitely going to have to find someone to help her with the house and such.
Continuing to watch his wife as she brushed her hair Lucas' thought began turning towards other avenues of pursuit. Going over to where she now stood, he took the brush from her hand and finished brushing out the dark red length of her hair. Setting the brush on the dresser surface he pushed her long hair aside and began nibbling at her earlobe then continued on a path down the length of her neck. "You know, it's absolutely freezing outside, and I think that it would be an absolute waste if we didn't take advantage of the cold outside and the fire inside." With that, he eased her robe from her shoulders to let it fall in a silken puddle to the floor as he began to unfasten her gown. Dara had reached her hand out to switch the light off when Lucas gently restrained her, stating, "No. I want to see you, all of you."
They had continued with the intimate nature of their marriage after Dara's recovery from her illness. Although they continued to have the same magical interweaving of both body and spirit as they had had before, the more Dara's condition became evident the more insecure she had become. It was noticeable in such actions as her insistence that the lights be off, as well as her shyness at being unclothed in her husband's presence.
Lucas knew that his wife's image of herself wasn't flattering. The perception that she held of her body was that it was becoming misshapen and distorted. Lucas' opinion was quite the opposite, although it was apparent that she was pregnant, the rest of her body was still slender. To him she was beautiful and alluring, but he knew that in her mind she was unattractive. He kept assuring her that he found her even more desirable than before, but her opinion of herself remained the same.
Dara now stood in front of him in embarrassment as she stated, "Trust me, you don't want to see me. I'm ugly, misshaped, fat, clumsy and I'm sure that you don't want to see the stretch marks that have started."
Placing his finger under her chin he gently turned her head to meet his gaze. "You don't listen, do you? I've told you before that I don't care about all of that. To me you're beautiful and for your information, you're not misshaped, fat, and definitely not ugly. You happen to be pregnant and as far as the stretch marks they'll go away after the babies are born, but I want you to get this through that thick head of yours, you don't repulse me." Dara looked down in surprise as she felt the proof of his statement pressing against her swollen abdomen, then blushing she looked back up to her husband, who was grinning leeringly at her as he stated, "As you can see you, my dear, have the totally opposite effect on me."
With his last statement he sent her gown to fall with her robe. Dara now stood in front of him, totally unclothed. Lucas could see the insecurity in her eyes as she stated, "I told you I wasn't as attractive as I used to be." Lucas titled her face to gaze into her eyes as he nodded, "You're right, you're not, you're more beautiful than before." With that he knelt down and lifted her in his arms to lay her on their bed, he had begun tracing patterns over her body when he stopped suddenly, having reached the rise of her stomach.
Dara looked u, understanding why he had stopped, smiling.
Lucas, not certain he had felt it, placed his hand across her stomach, feeling the same fluttering under his hand that he had experienced before, this time with a little more force. Looking back to Dara he inquired, "Is that the first time they've moved?"
Dara nodded, "I guess they didn't like my self pity any more than you did."
Laughing, he sat with his hand on her stomach until the movement ceased, shaking his head as he stated, "I know if they kick with that much force on the outside, I can only imagine what it feels like on the inside."
Dara laughed, caught up in the joy of this new discovery, "It wasn't too bad."
Lucas, turning serious once more, caught her eyes with his and held their gaze as he braced himself over her, "Now do you believe me? You're not fat, ugly, or misshapen. You're pregnant and without a doubt the most beautiful woman I've ever seen."
Dara, reaching up to place her arms around his neck, smiled at him. "I believe you and I also believe that if you don't make love to me right now, I'm going to go crazy."
Lucas kissed her passionately after replying, "Always willing to help a lady in distress, especially when she's my wife."
The ringing of the doorbell the next morning solved the answer to the dilemma created by Mrs. Adams absence. Lucas was just coming downstairs for breakfast, when the doorbell chimed. He yelled in the direction of the kitchen, where his wife was cooking his breakfast, "I got it, Dara." With that he opened the door to find his grandmother standing there, clutching her coat close to her.
"Oh, I swear, I aint never felt such cold before." Seeing her grandson gaping at her, she motioned to the door, "Well, you going to let my suitcases sit there till they decide to walk in by themselves?"
Lucas regained his composure as he grabbed the three suitcases and set them against the wall. Turning he addressed his grandmother, "Mama, what are you doing here?"
Shaking her head in admonishment, Lucilla stated, "Well isn't that nice, here I come to help you and Dara out until she has that baby, and not even a glad to see you."
Dara, having heard voices, made her way up the hall to see whom it was. "Lucas, who was at the door?" Seeing her grandmother in law, she smiled warmly, "Mama, what are you doing here, why didn't you call and let me know you were coming?" Reaching over, Dara hugged the woman in welcome.
When Dara pulled away from her, Lucilla looked down at her grandson's wife, shocked, "Lord child, you sure you still have four more months to go?"
Dara, not certain as to her meaning, looked at the woman in question, "I thought you knew, we're having twins."
Lucilla smiled, "You are, well then I guess it's a good thing I came to help you two out then, isn't it?"
Dara glanced to Lucas, who shrugged his shoulders in answer to her silent inquiry about the woman's statement. Lucas hugged his grandmother, sensing her uncertainty, "We're glad to see you, mama. Let's go in the kitchen."
After she had placed Lucas' breakfast in front of him and gotten Lucilla a cup of coffee as well as some juice for herself, Dara eased herself into a chair, as Lucilla inquired, "Well, was I wrong, you don't need any help?"
Dara, addressing the subject, began carefully, "To be honest, mama. We didn't think of calling you because we thought it would be too much for you."
Lucilla stared at Dara in disbelief, "I aint that old, girl. I can handle the cooking and help clean and such. Besides, I want to be here when my great-grandchildren come into the world. So, do I stay?"
Lucas and Dara exchanged looks of inquiry, finally Dara shrugged, "Well, we know we can trust her and she has a right to be here and see the babies when they're born. I don't mind if she stays." Just then the phone rang. Dara excused herself to answer it in the other room.
Taking advantage of Dara's absence, Lucas cautioned his grandmother, "Mama, I appreciate you wanting to stay and help us out, and I'm glad you're here, but I'm warning you right now. No interference of any kind in mine, Dara's or the babies lives. Do we understand each other?"
Lucilla nodded acceptance of her grandson's dictate, "All right, we understand each other, I'm just here to help her out, by the way, how is she doing, is she really better?"
Lucas nodded, "Crower says she's progressing better than he thought she would, so she should have a normal time from here on out."
Dara came back in the room brushing tears from her eyes, as she stated firmly, " I have to go to Mobile. That was Kara, daddy has had another heart attack and the doctor said that she needed to call all of us in."
Lucas got up immediately to comfort her, oblivious to his grandmother's presence, he pulled her to him. "It's all right, darlin. Let it go; don't hold it in it isn't good for you or the babies. Let it go."
Dara leaned against him; clutching his vest in her hands she began sobbing. After she had gotten control of her emotions once more, she looked up at him. "I'll leave in a couple of hours, I need to pack and then go by the bank and get some cash, just in case."
Lucas shook his head, "I'm sorry, baby, but you're not going by yourself. I'll call Ben, I've got some time coming anyway." With that he went to the phone and made the call. After explaining the situation to him, Ben readily agreed to take over for Lucas as long as was necessary. With that done, Lucas turned to his wife and grandmother, "I'll go by the bank, and we'll leave in about an hour." With that said, he left to take cars of his tasks.
Lucilla got up from her chair and taking Dara's hand in hers, patted it comfortingly, "Come on, child. Let's get you two ready to go."
Two hours later they were well on their way. Dara had offered to help with the driving, but Lucas had stated that it was unnecessary. Dara, having become accustomed to afternoon naps, fell asleep just outside the state line. Lucas, knowing the strain the next few days would probably be on her, let her sleep till just before the exit for the hospital her father was in, he woke her up, reluctantly, "Darlin, we're almost there."
Dara woke, not even shocked by the fact that Lucas had found the hospital, despite the fact that he had never been to the city before, and Dara hadn't given him directions. He let her out at the entry way to the hospital, then left to park the car. Dara proceeded straight to the cardiac unit.
Chapter 12
Lucas' relief of his wife's returning strength was increasingly evident as the days passed by. She had her first check up with Matt a week after she had been allowed to go home. Lucas, wanting to be included in every aspect of their baby's life, went with her. He had been delighted beyond words as Matt pronounced that her pregnancy was progressing normally. She was now three and a half months along and although she was beginning to show her condition, Matt insisted that she still needed to gain at least ten more pounds. The morning sickness had completely passed, as well as the lethargy she had suffered, leaving her able to enjoy the remainder of her pregnancy.
Mrs. Adams still helped with the house, having become very fond of Dara, she was relieved to see that Dara wasn't suffering the same malady that Judith Temple had, nor the same problems that Gail Emory had been rumored to have suffered.
Lucas was thoroughly enjoying his wife's condition; he hadn't been able to take part in Caleb's life from the beginning, so the chance to do so now and share the experience with his wife was extremely rewarding to him. The only disappointment came when he hadn't been able to accompany Dara for her scheduled ultrasound. Although he had been present when the first one was done in the cardiac unit, he desperately wanted to be there, since it would be the first time Dara would see their child move as well as hear its heartbeat. However, since there had been an attempted prison escape upstate he had had to forego the appointment to attend a mandatory law enforcement meeting which left him in a grim mood, until he heard a light knock on his office door. Looking up he was somewhat surprised to see his wife's smiling face peeking around the door. "I don't suppose you would like to hear something surprising, would you?
Lucas immediately got up, returning her smile as he ushered her in and helped her lower herself into a chair. Placing a kiss on her lips he nodded, "I could use something to lighten my mood right now, yes. What's the news?"
Just then, Ben chose to interrupt, "Lucas, I'm sorry but I saw Dara come in and I was going to get something to drink, so I thought I'd see if there was anything you two wanted."
Lucas silently chucked at his deputy's eagerness to please, he knew that he had developed a fondness and over protectiveness towards Dara, but since he was afraid of incurring Lucas' jealousy he always masked it in the guise of being hospitable, as he was now doing. Finally, Lucas nodded, "Yeah, Ben. I could use some coffee." Turning to Dara, he inquired "Juice?" At her nod of agreement he completed the request, "Orange juice for Dara, thanks, Ben."
Focusing his attention once more on his wife, he perched himself on the corner of his desk. "Now, what did the good doctor have to say that was so surprising?"
Dara glanced up at him shyly as she handed him what appeared to be some type of photo. "Look at that and tell me what you see."
Lucas took the paper from her hand and glanced at it, already having identified it as an ultrasound printout. "I see the baby, why?"
Dara shook her head, motioning to the photo once more. "Take another look, a good long look."
Walking around his desk, Lucas turned the desk lamp on and placed the photo beneath it. There, behind the image he could discern what looked like lines similar to the ones representing their child. Narrowing his gaze to study it closely he glanced back to his wife, "I think I'm seeing another baby here, does this mean what I think it does?"
Dara, pushing herself up from the chair came around and elaborated on his discovery, "See that line? It's another baby, we're having twins." Lucas looked at it for a moment longer, he hadn't contemplated the possibility of twins.
Dara, misunderstanding the look on her husbands face, was wearing a look of sadness on her own as she inquired softly, "You're not happy about it, are you?"
Lucas, seeing the beginning of tears in her eyes, rushed to assure her as he pulled her close to him, "Not happy? You've got to be kidding; I just never considered the idea of twins. Baby, I'm thrilled."
Ben, who had returned to bring them what they had requested, stood watching them with his mouth hanging open. Lucas, catching sight of him standing there, grinned broadly. "Ben, we're not having a baby, we're having two babies." Turning and grabbing Dara's hand he headed for the door, grabbing her purse and handing it to her, stated, "Come on, we're going to celebrate." Passing by Ben, he threw over his shoulder, "Ben, I'm off for the night."
Ben shook his head in astonishment as he walked over to straighten Lucas' desk. Glancing at the photo on the corner of Dara, taken on her wedding day, he picked the photo up as he stated, "Well, I guess we were all right about you, you've certainly worked miracles."
After their discovery of twins and Caleb's reassurances that if one brother or sister was fine, than two would be even better, Dara and Lucas began preparing in earnest for the arrival of their children.
The only unpleasant note came when Mrs. Adams informed then that she would be moving to Charlotte, to live with her daughter. Since her son-in-law had unexpectedly passed away, her daughter was in dire need of her help with her children, so she had asked her mother to come and live with her indefinitely.
Dara and Lucas, knowing how much she had already done for them, hastened to assure her that they would manage and that should she ever want it she always had a place in their home and family as well. Lucas had further surprised the woman by handing her an envelope the evening before her departure containing two thousand dollars. He had refused all of her arguments for not accepting the money, stating that after all she had done for not only Dara and himself, but her mother as well, that she had more than earned it.
A couple of nights after Mrs. Adams departure Lucas was giving serious consideration to the problem as he watched Dara preparing for bed. She was now five months into her pregnancy and since she had finally begun to pick up the weight that Matt had insisted was necessary, as well as expecting twins, she was beginning to find her stomach, more times than not, to be an obstacle.
Remembering her brush with death Lucas was determined to make the remainder of her pregnancy as trouble free as possible. That being the case they were most definitely going to have to find someone to help her with the house and such.
Continuing to watch his wife as she brushed her hair Lucas' thought began turning towards other avenues of pursuit. Going over to where she now stood, he took the brush from her hand and finished brushing out the dark red length of her hair. Setting the brush on the dresser surface he pushed her long hair aside and began nibbling at her earlobe then continued on a path down the length of her neck. "You know, it's absolutely freezing outside, and I think that it would be an absolute waste if we didn't take advantage of the cold outside and the fire inside." With that, he eased her robe from her shoulders to let it fall in a silken puddle to the floor as he began to unfasten her gown. Dara had reached her hand out to switch the light off when Lucas gently restrained her, stating, "No. I want to see you, all of you."
They had continued with the intimate nature of their marriage after Dara's recovery from her illness. Although they continued to have the same magical interweaving of both body and spirit as they had had before, the more Dara's condition became evident the more insecure she had become. It was noticeable in such actions as her insistence that the lights be off, as well as her shyness at being unclothed in her husband's presence.
Lucas knew that his wife's image of herself wasn't flattering. The perception that she held of her body was that it was becoming misshapen and distorted. Lucas' opinion was quite the opposite, although it was apparent that she was pregnant, the rest of her body was still slender. To him she was beautiful and alluring, but he knew that in her mind she was unattractive. He kept assuring her that he found her even more desirable than before, but her opinion of herself remained the same.
Dara now stood in front of him in embarrassment as she stated, "Trust me, you don't want to see me. I'm ugly, misshaped, fat, clumsy and I'm sure that you don't want to see the stretch marks that have started."
Placing his finger under her chin he gently turned her head to meet his gaze. "You don't listen, do you? I've told you before that I don't care about all of that. To me you're beautiful and for your information, you're not misshaped, fat, and definitely not ugly. You happen to be pregnant and as far as the stretch marks they'll go away after the babies are born, but I want you to get this through that thick head of yours, you don't repulse me." Dara looked down in surprise as she felt the proof of his statement pressing against her swollen abdomen, then blushing she looked back up to her husband, who was grinning leeringly at her as he stated, "As you can see you, my dear, have the totally opposite effect on me."
With his last statement he sent her gown to fall with her robe. Dara now stood in front of him, totally unclothed. Lucas could see the insecurity in her eyes as she stated, "I told you I wasn't as attractive as I used to be." Lucas titled her face to gaze into her eyes as he nodded, "You're right, you're not, you're more beautiful than before." With that he knelt down and lifted her in his arms to lay her on their bed, he had begun tracing patterns over her body when he stopped suddenly, having reached the rise of her stomach.
Dara looked u, understanding why he had stopped, smiling.
Lucas, not certain he had felt it, placed his hand across her stomach, feeling the same fluttering under his hand that he had experienced before, this time with a little more force. Looking back to Dara he inquired, "Is that the first time they've moved?"
Dara nodded, "I guess they didn't like my self pity any more than you did."
Laughing, he sat with his hand on her stomach until the movement ceased, shaking his head as he stated, "I know if they kick with that much force on the outside, I can only imagine what it feels like on the inside."
Dara laughed, caught up in the joy of this new discovery, "It wasn't too bad."
Lucas, turning serious once more, caught her eyes with his and held their gaze as he braced himself over her, "Now do you believe me? You're not fat, ugly, or misshapen. You're pregnant and without a doubt the most beautiful woman I've ever seen."
Dara, reaching up to place her arms around his neck, smiled at him. "I believe you and I also believe that if you don't make love to me right now, I'm going to go crazy."
Lucas kissed her passionately after replying, "Always willing to help a lady in distress, especially when she's my wife."
The ringing of the doorbell the next morning solved the answer to the dilemma created by Mrs. Adams absence. Lucas was just coming downstairs for breakfast, when the doorbell chimed. He yelled in the direction of the kitchen, where his wife was cooking his breakfast, "I got it, Dara." With that he opened the door to find his grandmother standing there, clutching her coat close to her.
"Oh, I swear, I aint never felt such cold before." Seeing her grandson gaping at her, she motioned to the door, "Well, you going to let my suitcases sit there till they decide to walk in by themselves?"
Lucas regained his composure as he grabbed the three suitcases and set them against the wall. Turning he addressed his grandmother, "Mama, what are you doing here?"
Shaking her head in admonishment, Lucilla stated, "Well isn't that nice, here I come to help you and Dara out until she has that baby, and not even a glad to see you."
Dara, having heard voices, made her way up the hall to see whom it was. "Lucas, who was at the door?" Seeing her grandmother in law, she smiled warmly, "Mama, what are you doing here, why didn't you call and let me know you were coming?" Reaching over, Dara hugged the woman in welcome.
When Dara pulled away from her, Lucilla looked down at her grandson's wife, shocked, "Lord child, you sure you still have four more months to go?"
Dara, not certain as to her meaning, looked at the woman in question, "I thought you knew, we're having twins."
Lucilla smiled, "You are, well then I guess it's a good thing I came to help you two out then, isn't it?"
Dara glanced to Lucas, who shrugged his shoulders in answer to her silent inquiry about the woman's statement. Lucas hugged his grandmother, sensing her uncertainty, "We're glad to see you, mama. Let's go in the kitchen."
After she had placed Lucas' breakfast in front of him and gotten Lucilla a cup of coffee as well as some juice for herself, Dara eased herself into a chair, as Lucilla inquired, "Well, was I wrong, you don't need any help?"
Dara, addressing the subject, began carefully, "To be honest, mama. We didn't think of calling you because we thought it would be too much for you."
Lucilla stared at Dara in disbelief, "I aint that old, girl. I can handle the cooking and help clean and such. Besides, I want to be here when my great-grandchildren come into the world. So, do I stay?"
Lucas and Dara exchanged looks of inquiry, finally Dara shrugged, "Well, we know we can trust her and she has a right to be here and see the babies when they're born. I don't mind if she stays." Just then the phone rang. Dara excused herself to answer it in the other room.
Taking advantage of Dara's absence, Lucas cautioned his grandmother, "Mama, I appreciate you wanting to stay and help us out, and I'm glad you're here, but I'm warning you right now. No interference of any kind in mine, Dara's or the babies lives. Do we understand each other?"
Lucilla nodded acceptance of her grandson's dictate, "All right, we understand each other, I'm just here to help her out, by the way, how is she doing, is she really better?"
Lucas nodded, "Crower says she's progressing better than he thought she would, so she should have a normal time from here on out."
Dara came back in the room brushing tears from her eyes, as she stated firmly, " I have to go to Mobile. That was Kara, daddy has had another heart attack and the doctor said that she needed to call all of us in."
Lucas got up immediately to comfort her, oblivious to his grandmother's presence, he pulled her to him. "It's all right, darlin. Let it go; don't hold it in it isn't good for you or the babies. Let it go."
Dara leaned against him; clutching his vest in her hands she began sobbing. After she had gotten control of her emotions once more, she looked up at him. "I'll leave in a couple of hours, I need to pack and then go by the bank and get some cash, just in case."
Lucas shook his head, "I'm sorry, baby, but you're not going by yourself. I'll call Ben, I've got some time coming anyway." With that he went to the phone and made the call. After explaining the situation to him, Ben readily agreed to take over for Lucas as long as was necessary. With that done, Lucas turned to his wife and grandmother, "I'll go by the bank, and we'll leave in about an hour." With that said, he left to take cars of his tasks.
Lucilla got up from her chair and taking Dara's hand in hers, patted it comfortingly, "Come on, child. Let's get you two ready to go."
Two hours later they were well on their way. Dara had offered to help with the driving, but Lucas had stated that it was unnecessary. Dara, having become accustomed to afternoon naps, fell asleep just outside the state line. Lucas, knowing the strain the next few days would probably be on her, let her sleep till just before the exit for the hospital her father was in, he woke her up, reluctantly, "Darlin, we're almost there."
Dara woke, not even shocked by the fact that Lucas had found the hospital, despite the fact that he had never been to the city before, and Dara hadn't given him directions. He let her out at the entry way to the hospital, then left to park the car. Dara proceeded straight to the cardiac unit.