“I hope so, Marcus. I sure hope so.” Beth turned from the window to face him.
It was then that Marcus saw the tears running slowly down her face. He pulled Beth into his arms, offering what comfort he could, taking from her the silent solace she had to give.
CHAPTER TWELVE
LISA AWOKE with a feeling of dread and she reached for Marcus automatically, thinking even through her groggy confusion that whatever was wrong was manageable with Marcus beside her. Her hand bumped against the cold rail on the side of her hospital bed, instead. And it all flooded back to her. Her baby! Oh, God, was she…
Fumbling frantically, she found the call button for the nurse among the covers on the side of her bed, depressing the lever immediately and continuously. A young nurse she barely knew flew into the room, her short dark hair framing a no-nonsense face.
“Yes, Dr. Cartwright? Do you need help?”
“My baby. How’s my baby?” Lisa asked, clutching her bedcovers.
“She’s alive, Doctor.”
Lisa released the breath she’d been holding. “She made it through the night. That’s a good sign,” she said almost to herself, while visions of underdeveloped lungs and kidneys filled her mind. There was so much that could be wrong, that could take her baby from her at any moment. Her chest tightened.
The nurse smiled shyly, her features softening into prettiness. “You’ve got a fighter there, Doctor,” she said.
Lisa nodded, trying to smile. Trying to be strong.
“Your husband brought some clothes for you. I can help you get ready to go if you like. Dr. Crutchfield will be here to release you shortly.” The nurse picked up an overnight bag from the floor at the foot of her bed.
Lisa heard one thing through her panic-induced haze. “Marcus is here?”
The nurse nodded. “Dr. Montague’s been here, too. Your husband just left to get some coffee, at her instigation, and I’m willing to bet he’ll wish he hadn’t. He really wanted to be here with you when you woke up. I wish my husband were half that besotted with me,” she confided.
Lisa smiled, barely hearing the nurse’s small talk. Marcus was here. She just had to hold on a few more minutes and he’d be with her. And then she’d face whatever news was waiting down the hall in the nursery. She’d find out what kind of battle her tiny baby was fighting.
There was a knock on the open door, and Lisa turned her head to see her father standing there, holding the biggest teddy bear she’d ever seen.
“Hi, honey,” he said, his eyes only for her.
“Let me know when you’re ready to get dressed,” the nurse said softly, and slipped out the door as Lisa opened her arms to her dad.
“Oh, Daddy…”
Dropping the teddy bear on the end of the bed, Oliver pulled her into his arms and held her tightly, wordlessly, telling her with his touch what no words could convey. They’d both lost so much. They needed Lisa’s baby to fill the voids left in their lives.
“Have you seen her?” Lisa asked when Oliver finally pulled away to sit on the side of the bed.
He nodded. “She’s the prettiest one in there,” he said. But his eyes, moist with unshed tears, frightened her.
“She’s going to make it, Dad,” Lisa promised. She’d been too young to save his Sara, but she’d save her own. Somehow.
Oliver nodded and patted her arm. “I know, honey. Now, did I hear the nurse say you could get dressed?”
Lisa nodded. “They’re letting me out of here. It’s supposed to be better, you know, under the circumstances, for me to be at home as soon as possible.”
“Then I’ll leave you for now, sweetie. Call me when you get home, okay?”
Lisa nodded, and he bent to kiss her head. “I love you.”
“I love you, too, Dad.”
Lisa called for the nurse again the minute Oliver left. She couldn’t stand the silence in her room that allowed her medical knowledge to torture her. A body that small fighting against the world of disease into which it had been born. Why, even a simple cold could—
“You ready to get dressed?” The nurse was back. Thank heaven.