"How the hell did it get out?"
"It's been like forty minutes?" Brandon questioned angrily as he glared up at the hospital's flat screen TV, where a "reporter" was currently covering a story on Reba McEntire's emergency rush to the hospital.
"People." Kelly breathed out in annoyance. She'd met her husband at the hospital just barely over twenty minutes ago, after receiving a panicked call from him. Dropping River by Ashley Aarison's house, she came as quickly as humanly possible. Now they were currently both in the lobby of the hospital awaiting any and all updates on Reba. Once they'd arrived Brandon was hurriedly asked to sign consent for an emergency surgery, in which he willingly did so.
"Brandon!" Narvel's voice called out from down the hall, causing both Brandon and Kelly to turn around in shock. What on earth was his father doing here?
"What are you doing here?" Brandon questioned in disbelief, once Narvel was in earshot.
"A better question is what is she doing here?" Kelly added with an eye roll as she noticed Laura who appeared behind Narvel, huddled up in a large gray sweatshirt, acting as if the current situation actually affected her.
"I'm still in Reba's emergency contact list, they called me." Narvel breathed out uneasily. He was certain now that his son obviously knew that Reba was pregnant but he wasn't sure if Brandon was aware that he knew as well.
"Oh," Brandon mumbled softly in response. He didn't really feel like making small talk with his father, let alone trying to hide the fact that his step-mother might lose the baby no one was supposed to know about.
"How is she?" Narvel questioned a moment later, genuinely concerned.
"We don't know," Brandon said, his eyes darting to the side as he tried to remain calm.
"You know I have everything handled, why don't you just go home?" Brandon added a second later, shifting his hands to his camouflage pant pockets.
"I know how tired of tending to everyone you are." He added harshly under his breath.
"I think it would be best if we stay." Laura piped up softly from behind Narvel, causing Kelly to mumble under her breath.
"And I know it would be best if YOU didn't," Brandon argued back defensively. Since when did this woman think she could have a thought on the subject, let alone a say?
"Why are you even here?" Brandon asked, specifically addressing Laura. It was obvious he didn't care for either of their presences, but hers specifically not only bothered but angered him.
"Because this is serious."
"Your father needs support." She answered softly in an eerily kind voice as if she didn't detect his annoyance at all, which in return only made him angrier.
"Right because he's the one in there on his death bed, my bad, I forgot." He answered back snidely.
"Honey you forgot in their world it's all about Narvel." Kelly piped in, startling Brandon a bit as she appeared right behind him. Normally she wouldn't even bother to entertain their stupidity, but it was late, she was pregnant, and they had Reba's well-being to worry about. Her give a damn had gone out the window about forty minutes ago when Brandon had called.
"What's with the attitude, I thought we were friends?" Laura questioned defensively. It was the first time since she'd spoken that she'd shown any emotion other than "kindness". So the woman actually did feel?
"Was that before or after you became a back stabbing bitch?" Kelly questioned angrily, walking a little closer in Narvel and Laura's direction, her ombré bun bouncing a bit as she did so.
"Kelly." Narvel scolded a bit in shock. He had made no notion to protect Laura, but Kelly's sudden outburst had caught him a little off-guard.
"Dare I remind you who you work under?" He said narrowing his eyes in her direction. He wasn't going to let both him and Laura be made fools in a public hospital.
"Yeah, my husband."
"Brandon say hi." She instructed back with a cocky laugh. Was he really playing big boss now? It wasn't as if he even managed her anymore!
"Just because he now manages you, does not mean he suddenly owns the company." Narvel fired back, stepping away from Laura and closer to his son and daughter-in-law. He was now clearly taking things personally. Or in other words, the "big and tough" boss's feelings were hurt.
"Right the one you co-own with my mother-in-law who adores me?"
"Need I say more?" She questioned back in a presumptuous manner.
"I'm done with his conversation." Narvel bitterly mumbled through his teeth as he sensed a few eyes on him from the eavesdropper's around them. Stepping down, he made the notion for him and Laura to head in the other direction and find a seat.
"Mmmm shocker," Kelly muttered in retaliation to herself, crossing her arms in triumph. It was sad to see that even she didn't recognize the man she had once adored and revered. Had it been just two years ago, she would have never dreamed of saying the things she had just said to his face. Turning to her husband, who had just stood by her side in silence, she gave him a weak smile.
"I'm sorry." She mumbled softly. Even if Narvel and Laura had deserved to be put in their place, he was still Brandon's father.
"No need," Brandon mumbled softly as he extended one of his arms out to softly rub her back, pulling her into his embrace.
"What part of the hospital do you think she would be at?!" Chassidy questioned anxiously as she and Shawna entered the west wings front entrance. Thankfully not only had her flight been delayed that evening but she still hadn't boarded the plane when Brandon had called. Scattered and exhausted, her and her sister both hurriedly looked for their brother in the mess of people and nurses.
"There are Brandon and Kelly," Shawna said eagerly as she pointed in her little brother's direction. He was still standing off to the side, Kelly's head resting tiredly on his shoulder. Walking quickly in their direction, they unknowingly nearly zoomed passed their father and Laura, who had taken seats in the waiting area.
"Chassidy!" Laura called out, jumping up and catching their attention, just as they made their way in front of them.
"What the hell?" Chassidy questioned in disbelief, as she suddenly recognized her father's dyed thinning brown hair and signature beard. Stepping in front of Chassidy, Laura gently grabbed a hold of her arm, as if she were about to try and comfort her or something.
"It's so sweet of you two to come." She said with a nod as she tried to smile at her sincerely.
"Get out of my way," Chassidy said forcefully as she shook off Laura's grasp, completely ignoring her father, and continuing to follow in her sister's direction towards their brother.
"Where is she?"
"How in the hell did this happen?" Chassidy raddled off as soon as she'd reached Brandon and Kelly, tears brimming her tired eyes.
"Chass calm down," Brandon said softly as he grabbed hold of both her arms bringing her into a tight hug. Sniffling a bit, she welcomed the hug, taking a deep breath and trying to follow his advice.
"They took her back as soon as we arrived."
"I have yet to receive an update," Brandon mumbled, noticeably annoyed on the matter.
"Did you call SB?"
"And Susie?"
"And Alice and Grandma Jac?" Shawna questioned in worry as it was now obviously her turn to fall apart.
"Shelby got a flight leaving out tonight and everyone else has already asked to be updated as soon as we know anything," Brandon said with a weak smile. He and Kelly had already made the necessary phone calls as they tried to keep busy upon arrival.
"We were just with her." Chassidy sadly cried out. She didn't understand how something so bad could have happened within the last two and a half hours.
"Did she talk to anyone else today?" Shawna questioned seemingly just as confused as her sister. When they'd left for the airport Reba was relaxed, happy, and ready for a relaxing night in.
"I don't think so, I went to check on her probably no later than an hour after you two left," Brandon answered back honestly. Shifting a bit to the side Kelly narrowed her eyes in Narvel and Laura's direction as she watched them mumble to one another for a moment.
"Why don't we ask daddy dearest?" She muttered pointing towards them. Narvel and Laura had been oddly quiet since they went to take their seats. If they didn't know anything about Reba's state wouldn't they have asked more questions like Shawna and Chass? After all, they were here because they were "worried" about Reba's wellbeing, right? Turning around and glaring at her father, Chassidy wasted no more time as she quickly walked over to them.
"Why are you here?" She demanded as she stood sternly in front of Narvel.
"Uh, well I mean, they called me and told me it was an emergency, of course, I would still be concerned." Narvel uttered out as he stumbled over his words. He hadn't actually really thought about how he was going to explain his presence once he arrived. After all, it had been months since he and Reba had talked and all of the kids were still bitter at him for dropping her from Starstruck Management.
"Did you or did you not speak with Reba within the last couple of days?" Chassidy continued to question angrily. What if he had called her and that's what set off her anxiety. Or worse, what if Laura had called!
"I was just going over to check on her." He started.
"You went to the house?!" Chassidy yelled back bitterly. No wonder Reba was in the hospital. The doctor had said she couldn't allow herself to deal with any stress, period. Her biggest fear had been figuring out how she was going to tell Narvel about the baby and he just shows up at her house, unannounced. Clearly, having him over is what set this all in motion.
"Can we please talk outside?" Narvel questioned in a hushed tone. More and more people were starting to look in their direction and he was certain a couple of them were throwing him a dirty look or two. Surely they could speak about this calmly outside or something.
"No, you can leave," Chassidy ordered coldly.
"You've done enough already." She added, glaring back at her father. She knew now that he knew about the baby but all that didn't even matter anymore. All that mattered was getting Reba and her little sister through this.
"Just so you know she was to have zero stress, you know it being a high-risk pregnancy and all." She said as she watched both him and Laura slowly rise to their feet.
"I know I don't deserve to know but if you could contact me when they finally give an update..." He mumbled trailing off. He didn't really know what else to do; just a few hours ago his ex-wife was just his ex-wife, now she was also the mother of his unborn child. Even if the way he'd handled the news was wrong he still had a right to know. Right?
"Chassidy," Brandon called out softly as he waved her over to him, their sister, and Kelly. They were all now talking to what appeared to be a new doctor. Nodding her head in her brother's direction, she quickly walked back over to join in on the conversation, not bothering to even look at her father in goodbye.
"I'm Dr. Saura; I've been assigned to Ms. McEntire's case now that it's been taken to the next level of severity." The man began, once Chassidy was standing next to Brandon again. His hair was dark, almost black even, with trimming gray sides, signifying that he was obviously in his late forties, early fifties. He was tall, much taller than Brandon and was fairly built out, clearly toned and well fit. His deep blue eyes seemed troubled as he looked back at Chassidy and her siblings, directing most of his attention towards Brandon.
"We believe she suffered a partial placental abruption." He continued, clicking his pen closed and placing it in the upper left-hand pocket of his white coat.
"A placental abruption?" Shawna questioned back terrified. One of her friends in the past had suffered from a placental abruption, losing her baby at full term.
"She's fine, both of them are." The doctor reassured Shawna, before continuing with his explanation.
"Her placenta lifted away, forming a blood clot."
"We were able to keep 70 percent of the wall intact but placental abruption's, no matter how small, are still extremely serious." He informed sternly, as Shawna, Chassidy, and Brandon nodded their heads in relief.
"From here on out we need to keep a closer eye on her and the baby." Dr. Saura concluded as he paused, nodding his head a bit.
"Thank you, Doctor, is there any way we can see her?" Chassidy questioned softly as she looked back up at the doctor pleadingly.
"She's resting comfortably now but I can lead you to her room if you'd like." He replied with a small smile, each of them nodding in approval. Leading the way they all quietly followed the doctor down the corridor to a secluded hallway that was all aligned with doors. Walking all the way to the end of the hallway the doctor finally stopped in front of the final left door.
"Make sure you don't startle her, absolutely no stress, especially for the next few hours."
"It's very crucial." He added one last time before stepping away from the door watching as each of them entered. He waited momentarily before reaching out and softly grabbing Brandon's arm as he lagged behind everyone else. Stepping inside the room Chassidy, Shawna, and Kelly held their breath looking over at Reba who was peacefully asleep in the bed.
"There are seats here, why don't we wait for her to wake up?" Shawna suggested as she pointed to the couch and chair in the corner of the room off from the bed Reba was asleep on. Nodding her head Chassidy quietly crept over to the chair, sitting down.
"I'm going to run to the restroom, I'll be right back," Kelly whispered over to her sister-in-laws as she tiptoed to the room door and exited as quietly as she possibly could.
"Ugh, look who got a text from Dad," Shawna whispered in an agitated sigh as she held up her black iPhone in annoyance.
"Are you kidding me?" She mumbled aloud a moment later as she looked down at the message.
"What?" Chassidy whispered back in confusion as she looked at her sister with a puzzled look.
"She uses his phone now?" She answered while rolling her eyes for emphasis. Not bothering to wait for Chassidy to respond she opened up the message and began to read it out loud in a whisper.
"Your father and I went home; we ask that you find it in your hearts to keep us updated, xoxo La La." She finished reading, sticking her tongue out at her phone in a childish manner.
"I can't believe she uses his phone now." She added once more looking over at her sister who just shrugged.
"Well I mean I blocked her on mine so she kind of has to," Chassidy replied with an honest smile. She didn't care for Laura and she was making that loud and clear.
"You know her nickname is actually quite fitting." She added with a soft chuckle, grinning at her now amused sister.
"After all she is in fucking La La land!" She explained, causing them both to huddle closer in a snicker. Meanwhile back outside the room Brandon and Dr. Saura talked seriously about the next step's Reba would need to take in order to advance in her pregnancy healthily.
"She needs people around her at all times, no stress, like zero, like if we could keep her from even having to use the restroom on her own we would." The doctor informed Brandon, rubbing his hands together as he spoke.
"I'll be her official doctor until this baby is born."
"And I can't stress this enough, she needs someone, like a twenty-four seven someone, the life of her child really depends on it." He said with a small sigh as he watched Brandon nod again in understanding.
"Thank you again, Dr. Saura," Brandon said extending his arm out to shake the man's hand one last time in goodbye.
"You can call me Ezra, I have a feeling we will be seeing a lot of one another." The doctor said with a soft smile as he accepted Brandon's hand, shaking it and then proceeding to pat his shoulder lightly in a farewell, before walking down the corridor.