Down in Flames - Chapter 2 - The Next Day
Serena looked at the clock four shots later and realized it was 12:30. "Todd..."
"Hey Serena, what's up?" he replied.
"It's 12:30, will you walk me home?" she asked.
"Sure," he replied as he got her wrap and they stumbled their way to the door.
As they approached the firehouse, Serena felt panic all over her body when she saw the lights were still on. "Oh God, I was hoping she would be asleep by now, " Serena mumbled more to herself than to Todd.
"Don't worry, Serena, it's only a little after 12. I'm sure your sister will understand...we just got caught up in the party."
"Caught up drinking, you mean...and you don't know my sister. She lays into my Dad for having a few too many drinks."
"Yeah but your sister is home and your dad isn't...who would you rather deal with?"
"My Dad." Serena replied bluntly.
As they walked up to the front door, Todd peeked in the window and noticed both Chris and Karen asleep on the couch. He turned to Serena, "they're both asleep on the sofa, go in quietly and they'll never know." He smiled as he leaned in to kiss her goodnight. "I had a wonderful time this evening, Serena."
"Me too." She replied smiling as she turned to enter the door; "Goodnight, Todd."
"Goodnight...I'll call you tomorrow to see how you're doing," he said as he walked down the sidewalk back to the party to get his car.
Serena quietly entered the house finding Karen and Chris asleep on the couch just as Todd had said. Determined not to wake them, she covered them with blanket, turned off the television, and turned down the lights as she made her way to her bed."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
As the morning spring sun beat through Serena's window, she rolled over and awoke with throbbing headache.
"Oh man," she groaned looking at the clock. "11:45, oh I hope she left already. I can't deal with the 20 questions game. She is way too much like Dad," she mumbled as the stepped onto the balcony overlooking the livingroom. She didn't see Karen or Chris anywhere and she decided to get some juice before retreating for a hot bath.
Serena entered the kitchen to see her sister rifling through her purse looking for keys. "Hey sleepyhead, how was the dance?" Karen asked looking up to see Serena coming in.
"It was nice."
"It must have been for you to sleep this late...Have you seen my keys?" Karen asked.
Serena pointed to the keys sitting on the counter as she headed to the cabinet for a glass, "Over there."
"Oh..thanks. I'm off to the hospital. Dad called last night, he'll be coming home this evening for a couple of days. He has another trip on Tuesday. He didn't give me all the details but he said he would be home around six. I'm working the 12 to 8 shift today, so I'll see you tonight," Karen explained while getting ready to leave.
"Okay," Serena replied watching her sister go out the door. "I don't think that I have ever heard her talk so much," she said to herself as she began up the stairs for that bath that she promised herself. As the water ran, she fumbled through the medicine cabinet looking for anything that would ease her massive headache.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Hey, Karen, running a little late today?" Eve asked as Karen entered the on call room.
"Yeah, I slept horribly last night. Chris and I fell asleep on the couch," Karen began.
"Hey, I don't want to know all the kinky details" Eve mused.
"We were waiting for Serena," Karen retorted shooting a glare at Eve. "So how are you feeling today?"
"Better than last night. At least I don't feel like I was hit by a truck anymore. I must have had some kind of 24 hour thing," Eve said.
"As a doctor, is that a technical term?" Karen asked.
"Sure...especially when the prognosis is that your best friend hasn't had a night alone with her husband in a month."
"Thank you, Eve, I didn't even realize how much I needed that until last night. I can't wait until my Dad is finished with this case that keeps taking him out of town. I love Serena, but I am ready for my life to go back to normal," Karen confessed feeling guilty.
"When is Scott coming home?"
"Today. He'll be here for a couple of days and he has to leave again on Tuesday."
"How is Serena handling this? They were always so close."
"It's starting to bother her. It's tough to live the teenage years without a mother, let alone without a father around too. I'm trying to help her as much as I can, you know...trying to fill that void in her life. But to tell you the truth, I'm starting to feel the same way, you know? I don't know if I am doing things right. I'm starting to see my little sister in the same position I was in 12 years ago, Eve, and it's scaring the hell out of me. I don't want her to follow the same path that I took." Karen sighed, it felt good to finally get that off of her chest.
"Karen, you not giving yourself or her enough credit. You didn't have an older sister to look out for you and you were 100% alone. She has a great role model to look up too. And look at it this way, she could be out fighting invisible tigers with Lucy." Eve said trying to make her smile.
"I guess if there is a bright side, that would be it," she laughed. "Well I have an appointment to get to, thanks for listening Eve."
"Anytime...I'll talk to you later, Karen" Eve said.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Karen walked down the hallway toward Dr. Neuman's office. Just upon reaching her door, she ran into Chris.
"Hey, Honey" Chris said startling her.
"Oh," she jumped, "hi, I didn't expect you to be here."
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I knew your appointment was at 12:30 and I thought I would come by and keep you company, " he smiled.
"How thoughtful," she said, smiling as they entered the office.
"Good afternoon, doctors, " Dr. Neuman greeted. "Please come in and have a seat."
"Thank you."
"I scheduled this meeting to discuss your test results," Dr. Neuman started. "The pain that you are experiencing is being caused by cysts on your ovaries. This is a common occurrance in young woman your age and it is really no cause for alarm. The easiest treatment is to simply put you on birth control pills, however there are other treatments that we can explore. Here is a pamphlet that explains all of the effective treatments. Explore each method and in seven months, we'll choose the one that is right for you."
"Excuse, me," Chris interrupted, "seven months? Why not now?"
"Simple, Dr. Ramsey, " she explained, "your wife is two months pregnant."
"What!?!" they exclaimed in unison.
"Two months pregnant, congratulations, "she repeated. "Why don't you two take my office for a minute to talk, on your way out, be sure to schedule a neonatal appointment."
"I will, thank you Dr. Neuman." Karen replied still in shock.
"Honey, I can't believe this, " Chris said hugging Karen. "This is wonderful. Oh...I love you so much."
Karen began to cry "there is so much we have to do. We need to go shopping, turn the guest room into a nursery, we need a crib..."
"Karen slow down. Let's just let the news sink in for a minute. We have plenty of time to get all of that done...I have an idea...why don't you take the rest of the day off. Go shopping with your sister or whatever it is that you women do. And tonight, we'll have dinner with your dad and Serena at the grille and give them the great news. Okay?" he suggested.
"I'd love to Chris, but I'm on the schedule until 8."
"Don't worry, I'll get Ian to cover. You just go have a relaxing day," he said.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes," he nodded kissing her on the cheek.
"I love you, " she smiled as they left the office.
Serena looked at the clock four shots later and realized it was 12:30. "Todd..."
"Hey Serena, what's up?" he replied.
"It's 12:30, will you walk me home?" she asked.
"Sure," he replied as he got her wrap and they stumbled their way to the door.
As they approached the firehouse, Serena felt panic all over her body when she saw the lights were still on. "Oh God, I was hoping she would be asleep by now, " Serena mumbled more to herself than to Todd.
"Don't worry, Serena, it's only a little after 12. I'm sure your sister will understand...we just got caught up in the party."
"Caught up drinking, you mean...and you don't know my sister. She lays into my Dad for having a few too many drinks."
"Yeah but your sister is home and your dad isn't...who would you rather deal with?"
"My Dad." Serena replied bluntly.
As they walked up to the front door, Todd peeked in the window and noticed both Chris and Karen asleep on the couch. He turned to Serena, "they're both asleep on the sofa, go in quietly and they'll never know." He smiled as he leaned in to kiss her goodnight. "I had a wonderful time this evening, Serena."
"Me too." She replied smiling as she turned to enter the door; "Goodnight, Todd."
"Goodnight...I'll call you tomorrow to see how you're doing," he said as he walked down the sidewalk back to the party to get his car.
Serena quietly entered the house finding Karen and Chris asleep on the couch just as Todd had said. Determined not to wake them, she covered them with blanket, turned off the television, and turned down the lights as she made her way to her bed."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
As the morning spring sun beat through Serena's window, she rolled over and awoke with throbbing headache.
"Oh man," she groaned looking at the clock. "11:45, oh I hope she left already. I can't deal with the 20 questions game. She is way too much like Dad," she mumbled as the stepped onto the balcony overlooking the livingroom. She didn't see Karen or Chris anywhere and she decided to get some juice before retreating for a hot bath.
Serena entered the kitchen to see her sister rifling through her purse looking for keys. "Hey sleepyhead, how was the dance?" Karen asked looking up to see Serena coming in.
"It was nice."
"It must have been for you to sleep this late...Have you seen my keys?" Karen asked.
Serena pointed to the keys sitting on the counter as she headed to the cabinet for a glass, "Over there."
"Oh..thanks. I'm off to the hospital. Dad called last night, he'll be coming home this evening for a couple of days. He has another trip on Tuesday. He didn't give me all the details but he said he would be home around six. I'm working the 12 to 8 shift today, so I'll see you tonight," Karen explained while getting ready to leave.
"Okay," Serena replied watching her sister go out the door. "I don't think that I have ever heard her talk so much," she said to herself as she began up the stairs for that bath that she promised herself. As the water ran, she fumbled through the medicine cabinet looking for anything that would ease her massive headache.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Hey, Karen, running a little late today?" Eve asked as Karen entered the on call room.
"Yeah, I slept horribly last night. Chris and I fell asleep on the couch," Karen began.
"Hey, I don't want to know all the kinky details" Eve mused.
"We were waiting for Serena," Karen retorted shooting a glare at Eve. "So how are you feeling today?"
"Better than last night. At least I don't feel like I was hit by a truck anymore. I must have had some kind of 24 hour thing," Eve said.
"As a doctor, is that a technical term?" Karen asked.
"Sure...especially when the prognosis is that your best friend hasn't had a night alone with her husband in a month."
"Thank you, Eve, I didn't even realize how much I needed that until last night. I can't wait until my Dad is finished with this case that keeps taking him out of town. I love Serena, but I am ready for my life to go back to normal," Karen confessed feeling guilty.
"When is Scott coming home?"
"Today. He'll be here for a couple of days and he has to leave again on Tuesday."
"How is Serena handling this? They were always so close."
"It's starting to bother her. It's tough to live the teenage years without a mother, let alone without a father around too. I'm trying to help her as much as I can, you know...trying to fill that void in her life. But to tell you the truth, I'm starting to feel the same way, you know? I don't know if I am doing things right. I'm starting to see my little sister in the same position I was in 12 years ago, Eve, and it's scaring the hell out of me. I don't want her to follow the same path that I took." Karen sighed, it felt good to finally get that off of her chest.
"Karen, you not giving yourself or her enough credit. You didn't have an older sister to look out for you and you were 100% alone. She has a great role model to look up too. And look at it this way, she could be out fighting invisible tigers with Lucy." Eve said trying to make her smile.
"I guess if there is a bright side, that would be it," she laughed. "Well I have an appointment to get to, thanks for listening Eve."
"Anytime...I'll talk to you later, Karen" Eve said.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Karen walked down the hallway toward Dr. Neuman's office. Just upon reaching her door, she ran into Chris.
"Hey, Honey" Chris said startling her.
"Oh," she jumped, "hi, I didn't expect you to be here."
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I knew your appointment was at 12:30 and I thought I would come by and keep you company, " he smiled.
"How thoughtful," she said, smiling as they entered the office.
"Good afternoon, doctors, " Dr. Neuman greeted. "Please come in and have a seat."
"Thank you."
"I scheduled this meeting to discuss your test results," Dr. Neuman started. "The pain that you are experiencing is being caused by cysts on your ovaries. This is a common occurrance in young woman your age and it is really no cause for alarm. The easiest treatment is to simply put you on birth control pills, however there are other treatments that we can explore. Here is a pamphlet that explains all of the effective treatments. Explore each method and in seven months, we'll choose the one that is right for you."
"Excuse, me," Chris interrupted, "seven months? Why not now?"
"Simple, Dr. Ramsey, " she explained, "your wife is two months pregnant."
"What!?!" they exclaimed in unison.
"Two months pregnant, congratulations, "she repeated. "Why don't you two take my office for a minute to talk, on your way out, be sure to schedule a neonatal appointment."
"I will, thank you Dr. Neuman." Karen replied still in shock.
"Honey, I can't believe this, " Chris said hugging Karen. "This is wonderful. Oh...I love you so much."
Karen began to cry "there is so much we have to do. We need to go shopping, turn the guest room into a nursery, we need a crib..."
"Karen slow down. Let's just let the news sink in for a minute. We have plenty of time to get all of that done...I have an idea...why don't you take the rest of the day off. Go shopping with your sister or whatever it is that you women do. And tonight, we'll have dinner with your dad and Serena at the grille and give them the great news. Okay?" he suggested.
"I'd love to Chris, but I'm on the schedule until 8."
"Don't worry, I'll get Ian to cover. You just go have a relaxing day," he said.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes," he nodded kissing her on the cheek.
"I love you, " she smiled as they left the office.
