Chapter 63

"I am sure she will need to remain in the hospital for several days so you do have time to figure that out. But as you said, you have calls to make now and from the things you have told me about your family, I am sure they will help out with the baby, and anything else you need. Have you named her yet?"

"Name…ummm I told Gina to pick whatever she liked…" Joe trailed off.

"Well what did she choose?"

"I don't know! She never said, and I never asked. Ummm…you just named a kid, why don't you pick something for me!?"

"Joe! I can't name your baby! That is something very special between the father and mother…oh gosh…Joe, I am SO sorry…"

"Why? Oh yeah, don't worry about it…there wasn't anything special between Gina and I. By the end there we weren't speaking to each other at all."

"I'm really sorry about that Joe. If ever you want to talk I'll be here for you. Is there anything I can do right now?"

"I need to get on those family calls, would you mind getting me a cup of coffee?"

"Not at all," she said willingly, and headed for the door.

As her hand reached out for the knob, Joe voiced another request that Catherine was no where near as eager to do, "Cathy would you call Jenny and tell her what has happened?"

Catherine turned, ready to tell him 'no', but maybe it was the utter look of desperation in his face, or maybe it was because he'd just asked her to tell Jenny what happened and nothing else, that changed her mind. Instead she found herself saying, "Sure Joe, anything else?"

"No, that's all, thanks."

After running his coffee in to him, Catherine went to her desk to try and get a hold of Jenny. Figuring she should be at work, she tried there first. Ringing Jenny's private office number she was actually surprised when she heard her friend's voice on the line.

It had been so long since she'd talked to Jenny that she felt tears well up at merely the sound of her voice. "Jenny, its Cathy. I have so much to tell you and would love for us to get together sometime and talk, but right now I'm not calling about any of that. Joe asked me to call you. Something tragic happened this morning. His wife died giving birth to their daughter."

"That is awful! But I guess I don't understand, why did he want you to call me?"

"He didn't say, he only asked that I do it," Catherine replied.

"Is the baby okay?"

"From what I understand, she is on the small side, but other than that she is fine."

"What does he want from me?!" Jenny agitatedly asked. "I mean he breaks up with me to marry her. I don't hear anything from him in months and now this! What am I supposed to do?!"

"I really don't know Jen. But he is alone, feeling desperately guilty because he thinks he wished this into being and his only requests of me when I offered to help was coffee and to call you."

"But what does he want of me? Cath what should I do?!"

"I guess the best answer to that is the one that Vincent always gives me, follow your heart."

"If I did that I would rush to his side, but at a time like this he is going to have family surrounding him…both his and hers."

"Right now he is here at the office alone and making calls, but I would guess that as soon as he is done with that he will probably go back to the hospital. But Jen if you really want to be with him then I am sure he would welcome your presence."

"Even if I left now it would take me nearly an hour to get across town at this time of day. Do you think he will still be at the office then?"

Catherine sensed movement near her desk and looked up to see Joe approaching. "Hold on a moment," she said into the receiver and then pressed the phone to her shoulder so Jenny couldn't hear what Joe might say, she nodded to Joe to let him know she was listening.

To be continued…..