At last, it was time.
Chapter 25
"I'm his mother," Deb said, standing. The others gathered behind her, staring intently at the nurse.
"They're just finishing up the operation now," she said. "It went as expected, with no major complications. He'll be taken to recovery in a few minutes, and he should be awake in a few hours. As you are certainly aware, the operation is usually more physically draining on the donor than on the recipient. So Nathan has a tough few days and weeks ahead. But he seems to be doing just fine. Someone will come in a little bit, to let you see him."
Deb thanked the nurse, and they all felt a bit better about the whole process. But there was still no news of Lucas, and he had been the sick one to begin with. And so they settled back into the routine of watching the clock and waiting silently. Really, there was nothing else they could do.
This time, the wait was not as long. It was only about an hour more before Deb and Haley were taken back to see Nathan, who was just beginning to awaken from the anesthesia.
"Nathan?" Deb said, standing over his bed. "Son, can you hear me? It's Mom."
He uttered a slight groan and his eyelids fluttered, but he did not open them.
"Nathan, it's Haley. I'm here, and I just want you to know that I love you even more today than I did yesterday. I didn't think it was possible, but I do," Haley said, standing on the other side of the bed.
Nathan opened his eyes. The room was slightly unfocused, but he smiled nonetheless—the sight of Haley never failed to elicit such a reaction. Haley sighed in relief. One down, one to go.