Chapter Eighteen

He held her all through the night and when she whimpered quietly in pain, it was him who pressed the button, bringing the nurse in. Several times, she told him that he had to leave, but she'd only be rewarded with a sharp glare that said in not so many words that he wasn't planning on going anywhere.

Scrunched up close to his wife in the full sized bed, half of his body kept falling out over the size, but he'd just put weight on his foot and lifted himself back up into it with her, his arms, never releasing her.

Every once in a while he'd awake to find her sleeping as soundly as one could while in the hospital hooked up to tubes and monitors. He would watch her sleeping and pull back some blonde locks behind her ear and press his lips to her temple, whispering quiet words of love to her.

Ed Deline never felt closer to his wife than when he held her in that bed. He took that opportunity to memorize her heartbeat, the rhythm of her chest as it rose and fell with each breath she took, the sound of her quiet sigh in the night, the smell of her hair, how it felt against his face and the softness of her skin. Only once did he forget where he was and tried to reach up under her gown to cup a bare breast, but the moment he felt the bandage, his eyes snapped open and he was briskly brought back to where he was and the stark reality slapped him in the face.

As the golden light of day streamed through the vertical blinds, Ed's eyes were fixed on the long shadows against the wall. His eyes, a bright aqua, would dart back and forth from the pictures of Italian architecture to a vase of silk roses to the form of his sleeping wife. The room struck him as very Hitchcockesque.

His wife stirred under the mauve blanket which covered them and then turned onto her back, forcing her husband to step out of the bed before he'd fall. Turning her head, she stretched her long lean body in a feline way, from the tips of her fingers to the ends of her toes, working every joint that she could, enduring the sharp pain which coursed through her body as punishment. Sighing deeply, she turned her head and looked at her husband, her voice was husky from the nocturnal rest, "Hey."

Ed smiled down at his wife as he leaned down to brush his lips over hers gently. "Hey yourself."

Jillian struggled to sit up a little and Ed went over and helped her by wrapping his fingers around her forearm and bringing her up. Sighing deeply, she brought her hand up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes and for a moment Ed's mind flashed back to when his daughter would do the same thing. "Where's Delinda?"

He walked over and sat down on the foot of her bed, "She crashed at Mary's. She'll be in shortly."

Jillian nodded, softly, "Ed, last night was pure agony. I want to do this as soon as possible."

Ed nodded as his heart sank, "I'll speak with your doctors this morning."

His wife gave him a grateful smile and nodded, "Thank you."

Leaning over, he pressed his lips over her forehead and smiled, "Don't worry. I'm going to call and check in at the Montecito and then find your doctor, okay?"

Jillian nodded quietly and laid back as her husband left the room.

Sam set the glass of grape juice down on the table and went over to knock on the bathroom door, "Jas, your breakfast is on the table."

She heard a muffled "Okay" and couldn't help but laugh softly. Shaking her head, Sam walked over and opened the door and picked up the morning paper and went in and sat down and began to read it. As she got to the editorial section, there was a knock on her door. Sighing quietly, Sam stood up as she tightened the belt of her robe and answered the door only to be met by Mike's beaming face.

"Gooooood Morning, Samantha Jane."

Sam laughed as she dropped her paper onto the coffee table, "Hey Mike, what's up?"

Mike walked in with a pink box and set it on the table, "Donuts from Winchell's."

Sam groaned as she peeked inside, "God, Mike, I think I love you."

Laughing, he grabbed a chocolate iced pastry filled with Bavarian cream. "And my day has just been made perfect. The beautiful Sam Marquez loves me."

Samantha laughed as Jasmine came out of the bathroom into the living room dressed. She beamed when she saw her favorite engineer. "Mike!"

Mike grinned as he hugged her, "Hey, Munchkin, you hungry?"

Jasmine grinned as she reached for a chocolate cake donut and began to stuff it in her mouth. As she was about to remind the child to use a napkin, Sam's cell phone rang. Bounding into the bedroom, she called out over her shoulder, "Don't let her get messy, Mike!"

The good natured man just rolled his eyes, "Yes, dear."

Laughing softly and rolling her own chocolate orbs, Sam headed into the shower and began to clean up.