"Happy Birthday, Mommy!" Aria yelled as Elizabeth returned home from work on Thursday.
Lucas knew that Aria would want to celebrate Elizabeth's birthday too, so while Elizabeth was still at work, he and Aria decorated the house with balloons and streamers and made cupcakes and Spaghetti and Meatballs for dinner.
"Oh! Thank you so much!" Elizabeth hugged her daughter and gave Lucas a kiss. "You want to know why this is the best birthday?"
"Cause you have us," Aria told her without a doubt.
"That's right, bugs. You and your dad are the best things in my life. I love you both so much."
"I love you too, Mommy."
"Why don't you go relax at the table and we will bring you dinner?" Lucas suggested, kissing her again.
"Okay, that sounds wonderful."
As they ate dinner, they talked about fun things and happy things. No sad or unhappy. That was Aria's rule. Mommy's Birthday so only happy.
"Can we get a puppy?" she asked as they dug into the cupcakes.
Elizabeth looked at Lucas who smirked. "Maybe in the spring," he suggested. "We are going to move to a bigger house and hopefully it will have a bigger yard too."
"For my birthday? That's in April!"
"Maybe, bugs," Elizabeth told her, giving her a wink. She just nodded, accepting the "maybe." Amazing.
As they lounged in the living room watching a movie of Elizabeth's choice, Aria leaned against Elizabeth's shoulder and moaned.
"What's wrong, honey?"
"I'm hot."
Elizabeth kissed her forehead. She did feel a little warm. "Does anything hurt?"
Lucas looked over at them.
"My tummy. But not bad."
"Probably shouldn't have eaten that second cupcake," Lucas mentioned. "Why don't you go get under your covers and I'll be in to tuck you in."
"Okay." Aria kissed Elizabeth's cheek and hugged her tight. "I love you, Mommy. Happy Birthday."
"Thank you. I love you too."
Aria then hugged Lucas and walked down the hall. "Hope she's not getting sick," Elizabeth said quietly. Seeing kids sick was so hard and knowing they were leaving the next morning didn't help.
"I'll take her temp and get her tucked in," Lucas said, standing. "I'll be back."
He returned a few moments later. "She's at 100.3. Not terrible."
"Just enough to make her feel yucky."
Lucas paused the tv. "So…do you feel like finishing the movie or maybe something else?"
She raised her eyebrow at him and giggled. "What do you have in mind?"
"Come with me." He stood and offered his hand. She turned the tv off and followed him willingly.
……
The next morning, Faith came over to the house to pick up Aria but she was still asleep.
"It's alright. I don't mind hanging out here."
"Last night she had a slight fever and felt yucky but it maybe have been the second cupcake."
"I'm sure she will be just fine," Faith assured her.
"Yeah but if she needs us…"
Faith hugged her friend. "You are a good mother already, Elizabeth. I love seeing this side of you. You don't need to worry. I will text you if she gets worse. You two go enjoy your weekend."
"Thanks, Faith," they told her and scooted out the door like she had suggested.
"We won't be too far," Lucas assured her. "We can be back fast if she gets really sick."
As they drove across state lines about an hour longer, she started to relax. She hadn't received a text or phone call so maybe whatever had been happening was nothing.
The snow started to fall right as they pulled onto the picturesque property of the B B.
"Oh, gosh. This is gorgeous," Elizabeth told him, squeezing his hand. Perfect for a weekend getaway.
"Right? I'm so glad we are doing this."
He got out and opened her door for her and they grabbed their suitcase and walked to the front door.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket as they walked in but she ignored it for a moment. Once they got in their room, she'd see what it was.
Then his phone buzzed. He pulled it out of his pocket. Carson. "Hey, Carson. What's up?"
"We are concerned about Aria. She threw up, her fever is still about 101 and her stomach hurts. On her right side. I think you should meet us at Charlton."
"Appendicitis," he said quietly. "Yes take her in. We are on our way back right now. Thanks, man."
"Of course." Lucas apologized to the owner of the B B, paid his bill and they got back in their car.
Elizabeth called the hospital, giving their permission to get Aria checked out even though they wouldn't be there for about two hours.
As Lucas drove, Elizabeth noticed him getting more and more out of sorts. "Babe, pull over. I'll drive."
"What? No, we don't have time to switch."
"Yes we do. If you want us to get there in one piece, do as I ask," she said gently, touching his knee. He looked at her, frowning. Then he pulled off the dirt road.
"I can't believe this is happening," he muttered, staring out the window as she pulled back onto the road. "We never should have left her."
"Lucas, we didn't know. This is not our fault because we decided to take some time for ourselves. Which we need, by the way."
"If I lose her…"
"We and we won't. The doctors and nurses at Charlton are wonderful and they are getting her in fast."
He knew she was right but knowing he couldn't physically be there when she was admitted brought his mind back to Clara and….he hadn't said goodbye. He had been at work and she had called an ambulance because she didn't feel well after a fall she had. Then she passed. The blood clot had formed in her leg and traveled up to her heart and killed her.
"I didn't say goodbye," he muttered, wiping his eyes.
"To Aria? You kissed her forehead and told her you loved her. I saw you."
"No. To Clara. I wasn't here. She died and I didn't say goodbye. She was all alone and I wasn't there. I promised I would always be there for her."
Elizabeth pulled off the road and parked in a driveway. She took his hand and squeezed and then gently turned his chin toward her. "Baby, you've never told me that. Why weren't you there?"
"I was at work. A few days before, she had fallen off a chair as she was hanging new curtains. Those blasted curtains. She had twisted her leg and knee and we took her in to get checked out. The next day, she was having pain in her leg and trouble breathing so she called an ambulance."
"Blood clot?"
"Yeah. She was gone before I could get to her."
"Oh my goodness."
"So Aria…I need to get there. Please get us there so I, we, can talk to her."
Elizabeth kissed him twice and leaned her forehead against his. "I promise you, I will get you there. I love you."
"I love you."
"We are just getting off the elevator," Elizabeth told Faith as they walked down the hall of the area that Aria was in. "Curtain 4?"
Lucas rushed ahead to curtain 4 and Elizabeth smiled, hanging up her phone as she watched Lucas carefully hugging Aria, peppering her face and forehead with kisses.
"Hi, Daddy."
"Hi, baby girl. How are you feeling?"
"Weird. Kinda funny."
"They gave her some pain meds so she's a little loopy," Faith told him.
A nurse walked in, one he recognized but didn't remember the name of.
"Kayla," Elizabeth said. "Are you taking care of our daughter today?"
"Yes, ma'am and she's doing so well now that she's out of pain. I just need a signature of parental consent to get her down to surgery."
Lucas stepped forward and read the chart and then signed the form.
"Daddy! I'm scared. I don't want to have surgery!" Aria said in a high pitched, squeaky voice.
Lucas and Elizabeth both sat down on the edge of her bed and held one of her hands. "You know what, baby girl?"
"What?" she asked, tears running down her face.
"Your doctor is a great one. He's one of my friends and he is going to take care of you in there."
"He's your friend?"
"Yep."
"Okay. Will you be there too?"
"No, sweetheart. I will be right here with Mommy waiting for you to come back. They are going to give you some medicine to make you sleepy and when you wake up, we will be here and your surgery will be all done."
"It will?"
Kayla nodded and put the medicine in her IV. "Now just relax, Aria May," Elizabeth told her softly. "We are right here with you."
"I love you, Mommy." Elizabeth kissed her forehead and smiled. "Not as much as I love you, bugs."
"To the moon?"
"To the moon," Elizabeth and Lucas said, holding her hand as she drifted to sleep. Then they rolled her out of the curtained area.
……
Elizabeth felt weird being at the hospital but not to work. She was supposed to be at that gorgeous BB enjoying some time with Lucas instead of here. Not that she'd want to be anywhere but here due to circumstances. Aria was her heart and she needed her.
Lucas sat down in the chair nearby and hung his head. She ran her fingers through his hair to soothe him a bit. After hearing what had happened to Clara, she knew that he was scared and she understood it.
She knelt in front of him and dried his tears. "You alright, babe?"
"Yeah. I am. Thank you for getting us here."
"You know she's going to be fine, right?"
"Yeah. I know." He softly kissed her. "I'm sorry about our weekend."
"Me too, but we need to be here. Its more important. We can figure something out after she's better."
He pulled her up and onto his lap and they just quietly sat, holding each other. He was glad that he wasn't alone. He was so blessed to have the woman in his arms.
"Its hard to balance our relationship and our relationships with Aria, isn't it?" he asked.
"Yes. It is."
"I need you to know that even though its hard, you are my priority. Our life together won't work if we don't make each other the most important ones."
She nodded and snuggled into his neck. "I love you. Thank you for loving me back."
……
Just a short time later, they brought a sleeping Aria back up. She looked so tiny in the big bed.
"She did very well," one of the nurses said. "Dr. Whitesall will be up to chat with you in about ten minutes. So hang tight, alright?"
A second nurse came in and adjusted her IV and took her blood pressure as she slept and then hung around the room to watch for when she woke up. Elizabeth and Lucas just watched as she lay there. It was so scary to see how vulnerable she was.
A few moments later, she moved her hand. "Mommy?" she said in the tiniest voice.
Elizabeth smiled and got up off Lucas' lap. "Hi, bugs. How are you?"
"Tired."
"Well, you can rest then."
"Will you hold me?"
Elizabeth looked at the nurse. "Can I lay next to her?"
"Yep, just on this side so you don't get tangled on her IV."
Lucas pulled the chair up next to the bed and held Aria's other hand, stroking the top of it with his thumb. He winked at Elizabeth and sat back to wait and watch. He was right where he needed to be.