Part 15



The wall clock ticked loudly as Edmund slept slouched back in a chair in Brooke's hospital room. His arms, folded across his chest, rose and fell with every breath that he took. He knew the kids were safe at home with Peggy, and Dixie was waiting out the storm at Cortlandt Manor. The only place that he could even think of being, was with Brooke. He couldn't let her wake up alone especially after going through such a traumatic experience.

Edmund tossed slightly, feeling a muscle pull in his neck, awaking him. He straightened himself up in his seat, raising his hand to the back of his neck, trying to knead out the tightness with a yawn. Edmund blinked his eyes, attempting to bring them into focus, glancing over at Brooke.

She was still asleep as he crept his chair closer to her bed, reaching his hand out to take hers. He didn't know what else to do for her aside from sitting and waiting. He ran his thumb over her palm gently, almost with careful thought, stopping as her fingers slowly closed, brushing up against his.

Edmund gazed up slightly, meeting Brooke's opening eyes. "Hey, you," he said, moving his free hand to soothingly run his fingers through her hair. "Welcome back." Brooke remained silent, trying to determine exactly where she was. She shook her head from side to side, hoping that the whole thing wasn't real.

"Oh no," she said softly. "No," Brooke brought her hand down to her belly, feeling for the first time since the accident, an overwhelming emptiness. "Edmund. Please tell me I didn't..." Edmund's eyes fell as he felt Brooke's grip tighten around his hand. Her eyes were filled with tears. She didn't need to wait for his answer. "This is my fault."

"Oh, no, Brooke..."

"It's my fault," she said. "I knew something was wrong but I waited. If I had gotten checked, if I had just..."

Edmund placed both of his hands on her cheeks. "Brooke," he said. "You listen to me. Listen to me, OK. You didn't do this. This is not your fault, you didn't do this."

"I did. I... I should have pulled over to the side of the road. I should have... I should have just stopped the car. I thought I could make it to the hospital. But the pain it just got so bad and I lost control of the car on the ice..." The tears rolled down Brooke's cheeks. "I killed my baby."

Edmund shook his head. "You did everything in your power to help your baby, sweetheart."

"I was scared, Edmund." she said. "Of... what might have been wrong. I didn't want to believe that anything was wrong." Brooke leaned her head back, staring up at the ceiling blocking out everything.

"Don't you shut down on me," he said. "Don't you dare, Brooke." Brooke remained, silent, shutting her eyes briefly, attempting to hide the hurt she was feeling. "I'm gonna help you. I'm going to get you through this. OK?"

Brooke shook her head. "This can't get better," she said softly.

"Don't give me that," Edmund said, resting his hand on her head, gently fingering her hair. "You're Brooke English. You don't quit. You never did... and you're not going to start now. Not as long as I'm around." There was a long silence as Edmund leaned down and kissed her forehead. "You're going to get through this," he said. "You know I wouldn't lie to you, right?" Brooke nodded slowly. "It's going to take some time, but I will get you through this, sweetheart. OK? I promise."