Chapter 8

            Lucy Kinkirk had never felt so scared in her life.  She looked down at her left hand that her mother had just grasped and realized she had been shaking.

            "It'll be okay, Luce," reassured her mother.  "He's a fighter, he'll pull through."  Lucy didn't respond; she wasn't feeling so optimistic.  She needed to get up and take a walk, to calm herself down.  But she couldn't; the doctor would come any moment now and tell her that Kevin was okay.

            But what if he wasn't okay?

            Everything had happened so quickly.  One minute she was eating the chocolate Simon had just brought back and freaking out in front of the television because Zander had just proposed to Emily, and now she was in the hospital waiting to hear news about Kevin.  She didn't even remember who picked up the phone, or who drove to the hospital.  All she knew was that something happened to Kevin, and he might be dead.

            Just thinking that filled her heart with dread.  He had only been her husband for less than a year, could it be possible that she might not ever see him again, not ever talk to him again, hug him, kiss him?  Could it be possible that her unborn child would never know his or her father?  She had never wanted anything so much in her life other than to have him back, so they could be a family.  A mother, a father, and a child.  A family. 

Please, God, she prayed.  Please let Kevin be okay.  I can't be a single mother.

            As if on cue, the doctor walked in, and Lucy's heart practically stopped. 

            "Are you Kevin Kinkirk's family?" he asked, gesturing toward Lucy, Annie, Eric, Simon, and Ruthie.  The twins were with a babysitter.  Everyone nodded, and Lucy held her breath.  "He's alive, now," said the doctor.  Lucy breathed a sigh of relief.

            "Thank you," she whispered, looking upwards.

            "We're not totally sure what happened," continued the doctor.  "Basically, his brain activity went down to zero, and his heart stopped.  We tried to resuscitate him, but things didn't look good.  That's when we called you, sorry if things sounded worse than they were.  Anyway, we kept trying the resuscitation, and it worked.  Then, bam!  His brain activity suddenly went back up, and now he's back to where he was.  We're giving him some new drugs through the IV now, though."

            "What do you mean by 'brain activity'?" asked Eric.

            "He's dreaming," explained the doctor.  "Whether or not he will remember his dreams when and if he does wake up, we don't know."

            "Can I see him?" asked Lucy.  The doctor nodded.

            "You know the way."