A/N: I know, you're getting tired of hearing it. But writer's block is a serious bitch. That being said, I have prepared a very nice chapter for you. En avance, I'd like to apologize for any medical inaccuracies that may have happened. I did my best to research and make it as realistic as possible, but I don't know. It's very possible I screwed up.
Anyhoo, I'd just like to thank Rach for pushing me and brainstorming with me, and also Cindy and her magic powers, even if she'll never read this. Okay, on with the show!
IOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOI
He smiled widely at me. "You do. Congratulations, Ms. Willows. You have a son and a daughter."
I felt as if I was able to breath for the first time in hours. I have a son, a son and a daughter. I couldn't believe it. I had to see them. "Can I see them? Are they alright?"
He looked apologetic and my throat constricted once more. "Right after we got your wife into the operating room, we had her hooked up to a heart monitor so that we could keep an eye on the babies. I'm told that at first, everything seemed fine, but as the surgery progressed, one of the babies began to show signs of fetal distress, probably due to all the blood loss. That's when I was called in. We waited for the heart beat to go back up, but it didn't. After a minute or so, we were forced to do an emergency c-section to save the baby's life."
I held my breath. "And you did," I lead him.
"And we did. Your son was born first, at five-eighteen in the evening. at a very healthy five pounds six ounces. For six weeks premature, that is a very good weight." I sighed my relief. My son was okay. But I could tell the doctor was holding something back.
"But my daughter." The word felt foreign on my tongue. "What about my daughter?" My hands were shaking.
His mouth was set. "Your daughter was born and five-twenty-one and weighed in at just under four pounds."
I gasped. So small. "Is she…" I read his face. "What's wrong with her?"
He seemed to think about the best way to say what came next. "Ms. Willows, are you familiar with Apgar score?"
I sniffed and wiped at my eye with a finger. "Umm…yeah." I nodded. "It's the test you use to determine how healthy a baby is when it's born."
"Exactly. Now, your son scored an eight out of ten, which is more than can be expected for a infant born at thirty-four weeks."
"But my daughter?"
"Your daughter received only a four."
Tears began to stream down my face. I really thought I had been all cried out. "But," I hiccupped, "but she's going to be okay."
The doctor's lips tightened. "Her heartbeat was very weak, Ms. Willows, and her breathing was extremely irregular. Her heartbeat, I'm told, has since gone up, but we're still very concerned about her breathing. She is suffering from IRDS- infant respiratory distress syndrome. It's very common in premature infants, and even more common in twins."
"So she's not breathing on her own?"
"Not well, and it usually gets worse before it gets better."
"Are you saying she might not…?" I choked on the words.
He didn't answer as he stood and held out his hand to me. "Would you like to see her? Would you like to meet them?"
Would I like to meet them? "Yes. Of course."
He smiled. "Then follow me."
We went through the double doors and to an elevator across from a nurse's station. I looked at him. "You said you'd tell me about Sara," I prompted as we rode up.
"I did, didn't I? Well, I can't tell you everything, because I was really only in charge of the c-section and monitoring you babies, but your wife is doing very well. After we had her bleeding under control, she stabilized quite nicely. We were able to remove the bullet from her thigh and send it off with your people. The bullet did hit her femoral artery, and she lost a lot of blood. Being pregnant probably saved her life actually, since pregnant women constantly have more blood circulating than normal people. She's unconscious now, we had to put her under after we had the babies out. She should sleep for several more hours. Giving birth, no matter how you do it, always takes it out of you."
"So, she'll be fine?"
"Well, she won't be walking on her own for several of weeks, and she might want to take a little physical therapy to make sure her shoulder heals properly, but yes, eventually, she will make a full recovery."
I sighed my relief and sagged against the elevator wall. After so many hours of not knowing…
We stepped off the elevator and onto the maternity ward. I could hear a baby crying not far away, and I couldn't help but wonder if it was mine. Dr. Kroger turned to me. "I'm going to take you to see your son first. Your daughter is being monitored in a separate section of the ward."
He led me down a hall to the maternity ward and a large glass window. There were only four babies in the window. The last one on the end drew my attention. By the little blue hat and blanket, I could tell he was a boy. He was smaller than the rest, and his arms were up in the air. He wasn't crying, but he was wide awake.
My eyes stung, "That's him, isn't it?" I tapped my finger against the glass.
The doctor smiled, "It is. Come on, I'll take you to meet him."
He brought me to a nursing room that was adjoined the nurses' station, and left. I sat in the rocking chair with the greatest sense of anticipation. Five minutes past, and then ten. Then I heard a conversation coming from the hall. The voices were low but clear.
"I'm sorry, Dr. Kroger, but I cannot allow it."
"Greta, this woman has been through hell today. She nearly lost her whole life. And now she's sitting twenty feet from her children, and you won't let her see them because of a…a technicality? A piece of paper?"
"Doctor, I don't think you understand. It is illegal for me to give that child to anyone but a parent or immediate family member."
"I know the protocol just as well as you. I'm asking you to make an exception. She is a parent. She's this baby's mother and she wants to see her son!"
"Without permission from the biological mother, I can't let her see him. I'm sorry."
Fury flooded my veins. Who did this woman think she was? After hours of waiting and not knowing, did she really think she could stop me? I was going to see my son, and I was going to see him now. I stepped into the hall.
Dr. Kroger came to stand beside me. "Ms. Willows, I didn't mean for you to overhear…"
"I am his biological mother," I interrupted him.
The nurse was a broad, middle-aged woman with short, tightly curled blonde hair. "Excuse me?" She clearly did not think much of me or my lifestyle choices. Too. Damn. Bad.
"I said, I am his biological mother. He's mine."
"Well, I don't see how…"
But the doctor smiled. "Ms. Sidle delivered, but it was your eggs that were used to conceive."
I nodded, my eyes not leaving the nurse. I glowered at her. "I can have a doctor on the phone in a matter of minutes, to prove it to you, but he is my son. And I want to see him and my daughter. Now."
The woman and I had a silent staring contest for a minute, but I wasn't giving in. Finally, she looked away. "I could get in serious trouble for this."
"I will take full responsibility, Greta, you have my word." Dr. Kroger put a hand on her shoulder.
"Alright. Ms. Willows, was it? Go back in and have a seat. It'll just be a moment." The woman moved down the hall.
Dr. Kroger smiled at me. "That was very well played."
"Thanks."
"So, I'll see you in a little while, I just need to run and check in on a few patients. You'll be okay?"
"I'll be fine." I waved him off and went back to my seat in the rocking chair.
Rocking back and forth, I tried to reign in my emotions. This day had been such a roller coaster ride, and I was still spinning. Sara had almost been killed, the babies might have died. Everything had turned upside down. My life had turned to chaos. Then they told me Sara had survived; she would be okay. And I had children. I was about to meet them. But my daughter was very sick. How was it possible to feel so happy, for my wife, for my son, yet feel so distressed for my daughter?
"Ms. Willows?" A young nurse peaked in from the doorway. She carried a small bundle in her arms.
My heart beat faster. "Yes." I stood.
She smiled at me. "There's somebody here that I'd like you to meet."
I took a step forward, and the little bundle was passed to me. I felt my eyes begin to sting. "Oh," was all I could think to say. "Hello."
My son. My son. Was sleeping.
I smiled at the nurse who brought him to me and then took a seat. "Hey, there big guy." I whispered. "Hey there, my beautiful boy." I rocked us back and forth. He was beautiful, maybe I was being bias, but I thought he was the most beautiful baby I had ever seen. He had big round cheeks, and perfect soft skin. His eyes fluttered and he squeaked.
"Oh! What?" I smiled at him. "What's up, big guy?"
He wriggled in his blanket.
"Well, no wonder. They've got you snug as a bug in rug, haven't they? Well, we can do something about that, can't we?" This was a marvelous feeling, and, for the moment, it blocked out all the others. I lay him on my knees and carefully undid his blanket. "Let's see what we've got here, hmm? Look, here's an arm with a hand and look! One, two, three, four, five fingers! Look, you've got them all. And here's another arm, that's right, stretch! And five more fingers! And here's a baby belly and a baby diaper, and look! Feet!"
"Let's get these booties off so we can count the toesies." There were ten toes. Everything was there. I wrapped him up again and then checked one more thing. I pulled off his little blue hat. "Look, at that. You're just like your big sister." He was bald except for a few white-colored wisps of hair. So, he would be some shade of blonde. "Now, are you going to open your eyes for me? I want to see my big guy." But he seemed determined to stay asleep. "Okay, then," I whispered, wrestling his hat back on. "You just get your rest. You've had a pretty big day today. We'll have plenty of time to play later."
So, I lay him on my chest where he curled up in a little ball. We rocked back and forth and I just basked in this feeling, in the weight of my son, calm and serene. I only wished that Sara and I could have shared this feeling together. Feeling his little heartbeat on mine was so relaxing…
"Ms. Willows?"
"Hmm?" I was roused by a voice calling my name. "Yes?" I blinked my eyes open, sleepily, and saw the young nurse from before.
"I'm sorry to wake you, Ms. Willows, but we need this room. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you move."
"Oh." I brought my hands to the little body on my chest. "That's okay." I stood with my son in my arms. "Does that mean I have to give him back?"
"I'm afraid so."
I nodded. "Okay." I looked down at the still sleeping form in my arms. "Goodbye, my baby boy, I'll see you soon! I love you." I kissed his forehead and handed him back to the nurse.
I waited in the hall until Dr. Kroger came to get me.
He led me down the hall to a closed door. He turned to face me. "Now, it's going to look a whole lot worse than it is. Your baby is in an incubator to help prevent hypothermia. She's hooked up to a heart monitor, she has an IV for fluids that control her blood sugar, and she's also receiving oxygen. I know it looks scary, but don't let it alarm you. They're all just precautions to make sure her condition doesn't worsen."
I nodded my understanding and he held the door open for me. It was very quiet and the lights were dimmed. The only sound that could be heard was the soft beeping of several machines. Along the walls to my right and left were six incubators, only three of them occupied. I was mesmerized by the tiny forms inside.
Dr. Kroger waved a young woman over. "Janie, this is Catherine Willows, I've brought her to meet her daughter."
The young woman frowned for a moment, "We don't have a baby Willows."
"I believe she's under the name Sidle. Ms. Willow's wife is Sara Sidle."
"Oh." Her eyes widened as she looked at me. "Oh."
Oh. Yes. Oh. I smiled uncertainly at her.
"I've cleared this with your supervisor, Janie. I'd just like Ms. Willows to be able to meet her children."
The nurse seemed to pull herself together. "Right. Ms. Willows, umm…this way."
Dr. Kroger put a reassuring hand on my back, "I'm going to leave you here. I need to check in with your wife and see how she's doing. Sorry to keep running off on you. I'll be back in a while." He smiled. "Congratulations, again." He turned around and was gone.
I stepped further into the room. There was a squeaking sound from one corner, and I turned to see the incubator furthest from me.
There was another squeal and I took a few steps forward. I could just make out a tiny form wearing a tiny pink hat.
"Ms. Willows?"
I looked up at the nurse. "Is that…? Is she…?"
She nodded. "That's your daughter, Ms. Willows. But I need you to wash your hands if you're going to touch her."
I couldn't take my eyes off the incubator the whole time I ran my hands through the water. When I was washed and dried, the nurse allowed me to take the seat next to the incubator. There she was. My little girl. She had a tiny tube up her nose and a wire attached to her little bare chest. She looked so small and helpless in that plastic box. But she was beautiful. Her tiny little face, her hands, her toes. She raised an arm and squeaked again and I had to smile through even more. "Hey, baby girl." I whispered. "Hey, angel. Look at you." She turned her head towards the sounds of my voice, but her eyes were closed. She looked just like Lindsey, I realized. "Hi, little one. I'm your Mommy."
I looked to the nurse, Janie. "Can I just reach in and touch her?"
"Just avoid the wires and tubes. It's better if you just hold her arm or her hand, but if you're careful you can touch her anywhere."
"Okay." I reached in cautiously, stroked her arm up to her hand. She was so soft. She reacted to my touch by squeaking several times and spreading her fingers wide. "Oh, well, hello to you too. It's nice to finally meet you." Her tiny fingers wrapped one of my much larger ones. My breath caught in my throat. "Your Mama and I have been waiting a long time to meet you."
She yawned widely and, lazily, her eyelids opened to reveal sleepy, unfocused, clear blue eyes.
I smiled. "Hey baby blue eyes, how's it going?" I looked at the tube running up her nose again, and I was crying. "My brave girl. Hell of a way to come into the world, little girl. But it will get better. Your Mama is downstairs waiting to meet you. And you've got three big sisters who can't wait to play with you and take care of you. Lindsey is the oldest, she would tell you that she's almost twelve, but she's really only eleven and a half. And Ayla is eight and Maggie is five. Oh, and you have a big brother. He's a three minutes older than you. Now, I don't know him very well yet, but I can just tell he'll be the best brother you could ever have."
She had gone back to sleep while I was talking, and her grip on my finger had slackened. I leaned back in my chair and just watched her breathe in and out. The doctor was right her breathing was shallow and irregular. I reached a hand in and touched her shoulder. "You've got to make it through, little one. You've got hang in there. There's so much worth living for. There's your Mama and your sisters and brother and a ton of other stuff. You haven't tried our new slip 'n slide, or gotten a triple scoop ice cream sundae. You haven't had a first step or a first word or a first pillow fight or a first kiss. There is so much left to do. So you've got to make it through." But if my baby girl heard me, she didn't let on. I sat back in the rocking chair and watched her for a long time.
"Ms. Willows?" It was the doctor.
I sat up. "You can call me Catherine, doctor."
He smiled. "Catherine. Have you been enjoying your time?"
I raised an eyebrow. "It depends. I've enjoyed seeing my son and daughter. But I don't think any mother could enjoy seeing her child so sick."
"Of course not. Catherine, I don't want to take you away from your daughter if you're not ready, but your wife has been stabilized and we've moved her to another room. One where she can have visitors. She's still asleep, but I wanted to let you know in case you'd like to pay her a visit anyway."
I looked from the doctor to my daughter and back. I bit my lip. I desperately wanted to see Sara, to see for myself that she was going to be okay, but I didn't want to leave our baby. "Can I come back here later? To see her?"
"I'll clear it with the nurses." He nodded.
I stood up. "Alright. Let's go." I leaned over the incubator and gently touched my daughter's tiny wrist. "I love you, little one. I'll be back soon." With that, I followed Dr. Kroger out of the ward and once again into the elevator.
IOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOI
The first thing I was aware of as I walked in the sterile, white room was the steady high-pitched beeping of the EKG machine. She was alive. The next thing I noticed was how pale she looked. Just lying there. Her arm was in a sling, and her leg was covered by the sterile, white sheets. She wouldn't like the smell in here.
I turned to the doctor. "Can I touch her?"
He nodded, "You can't jump on her or anything, but you can most certainly hold her hand, touch her face. Just stay away from the arm, the leg, and the c-section stitches."
"Thank you. For everything."
He smiled kindly. "It was a pleasure. I'll have a nurse check in on you in a while, and I'll be back first thing in the morning." He smiled again and was out the door.
I turned back to Sara. Grabbing a chair, I moved over to her left side and took a seat, scooting as close to her as I could get. After so many hours of waiting, it was a relief just to sit next to her sleeping form. Taking her hand, I watched her breathe slowly in and out. My eyes moved over her body. Her stomach was still round, but it was smaller than it had been this afternoon. My mind reeled. We had two more children than we did only a few hours ago. I was no less astounded by the birth of my new son and daughter than I had been when I had given birth to Lindsey nearly eleven and a half years before. I was just as amazed.
This was not how we had planned it, though. There was should have been a private delivery room and our own doctor. I should have been there, holding a video camera in one hand and my wife's hand in the other. I should have been there. Sara should have been awake to hold her children in her arms.
The events of the day began to overwhelm me, the bad and the good. It was nearing eleven o'clock and I had been running on fumes for the past eight hours. I was exhausted. Kissing Sara's fingers, I lay my cheek against her hand, and wearily, I cried myself to sleep.
IOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOI
I woke up three hours later to my cell phone vibrating against my thigh. I thought I'd turned it off. Seeing it was my sister, I immediately felt guilty for leaving her out of the loop. Quietly, I stood and tiptoed out of the room. After a word with the nurse on duty, explaining where I was going and that I would be right back, I took the elevator downstairs and out into the parking lot. I tried my sister's cell but it went straight to voicemail. I had been trying to avoid calling the house phone and waking the children, but I guess it couldn't be helped.
It picked up on the first ring. "Cath? This better be you."
I took a deep breath. "It's me."
"What's going on? Have you heard any news? I thought you'd have called us by now."
I ran a hand through my hair. "I'm sorry, things have just been sort of…hectic. Yes, I have news." I paused, trying to figure out which way to say it and what to say first.
"Well? Sara's going to be okay, right?"
My relief was still foremost in my brain when I sighed, "Yes. Sara is going to be alright."
"Oh, thank God. And what about…?"
I smiled softly, "Nance…I have twins. I'm the mother of twins."
Nancy laughed out loud. "Ha! That's wonderful. What happened?"
"They had to do an emergency c-section while Sara was in surgery, something about the babies' heart rate."
"Oh, my God. This is so big. Cathy, this is huge! So, what are they? Boys? Girls? Are they okay? Six weeks is a bit early."
I quit smiling. "It's one of each. A boy and a girl."
Nancy could hear the change in my voice. "And? What's wrong?"
All I could think of was my tiny baby in that incubator, a mess of tubes and wires. Tears stung my eyes. "She….she's not okay."
"What's wrong with her?"
I
sniffed. "She has some kind of lung problem. IR…IRD something. It
means she can't breathe. And her heartbeat is irregular and the
doctor isn't being straight with me about what her chances are. Oh,
God, Nancy, what if she's not alright? What if she doesn't get
better?"
Nancy tried to calm me, "Hush. I don't want to hear
you talking like that. You have to think positively and be strong.
Have you seen them?"
I nodded even though she couldn't see me. Despite the tears running down my face, I smiled again. "They're beautiful. Just beautiful. He's got the same color hair that Lindsey had when she was born and he's got the cutest nose. He's a good boy, I can already tell. And she…she's so tiny, Nance. But she's got the biggest pair of blue eyes you've ever seen. She looked at me as I was holding her hand. She's beautiful. And so brave, hooked up to all those machines and not even crying."
"Well, congratulations, Cath. Really. I'm sure my newest niece will be fine. If she's anything like either of her moms, I'm sure she's a fighter."
"Thanks. How are the girls?"
"They're good. They were a bit glum all through dinner and they fought going to bed. Now, they're passed out on my bed, safely tucked in, teeth brushed. Mitch and I will take the guest bedroom, the bed is smaller than ours- wouldn't fit the three of them."
"Thanks for doing this."
"Not a problem."
"I've got to get back inside in case Sara wakes up. I just wanted to give you an update."
"Thanks for keeping me posted."
"I'll call back in the morning when it's okay for the girls to come back."
"'Kay. Take your time."
"Bye."
"Bye."
Hanging up, I headed back inside, thinking. A lot of people needed to be notified about what had happened. Gil and the boys, I could handle. But what about the dozens of people in San Francisco that deserved to know? How could I possibly call them all? I only had a fraction of their numbers and I certainly didn't have the energy right now to tell the story of all of this to a hundred different people. Maybe I could call Mo in the morning and have her spread the word? That might work.
Sara was right where I had left her when I returned. Exhaustion swept over me once more as I saw her lying there. I took up my vigil again in the seat beside her bed and before long, I found myself nodding off and resting my head on her sterile white coverlet. A few hours later, I awoke to nature's call. Past five o'clock in the morning. Getting up, I carefully extracted my hand from Sara's grip, which had tightened as I slept. After using the restroom, I washed my face. I looked like crap. My hair was a mess, my face was a smear of tear-stained makeup, my clothes were wrinkled and splattered with blood. Sara's blood.
Staring at myself in the mirror, I realized just how close I had come tonight to losing everything I had in my life. Only Maggie and I had been safe from those bastards that shot at Sara. They could have killed either one of the older girls. They almost did kill Sara. And now my newborn daughter was upstairs fighting for her life because of this. How could this have happened to us? I felt the tell-tale stinging of behind my eyes, but I was all cried out. All I could do was take a deep breath and pull myself together. Everything would be alright. It had to be.
Waving to the nurse as I passed the station, I made my way back to Sara's room. To my surprise, as I closed the door behind me, Sara's head turned towards the noise. "Sara?"
"Cath." She tried to move. Seeing her grimace, I was immediately back in the chair by her side, holding her hand.
"Don't move, let me get the nurse." I stood up again quickly.
"No, wait." She tightened her grip on my hand. "Tell me what happened." She was oddly calm.
I sat back down again. The nurse could wait a few minutes, Sara seemed to be okay. "You were in a shooting. Do you remember that?"
She paused for a moment and then nodded. "You were shopping. Greg and I…" She looked at me. "Where's Greg?"
I squeezed her hand. "He's fine. It was just a flesh wound. He gets to go home tomorrow."
She nodded, temporarily pacified, then she looked at me sharply. Taking her hand from my grasp she placed it on her stomach. I heard her heart rate go up on the EKG machine.
"Sara," I tried to reassure her. "Sar, it's okay. They're okay. They're alive."
Her heart slowed a beat. "What…happened?"
I tightened my grip on her wrist. "There were…complications. While you were in surgery, the baby's heart rate weakened. They operated to get them out in time, and they did." I leaned forward and kissed her hand. "Sweetheart, we have a new baby boy and baby girl."
She lay her head back on the pillow in relief. "Have you seen them? Are they okay?"
I hesitated. I didn't want to upset Sara after she'd just woken up from a drug induced coma, but I also didn't want her to kill me later for withholding information. "I've seen them." I tread carefully. "And they're gorgeous. They're the most beautiful babies to ever grace the planet. They both have the right number of fingers and toes. They were both pretty quiet. No crying. Though your daughter is a squeaker."
Sara read my face. "What's wrong? What aren't you telling me?"
I sighed. "She's sick."
"How sick?" Her fingers tightened around mine.
"Sick. Very sick. She can't breathe and the doctor…" I choked over the words, "The doctor doesn't know if she's going to be okay."
Sara took her hand from mine to wipe at watery eyes. "It wasn't supposed to happen like this."
"I know. But it did. We've just got to hope that everything will be okay." I took her hand back. "How are you feeling? Are you in pain?"
She tried to shrug and winced, "Well, now I am. My leg is just sort of numb, but my shoulder aches."
I stood up. "Let me go get the nurse, she'll be able to tell us more and then I can get an update on the babies, okay?" I tucked some hair behind her ear.
She nodded.
Carefully, I leaned down and brushed my lips against hers. "Love you. I'll be right back."
She nodded again and I left the room. Heading to the nurse's station I found not the nurse on duty, but Dr. Kroger. "Doctor."
He turned to me and smiled. "Ms. Willows."
"Catherine." I insisted.
He nodded. "Catherine. Is there something I can help you with?"
"It's Sara. She's awake."
He frowned. "Are you sure? She shouldn't be up for another couple of hours or so."
"Pretty sure. I've been talking to her for the last ten minutes."
The doctor began walking with me back towards Sara's room. "Well, these drugs affect everyone differently, I guess she just has some kind of built in resistance to them." We entered the room and he smiled at Sara. "Good Morning, Ms. Sidle. I'm Dr. Kroger, I did your c-section and am overseeing the care of your children. How are you feeling?"
"Stiff. And sore."
He nodded. "That's perfectly normal."
"How are the babies?"
He smiled grimly. "Your son is doing well. If you'd like to meet him and try feeding him a little later today, I can definitely arrange it." He hesitated. "Your daughter is about the same as when I left her last night. Her heartbeat has regulated somewhat, but I'm still very concerned about her breathing. She'll need to remain in the incubator for a bit longer, very probably days, perhaps a week or more. It's normal with her condition, so I'm afraid it will be a while before you're able to see her."
Sara nodded, blinking wearily.
The doctor caught it. "Well, let me notify your attending physician that you've woken up, Ms. Sidle. He'll be able to prescribe you more pain medication and give you a better update as to your injuries."
"Thanks." Sara was fading fast.
I rubbed her hand comfortingly when the doctor had gone. "You should get some rest. I'll tell the doctor to come back later."
She shook her head. "I'm fine. I want to talk with you." She fought a yawn.
"You're tired." I insisted. "And you should be. You've been shot twice and you've just given me two beautiful children. Get some rest."
She began to acquiesce. "You'll stay with me?"
I smiled. "I have to go outside and make some quick phone calls but then I will be right back."
"I see what you're doing," she eyed me drowsily, "you're trying to get out of here so you can go and call your thing on the side."
I grinned, "You know me so well."
She closed her eyes and smiled. "Just hurry back."
Standing, I kissed her forehead. "No need to worry about that. I'll be back in a flash."
But getting back to Sara took longer than I thought. First there was Mo to call and relay the whole story to. She readily agreed to pass the word along, for which I was grateful. But I felt that Larry and Tim deserved a personal call, as did Tony and Marie, Matt's parents. So I was on the phone with each of them for about a half an hour. They all asked to be kept in the loop, and Larry and Tim as well as Mo offered to visit when we were feeling up to company. I couldn't even begin to fathom it.
After those phone calls, I finally called my sister. I told her that Sara had woken up and was doing a lot better than I had expected. I informed her that our daughter was not doing any better than before. She asked when it would be okay for the girls to come and see Sara and I said that it probably should wait until the afternoon and could she keep them until after lunch. She said it was no problem, but I could tell that three girls plus her son and baby girl was getting to be a bit much.
Hanging up the phone, I made my way back to Sara's room. She was asleep, so I quietly slipped into my chair and closed my eyes. I don't know how long I was asleep, but it couldn't have been long.
"Hey." Sara was already awake.
"Hey, you." I reached for her hand. "How're you feeling?"
"Uh…fine." She was lying, there was a thin layer of sweat over her forehead, and her cheeks were flushed.
"You're in pain." I observed.
She shook her head, "Nothing major."
"Babe, you shouldn't be in any pain at all. I'm calling for the nurse."
To my surprise, Sara didn't fight me as I pushed the call button. A minute later, someone knocked on the door.
"Come in."
A nurse poked her head around the door. "Can I help you?"
"Yes. My wife is in a lot of pain. Is there any way you can do something about that? Or else find her doctor so that they can do something?"
"Certainly." And the nurse disappeared.
It took ten minutes for the doctor to arrive by which time I was royally pissed off. After everything Sara had been through, was it too much to ask for a little compassion? Sara had to warn me to calm down and remind me that the doctor was only there to help. After he had administered the pain meds, the doctor left, leaving Sara and I alone again.
"Where are the girls?"
"At my sister's. She came and picked them up last night. I didn't want them waiting around all stressed out and worried, not knowing what was going on." I touched her face. "You really had me worried there for a while."
"I had myself worried too. The only thing I can remember thinking was that I was going to die and leave the only good thing I ever had."
"Oh? And what's that?" I asked playfully.
"You wouldn't know her. Little Spanish thing I met off the Strip. God, has she got a body."
"If you didn't have two holes in your body already…"
"You'd what?"
I just shook my head, smiling.
"I want to see the girls. Show them that I'm alright. When are you picking them up?"
"Actually, Nancy's dropping them off. I thought maybe you'd like to see them after lunch, and after you meet our new son."
She grinned. "Sounds like a plan." She yawned.
"Why don't you go back to sleep? I'll wake you if anything happens."
She nodded, closing her eyes. "'Kay."
I squeezed her hand and released it. "Love you."
I rested my head on the bed beside her and felt her fingers running through my hair. "Love you, too."
IOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOI
Look! No cliffhanger! And I was really this close to giving you one, too. I had one all planned out. But I decided to be nice. Now, you know what that means? It means you should be nice back. And how do you do that, you may ask? Umm…REVIEW! (Duh!) Go, hurry, before this opportunity passes you by. Quick!