by Amy Ruttan
Alejandro laughed. “Thanks.”
“No problem. Do what’s right for you, Alejandro. Step out of Pappi’s shadow, stop being afraid of what you can lose and just take what life gives you. Live it.”
Alejandro disconnected the call. Santiago was right. He had been too afraid to open up his heart because of the what-ifs. There would always be what-ifs and did he really want to live his life not knowing what could come of it? It might be messy. It might hurt, but it would hurt more if he didn’t try.
He wanted it all.
And for the first time he wanted what his parents had had.
It was hours that he stood in that waiting room. Alejandro got a taste of what it was like on the other side and he didn’t like it much.
Was this what it had been like for his brothers?
Was this what he’d put them through?
It was absolute torture. He was used to being in the operating room, not outside, wondering if Gervaso was alive or not.
He raked his hands through his hair and made up his mind to go to the surgical floor, whether he was allowed to or not.
You could jeopardize your adoption of him.
* * *
The doors of the OR opened and Kiri stepped out. She was looking for him and then her gaze landed on him and she smiled, nodding.
“Oh, gracias a Dios.”
She nodded. “He survived, but the next twenty-four hours will tell the whole tale. He could still reject the heart.”
Alejandro nodded. “I don’t care. I will be there for him.”
“Good.”
“I’m going to adopt him.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” She grinned. “He’s supposed to be your baby.”
“This is hard for me to say...”
“What? Have you changed your mind?” And she looked ready to hit him if he gave her the wrong answer.
“No, I want to adopt him, but I wonder...I can’t help but wonder...” Only he didn’t finish the rest of what he’d been going to say because the world began to spin and his knees crumpled beneath him.
“Alejandro!”
Kiri’s screams were muffled but they sounded like his mother’s. And as he laid his head against the cold tile of the floor he knew his time was up. His heart was racing, and then it froze, and as he lay there, the world disappearing from sight, he could hear his parents’ voices again.
This was the end.
* * *
“Alejandro!” she screamed, and reached out to try and catch him, but he fell to the floor, just slipping out of her hands.
“No,” she cried out. She checked for his pulse, but there was none.
“I need a crash cart now!” Kiri yelled over her shoulder.
A Code Blue was called. She straddled him and checked his airways before starting CPR.
“You’re not going to die on me!” she shouted at his lifeless body as she pumped his chest. “You’re not going to die. Damn you!”
The crash team came running. She could see the looks on their faces as they realized that their Code Blue was Dr. Valentino.
Then Dr. Robinson was there, fresh from the operating room.
“Kiri,” he said gently. “Let me. It’s plain to see you’re family.”
Kiri stopped her compressions and let the crash team take over. Dr. Robinson guided them as she watched the man she loved lying there, no pulse, no heartbeat, on the cold hard floor.
She couldn’t lose him; she couldn’t raise Gervaso without him.
She needed Alejandro. Always had.
Oh, God.
Tears streamed down her face.
“Clear!” Dr. Robinson shouted, and a shock went through Alejandro’s body.
Please. Not him too.
“Charge to one hundred,” Dr. Robinson said. “Come on, Valentino, work with me for once in your life!”
Kiri closed her eyes, holding her breath as they shocked him again. Then she heard it. After the thump of the shock a heartbeat, faint on the monitor but it was there. It was a rhythm.
“Good. Let’s get him to the CT scanner. Let’s see what caused his heart to fail.”
“He had a heart transplant as a child!” Kiri shouted.
Dr. Robinson nodded. “I know. Who do you think writes his prescriptions?”
He left Kiri standing there as they carted Alejandro away. She’d never even had the chance to tell him how she felt about him. Just like she’d never got to say that to her baby.
Their baby.
On the floor was Alejandro’s phone.
He had brothers and they deserved to know. She picked it up and saw Alejandro had recently been speaking to Santiago.
Alejandro needed his brothers.
She pushed redial and took a deep breath.
“You again?” a deep voice said on the other line. “Now what do you want? You seriously never call me this much.”
“It’s not Alejandro,” Kiri said, trying to keep her voice from shaking.
“Who is this?”
“Dr. Bhardwaj at Buena Vista. Alejandro collapsed and needed to be resuscitated.”
There was silence. Then a sharp cry of pain. “Is he...?”
“He’s alive, but going in for testing. You need to...” She trailed off as she began to cry. “You need to come down here.”
“I’ll be there as soon as possible.”
Kiri ended the call and then went to wait for Alejandro’s family. If she didn’t, she might lose her mind.
It was only a matter of minutes and a paramedic faintly resembling Alejandro came running into the trauma department. He made a beeline for her.
“Are you Dr. Bhardwaj?”
“Yes, and you’re Santiago?”
“Yes. I couldn’t get hold of Dante or Rafe. I figured just me is good enough for now.”
“He’s in the catheterization lab. There was a block that stopped his heart.”
Santiago nodded grimly and they walked to the cath lab, where they watched Alejandro on the table. Dr. Robinson was threading the catheter to remove the block.
“Mio Dios,” Santi murmured, crossing himself. “I can’t take this. We almost lost him once. I knew a day would come when he’d need to go back on UNOS, but I thought he had more time. I prayed he had more time. I can’t lose him, we can’t...I just thought he had more time.”
“I know,” she whispered. “It’s been about twenty or so years?”
Santi nodded. “Yes, about that since our parents died. Do you know how they died?”
“He told me,” Kiri said gently.
Santi cocked an eyebrow. “I assume you’re more than his boss, then?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
“He’ll pull through,” Santi said, turning his gaze back to his brother. “If he doesn’t, I’ll kill him.”
Kiri smiled at Santi, watching him watch Alejandro, worry on his face.
It was more than she could take at the moment. She slipped away and went to the NICU. She saw Gervaso in his incubator, clinging to life, a new heart giving him a chance.
She gowned up and went into the isolation room. She couldn’t touch Gervaso. He needed time to heal and touch right now would put too much stress on his body. Knowing that she couldn’t touch him made her begin to weep.
She needed to heal too. Needed Alejandro. Needed Gervaso.
She needed her family.
If only God would give her a chance, but even if Alejandro didn’t make it Gervaso was hers. It was a done deal with her heart.
Her heart belonged to him and it belonged to Alejandro.
Fully and completely, whether he liked it or not.
CHAPTER TWELVE
DAMN.
&nbs
p; Alejandro winced in pain as he slowly opened his eyes to see Santiago at the foot of his bed, glaring at him.
“What the...?”
“Shut up,” Santiago said. “Do you know how much you scared the ever-loving heck out of me?”
“What happened?”
“You had a heart block, idiota.”
The monitors began to beep as his pulse raced.
“Don’t overexcite yourself. You’re fine. No rejection of Pappi’s heart. You’ll be fine. Scar tissue is not your friend. That was the culprit.”
Alejandro relaxed. “Did they do surgery? I’m numb so I can’t tell.”
Santi shook his head. “No, just a catheterization. You’re lucky, amigo. You were put back on UNOS, though, but you’re low on the list. There are more options for you and that heart before you need a transplant.”
“Good, that’s good. Do the elders know what happened to me?” Alejandro asked.
“Yes, they’re relieved you pulled through.” Santi grinned. “They threatened you with death if you didn’t make it.”
Alejandro chuckled. “Kind of a moot point by then.”
“I did the same. I planned on torturing you when we met up again one day. You scared me.”
“I scared you?” Alejandro teased. “Nothing scares you.”
“Some things do,” Santi said, and he nodded over at the chair beside the bed, where Kiri was curled up, sleeping. “You were lucky. Don’t blow it.”
“I won’t,” Alejandro said. “Though I’m on the transplant list again, what kind of life—”
“Let her make that decision. She knows,” Santi said. “Live life, you moron!”
Kiri stirred. “Is he awake?”
Santi nodded. “Yes, and I’m going home to my wife.” With one last squeeze of Alejandro’s foot and a knowing glare Santi left.
“Kiri,” Alejandro said.
She sat on the edge of the bed. “You scared me.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t ever do that to me again.”
“I can’t guarantee that. My heart—”
“Is fine for now. You’re on UNOS, but not a priority. I’m a surgeon. I understand the implications,” she said, interrupting him. “Your heart is fragile, but so is mine. You can’t use that as an excuse to push me away. Not anymore.”
He grinned. “So I guess that answers my question from earlier.”
She looked confused. “What question?”
“I was going to ask...I was hoping that we can adopt Gervaso together. I’m the father and you’re the mother.”
Tears filled her eyes. “Can we? I mean, you want me to adopt him with you?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t know what to say. How can we?”
He nodded. “We can, but we should get married first.”
“Married?”
“Sí.” And he held his breath.
She sighed. “Alejandro, if you’re just asking me to marry you to expedite the adoption application, then I can’t marry you. I know you just had an attack, but I won’t marry you for that.”
“I’m not asking you because of Gervaso. I’m asking for me.” He gripped her hand. “I want you, Kiri. I’ve always wanted you. I want to have a family again. I can’t live without you. The thought of losing you terrifies me, but I can’t not take the chance. I’ll risk everything to have you. To make a family with you.”
Tear began to roll down her cheeks. “How can I make a family with you? I lost our baby.”
“We’ll make a family with Gervaso. You and him, that’s all I need.”
“And if Gervaso doesn’t make it?”
“I’ll have you. I love you, Kiri, mi tesoro.”
She broke down in sobs when he said those words. His hand was still clutching hers and she couldn’t believe that Alejandro was saying these things.
“I love you too,” she finally managed to say. “I was too afraid to love, too afraid to lose. Losing our baby almost killed me and then I almost lost you. I didn’t think I could ever love again, but I love you, Alejandro. I love you.”
She leaned over and he wrapped her in his strong arms and then cupped her face, kissing her in his recovery bed.
She still was terrified about what the future held, whether Gervaso would make it or not and whether Alejandro would too, but at that moment she didn’t care. It was a risk she was willing to take because it was a chance to live. Fully.
“How is Gervaso?” Alejandro asked.
Kiri nodded and took his hand. “Strong.”
“Really?” There was a smile on his face.
“Yes.”
“I think he’ll live,” Alejandro said, as he leaned back.
“Babies are resilient and he’s definitely a fighter.” She smiled up at him. “I’m scared, though. Scared of losing you both.”
“Me too, but you don’t have to do it alone this time. I’m here. I’m sorry that you had to bear the pain of loss without me. If I...” He trailed off, his dark eyes moist. “I’m sorry, Kiri.”
And she held him. “It’s okay. We have each other now.”
So they held each other close, holding on as they talked about Gervaso. How they knew he would survive, the boy they hoped would be their son. Planning for a future together.
Praying for a miracle and never letting each other go.
* * *
Kiri wanted to wait a week after Alejandro was discharged and given the all clear before they decided to go down to City Hall and make their marriage official. She wanted to stay close to Gervaso’s side and make sure that he didn’t reject the heart.
Gervaso was strong.
A definite fighter, and each day that went by he grew stronger. Just like his father.
“So is today the day?” Alejandro asked as he came into the neonatal intensive care unit where she had been sitting with Gervaso. She couldn’t hold him but she was watching him and checking his stats often. “We got our license four days ago.”
“I think so. He’s doing well and Dr. Robinson is on duty.” Kiri smiled at Samantha, who was hovering. “As is Samantha. I think we can leave for a couple of hours to get married.”
“Married?” Samantha shrieked. “That’s wonderful! I had no idea you two were an item.”
Alejandro chuckled. “We met a long time ago and have been in love since then. We just didn’t know it.”
“He’s stubborn,” Kiri teased.
Samantha snorted. “Don’t I know it?”
“We’re getting married so that we can put in the adoption papers tonight to formally adopt young Gervaso here.” Alejandro laid a hand against the incubator. “My lawyer said that we have a better chance adopting him if we get married.”
“I’m so happy,” Samantha gushed. “For the both of you. It’s the right thing to do clearly, and I’m so happy for Gervaso. Such a sad story ending so right.”
Kiri shot Alejandro a knowing look. She stood and took Alejandro’s hand as they walked out of the neonatal intensive care unit.
“Did you manage to find some witnesses?” Kiri asked. “The only people I know in Miami are you and the people I work with.”
“I wrangled up a couple of unwilling participants, but they don’t know why.”
Kiri cocked an eyebrow, intrigued. “Who did you get?”
“My brothers Dante and Rafe.”
“I’m finally meeting the infamous elders?” She grinned. “I can’t wait to see what they look like. So if you didn’t tell them we’re getting married, what did you tell them to get them to go down to City Hall?”
“I told them I was being tried for public indecency. I broke the news of my exotic dancing days to them and they were not happy. So they think I’m being charged with
that. They’re mad. First the heart block and now this. Getting arrested is on the elders’ no-no list for me.”
She laughed. “You’re terrible.”
He grinned. “I know, but I like to have fun with the elders.”
They took Kiri’s car to City Hall and parked it. When they walked into the building they saw the tall, dark-haired, olive-skinned twins scowling and searching the crowds of people, probably looking to string Alejandro up by his short hairs.
They were devilishly handsome, as well.
Kiri had met Santiago when Alejandro had had his heart issue and had then met Saoirse just after Gervaso’s surgery. She’d been taken aback by the brother that Alejandro had called ugly. When she’d first met Santiago she hadn’t understood why the brothers all insisted on calling each other ugly when it was far from the truth.
One of the brothers’ gazes landed on Alejandro and his fist clenched as he moved through the crowd toward them.
“I think you’re in trouble,” Kiri whispered.
“I think you’re right.”
“Alejandro Gervaso Valentino, you have some explaining to do!”
“Dante, that’s Dr. Alejandro Gervaso Valentino, if you don’t mind.”
Kiri squeezed his hand in warning not to provoke his brothers, who looked ready to murder him.
“You’re lucky I don’t kill you right here, baby brother. I would if it weren’t for Pappi’s heart,” Rafe snarled. “Exotic dancing? Public indecency? You’re a doctor, for God’s sake, and you’re recovering! What are you thinking about?”
“That was all a ruse, old man.”
Dante frowned. “For what?”
“The heart block?” Rafe asked.
“No, that was real. The arrest.”
“What the...?” Dante looked like he was going to murder someone and that someone was Alejandro.
“I needed two witnesses. I’m getting married today.”
Dante and Rafe exchanged looks.
“You’re what?” Dante asked.
“This is my fiancée, Dr. Kiri Bhardwaj.”
Kiri felt uneasy as the brothers’ gazes fell on her, but they instantly softened and they smiled at her warmly. Just like Alejandro.
“A pleasure,” Rafe said, taking her hand and kissing it. “I’ve heard so much about you from Santiago, but given the fact you’re engaged to Alejandro I thought Santiago was just pulling a fast one on me.”
