"Family Ties" Chapter 7

At the hospital waiting room Rod paced while Mac sat. Rebecca sat next to her. She hadn't stopped crying since she got in the car. She had refused to be left behind .Now that her parents knew about Avery's secret, Avery would need someone on her side. Her parents wouldn't understand why she kept it from them for so long. And if, God forbid, anything happened, she needed to be here.

Rod stopped abruptly in front of Rebecca . He was in shock and very angry. "Rebecca, you have to tell us what's been going on. Your sister's life is at stake right now and we have no idea why or if we could have prevented this."

Becca wiped the tears from her eyes and wrung her hands. "Dad, I promised I wouldn't. I've already said more than she wanted me to. I don't know what went wrong. I just know what she told me. She never wanted it to be like this, she was so scared to tell you and the way you're acting I can understand how she felt. But now…" She began to sob again . Mac put her arms around her, moving her hair out of her face trying to hide her own tears.

Mac saw the anger and frustration in Rod's eyes. and she understood it. But for right now she was to hurt and too afraid to feel angry. Besides anger couldn't turn back time to a few hours before when the kids were running around laughing and enjoying each others company . She and Rod had heard the commotion from their bedroom. It was wonderful . It had been so long since they heard their kids actually having a good time and then…

Mac tried to shake from her mind the image of Horace running into the room, white as a ghost, and absolutely terrified. Then to see Avery- her baby girl-laying lifeless on the floor… She wish it were a dream but it wasn't...and she was scared.

"Becca," she spoke softly almost in a whisper, "How long have you two been keeping this from us?"

Rebecca looked up. "Almost three weeks now. I swear she was going to tell you this week. She just thought… Well, she thought you would hate her."

Mac hugged her middle daughter . "Oh baby, you know we could never… Becca does anyone else know about this?

Before Rebecca could answer, Joshua Templeton burst in. Mac looked inquisitively at her daughter, "What is he doing here?"

Joshua answered instead "Rebecca called me. She told me Avery had collapsed and had been brought here…"

Rod, reaching his own conclusion concerning the young man's presence , angrily approached Josh. "Oh you son of a …"
Rod grabbed him by the shirt with both hands and forced him back against the wall . And very quietly he threatened , "I swear to God if you laid a hand on my daughter, I will kill you."

Becca jumped up and put her hand on Rod's arm. "Dad… Stop it, please. Avery would want him here. She told me so herself. She trusts him."

Becca's last words hit the mark. Rod backed off. How, he wondered , could his daughter trust a Templeton and not her own parents.

Mac took over . She got right in Joshua's face. "What the hell happened to my daughter?"

"Excuse me, Madame President." An older man said upon his sudden entrance into the room. "I have news about your daughter."

The room went quiet suddenly as everyone turned their attention to the doctor. Mac grabbed Rod's hand for support, squeezing it tightly. "Is she okay? What happened?"

The doctor removed his glasses. "Ms. Calloway is fine. She suffered a miscarriage. She was approximately fourteen weeks along which would explain the blood loss. There is nothing medically wrong with her. The fetus just never matured. We had to put her under anaesthesia to stop the hemorrhaging. But she should be waking up soon. She'll be sore and groggy for a few days, and she'll need to rest, but she should make a complete recovery . You can go in and sit with her."

As the doctor finished , both Rod and Mac sighed in relief . "Thank you, doctor." Rod said, reaching out to shake the man's hand.

After the doctor left, Rod pulled Mac into his arms tightly. His anger had been a mask for the fear he felt about possibly losing his little girl. When they finally pulled apart, Rod glared over at Joshua. "We're going to see Avery keep away from my other daughter."

Eager to see Avery and to find out what had really been going on, Mac grabbed her husband's hand and they left the room.