Another

I couldn’t get words past the lump in my throat, so I settled on nodding. He walked over to where Audrey slept in her little baby bed, just staring, so he didn’t wake her up.

“Is she okay?”

“Yeah. We’re just waiting for the doctor to come in and tell us what’s wrong.”

He pulled me into his arms again and held me up when I was sure I’d crumble.

“Ian,” I mumbled into his chest. “I thought I could do this alone, but I can’t. I need you with me to do this. I have no idea what I’m doing, and I’m not strong enough to do it without you.”

“What are you talking about?” he asked above me, stroking my hair. “You’re Carina freaking Russo, ruler of them all. You don’t need me. I’m just here to look pretty.”

Somehow, I managed a choked laugh and held on tighter, finding strength in his arms. “Thank you, Ian. You always make me laugh.”

“I’ll remind you of that the next time you roll your eyes at my jokes.” He tugged my hair until I was looking up into his silver eyes. “I wouldn’t be anywhere else.”

He pressed a soft kiss to the crown of my head and shifted us to sit in the two chairs against the wall. We didn’t say anything while we waited. Just sat there, holding hands, being each other’s lifelines.

When the doctor came back in, he let us know she had Respiratory Syncytial Virus. He said her oxygen levels were low and she was dehydrated. A nurse came in to give her an IV of fluid, which took seven tries. I held her hand in mine and Ian held me, both of us being strong for our little girl.

By the time we had everything hooked up and monitoring her, the sun was coming up.

“Why don’t you get some sleep,” Ian suggested, rubbing my back.

“No. I want to be awake if she needs me.”

“You’ll be right here the whole time. Just rest your eyes. I’ll take care of you both for now.”

Tears glossed my eyes again and I managed a jerky nod, before leaning in to press a gentle kiss to his cheek. “Thank you.”

“I wouldn’t be anywhere else but with you.”

29 Ian

By the time we walk into our apartment two days later, I could have collapsed in gratitude, falling to my floor and promising to never leave it again. Staying in hospitals was the worst. Staying in a hospital because the center of your world is sick, is epically horrible.

“Oh, thank God,” Carina sighed, setting the car seat down by the couch and collapsing back.

I’d tried to get her to leave to shower and sleep in a real bed, but she refused to leave Audrey’s side. It was the longest two days of my life watching her hooked up to machines. But in the end, it was worth it because now we were back home. Audrey had a little cough and some congestion but was eating and overall a much happier baby.

It was good to see both my girls smiling again.

“I’m going to feed her and then put her to sleep.”

“Sounds good. I’ll order some dinner. Burgers?”

“Ew. No. That Italian place on the corner would be great.”

Huffing a laugh, I pulled out the menu and ordered. Who knew I’d find such pleasure in Carina correcting my choices. When the food was ordered, I walked back to the living room, finding Audrey latched on like she hadn’t ever eaten a day in her life.

“I don’t think I’ll ever not find that the most beautiful thing.”

Carina smiled up at me and then back down to Audrey, stroking her fat baby cheek.

“I mean, don’t get me wrong. I seriously miss kissing and playing with your breasts, but I guess I can share.”

She rolled her eyes, and it sank into my chest, expanding my heart like she’d told me she loved me. It was her way of caring. If she really didn’t care about you, she wouldn’t react, but each eye roll was its own confession.

We hadn’t talked about us when we were in the hospital. There were still so many unspoken decisions to be made, but for the first time since I watched her walk out my door, I felt like things were truly going to be okay. It hadn’t been the time to dive into the words that needed to be said—the apologies needed to be heard. No, we’d been each other’s rocks—our life rafts with each passing day in the hospital. It was like a truce had been made, but now that we were home, that truce would only last so long.

Once she’d finished feeding, I offered to change Audrey and put her to bed. Carina must have been tired because she let me without a fight. I was sure she’d stay glued to our baby’s side for the next year, at least, to make sure she was okay.