Chapter 17: Need You Now (part 3)

Mary sat there in David's arms. Her crying had slowed down, but the thoughts still lingered. The very fear that she might walk out of that hospital without her son still circled her head, and she couldn't stand it.

Yes, it was the son of the man who tortured her, the son of the very man that tried to kill her, but it was still her son.

David could feel that she had stopped sobbing. Looking down, he thought for a minute about whether or not he should finally ask her what had happened. He knew that no matter what, he would find out sooner or later, but he figured the sooner, the better. "What happened?" he gently implored.

Mary sat up and dried her eyes. "I don't know," she admitted. Everything had happened so fast. She remembered them telling her that she had a son and then the next second they're rushing him out of the room. There was something wrong though, something that she missed. Her eyes widened. "He didn't cry," she gasped.

David could see it in her eyes, the anxiety and panic starting to form and surface. "Listen, he's not dead. You would have known by now if he were," he explained, trying to keep her calm.

"You're right," she responded as she looked down. They would have had to have told her by now if he had died right away. It wasn't something that they could cover up for very long.

The doctor poked his head into the room.

"Yes?" David asked as he nervously turned and looked to him.

"Are you the father?" the doctor casually asked.

"Yes, he is," Mary answered for him.

David briefly smiled to her and then looked back to the doctor. As bad as the situation could be seen, her reference to him being the father made him happy.

"May I please speak to you out in the hall for a moment?" he requested.

The expressionless face made him feel uneasy as he stood up and made his way to the door. The entire time he was preparing himself to hear the worst. Once he was out in the hall, he waited while the doctor came out and closed the door behind him. "What's going on?"

"He's not breathing on his own right now. We've got him on a ventilator, but if his lungs don't get any stronger soon, we'll have to take him off," he explained as gently as he could.

David let out a heavy sigh as he ran his fingers through his hair. "I see," he responded. There was nothing to actually say to that. He himself was having a hard time comprehending it all. Even worse yet, he had to be the one to go in there and tell Mary what was going on. He knew that she wouldn't take it well. "I'd better go tell her," David said and then quietly went back into the room.

Mary sat there, anxiously watching the door. Waiting for someone to come in and finally tell her what was going on with her baby. Her eyes lit up upon David's entrance.

David stopped as soon as he saw her sitting there waiting. She looked as if she were truly expecting the best. Of course, that was one of the reasons that he loved her, she was always so positive, so happy. He hated himself for what he was about to tell her. He was about to crush her and he couldn't stand it. "Mary," he breathed out.

Mary saw that it was bad news and sat back. "Yeah?" she nervously replied. She had to brace herself, although it didn't matter how much time she had to get herself ready, she knew that if it were truly that bad, she would never be able to handle it.

"He's not breathing on his own. If he doesn't start soon, they're going to take him off the ventilator that's currently keeping him alive," he explained.

Mary just looked down. She sat there and waited to feel something, but there was nothing. It was all too much, and she snapped. Now, instead of feeling anything at all, she made herself numb. She shut down.

David sat down next to her and rubbed her back, but she didn't react at all. Nothing. It worried him, but there was nothing that he could do about it.

O o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Mary stood there, staring at her little boy hooked up to a machine. Never had she pictured this, never had she expected this. Back when she found out about him, her hardest thing was getting over who the father was, getting over the guilt. Now, it was hoping that he would live to see tomorrow.

"Tomorrow we get to see whether or not we'll be taking him home," David mentioned.

Mary nodded. "I know," she replied, her voice soft and raspy. As much as she wanted to know if he was going to be alright, she was dreading tomorrow. It could either be the day that her baby made it, or the day that she lost him.

David looked to her with sympathy. She had lost all hope at this point, and it broke his heart. His and Rhoda's conversation came to mind though. She told him that he would have to step up and be the strong one, and she was right. Now it was his turn to try and be positive.

"He's going to make it," he announced.

Mary just looked back to him with confusion. "How can you be so sure?" she questioned. Over the past few days, she had been getting herself ready to deal with losing him, and here David was convinced that they would be able to take him home.

"If he has any of his father in him, he's going to be completely determined to stay with you," David explained.

Mary forced a smile. It was a good attempt. She wasn't convinced, but he was trying, and right now, that was all that counted.

The more she thought about it, he really had been trying so hard this entire time to keep her together. Every night he was there with her when she fell asleep and every morning he was there when she woke up. When ever she got scared, or the doctor would tell her that the baby still needed help breathing, he was there to wipe away t he tears and try to offer some bright outcome that could happen.

Leaning back, she rested her head on his chest. Instantly, she could feel his hands grabbing her arms and securely holding her. "It'll be okay," David reassured her before kissing her on the forehead.

"I know," Mary responded with tears forming in her eyes.