A/N: There is a bit of happiness in this chapter :) Enjoy xx Mariah
The only sound in the hospital room is the monotone sound of the heart machine beeping. The breathing tube down her throat helped her breathe, her stomach had been pumped in time to get the medication out of her system.
It had been two days since Katie was admitted and she still hadn't woke up. The doctor's had put her in a light coma to let give her body time to heal from the c-section and suicide attempt. Her father stands in the doorway watching her chest rise and fall. He has a book tucked in his arm and it reminds her of the time she'd gave him a book to take to work at three years old. He started bringing books to work then, to read in between patients.
"Hi daddy," Katie whispers, appearing beside him as he walks inside the room.
"Hey bug," he sighs, as if sensing she is there. He walks over and sits in the chair next to her bedside, leaning down to kiss her hand. He wishes more than anything from her to squeeze his hand and give him her usual smile. "I don't know if you're here or if you can even hear me, but your mom said I should give this a shot and try to talk to you. She says you haven't appeared to her since that night…" He pauses, his hand reaching out to hold hers. He kisses her hand, biting back his tears. "But baby girl, I just want you know that I love you so much and it's okay if you want to go." His voice cracks with emotion. He stops, clearing his throat, taking a breath and continuing. "I know that you want to stop hurting. That you may even want to stop breathing and it's okay if you want to stop fighting now." He presses her hand to his mouth. "I once told you to never regret loving people and that no matter how it comes out in the end that it's worth it. I still have no idea where that came from, but just know that it came from my heart and that I still believe in that. I love you..."
"Daddy, I'm not going anywhere." She kneels next to him, leaning into his arm. He can feel the pressure of her against his arm smiles. For the first time since Charlie died, she feels something release. She feels herself breathe. As if there is a weight lifted off her chest. "You always have a way with your words, don't you?"
She knows that her father would never a be late-inning pinch hitter. He wouldn't unplug her breathing tube or anything like that. She knows that none of her family or loved ones would be able to do that, but this is the first time that anyone has acknowledged what she lost. That maybe living isn't the best for her.
This recognition and the permission her father just offered her-it feels like a gift. He didn't leave her, in fact, he relaxes. He reaches for the book he has tucked under his arm, touching to cover. "I thought I'd read to you," he says softly. "I know how much you loved when I used to read to you. I know you're not so little anymore, but I remember when I first gave you The Great Gatsby and how much you'd loved it." He holds the book in his hands. "So I thought I'd read you some."
It is quiet now and he speaks softly as he reads the first chapters to her. She sits next to him, leaning her into his leg as she listens to him. He smiles as he felt the weight against his leg, resting his hand there.
"You're reading to her?" Melinda calls out, leaning against the doorway. She yawns, rubbing her eyes. She can see that Katie is right there, at her father's side and her heart is put at ease. She hasn't seen her in so long.
"Can you tell him I love it when he reads to me," she whispers, appearing next to her mother when she senses how much Melinda needs her. She wishes she could hug her pain away, but it isn't quite the time yet. Her body isn't ready for her. It is still recovering. "I didn't know how much I missed it."
Jim stands, stretching. He's been sitting for quite a while now and he wants to stretch his legs. "Is she here?" He asks, smiling at her. He hugs Melinda, feeling her sag into him.
"Yeah," Melinda's hands slide under her scrubs as she kisses his throat.. "She was sitting on the floor by you. She's right next to me now." She pauses, wiping a tear away as she turns to look away. "She wants me to tell you how much she loves it when you read to her. She didn't realize how much she missed it until today."
"I missed reading to you too bug," he says, hugging Melinda tighter as she cries. "Hey… it's okay. Do you need a minute with her? I've had my share of time."
Melinda nods, pressing a kiss into her shirt. "Yeah," she says. "I'd like that. Will you go check on Ned? He was with Delia at the cafeteria, but I don't know if they are still here."
"Okay," he whispers, helping her walk over to the chair. He sits her down and kisses her again. "I'll go check on Ned and call the house and check on the kids too."
Melinda breathes in, nodding silently. He closes the door as he leaves and Katie sits at the foot of the hospital bed.
"I miss you," Melinda sighs, holding her hand. "I miss you so much Katie."
"I miss you too," she says. "You should go home and get some rest mom. You have this baby to think about and my siblings needs you. I'm stable okay? And Ned won't go anywhere. I also think I should be able to get out of this ghost state soon."
"Me? Oh Katie, I'm fine... just a little lightheaded and my feet are killing me, usual things." Melinda huffs, smiling. "And your dad is checking on the kids. We'll go home once he gets back, okay? I promise."
The door opens and Jim comes into the room with Ned. He comes to Melinda, helping her up and hugging her. He leans over Katie, kissing her forehead.
"Hey you," Ned whispers, plopping down in the chair by her side. "I missed you."
"Let's get you home…" Jim yawns and walk over to Melinda. "That way Ned can have time alone with his wife and the kids miss you."
"You need sleep too," Melinda says, warning him. "They will page you if anything goes wrong."
"What I need is to stay here and keep an eye on her vitals," he yawns again.
"Dad," Katie huffs, coming to stand in front of him. She used whatever energy she had to open the door, swinging it open. "Go home."
"What was that?" Jim turns, going to step in the hallway for a second.
"That would be your daughter," Melinda follows Jim and blocking his entrance to the door again. "She says go home."
"Oh does she?" Jim laughs, sighing. "Fine. I'll get a few hours rest, but I'm coming right back here when I wake up." He agrees, walking inside to see Ned. "Call me if anything happens?"
"Yes, I will call you if anything happens." Ned reassures the man, stretching his arms above his head.
"Go get the truck. I'll be out in a minute," Melinda says, smiling toward Jim.
"Alright," he closes the door behind him.
Melinda could see her daughter is near her husband, sitting on the arm of the chair he is sitting in.
"She wants you to lay with her," Melinda says, sensing Katie's thoughts. "She misses feeling you close to her and knows how tired you are."
"I need a shower too, but I can't go back there yet. The bedroom is still a mess." He sighs, sitting up a little.
"Tell him I'm sorry," she whispers.
"She's sorry." Melinda says, moving to sit on the edge of the bed.
"Don't be Katie... I should've been there." He stood up, moving to stand by the bed near her.
"It's not your fault, Ned." Both women says at the same time.
"I know it isn't," he whispers. "I know, she may not have made the decision because of me, but if I hadn't left her alone… if I had just been more patient with her." He pauses, his calmness threatening to break. "I should've been there when she needed someone. I wasn't there."
"Just lie with her Ned. That's all she needs now." Melinda says, scooting closer to him. "And get some sleep. Okay?"
"Okay," he nods, lying back on the bed. He was facing her, kissing her cheek, feeling her warmth as she slept in her sedated state. "I love her so much Melinda."
"I know. I'll see you in the morning," Melinda replies and turns to leave. "I love you Ned."
"I love you too," he whispers and waves goodbye. "Shut the lights off for me?"
"Of course," Melinda answers and does so, slowly closing the door behind her.
"I think it's time I go back... you know... in my body." Katie says, following her mom.
Melinda smiles and looks over at her, the light trickling through her spirit form. "I can't wait to hug you again. You have no idea how I want to see you as you, Katie."
"Oh I do," she laughs, smiling at her. "So this goodbye for now. I love you mom."
"I love you too, baby girl." Melinda whispers and then touches her stomach. "Oh God. Oh no."
"What's wrong?" She asks.
"My water just broke," Melinda replies and then looks at her pants, which are soaked through as she doubles over in pain, quickly walking to the chair. "I think it did… oh yeah, this is it." Melinda laughs, moving to sit in a nearby chair. She cries out then, white knuckling the armrest. "Oh I wish you were here."
"Has this been happening all day mom?" She is next to her and Melinda could swear that when she touches her hand, it almost feels real. "Mom, I'm here. I'm so sorry that I'm not really here, but I'm here. You can tell me."
"I felt a few things during the funeral and the lunch." Melinda explains softly, whimpering as she shakes her head. "But I just thought it was gas. I had a lot of food today."
"Okay. I'll be right back," she reassures her before she disappears, appearing next to Ned. The lights flicker and the door flies open, startling Ned. He isn't sleeping, flipping through the channels of the tv. Nothing was on at this time of night. It is almost eleven.
"What's wrong, Katie?" Ned says, slipping out of the bed carefully. "Is this you? Katie?"
She lifts his arm with all of the energy she has and points it to the hallway, her BP dropping and causing a few nurses to run into the room.
"Ned, go to my mom!" She yells before going back to her mother. "He can't even hear me... why do I even bother?"
Ned steps into the hallway as nurses and a doctor attending to Katie, trying to get her to stabilize and calm.
"Melinda?" Ned can see that she is in pain, the way she grasps the armrests and holds her stomach. "Is everything okay? Is it the baby? Are you in labor?"
"My water broke Ned. Yes, I'm in labor." Melinda winces, feeling her body release at the end of the contraction. She grabs his hand with a smile while she can, breathing in. "Can you go get Jim?"
"Yes. I'll get him." Ned says, standing up before dashing down the hallway and out the entrance of the ER.
"Mom, I wish I could be here..." She says softly, sitting beside her. "I'm not leaving until you're okay."
"Katie, go help yourself. That'll make this a lot easier." Melinda sighs, feeling her body tense and burn as another contraction came through. "Okay?" Her brow furrows and she shakes her head. "Why are they so close? The last time it was hours. God, she's going to kill me."
Katie knows she couldn't do anything besides sit there, being by her side until her father gets there. It isn't long before her father and husband come through the doors. She watches her father run, sliding on the floor as he kneels in front of her.
"Mel? Are you okay?" He holds onto both of her hands immediately, kissing her hands. "What's happening?"
"Hi... I'm in labor. I think we should go upstairs before anything else happens," Melinda says, squeezing his hands.
"So this is happening? Are you sure?" Jim asks and kneels down in front of her.
"I'm positive," Melinda gasps and then touches her stomach. "All this stress from the past few days is finally having an effect on me. Ned... you should go to our house and brief the kids on what is happening. Just don't tell them anything about Katie. They don't know yet."
"Well what if they ask about her?" He asks, pulling his keys out of his pocket. His hair was tousled as he runs his hands through it again. "Should I say anything?"
"Umm... I don't know, just please don't tell them yet, especially not Mackenzie. If she asks to come, tell her she can in the morning. I'll be by as soon as I can to check on all of them." Jim explains as he brings a wheelchair over, helping Melinda into into it. "We'll call you if anything happens before you're back. Aaron is in charge, brief him separately. He can handle it."
"Okay. I can handle that," he sighs, kneeling down to hug Melinda. "You good mom?"
"I'm fine. Go," Melinda smiles softly, looking up at Katie next. "Now you…" Jim hugs Ned and she met his eyes for a moment before looking to Katie. "You do what I told you to do."
"I know. I will." She follows Ned and touches his shoulder softly, her fingers passing through his body. "Ned wait," she says, hoping he can feel her.
He comes to a stop as he feels the feather light touch of his wife. "Hi honey," he whispers softly for only her to hear.
"Ned…" She says and passes through him to look at his face.
"You're making me chilly…" He laughs, almost feeling a bit normal with her. Even if it was the least bit of normal they'd ever been in his life. "I miss you Katie."
"I'm sorry," she smiles up at him and goes to fix his tie but only moves it up a little. "I wish I was here."
"Oh… I'm sorry. I know how much you hate when I loosen my tie but don't take it off." He says and fixes it. "I'm guessing this is a goodbye for now? A see you soon?"
"I love you," she laughs and presses a feather like kiss to his lips. "Till we meet again… and I can kiss you for real."
"I love you too," he replies and touches his lips softly. "I've got to get going… umm do think I'll see you soon?" She squeezes his hand before she walks past him toward her hospital room. "I'll take that as a yes." He replies and starts to walk out the exit door, as the doors open he looks back at the empty hallway and smiles before leaving.
She watches him leave before walking into the ICU room, seeing the nurse's work on getting her BP and heart rate back up. Little did they know all she had to do was step back into her body. She stands near herself and feels a presence of someone else.
"I wouldn't do that just yet if I were you." A voice laughs from behind her.
"Amber…" She mutters and turns around. She wanted nothing more than this woman to leave her alone. To let be. "Haven't you hurt me enough?"
"How did it feel?" Amber asks.
"How did what feel?" She replies, sighing.
"To lose your child Katie," Amber smirks. "How did that feel?"
Her anger bubbles up as Amber appears to be holding a small child in her arms. Is that? Is that her son? She steps closer, her rage bubbling over as she stands nose to nose with Amber.
"Not him," she mutters, seeing her son squirm in his arms. It is right. Everything about this picture is wrong.
"Oh! You didn't know, did you?" Amber says, looking down at the child in her arms. "He's quite the cutie… so I'll give you that."
"You leave my son alone!" She yells, Amber's strength fading as she falls to her knees. Katie then takes her son from Amber's arms. He is warm, his cheeks are flushed pink and he coos like he should've. "Hey baby boy… hi. It's mommy oh hi..."
Amber chuckles, smiling at the pair. "The only way you can make sure he crosses over is if you cross over with him, and I think we both know you aren't going to do that."
"No, she won't be crossing over." Andrea appears next to her. "But that's what family is for. They do the difficult things that you sometimes can't do and this is something I can do for you Katie. Just promise me that you'll take care of yourself and be that happy again." Andrea peers at the baby. "I should get going with this cutie."
"Not yet," she whispers. "I just need a minute."
"I can do that," Andrea turns to Amber, snarling at her. "Why do women take out their pain on other women? It's beyond me."
She looks down at the squirming baby in her arms, smiling at him. "Hi little one. I wish I could be with you. I wish… I wish your daddy could see how handsome you are." She pauses to collect herself, feeling a warmth of happiness spread through her as she looks at her son. He has the most beautiful eyes. A perfect mix of hers and Ned's. The outside has Ned's green, while the middle is her brown. "I never got to see him move like this, you know? Or even see his little eyes. He is so beautiful."
"We better go before anyone tries to interfere," Andrea says and Amber finally disappears. "Good riddance. I hope she never bothers you again."
"I doubt that. Will you take good care of him for me?" She whispered and kissed the top of his head. "Mama loves you."
"I will," Andrea says, taking him and disappearing.
"He's going to be okay." She reminds herself and places her hand against her own. She has to do it. It will be the best option for her. She will be better with time and healing. "And so will I…"