Marcus POV
I’ve never felt more helpless than I did at this moment. I stood behind the glass watching the nurses care for my babies. They lay in incubators, hooked up to wires, fighting for their lives. I couldn’t help them. There was supposed to be only two. Each sonogram, each doctor visit she had only showed two. How could two additional babies stay hidden for months?! I was furious; she was at an even bigger risk than we thought. It made sense now why she would be tired more often. My anger couldn’t help them, it served no purpose now. I stood watching, and praying I didn’t lose them all. The nurses wanted me to name them, but I refused. Amari and I hadn’t decided on names still and on top of that we had two more to consider.
Continue Reading: "Chapter 113-Unfinished Business"
I’ve never felt more helpless than I did at this moment. I stood behind the glass watching the nurses care for my babies. They lay in incubators, hooked up to wires, fighting for their lives. I couldn’t help them. There was supposed to be only two. Each sonogram, each doctor visit she had only showed two. How could two additional babies stay hidden for months?! I was furious; she was at an even bigger risk than we thought. It made sense now why she would be tired more often. My anger couldn’t help them, it served no purpose now. I stood watching, and praying I didn’t lose them all. The nurses wanted me to name them, but I refused. Amari and I hadn’t decided on names still and on top of that we had two more to consider.
For now they were Smith baby A-D:
three girls, one boy. I couldn’t’ help
them. I couldn’t help my wife who lay in a coma. Uterine rupture. She’d lost a
lot of blood by the time we’d gotten her to the hospital, and the babies were
no longer protected in the womb. The doctors did an emergency C-section. There
was too much damage done, they told me, in order to save her life they needed
to do a hysterectomy. She’d never have children again. I’d wanted to be the one
to break the news to her, but she never woke up. No one could tell me why she
was in a coma, and why her body seemed to get weaker with each passing day. She
was dying. I had all the abilities in the world, except the ability to save my
family.
“When is the last time you left the
hospital?” Dax asked coming to stand beside me.
“I haven’t,” I replied, running a
weary hand down my face. “Cece brought me a bag so I could shower in your mom’s
room.”
“I get you don’t really need rest,
but you do need a break. Let one of us stay with them.”
“I’m fine son. I want to be here
when your mom wakes up, or when these people tell me I can finally hold one of
my babies!” I added angrily gesturing towards the NICU.
When allowed in, I could only touch
their little hands, they weren’t able to be removed from the incubators yet.
“When’s the last time you’ve
eaten?”
“Aric brought me something
yesterday. I told you I’m fine.” I replied turning to face him finally. “How’s
Finley doing?”
Dax had been staying at the house.
It was the off season for him, and even though he was supposed to be in
training still, he took time off. His coach understood and the team sent
flowers. All the kids had been doing a great job of splitting their time here
and helping to take care of Finley and the house.
“She’s fine. She and Zana have been
studying for finals since her suspension was lifted.”
I saw red thinking about that
night. It was the actions of that sorry ass principal that landed us here. If I
wasn’t so concerned about Amari and the babies, I would have gone back to drain
the life from his worthless body. Zana’s mother actually did something to
protect her daughter for a change. She pressed charges against the boy that
attacked Zana and filed a formal complaint with the school board against the
principal. He had been temporarily reassigned pending the outcome of the
hearing. More needed to be done, but that was not my top priority right now.
“Dad, really, you need to go home.
Get a decent night’s sleep. I’ll stay here and if I detect any movement from Mom,
you can be here before her eyes even flutter open.” Dax gave me a crooked grin.
He was right, I knew that, but I
couldn’t bring myself to go home without them with me. It didn’t seem right.
“Have you been in to see your mom?”
I asked changing the topic.
“Yes, she’s still sleeping. Her
room smells good with all the flowers.”
“A lot of people love her, and want
her to wake up.”
“She will Dad,” he said pulling me
into a hug. “She’s strong, always has been. She’ll get through this.”
I pulled away and gave him a pat on
the back. “Your mom did an amazing job raising you kids.”
“Yeah, she gets a little credit,”
Dax replied with a wink, “but most of this is just my natural awesomeness.” He
gave me a large grin that brought a smile to my face. The boy definitely had my
sense of humor. “Come on, let me take you home. Just for a few hours.”
“Ok, let me check on your mom first
and I’ll meet you at the car.”
“Or…the nurses station,” he replied,
giving a wink to one of the ladies behind me.
I walked away laughing for the
first time since Amari was admitted. That quickly died when I entered her room.
