Don't Let Go
Chapter 15
After spending two of the longest weeks in her life laid up in an uncomfortable hospital bed, Peyton had finally been allowed to go home. The news had proven to be a little bittersweet because while Peyton would be returning to the comforts of her home she knew that her daughter would be calling the hospital home for another six weeks. Their daughter's doctor had explained the need for Emily to stay in monitored care until Peyton's original due date.
She had known about Emily's extended stay for a few days, and while her heart broke a little at the thought of no longer being a short elevator ride away from her Peyton had been in fairly good spirits during her last week in the hospital. It was during that time that the anxious parents had finally been able to touch the soft skin of their daughter for the first time. Peyton had watched in awe as her husband's breath caught in his throat as he placed a tender hand lightly on Emily's back and felt her breathe.
A voice from across her hospital room brought her out of the memories and focused on her husband.
"You were daydreaming." He smiled as he packed her belongings into a small duffle bag. She had accumulated a large assortment of books and cd's from her family in an effort to keep her from growing restless. The sketchbook Haley had brought by had remained empty, the bland atmosphere of the hospital hadn't provided much inspiration.
"I wasn't daydreaming, just thinking of that beautiful kid of ours upstairs." She stood slowly from her chair, all the time she had spent in bed had made her legs feel a little unsteady.
"She is beautiful." He agreed. "Do we have everything?"
"I think so. We just have to wait for Dr. Cooper."
As of on cue, her doctor strode through the entrance to her room with a cheerful smile. "Peyton I'm sure you're ready to get out of here, but I just have a few things I want to go over with you and Lucas before you leave." He handed over some paperwork. "Most everything you'll need to know about your post-surgery recovery is in that stack of papers. Lucas can help keep an eye on your sutures, they should fully dissolve within the coming weeks. Just watch for any redness or swelling, but it's been two weeks so everything should be healing nicely so just keep the area surrounding your sutures clean."
"I'll help watch for that." Lucas assured the doctor.
"Good. And Peyton I still need you to rest as much as possible. Remember what I said about rushing into things."
"Um, Dr. Cooper, how long until we can go back to normal?" Lucas sheepishly spit out the words. Peyton found amusement in his discomfort talking about their love life and the pink flush across his cheeks.
Peyton wasn't the only one who had found humor in the situation. "No strenuous activity for at least three more weeks." Dr. Cooper replied with a smile. "If you guys don't have any more questions, Peyton you're free to go. There will be one more trip in the wheelchair for you, hospital policy."
After thanking the doctor profusely for all that he had done for them, Peyton settled into the wheelchair to be escorted downstairs. She had already said a difficult goodbye to Emily earlier in the morning in an attempt to make the leaving a little easier. Lucas had left the room minutes earlier and was waiting with the car as Peyton was wheeled through the sliding glass doors of the hospital lobby.
Peyton was surprised by the condition of their home when she walked through the front door for the first time in weeks. Lucas dropped her bags near the kitchen as Peyton settled into the plush easy chair in the living room.
A light layer of dust covered the coffee table in front of her. A large stack of forgotten mail covered one corner of the table. Peyton waded through the pile tossing aside bills and junk mail until she found her weekly copy of Rolling Stone. She thumbed through the oversized magazine with minimal interest while Lucas rummaged around in their kitchen cupboards searching for anything that had not exceeded it's expiration.
Peyton didn't realize she had fallen asleep until she woke several hours later in her bed, with Lucas snoring softly next to her, his hand tucked innocently under the bottom hem of her t-shirt.
She pulled in tighter next to him, closing the remaining gap between them. Sleep was coming to her again when she felt Lucas stirring next to her.
"It's cold." He mumbled into the top of her curly hair. He pulled the heavy winter comforter over the top of their shoulders.
"That could be blamed on the fact that it's the middle of January."
"Good point. You didn't sleep very long."
"I think my sleep schedule is a little out of whack. I've only been able to sleep in small spurts. I don't remember coming to bed."
"You passed out on the couch while I was looking for something to eat. You didn't look very comfortable so I carried you back to bed."
"I forgot how comfortable a bed could be."
"So that three inches of mattress you were on for the last two weeks wasn't as comfortable as it looked." He smiled.
"Not at all."
Peyton felt a shiver run up her spine as Lucas trailed his hand across her stomach, his fingers coming to rest on her ribs. "Don't try to get fresh with me." She smiled, not making an attempt to pull his hand away.
"I'm not trying to get fresh. I just missed being this close to you."
"You know what I just realized?" she said sitting up suddenly in bed, pushing aside the heavy covers. "We don't have a crib for Emily."
"Peyton we have plenty of time to get that stuff, she can't come home for six weeks."
"I know that, I just feel like we should have it ready for her. It's bad enough that we had to leave our baby girl at some hospital but I feel guilty that we don't even have a bed ready for her. I just feel like having the crib in the nursery will make things easier to deal with."
"We can go get a crib first thing tomorrow morning." He reassured her gently. "Try to get some rest alright?"
A loud crash woke her violently from her sleep, turning to wake her husband she discovered his side of the bed to be empty. Pulling on a robe, Peyton padded down the hallway in the direction of the noise. She noticed that a light was on in the nursery and decided to sneak a peek at what was going on.
Looking through the small crack in the door she was surprised to see her brother-in-law and husband sitting on the floor in the nursery, pieces of an unassembled crib surrounding them.
"Nathan you're putting that in upside down." Peyton watched as Lucas pulled a piece from his brother's hand and turned it right side up.
"Well I don't know how and the hell a crib is supposed to work, remember I'm the one without a kid." Nathan huffed. "Why is it that you decided to drag me from a night of lounging in front of my television with a cold beer so I could help you pick out a crib and then come over here and try unsuccessfully to assemble baby furniture?"
"Because Nathan when you get married one day you will learn that it is vitally important that you keep your wife happy. Peyton is having a hard time with not being able to bring Emily home, so I'm just trying to make things easier for her. And because I couldn't put this together by myself."
"Hand me those directions." Nathan motioned towards the booklet near Lucas. "We're going to finish this damn thing before midnight rolls around."
Peyton smiled to herself as she watched the stubborn Scott brothers dive back into their work. It was just like Lucas to do whatever it took to make her happy. She snuck quietly back to bed, wondering how she had ever gotten so lucky.