A/N – I am not a medical expert – making it up as I go along. Pardon any discrepancies.
To the reviewer who asked me why I am obsessed with Elizabeth – I am not. This is ONE story that is about Sarah & Elizabeth. That does not equal obsession. And I have watched General Hospital since 1998, so I do know the history. My opinion in just that – mine. And yours is yours. As all my disclaimers say, if you do not like Sarah Webber, you're not going to like this story. Thanks for the feedback!
Chapter Four
The next morning, Ava stirred when she heard Avery coughing in her crib. Not that she'd really slept much. Avery had been coughing all night, her breathing shallow. "I wish the oxygen would help more, baby," Ava whispered as she got up and headed to the crib. She pasted a false smile on her face for her daughter and leaned over the crib. "Hey, beautiful girl. Mommy's here." Ava held out her arms to Avery.
"Mommy." Avery reached her own arms out.
Ava felt a flood of relief run through her. Avery was responding to her! Ava lifted Avery up and rubbed her back, trying to loosen some of the fluid trapped in her lungs. "I know you didn't sleep so well," she crooned soothingly.
Avery was whiny but quickly distracted when Sarah came in. "Good morning, Mrs. Jerome. How is Avery this morning?"
"She was up a lot last night," Ava said honestly. She shifted her daughter in her arms. Avery was watching Sarah quizzically.
Sarah nodded absently, looking over the results from Avery's machines from the night. "The fluid in her lungs isn't helping," Sarah commented. "What time will her father be in today?"
Ava bristled momentarily. "In an hour or two, most likely," she replied.
Sarah gave Ava a sympathetic smile. "When he's here, I'd like to talk to both of you about a treatment plan for Avery. In the meantime, I'm going to adjust Avery's medicine a bit, see if we can give her a bit more comfort."
Ava smiled in relief. "Thank you, Dr. Webber."
"Sarah." Sarah corrected gently, with a smile.
"Ava." Ava returned the smile.
"I'd like to spend a few minutes with our patient for a quick exam, if you mind, Ava," Sarah said, holding her arms out for Avery.
Ava reluctantly relinquished Avery to Sarah's arms and watched while Sarah cuddled the girl close to her. "Good morning, Avery." Sarah talked in a soft, soothing voice to keep Avery relaxed as she settled on the rocking chair, Avery in her lap. "Remember my stethoscope from last night? Would you like to hear your heart?" Sarah fitted the earpieces carefully into Avery's ears and put the other end over Avery's heart.
Avery listened and then grinned widely when she heard her heartbeat. Sarah then moved it over to her own heart, Avery still grinning with delight. "Boom Boom!" Avery cried.
Sarah returned the grin. "Yes, boom boom, Avery." She moved the earpieces to her own ears and listened to Avery's heart, then her chest and then her back. She frowned in concentration. Then she pulled out her otoscope to look in Avery's ears and her eyes. "You're feeling the same today, aren't you, Miss Avery?"
Avery leaned back against Sarah comfortably at that.
Sarah looked up at Ava. "When she's comfortable like this, it's easy to picture sitting here all day with her. Maybe you could try reading to her for awhile? It will keep her calm and quiet and maybe the rocking will lull her back to sleep."
Ava nodded and Sarah stood up, gently lowering Avery to Ava's lap once Ava was sitting. Moving a bunch of books from the window sill to the bedside table, Sarah looked back at Ava. "I'll be back in a few hours, ok?"
"We'll be here. Thanks, Sarah." Ava rested her cheek briefly on top of Avery's head as she smiled at the doctor.
Sarah nodded and left the room.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
A few hours later, Sonny and Carly arrived at the hospital. They headed down the corridor to Avery's room, discussing Sarah's arrival in Port Charles.
"Admit it, Carly. You're not completely unhappy Elizabeth is upset about her sister being here," Sonny goaded.
Carly was torn about how to answer. True, Elizabeth had been her enemy at one point. Their hate had spanned years and many public episodes. Yet they'd managed to strike an unlikely truce when Elizabeth had helped save Carly's daughter Josslyn's life. While Elizabeth still wasn't her favourite person, Carly no longer relished in seeing her angry or upset. "Maybe not completely unhappy, but not happy either," Carly finally answered. "Maybe I'm finally grown up, Sonny," she added teasingly. "Hating Elizabeth takes up too much time and energy. I've got much better things to spend my time on – like our kids."
Sonny smiled, reaching out and lacing his fingers through hers. "Our children are so lucky to have you as their mother and stepmother." With 6 children between them, their children kept Carly constantly busy whenever she wasn't managing things at the hotel with her business partner and the mother of Sonny's oldest child, Olivia.
They reached Avery's room and went in, surprised when they found Sarah inside, rocking Avery in the chair. Avery was asleep against Sarah, who looked very relaxed.
"Is something wrong?" Carly looked immediately worried to find Sarah with Avery.
"No change from yesterday," Sarah reassured quickly. "I sent Ava to get some hot coffee and some food into her system. She didn't want to leave Avery alone, so I offered to stay with her."
"Ava hasn't left Avery's side since last night?" Sonny looked surprised.
Sarah narrowed her eyes at him. "I can obviously sense the bad history between you and Ava. However, that woman loves Avery desperately and, like you, would give anything to make Avery better. She's been glued to this room until I practically removed her by force so she could take of herself. If you guys don't take care of yourself, you can't take very good care of Avery."
Before Sonny or Carly could reply, Ava walked in the room. She softened when she saw Avery sleeping against Sarah, and simply nodded to Sonny and Carly.
"Ok." Sarah sighed. "Let's talk about Avery. Ava, have a seat," Sarah stood up and nodded to the rocking chair. Once Ava was seated, Sarah carefully transferred Avery into her lap and picked up Avery's chart. "Avery was born with two holes in her heart. These holes are causing her blood to mix improperly, and her heart is overcompensating trying to clear the blood properly. On top of that, she has an abnormal valve that needs to be corrected. Avery is looking at one, possibly two major surgeries. The valve needs to be replaced and the holes in her heart need to be closed. Then we have to work on separating her blood streams again." Sarah paused to give Carly, Sonny and Ava time to process this.
Ava instinctively held Avery tighter against her. "What are the risks?"
"Several," Sarah replied bluntly. "Paralysis, her heart could get worse and she'll need a heart transplant, even possibly death."
"And if you don't do the surgery?" Sonny asked.
"We can continue to treat with medicine and some supplements for nutrition. It could keep the overall prognosis at bay."
"What aren't you adding there?" Carly asked, hearing the "but" behind Sarah's words.
"But if that doesn't work, then it will cause damaged to Avery's heart and she'll go right to needing a heart transplant," Sarah answered. "The surgery to close the holes in her heart and replace the valve will no longer ben an option."
All three looked stunned. "Listen, I know this is a big decision and I don't want you to rush in making the decision. Why don't you think it over, discuss it and let me know what you're thinking? I won't be offended if you decide on a second or even third opinion. I'll also answer as many questions as I can."
Seeing the stunned nods, Sarah turned and left.
Ava remained silent, rocking Avery with tears pooling in her eyes. Her baby girl. Was this somehow her fault? Had she done something during her pregnancy that could've caused this? Could she have prevented it somehow?
Carly saw the look crossing Ava's face and pulled up a chair beside her. "Ava." Ava's eyes met hers. "This is not your fault. There is nothing you could've done to prevent this. It was something Avery was born with that never affected her until now."
Sonny admired his wife's empathy towards the woman who had threatened to keep Avery from him for her entire life. Their experience with Michael and his discovery of his biological father had taught them a lot about parenthood and doing what's best for your child. "I agree with Carly. Let's not dwell on the past. We need to figure out what to do now for Avery."
"I can't imagine them slicing her open," Ava whispered, grateful for Carly's words. She nodded thankfully at Carly, reaching out and squeezing Carly's arm gently but quickly. "She's so small, and those are major surgeries."
"If we don't, she may need a heart transplant eventually, which is also major surgery," Carly pointed out thoughtfully. "There's a chance that she'll never need a heart transplant though."
"And if she does need a heart transplant, what if she can't survive long enough to find a donor? I read somewhere once that children are much less likely for transplants than adults," Sonny added.
"I'm sure we can confirm that with Sarah," Carly said.
Ava looked down at the sleeping child in her arms, her heart breaking. "I wish I could trade myself. Make me be the one who was so sick and Avery healthy and well. She doesn't deserve to be in the hospital. Look outside, at the beautiful sunny weather. She should be outside running and playing, being a toddler."
"We all wish that, Ava," Carly said. "Sarah is our second opinion, of sorts. Dr. Mayes was the one that suggested you hire a specialist, Sonny."
"So do we look for a third opinion?" Ava asked, her tone slightly desperate.
"I think we should treat with medication and supplements and try to keep her healthy as long as possible," Sonny said. Carly and Ava both looked at him. "I can't bear the thought of something happening to my baby girl." His voice was thick with emotion. "She could live a long and healthy life and never need a transplant if we can treat this."
"She could also die if this gets worse and there's no heart to transplant." Ava tried not to sound shrill but the mere word "die" send panic fluttering across her body. Her mind was whirling, her brain not able to think coherently.
"There is no easy answer here," Carly told both of them. Tears were in her eyes as she looked at Avery, sleeping peacefully on Ava. "Maybe we can do both. Ask Sarah to start the medication adjusting to give us a day or two. We can see how she responds to that, and maybe that will help us make a decision."
Ava and Sonny both nodded.
"I'll go let Sarah know." Carly gave them both one more look and left the room.
"Our baby girl will get through this, Sonny," Ava said a couple minutes after Carly left the room. "If nothing else, Avery has our strong will and determination. She's tougher than both of us."
Sonny managed a small smile Ava's way. "That's for sure." Feeling restless, Sonny checked his watch. "I better go call and check on a shipment that was arriving at the warehouse this morning. I'll be back soon. Give her a kiss when she wakes up from her daddy, ok?"
Ava nodded. After Sonny left, she smiled to herself. Maybe they could be civil about Avery after all.