Chapter 18: My Happy Ending
Rhoda walked into the room with a teddy bear and a couple balloons. "Hey kid," she greeted.
Mary looked up to her from the bed and smiled. "Hi," she greeted.
Rhoda set the gifts down on the table and looked around. There was something missing. "Where's Davy?" she questioned. Every time that she had been there, he was there with her. The room seemed somewhat empty without his presence.
"I told him to go ahead and go into work today," she answered. "I thought that he could use a break from all of this," she explained herself. Even though he hadn't been complaining or showing any signs of not wanting to be there, she felt bad about it.
Rhoda sat down in the chair next to the bed. "You don't get a break," she stated.
"So?" Mary asked.
Rhoda shrugged. "Well, maybe he just wanted to be there for you," she suggested.
Mary looked down and sighed. "Yeah," she responded. Just last night, she was wondering how she would have gotten through the past week without him.
Rhoda could tell that there was something else wrong, something other than the baby. "Is there something wrong with the world's cutest couple?" she inquired.
Mary shrugged. "I don't know," she admitted. She had been having mixed feelings about everything, and she had no idea how to describe them. "I mean, today, within hours, we will find out whether or not this baby is going to live, and all I am able to think about is David. When will David get back here? What is David doing now?" she explained.
Rhoda looked to her with understanding. "I see," she informed her. "You feel guilty," she said, starting to smile.
"Why are you smiling at that?" Mary snapped. "Not even out of the hospital and I'm a bad parent."
Rhoda laughed. "Mary! You don't wanna think about the baby because it hurts too much. David is a distraction, he's what you're using to not think about the kid," she explained.
Mary's expression softened. "You really think so?" she asked. Normally, she could figure this stuff out on her own, but with the lack of sleep, and all the stress from this week, she wasn't thinking as clearly as she should have been.
"Yeah," Rhoda answered. "It's like when I think about food rather than the speeding ticket I got," she said.
Mary softly laughed and then over towards the window. Rhoda was just glad to see her smile today. Walking in, she thought that Mary was going to be a nervous wreck all day.
The door opened, and David stuck his head into the room quick, motioning for Rhoda to come out and see him real quick. "Be right back," she told Mary, and then got up and left.
Mary found it odd that she was going out there to talk to him, but then again, they were probably talking about her. Nothing bad, just worried about her, talking about what would happen if she didn't get to take her son home. He was probably asking her how she had been holding up while he was gone and if she had heard anything.
Rhoda got outside the room and shut the door. "Did you get it?" she eagerly asked.
David nodded. "Yes, and no matter what happens tonight, she'll get her present," he informed her.
Rhoda smiled. "Good. The kid deserves something good. Lately it seems like she has been taking enough hits for all of us," she commented, looking towards the room.
"For the next few years," David added.
Rhoda sighed and then looked up to David. "Well, I guess they're gonna go ahead and try his lungs out in a few hours. I'll go take a walk or somethin' and let you two have the rest of the time," she offered.
David was about to agree to it, but he stopped. "I think she needs you there too," he stated.
"When it gets closer to the time, I'll come back," she said and then started off down the hall. "I'll only be gone an hour!" she called back to him.
David just nodded and then headed back into the room.
O o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
Four hours had passed. It was starting to get dark outside as the three sat there in the silent room. No one wanted to say anything. No one wanted to somehow jinx the baby.
Mary just sat on the bed as Greg sat beside her and Rhoda stood before the window. No one was even pacing. Just stillness. None of them liked it, but no one wanted to be the one to brake it. Besides, there was too much on their minds right now to start some sort of random conversation.
As much as Mary hated it though, she didn't want it to end. As soon as the doctor walked in there and told them what was going on, there was a definite change. If they had good news, then they could all just go home and everything would go on from there. If it was bad news though, there was no going back, and for a while there would be no going forward. For right now, she could hold on to the small amount of hope that she truly had. The longer that lasted, the better.
"What do you think of the name Tate?" Mary suggested, looking to David.
"What?" he asked, surprised that she had even spoken.
"Tate? What do you think of the name Tate Morgan Richards?" she implored. She knew that it was a bad idea to think of names right now. Naming the baby would just bring more attachment, which meant more heart ache if things went wrong. On the other hand though, she would was hurting as it was, if something went wrong it wouldn't matter what his name was.
"I like it," he replied and then kissed her on the cheek.
Mary was about to say something, but the door opened and the doctor walked in. For a moment, the entire world seemed to stop as the three of them turned to him and froze.
"We took him off the ventilator," he started. "He had some trouble at first, but it looks like he's going to be just fine," he explained with a smile.
The doctor congratulated them before leaving. Mary smiled and threw her arms around David. "Tate lived," she announced with tears in her eyes.
David returned the hug. "I know," he responded with a smile.
Rhoda waited a moment before joining them. "Congrats kid," she said as she sat down on the edge of the bed.
Mary looked over and smiled to her. "Thank you," she said before hugging her.
"Just make sure to let me babysit a few times," Rhoda said before pulling back. "See ya tomorrow," she said and then stood up.
Mary saw her smile back to David right before she left. "What was that about?" she inquired.
David smiled to her. Now, was his chance. David took a deep breath and then got up off the bed and then down on one knee. He pulled out a small box from his pocket and revealed a small diamond ring. He could tell that Mary didn't know what to say as she looked to him with wide eyes. Instead of trying to figure out if that was good or not, he just went ahead and decided to wait until after he asked her to find out.
"We started out with a rough patch, on the date that you were supposed to go out with me, you took someone else," he joked. "But after that, you finally noticed me. Ever since then, even though you haven't been having the best time, I can honestly say that I'm glad that I was the one that was there with you. I will never leave your side. As long as you need me, I'll be there. Mary Richards, will you allow me to be your husband?" he asked.
Mary, who was already a bit of an emotional wreck from everything that had gone on lately, couldn't say anything. She smiled and nodded.
David put the ring on her finger and then joined her back on the bed and kissed her. "Thank you," he said.
Mary smiled to him through tears. "I should be the one thanking you," she stated.
"You don't have to, I love you," he responded.
Mary just laughed and then kissed him.