Note: I am so very appreciative of the people reading, following, and especially leaving feedback. This week has been crazy with the site- notifications were not sent out, so, if you were waiting for one, please note you may have missed the last two chapters or so. If that is the case, please read those first. Thank you all for the support with this story, as it means more than you know. With special thanks for their reviews since the last chapter, thank you- TinDog, Paulina Ann, Red Hardy, SnowPrincess88, ErinJordan, hbndgirl, elstergirl, hero76, hlahabibty, Laurie Q, and EvergreenDreamweaver. Three more chapters!
The Secret Spaces
Chapter 24
Frank was ushered into a small waiting area while Callie was being prepped for surgery. He was told that, within 15 minutes, he'd be called in to watch the birth of his child, something for which he was completely unprepared.
He sat on a hard chair in the middle of the cold and sparse room and rested his head in his hands, trying to make sense of everything, but nothing came to him. He was struck again by how quickly life could change. Under two weeks ago, life had been gloriously normal. How had it all gone so wrong, so quickly?
At once, he found himself reminiscing, caught between the best times in his life and the recent weeks. Immediately, his mind flashed to Callie; all of the beautiful moments that they'd shared after spending almost half their lives together. He had always counted himself especially lucky to have married his best friend, to still be excited to see her when he came home each day from work. She always listened patiently, put up with his dangerous job, made him laugh, and gave him a happier life than he'd ever thought possible. And when she had told him that she was pregnant, he remembered the exact moment, the feeling of joy unsurpassed by anything he had ever experienced, and he knew that it would be more important than ever to provide her a safe haven, to protect her and their child and the life they had created together.
He took a deep, shaky breath, because he had failed to do so, and the guilt was overwhelming.
Plus, if he was being honest, he was scared to death. He hadn't missed the panic in the doctors and nurses eyes when they'd looked at Callie, or the way that her blood pressure kept climbing for no reason. And, though he had never experienced watching someone in labor before, he knew that her contractions were way too fast, and that her breathing issues were not normal, nor was her pain level which had come on out of nowhere. "Preeclampsia"- he had heard the doctor utter the word, and knew what it meant, but how? And why? Callie had never had any health issues before; she worked out, ate well, and took good care of herself, even with the insanely difficult pregnancy. He hadn't had time to ask and no one had told him anything. Why had she suddenly gone into labor? It didn't make sense. But it didn't matter, did it? He had to deal with the present, but he couldn't lose her. THAT he knew.
"Why?" he whispered out loud to himself. It wasn't supposed to happen this way. They had so much left to do, so many plans that now didn't matter. All they had both prayed for was a healthy baby, and then, when Callie had started having complications in her fifth month, for both of them to make it through the full nine months healthy. But it hadn't happened that way.
Would his baby be sick? He or she was almost 8 weeks early. The thought that his child could be sick… or worse… was unfathomable, and he willed himself not to think about it.
He desperately wanted his brother there with him to talk to, or even his father. Johnny- he would have been a nervous wreck, too.
He had never felt a mixture of terror and excitement like he did in this moment. Looking down at the scrubs he was wearing made the moment even more surreal. The smallest of laughs escaped as he imagined how Joe would have made fun of his look, broken the tension as only he had the ability to. He really missed having him there.
Finally, he sat up straight, ran a hand nervously through his hair, and took a deep breath, willing himself to be calm. He had to be; there was no choice.
The door opened. A young nurse with a kind smile said to him, "Mr. Hardy? It's time. Come with me."
Frank nodded slowly and managed to smile back. It was time.
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Joe looked around at his family gathered in the waiting area and felt himself getting jittery. He had insisted on being there, would not have missed it for the world. So, here he was, in a wheelchair with his own set of IVs attached to it, and his body screaming in pain at him to go the hell back to sleep.
"Shut up," he murmured to himself.
"Excuse me?" Vanessa asked, looking at him and reaching for his hand.
"Sorry, Babe. I was talking to myself,'" he said sheepishly.
"Why?" she asked.
Joe went to explain, and then thought better of it. The only way he would seem more like an idiot is if he actually tried to articulate his thoughts. "Um… the meds?" he asked, raising his brows.
Vanessa rolled her eyes. "Well, now at least I know you're on recovery's path," Vanessa teased him gently. "You're back to silliness." She squeezed his hand.
"How are you feeling, sweetheart?" Laura asked him, walking to him quickly and giving him a kiss on the cheek. "You have to take it easy, honey. You shouldn't even be out of bed yet, much less…"
"Mama," Joe said, "I'm gonna be an uncle. And my brother's child will not have a wimp for an uncle." He gave his mom a quick wink.
"Joseph," Laura started, "I-"
"I know, mom. I'm okay. I'm pretty excited!" he had to admit.
Laura sighed but smiled."Do NOT overdo it," she cautioned. "Yes- we're all excited."
"Well, I'm worried," Vanessa lamented. She lowered her voice so that the Shaws, talking quietly to Fenton several seats down, wouldn't hear. "I mean, is it normal for blood pressure to go that high?"
"No, honey, it's not," Laura answered honestly. "But it was caught right away. The doctors know what they're doing."
"As long as Dr. Weirdo doesn't come back," Vanessa said with a shudder, and Laura silently agreed.
Joe had pretty much managed to avoid his mom and wife's banter until that last statement. He was worried about Callie, too, much more than he was letting on. Callie was one of the mentally strongest people he knew, but he'd seen first hand her physical condition and he didn't like it.
"Who's Dr. Weiro?" he asked, "because I'd like to avoid him if possible."
As Vanessa started to fill him in, he noticed two nurses leaving Callie's room at a distance, and they looked confused as they approached the night desk. He mentally made a note of it. Why would nurses be coming out of Callie's police -protected room? She wasn't even in there. Damn, he wished he was mobile and that his body wasn't on fire. He'd go ask himself right now what was going on if he could.
He turned to his wife. "So a doctor you hadn't seen before went into Cal's room? What did he do?"
Vanessa shifted in her seat nervously. "I mean, he just changed out a few bags. He didn't even wake Callie up. He was just creepy."
Joe scowled. Something didn't make sense.
"I know, honey. It bothered me, too," Laura said quietly.
Joe sighed. He wished everything wasn't so foggy. The medications had the effect of clouding his thoughts and not really helping all that much with his pain. But he forced himself to put it out of his mind and gave his mom's arm a quick squeeze, seeing the concern etched in her eyes.
"Smile, Grandma," he teased her.
"My baby's having a baby," she said to him with a smile. "I can't believe it, still."
"Frank must be a nervous wreck," Joe replied with a smile. "I can't believe that Frank is going to be someone's dad. It's just crazy."
Vanessa and Laura chuckled.
"I'm serious!" Joe went on, finding himself becoming more animated. "I hope the kid is adorable and wild and crazy and challenges all the rules and charms its way out of trouble and…"
Vanessa laughed out loud. "You hope Frank and Callie's baby is YOU!" she exclaimed.
Joe blushed a bit but then let out a little laugh, himself. "There'd be worse things," he said, lightly. As much as he wanted to be with his brother and share in the moment right now, and much as he wanted to make sure Callie was okay, above all he wanted to meet this baby. Ever since Frank and Callie had told him that she was pregnant, and especially since she had started to show, he had been beyond excited about having a new little baby in his life, someone he could spoil rotten and do right by forever. He loved this kid already.
And, with any luck, the baby would grow up with a very close first cousin. He wouldn't mind that at all, he thought fondly, as he sneaked a quick glance at Vanessa. Truth be told, he couldn't wait to become a dad, himself. But in the meantime, he would move heaven and earth to be the world's best, most fun, coolest uncle ever.
He smiled at the thought, reached for Vanessa's hand, and waited.
UGH- he HATED waiting.
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Alan Cotnig slipped surreptitiously into the building. Sometimes, the best place to hide really was in plain sight. Besides, he reminded himself with a small grin, where else would a man with serious burns to his skin not cause anyone to stare? A hospital was the perfect setting. The hunted right before the hunters, on purpose. He enjoyed the irony.
As he walked through the doors, head down, he knew where he was headed. Tobias had done okay thus far; finished off Gellers and maybe Callie Hardy and her child as well. It was a start.
And after he found Fenton Hardy and Ezra Collig again, it would be a finish; their exquisite end.
He strode forward. The time was getting close now. He had nothing left to lose.
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It was the most beautiful moment of his life. From behind the blue curtain, the doctor had lifted the baby, who was not supposed to even have had strong enough lungs to breathe on its own, and he heard it. It was faint; more like a mew than anything, but it was there. The baby cried. And it was more perfect than any symphony orchestra playing in perfect harmony.
"Congratulations!" the doctor smiled. "You have a son!"
A different doctor carried the baby quickly to them. Frank watched as Callie, arms strapped down, unable to move, had the baby placed close to her face for a moment, tears streaming from her eyes. The baby was taken right away to the various NIC-U nurses present at the birth.
As his son was worked on, he leaned down and kissed Callie, sure that he had never loved anyone more.
"He's perfect," he managed to say as he felt his own tears spill over.
"I want to see him again," Callie whispered.
The doctor interjected as he came around to Callie and Frank. "Mr. and Mrs. Hardy, you can see your baby in a few minutes very quickly as we get his vitals. Then we need to get him to the NIC-U quickly for assessment- preemies require special care. Mr. Hardy, you can go with your son while we finish with Mrs. Hardy and she's in recovery."
The next few minutes passed in a whir. Frank found himself torn between wanting to ensure that Callie was okay and wanting to make sure the baby was okay.
He heard all sorts of stats he didn't understand, but two he did- 3 pounds, 9 ounces and 16 inches- and then, before he knew what was happening, a clean and swaddled little human was placed in his arms.
He was so tiny, so light, but he was the most perfect thing Frank had ever seen in his life. He thought his heart might burst with love as he looked at his son. His SON who was, unbelievably, still trying to cry, and the smallest noise emanated from his beautiful little mouth. And then, he opened his eyes, just the tiniest bit, and Frank's heart melted.
Instinctively, he bent down to Callie, holding their baby close to her face, and watched as she nuzzled his body. She looked incredulous. One of the doctors took Callie's cell phone, which had been placed away from the operating table, and took a few quick pictures of them all.
"Do you have a name?" a nurse asked.
Frank looked at Callie and at the baby. "What do you think, honey?" he asked, and, when her whispered reply came out, he smiled. "That's perfect," he told her, and kissed her again. He wondered if this was what it felt like to watch your heart exist outside of your body, to truly love people more than yourself.
"Mr. Hardy?" a nurse asked. "I hate to interrupt, but we have to take your son now. Would you like to come?"
"Go," Callie encouraged him in a faint voice.
A doctor approached him quickly and ushered him to the side. "Go with your new baby," he said. "We need to finish with your wife. She's doing okay, but she's bleeding heavily and her pressure is still elevated. The more quickly we can finish with her, the less stress there will be on her body. This is still a serious situation, but so far, so good."
Frank felt his heart beat hard. He saw the nurses in the doorway, ushering him to follow. Before he did, he stopped quickly again by Callie, leaning down to speak quietly."I'll be waiting for you and I'm with him. Don't worry, sweetheart," he whispered in her ear. "I love you so much," he added. "Our son and I need you."
"I love you," she answered, simply, in a soft voice. "YOU don't worry, okay?" she replied weakly.
He met her eyes for the briefest of moments, fighting tears, and gently pushed her hair from her forehead. Sometimes, a simple loving touch meant more than words could ever convey.
And he knew she understood.
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Two hours later, Frank checked with the doctor, who had told his parents and in-laws that the baby had been born, and that mother and child were okay, but that was it.
He briefly checked on his wife. Callie was recovering. She was dizzy, painfully weak, and still not stabilized, having had other blood transfusions because of her excessive bleeding. Her blood pressure was still elevated, but it was coming down very slowly. She would be in her normal room soon enough. Frank stared at her from afar, and had faith. She was a fighter, and God knew, she had something to fight for now.
He'd been with the baby, but knew it would be awhile before the tests were completed and the results were in. It was time to see his family.
As soon as he reached the waiting room, he was surrounded by everyone asking a million questions at once.
He smiled and laughed."Whoa. Hold on. Callie's recovering. She's okay for now." He watched as he saw the relief on everyone's faces.
"Well?" Joe said, and Frank turned to his brother. "Come on! Is the baby…"
A pin could have dropped in the room. "It's a boy!" Frank said as his face burst into a smile, and the room erupted in cheers and applause as everyone gathered to hug him, smiles and tears all around.
"He's so little," Frank went on, unable to stop smiling, and gave them all the info he had, including all the up to date tests that were being done. "Come on- I'll take you to the NIC-U. You can see him through the window."
"What does he look like?" Vanessa asked, excited.
Frank's whole expression softened. "He's perfect," he said, and was met with ooohs and ahhhs from Vanessa, Laura, and Callie's mom.
"Does the kid have a name?" Joe asked.
Frank looked down at Joe in the wheelchair and saw his exhaustion and frustration at not being able to stand. "Yeah," Frank said, and knelt down beside his brother. "He sure does."
Frank was speaking loudly enough for everyone, but looking his brother right in the eyes. He covered Joe's hand with his own. "It was Callie's idea, and I couldn't agree with it more. We're going to call him JJ, but his formal name is Jonathan Joseph. We wanted to name him after his two favorite uncles who loved him before he was even born." He squeezed Joe's hand quickly.
Joe felt tears come to his eyes. "Can I still call him Joe?" he choked out after a minute.
Frank leaned forward and hugged him gently, careful not to hurt him. "No," he replied firmly as he pulled back, and everyone started laughing.
"Fine," Joe managed, hugging him back tightly, heart overcome with emotion. "I guess that's acceptable. For now..."
And for the first time in two weeks, if even for a moment, everyone was finally at peace.