Chapter 4
I heard the following story from Tai, Sora, and both Mom and Dad, and I've pieced together this version from all four. There was a big group in the waiting room, Mom and Dad, Tai and Sora, Davis, Tk's mom and dad, and Matt, Mimi was taking care of Asuka, her and Matt's 3 year old daughter. Izzy was working, as were Ken and Yolie. Cody was on vacation, and Joe was walking down the hall, not at all pleased with the news he had to give them.
See if you can picture this, Tai was pacing around the waiting room, Sora sitting, and telling him that he should do so too. Mom reading a book, Dad looking as uncomfortable as Tai, ready to jump up at the mere notion of another problem. Davis was sitting in a corner, ashen, and Matt was looking out a window, at the sunset. His Mom and Dad voicing their concern for TK, and basicly, talking more than they ever had since they broke up. Joe walks in, looking like he would rather be eaten alive by pirahna than talk to this bundle of nerves.
"Mr. Ichida, Mrs. Takishi?" He motioned for them to join him. They nervously got up, and went over. He, as calmly as he could, explained to them that there was nothing they could do for TK, he had lost too much blood, and was on full life support as they spoke. His mom barly managed to reach a chair before she collapsed, sobbing. His father rushing over to comfort her, Matt had just slumped down onto the floor, he had his head in his hands and was shaking uncontrolably. Joe explained the regulations for cutting off the life support, and asked if they would like to see him. Mr. Ichida answered for his ex-wife and son, before herding them off to TK's room. Then he called for my family, and, Sora, as she almost was part of it.
He explained to a clearly frustrated and upset Tai that I wasn't going to die if he could help it. That there was a little internal bleeding, but nothing that couldn't be stopped. There was a scilence, while everyone digested that, and then my father gave voice to everyone's thoughts.
"What about the baby?" Joe took a deep breath, to steady himself, my Dad says, and procceded to explain that the baby had been dead long before I got to the hospital, and that, hopefully, the c-section they would preform to get her out wouldn't hurt me. Mom was trying to look distant, Dad was visibly shaken, and Tai was only standing up with the help of Sora. Joe told them again that he wasn't going to let me die, before going back to his office to make a few calls.
Everyone was still standing there, dad muttering, "She lost the baby, I can't belive it." when Mom said out loud,
"Well, It's probably for the best." Dad's eyes snapped up to her face, and Tai tensed up, Sora was only barly able to grab his arm in time to keep him from hitting her. Their eyes met, and Tai took a few seconds to calm himself down before muttering,
"You have no right to say that."
"What?"
"I said you have no right to say that!"
"Young man, I will-"
"You will listen to me. We're all under a lot of stress here, we have been for months, and ever since you found out about the baby you havn't listened to anyone. Well you can at least do me the courtesy of pretending!" he paused, looking her straight in the eye, she kept up her 'how-dare-he-do-this' attitude, but nodded her head as if to say, 'Fine. Say what you will.'
"I don't know if you have noticed, MOTHER..." the way he said it was almost sarcastic, but held enough of a threat to keep her attention. "...But Kari is not your baby girl anymore. It's been years since you could rightfully call her your little baby girl who could do no wrong. We all expected her to be perfect, that was the one mistake we all made with her. She was supposed to be sweet, perfect, Kari. A synonym to the word 'angel'. Did it ever occur to you that maybe that's why she did this? That maybe she was trying to tell us that she's not perfect? That we can't expect that of her? Like it or not, you have to face the truth. And that is that my best friends little brother and my niece are dead. And depending on how that surgery goes my sister, your daughter...no matter how many times you deny it...could die as well. The daughter that you have comdemned for showing US the error of OUR ways, not the error in hers." With that he shot a disgusted look at her and left the room, calling over his shoulder, "I'm gonna get some air."
When I heard it the first time it was all I could do not to burst out with giggles, the thought of Tai saying somthing like that, just blew my mind. I guess he cared, I KNOW he cared, but still. *laughs* There was a time when I would have said. 'Nope, that was not Tai." But these days, I'm not so sure it couldn't be.
I heard the following story from Tai, Sora, and both Mom and Dad, and I've pieced together this version from all four. There was a big group in the waiting room, Mom and Dad, Tai and Sora, Davis, Tk's mom and dad, and Matt, Mimi was taking care of Asuka, her and Matt's 3 year old daughter. Izzy was working, as were Ken and Yolie. Cody was on vacation, and Joe was walking down the hall, not at all pleased with the news he had to give them.
See if you can picture this, Tai was pacing around the waiting room, Sora sitting, and telling him that he should do so too. Mom reading a book, Dad looking as uncomfortable as Tai, ready to jump up at the mere notion of another problem. Davis was sitting in a corner, ashen, and Matt was looking out a window, at the sunset. His Mom and Dad voicing their concern for TK, and basicly, talking more than they ever had since they broke up. Joe walks in, looking like he would rather be eaten alive by pirahna than talk to this bundle of nerves.
"Mr. Ichida, Mrs. Takishi?" He motioned for them to join him. They nervously got up, and went over. He, as calmly as he could, explained to them that there was nothing they could do for TK, he had lost too much blood, and was on full life support as they spoke. His mom barly managed to reach a chair before she collapsed, sobbing. His father rushing over to comfort her, Matt had just slumped down onto the floor, he had his head in his hands and was shaking uncontrolably. Joe explained the regulations for cutting off the life support, and asked if they would like to see him. Mr. Ichida answered for his ex-wife and son, before herding them off to TK's room. Then he called for my family, and, Sora, as she almost was part of it.
He explained to a clearly frustrated and upset Tai that I wasn't going to die if he could help it. That there was a little internal bleeding, but nothing that couldn't be stopped. There was a scilence, while everyone digested that, and then my father gave voice to everyone's thoughts.
"What about the baby?" Joe took a deep breath, to steady himself, my Dad says, and procceded to explain that the baby had been dead long before I got to the hospital, and that, hopefully, the c-section they would preform to get her out wouldn't hurt me. Mom was trying to look distant, Dad was visibly shaken, and Tai was only standing up with the help of Sora. Joe told them again that he wasn't going to let me die, before going back to his office to make a few calls.
Everyone was still standing there, dad muttering, "She lost the baby, I can't belive it." when Mom said out loud,
"Well, It's probably for the best." Dad's eyes snapped up to her face, and Tai tensed up, Sora was only barly able to grab his arm in time to keep him from hitting her. Their eyes met, and Tai took a few seconds to calm himself down before muttering,
"You have no right to say that."
"What?"
"I said you have no right to say that!"
"Young man, I will-"
"You will listen to me. We're all under a lot of stress here, we have been for months, and ever since you found out about the baby you havn't listened to anyone. Well you can at least do me the courtesy of pretending!" he paused, looking her straight in the eye, she kept up her 'how-dare-he-do-this' attitude, but nodded her head as if to say, 'Fine. Say what you will.'
"I don't know if you have noticed, MOTHER..." the way he said it was almost sarcastic, but held enough of a threat to keep her attention. "...But Kari is not your baby girl anymore. It's been years since you could rightfully call her your little baby girl who could do no wrong. We all expected her to be perfect, that was the one mistake we all made with her. She was supposed to be sweet, perfect, Kari. A synonym to the word 'angel'. Did it ever occur to you that maybe that's why she did this? That maybe she was trying to tell us that she's not perfect? That we can't expect that of her? Like it or not, you have to face the truth. And that is that my best friends little brother and my niece are dead. And depending on how that surgery goes my sister, your daughter...no matter how many times you deny it...could die as well. The daughter that you have comdemned for showing US the error of OUR ways, not the error in hers." With that he shot a disgusted look at her and left the room, calling over his shoulder, "I'm gonna get some air."
When I heard it the first time it was all I could do not to burst out with giggles, the thought of Tai saying somthing like that, just blew my mind. I guess he cared, I KNOW he cared, but still. *laughs* There was a time when I would have said. 'Nope, that was not Tai." But these days, I'm not so sure it couldn't be.