Chapter 2
The hours dragged by slowly as they waited for news of Nate's condition. He had been taken into theatre after being stabilised, but they all knew the situation as dire and Nate may not make it.
"Sophie…" Eliot said turning to the woman as they sat alone, the other two having volunteered to go and get them some coffee. "Are you pregnant?"
Sophie stared at him her eyes brimming with tears and nodded.
"I…I found out this afternoon and…and was going to tell Nate…tell him he was going to be a father again and…Oh Eliot…He can't die…"
"Shhhh…." Eliot said wrapping his arm around her tightly. "It's ok Sophie, he is a strong man, he'll make it." Eliot said softly.
Eliot's mind was racing as he sat there with her. That man had come into the pub for a reason, was it to kill Nate, or Sophie and if so why and were they still in danger? Nate was going to be a father again, what did that mean, for them, for their family and for Nate? He was still sitting holding Sophie when the other two arrived back.
"Is everything ok…is Nate…" Hardison asked his heart clenching as he saw the look in Eliot's eyes and the tears on Sophie's face.
"No…no we haven't heard anything yet." Eliot said as Sophie pulled away from him and sat up wiping her eyes.
"Then…" Parker asked looking from Sophie to Eliot, something had happened.
"I…I'm pregnant." Sophie stuttered. This was not the way she wanted to tell them, and she had wanted to tell Nate first, but she had blurted it out and if Eliot had heard so had they although they had said nothing.
"Oh hey that is wonderful." Hardison said softly walking forward and giving her a hug as she sat, he too had heard what Sophie had said but had not wanted to push her about it.
"Nate is going to be so happy." Parker smiled at her but her usual upbeat vibrant voice was dulled by the thought Nate may never know.
"Ford Family?" A doctor asked as he walked into the waiting room preventing anything more from being said.
"Yes…" Sophie said immediately standing up as the doctor approached them.
"Well Mr Ford made it through surgery. He is in stable condition. We are moving him to ICU and will be able to tell more in a few hours."
"Can I see him?"
"He is still in recovery, but you can see him for a few minutes once he is moved." The doctor told them. "My nurse will show you."
"Thank you doctor." Eliot said holding his hand out to the man.
The doctor shook his hand and nodded before leaving them alone again. It was another half hour before a nurse came to fetch them. She informed them that only one could go into the room and only for a few minutes. They all agreed that Sophie would go in and see him while the rest stood at the glass windows looking in. Sophie entered the room and approached the bed.
"Nate my darling." She said taking his hand in hers. "You are going to be fine. I love you Nate and I…I." She stuttered to a halt squeezing his hand. "You are going to be a father again Nate and I can't, I can't raise your child without you, so you fight, and you come back to me to us." She said leaning in and placing a gentle kiss on his forehead as she ran her hands through his curly locks.
Sophie stood like that for a few minutes before the nurse asked her to leave and told her they could see him again in the morning. She nodded then gave Nate another kiss before leaving to join the others outside the room. Eliot watched her and could see the exhaustion and the worry etched on her face. It was now nearly midnight and they were all tired.
"I think I am going to take you home Sophie. There is nothing more we can do here now, and we will be back first thing in the morning." He said and he could see she wanted to argue so held up his hand. "You need to rest. You need to take care of yourself now Sophie, not only for him but for that child you are carrying, his child."
Sophie wanted to argue but just nodded. Eliot was right she was exhausted and emotionally drained, and she knew she had to get some rest.
"Parker and I will stay." Hardison said looking at the woman and getting a nod of approval. "We will let you know if anything happens."
"Thank you…all of you." Sophie said softly. Then she and Eliot left the two of them alone to watch over Nate.
Parker watched her go and then turned back to the window looking in on Nate.
"Why do you think that man was in the pub, was he after Sophie or Nate or was he just there to rob the place?" Parker asked. It had been worrying her, and if the man was there to do harm to either one of the two was he there on his own accord, or was he a hired gun, and would there be another attempt on either one of their lives?
"I don't know girl, but we can't leave either one of them alone until we figure that out." Hardison said thinking the same thing she was. "According to my information he is just a guy with no criminal record, no history of violence and no connection to either one of them. It makes no sense."
"He is going to be a dad again. We are going to have another addition to our family Hardison, and we can't take any chances with either of their lives. Something happened, he was there for a reason and he shot Nate."
"Yeah." Hardison replied wrapping his arm around her. "But if anybody wants to get to them they are going to have to go through us. Now that we know there might be a threat…well until this is over they go nowhere without us and without security."
Parker nodded and then the two of them retreated to the chairs lined up against the wall and sat down ready for their long nights' vigil.
