Chapter 4

Kitty lay on the ground unconscious. She had a gash on the side of her head and her arm was injured. Those were the injuries that Matt could see. Others had witnessed the accident and came to see if they could help. One passerby told Matt that St. Luke's Hospital was around the corner, and he would go get help. Matt, who was kneeling next to Kitty, looked at the man and silently nodded. At that moment he could not seem to find his voice. He was petrified. Petrified that he was watching his soulmate, the love of his life dying before his eyes.

"Oh Kit, I'm so sorry. Please hang in there. Help is on the way," Matt sighed, feeling guilty that she was the one who was injured and not him.

Several minutes later the man returned with two orderlies from the hospital. They brought a stretcher with them to carry Kitty to the hospital. They secured Kitty to the stretcher and carefully walked back to the hospital. Matt stayed right next to her, holding her hand. He did not want to be apart from her. He wanted her to know that he was still with her. However, when they reached the hospital, Matt pushed to the side so the doctors could assess Kitty's injuries.

"I'm sorry sir, but we need for you to get out of the way so we can work on this patient," said one of the doctors.

"That's my wife. I need to be with her. She needs me," Matt said with angst in his voice.

It was that moment a nurse came up to Matt. She had kind eyes, a gentle smile, and a calming voice. "I'm Nurse Thompson. Why don't you come over to the front desk so I can get some information from you."

Reluctantly Matt followed Nurse Thompson to the front desk. "Now you said that's your wife. What's her name?"

"Kitty Dillon. I'm her husband Matt Dillon," Matt answered.

"Are there any medical conditions or illnesses your wife has that we should be aware of?" Nurse Thompson asked.

"No, she's very healthy," Matt replied.

"I must say that's a good thing. With her being young and healthy, it does help with the body's healing process. While the doctors are examining your wife, I'll have you take a seat in our waiting area over there. As soon as we know anything, I'll let you know," Nurse Thompson told Matt.

Matt left the front desk to go sit in one of the chairs in the waiting area. How had things turned around so drastically? Less than an hour ago they were on their way to one of St. Louis' out of town parks to enjoy a picnic lunch together. He planned on giving Kitty the brooch he purchased at the general store. He knew when gave it to her, she would be surprised and would love it. Matt had been looking forward to seeing her face when he did give it to her. Now he wasn't sure if he would have the chance to give it to her. As quickly as that thought entered his mind, he got rid of it. He had to believe Kitty would be alright, that she would pull through. It was at that moment that Matt bowed his head and began to pray.

While Matt had his head bowed in prayer, Nurse Thompson came up to him. "I'm sorry to bother you Mr. Dillon, but I wanted to give you this. Your wife had it with her when she was brought in."

It was Kitty's reticule. Apparently she had been holding it when the accident happened. Matt took the reticule. "Thank you." Matt took the reticule and set it on his lap.

Waiting for news on Kitty was starting to take a toll on Matt. He was getting anxious. Surely they had to know something by now. He took the length of time they were in the room with Kitty as a positive thing. He figured if she had died, the doctors would have already come out and told him that. But they had not, so he figured that to be a good thing. That meant his Kitty was still alive. At least that's what he hoped.

Looking at the reticule in his lap, Matt decided to open it up to see what Kitty kept in there. He always had been curious. He loosened the gathered strings and opened the reticule. When he looked inside, he wasn't expecting to see what he saw. Inside was a pale yellow pair of baby booties, with a note that said, "To Matt." Matt was shocked and dumbfounded. Why would Kitty have a pair of baby booties in her reticule with a note that said "To Matt"? Could she be pregnant? Certainly she would have told him. That's not something she would keep from him. His mind was whirling.

Matt was freed from his thoughts by a male voice. "Excuse me, Mr. Dillon. I'm Dr. Samerson. I'm one of the doctors who has been working on your wife."

"How is she?" Matt asked.

"She regained consciousness for a minute or two. She had a nasty gash on the side of her head. We stitched that up. We don't believe she has any other head injuries, but we won't know for sure until she can remain conscious. She has a broken arm and we set that with a splint. There was some bruising around her ribs, but nothing broken. There's an injury to her liver. It appears to be lacerated. We're not sure if she will need surgery to repair her liver or not. Sometimes all a patient needs is bedrest to repair a lacerated liver. Besides, if we can avoid surgery, that would be better for the baby."

Hearing the doctor mention the baby was all the confirmation Matt needed to know that his wife was pregnant. They were going to have a baby. He now risked losing two people, Kitty and their unborn child. "What are their chances?"

"If it was just your wife, I would say her chances are fairly decent. But with a baby, that does change things. Because of her pregnancy, your wife's body is trying to do two things. It's trying to heal itself and keep the baby alive. Now I need you to know that it may be necessary to take the baby in order to save your wife. It may not be avoidable. If your wife were to pass away, the baby would not survive."

Matt didn't want to sound like he didn't care about his child, but his response was "Do what you have to do to save my wife."

"We'll do all that we can," said Dr. Samerson who was about to walk away.

Matt's voice stopped him. "Can I see her/"

"Sure, but only for a few minutes. She needs her rest."

Matt got up and followed Dr. Thompson into Kitty's room. When he saw her, his heart broke. She looked so small and frail lying in the hospital bed. "Oh Kit, you can't leave me. You just have to get better. I need you in my life. I can't live without you." His eyes scanning her body, he stopped at her midsection. "I wish you would have told me about the baby. Why didn't you?" Matt knew he wouldn't get an answer. Kitty was unconscious.

Several minutes had pass and Dr. Samerson walked into the room. "I'm sorry Mr. Dillon. I'm going to have to ask you to leave now. Your wife needs her rest."

Matt didn't want to leave, but he wanted to do what was best for Kitty. He stood up and walked back into the waiting area. He may not be able to be in the room with Kitty, but he wanted to be as close as possible, just in case something happened.

Matt had been sitting in the waiting area for a little while, when he heard some commotion coming from one of the corridors. Turning towards the commotion, Matt saw two police officers and a man coming into the waiting area. The man had a bandage around his wrist. Matt immediately recognized the man as the driver of the buggy that crashed into them. It was when Matt heard the man speak that rage filled him. The man slurred his words. Matt knew right then and there that this man was drunk. His drunkenness could take away the lives of his wife and unborn child.

Blinded by his anger, Matt walked into the path of the man and the two police officers. He looked straight into the man's face, and with a low, deep voice, deeper than his own, he said, "What the hell were you thinking driving that buggy while you're drunk? Because of your stupidity, I may lose my wife and unborn child. You're a sorry excuse for a human being. I ought to kill you." Before the police officers could stop him, Matt grabbed the man by the throat.

TBC