Jack didn't know how long he had been waiting in the hospital. After awhile he lost track of time. Seconds blended into minutes, minutes into hours and so on. All he knew was that he was going crazy. One of the volunteer nurses offered to get him a cup of coffee. He smiled at her and refused. All he wanted was to know that Janet was better and they could start their lives together.
A doctor finally came out to get Jack. He explained to him that Janet had lost a lot of blood. They were not sure if the baby would survive or not. Janet was barely hanging on as it was. She was sleeping. He could go in and see her for a few minutes. He had to make sure that he didn't upset her.
Walking into her room Jack was stunned at how pale Janet looked. She was almost as white as the sheets. She appeared almost fragile and it took every ounce of strength that Jack possessed to not start crying again. He walked over to the chair beside her bed and sat down. He took her hand in his and kissed it gently. This caused her to wake. She smiled at him weakly.
"Hi there, how are you holding up?"
"I'm fine. Don't worry about me honey. You need all your strength to get better so that you can bring this little one into the world."
The mention of the baby caused her to tear up. Jack felt that he should say something but had no idea what to say. He was at a loss for words. Something that rarely happened to him, something he hated. He wanted to help Janet, but didn't know exactly how to accomplish that. So he simply smiled and held her hand.
"Well, the doctor said I could only stay a minute. I just wanted to tell you that I love you Janet." With that he kissed her on the forehead and walked out the door of her room.
He walked out into the hallway and sat on the bench. Once again he lost track of time. Then suddenly things started happening at a mad pace. Doctors started running into Janet's room. He couldn't understand the language they were using he just knew that it was not good. One of the doctors called to him and told him that Janet wanted to talk to him. He walked over to her and listened.
"I want you to promise me something?"
"Anything just get better and I will do anything you ask."
"Jack, we both know that I am not getting any better. Promise me that you'll find someone. Find someone to share your life with. You deserve to be happy. Please promise me that."
"Janet, I cant.."
"Please Jack, don't spend the rest of your life alone. Just remember that I love you. I have always loved you."
"I promise Janet." Although not really meaning it. He said it so that she would be at peace. His heart was breaking in a million pieces.
With that the heart monitor on the wall started a loud incessant beeping noise. One that Jack would remember for the rest of his life, as he crashed to the floor his world went black.