by Lexy Timms
She waited… and waited.
Chapter 16
Her father had a heart attack.
The air felt like it had been sucked out of the room. Charity tried to get as much as she could in by taking short, sharp breaths.
“Look at me,” Elijah said, his voice calm and in control. She hadn’t noticed him come in.
She turned to the sound of his voice and let her hands drop from her face.
“Breathe. Deep, slow breaths.”
She did as he told. The tightness in her chest loosened and the anxiety trying to explode inside her dissipated.
“You okay?”
She nodded. “I think so.”
“Your father kicked ass. He’s going to be okay.” Elijah wore medical clothes.
“Did you do the surgery?” She knew it was her asking the question, but it sounded like someone else’s voice.
He nodded.
Simon yelled out, “Wahoo!”
“Can I see him?”
“Sure. He’s going to be a bit groggy. They are bringing him out of the recovery room into a private room now.”
“Is his heart okay?”
Elijah smiled. “With some cardiac rehabilitation when he gets back to New York. The man’s going to be fit as a fiddle.”
“Thank you.” Charity burst into tears and buried her face into Elijah’s chest. “Th-Thanks-s e-ev-vry-one.”
Elijah wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. “He was asking for you.”
Charity stepped back and wiped the wetness from her cheeks. “Can we go see him?”
He led her to his room while the others stayed back in the waiting room.
Her breath stuck in her throat when they went into his room.
He lay on the bed wrapped tight in flannel blankets. Wires, monitors, and oxygen snaked out from under the sheets and on his nose. He looked frail and older than his years on the gurney.
She hated seeing her strong, invincible dad like this. He was a fighter, not a tiny exhausted little man with pale skin and dishevelled hair. She reached over and tried to straighten the untidy bedhead hair. “He hates it messy.”
His eyes fluttered open from her touch. “Water, p-pl-please.”
She got him the Styrofoam cup off the bedside table. “There’s only ice in here,” she said to Elijah.
Elijah nodded. “That’s all he needs right now. Just an ice chip in his mouth.”
Her father shot Elijah a dirty look. “W-Wa-Water.”
Charity wanted to just grab him an ice-cold glass and feed it to him through a straw.
Elijah looked at her and shook his head, as if reading her thoughts. “Grab him a cloth, wet it and let him suck on that. It’ll help the parchedness in his mouth and throat.”
She did as he suggested and she smiled when it touched her dad’s lips and he eagerly tried to retrieve all the water from it. “How do you feel, Dad?” she asked him when he finally pushed the cloth away.
“Like a train crashed into my chest.” He smiled, his eyes still rolling from the anesthetic as he tried to focus. “Sixty-five years old and I’ve never been under the knife until today.”
“You gave us quite the scare.” Elijah checked his chart and made a few notes from off the monitors.
Her father smiled and closed his eyes. “Didn’t want Charity to get all the attention.”
She grinned, letting a giddy laugh escape. “Next time just say something. I think I’ve had enough surprises for one year.”
He reached for her hand. “You and me both, sweetie. You and me both. And Elijah too.”
A doctor from the hospital came in and chatted quietly with Elijah. He came over to Charity. “So you’re Doctor Thompson’s daughter?”
She nodded and held out her hand. “I’m Charity.”
“I’m Doctor Raphin.” He returned her handshake. “During the surgery Dr. Bennet mentioned he got married yesterday. He’s one lucky man.”
“Thanks. How’s my father doing?”
“He’s going to be fine. Give him a few days and make sure he relaxes the rest of the time he’s here. I believe Dr. Bennet said you were here for two weeks?”
“We are. My father only planned to stay a week but I’ll make sure he flies home with us.”
Dr. Raphin chuckled. “Good luck with that. I attended one of your father’s conferences last year in New York. He’s not that easily swayed.” He reached for his phone. “Sorry folks, surgery calls. I’ll check in again this afternoon. Congrats again on your wedding.”
He left and came back a short time later, while her father slept, with a Journal of Medicine in his hands. He handed it to Elijah and left again.
“What’s that for?”
Elijah tossed the journal on the bedside table. “I bribed the guy to let me operate. There’s an article by your dad in there, one of his first ones. The guy wants your dad to sign it.”
“Tell Raphin to get ten more. My dad’ll sign them all.”
They spent the afternoon in the hospital room and finally left just before dinner. It was her father pushing them to leave. He was grouchy, tired and sore. He said he just wanted to sleep.
Hand in hand, Elijah and Charity walked to the parking lot. “I don’t remember what we drove to the hospital in,” Charity murmured.
“My dad’s Mercedes. I think it’s blue. Or grey. Something dark.” Elijah hit the button to sound the horn. “I forgot to ask Simon where he parked it before they left with my mother.”
A horn sounded on the other side of the lot. They turned in the direction it came from.
Elijah put his arm around her shoulders. “How are you doing?”
“Shocked.” She leaned against his shoulder. “I’m mad he didn’t say anything. He obviously knew something was up and should have told us.”
“He’s a doctor. He probably figured he had everything covered.”
“He should have said something.” It wasn’t right for her to be mad at her dad. She knew it. However the anxiety built up from the day had to go somewhere. “He’s bloody lucky there were three other doctors in the house. If it had happened in his room… it could have been too late.” Her eyes filled at the realization. There was no way in hell she was going to lose her dad.
Elijah cleared his throat. “He wasn’t on his own last night.”
“I don’t mean during the wedding. I mean after.”
“So do I.”
It took a minute for his works and their unsaid meaning to sink in. “What did you just say?”
Elijah pointed to a car with lights flickering. “Found the car. My mom talked to me earlier today. She was a bit of a mess. She thought she had caused the attack.”
Charity stopped walking. His mother? Her dad? “Seriously? How old are they? You don’t just meet someone and hop in bed with them. I’m going to kill my dad tomorrow.”
Elijah laughed as he opened the car door for her. “I think that might be something he would prefer you didn’t know.”
“Him and me both.” She started giggling. She didn’t mean to but after everything, it seemed like the easiest thing to do. “Your mother must have been mortified this morning. I can’t believe she told you.”
Elijah pulled out of the parking lot. “I’ve never seen my mother nervous. Ever. It was pretty interesting, and mortifying at the same time. “That’s one image I am never going to be able to get out of my head for as long as I live.”
“It’s your fault you know.”
“Say what?”
“You joked about it last night. It’s like karma, or something.” Talking about last night brought images into her head of the two of them. She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “Thanks for saving my dad. I’ll have to think of a way to repay you.”
He glanced at her slyly from the corner of his eye. “I’m sure we can come up with something.”
Chapter 17
When they returned to the hospital at lunch the next day, Charity couldn’t believe the difference in h
er father.
He was sitting up in bed, the color back on his face and only an IV in his arm instead of all the other wires and tubes. He smiled when they came in. “Hey kids.”
Elijah went straight to the tablet on the wall that contained her father’s medical information. “Everything looks good, Scott.” He flipped through some screens. “Heart monitor is working and your heart appears to be acting like nothing happened.”
“Must be the surgeon. I heard the guy did an unbelievably good job.”
Elijah grinned but didn’t say anything.
Charity sat beside her dad on his bed. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
Her father reached for her hand and squeezed it. “Me, too.” He stared at her a long time. Words seemed to pass between the two of them without needing to be spoken.
She understood he was trying to apologize. He blamed himself and she wanted to take it away. This wasn’t his fault. He took good care of himself. He was fit, he exercised, everything he was supposed to do. The stress and anxiety of the past months had built up. If she hadn’t been shot, if she…
She stopped her thoughts. He blamed himself, she blamed herself. It was the same cycle they always went through, except they used to blame each other instead of themselves. It had to stop.
“I’m keeping an eye on you when we get back to New York. I’m going to make unannounced trips to the hospital and your place to check up on you.” She kept going, refusing to let him interrupt her. “I’m not losing you. When we get back I’m going to your cardio rehabilitation with you and making sure you do all the exercises, everything.”
Her father chuckled. “Might be a bit hard to do from Atlanta.”
“I had my contract changed.” She ignored the “What?” that came from Elijah, but looked at him as well as she continued. “The contract’s been changed and I’ll be working from New York most of the time to finish up. I’ll keep my condo in Atlanta and fly down once or twice a month if needed but I can do most of the work from home.”
“It’ll be nice to have you around more.” Her father grinned, pride shining in his eyes. “You can work in my office whenever you want to.”
“You won’t be there for a bit so I might take you up on that.”
Her father looked confused a moment. His lips pressed in a tight line. “I’ll be back –”
“As soon as your cardiologist clears you.” Elijah folded his arms across his chest as he cut his father-in-law off.
Dr. Thompson looked back and forth between the two of them. “Fine.”
“Fine?” Charity didn’t believe he would give up so easy.
“Margaret mentioned this morning she would like to come to America. If Elijah’s at the hospital, then I can take her around.”
It took everything for Charity not to look at Elijah. She pressed her lips in a thin line to keep from laughing. Of all things. “I’ll talk to Margaret and see if she can wait a few weeks.”
Her father opened his mouth and then closed it. He obviously wasn’t ready to admit to anything.
Dr. Thompson spent a few more days in the hospital. Julie and Simon flew home the day he was discharged from the hospital. He didn’t argue when Charity told him she had changed his flight to return with her and Elijah. They spent most of the time at Rapt Bach, taking a few easy day trips with the four of them.
Charity cherished the time getting to know her father again. He seemed to have changed, or maybe it was the time in New Zealand and the hidden aura Rapt Bach seemed to possess. She didn’t know if things would change when he returned to New York.
She didn’t think it was possible, but she fell more deeply in love with Elijah. He talked about selling the house here and that this might be the last trip they made here. She didn’t say anything, but she didn’t want him to sell it. It was something they would have to deal with eventually. Margaret hoped to move out in December. Charity asked her to come to New York for Christmas. The boys looked excited when Margaret agreed, especially her father, Charity noticed.
It amazed her how things were coming full circle. Her mother would have been proud… of all of them.
Chapter 18
Six weeks later...
Charity stared at the stick in her hand. Impossible. Well, it was completely possible, just not so believable. How could this have happened? Again, that part was completely obvious, it did take two…
She grabbed the box on the sink counter and checked the little pictures on the side to confirm her suspicions. Yup, plus meant yes. “I’m pregnant?” She looked up and stared at herself in the mirror, wondering if she looked any different. She didn’t feel different. Except for her boobs. They were so tender and felt about a size larger.
Weren’t pregnant women supposed to have some kind of inner glow? Using her fingers she counted back the weeks from her last period. She was always regular and never paid much attention to her cycle. It came, it went, with little to no bother.
Her hand pressed against her lower belly. Could a little peanut really be growing in there? She smiled and giggled at her reflection. The grin disappeared as quickly as it had come. She chewed her lip at the sudden butterflies fluttering around in her stomach. When should she tell Elijah? What would he think?
Her fingers drummed against her belly. She should probably see a doctor to confirm. Then she could tell Elijah when she knew for sure. The slight dilemma was that she didn’t have a family doctor. With moving around the country because of her job, she hadn’t sought one out. The doctor she had as a kid had to be nearly eighty now so she highly doubted he would be willing to see her and set up some lab tests.
She slipped her hair into a pony and quickly threw on some make up and workout clothes. Elijah said he would be home around lunch. She grabbed her runners and debit card and headed outside. After a five-minute jog she slowed to a walk and headed into Walgreens. She grabbed a basket, went straight to the feminine aisle and stood in front of the section of pregnancy testing kits.
Maybe three tests? She tossed several into her basket and turned to go, only to grab a few other brands and then a few more from the shelf below. She could read them when she got back to the house and decide which one to use. She also grabbed a large bottle of water and a Lemonade.
The spotty teenage boy working at the checkout gave her several strange looks but thankfully did not say anything. He just tossed all the packages into two grocery bags and handed her the bill.
Charity took her time walking back to the house, drinking the water as she went. She had to rush to unlock the door by the time she got back, and grabbed two tests out of the bag before dropping the rest to the ground as she raced to the washroom.
Both tests showed positive. By the end of the morning so did all the others.
She was definitely pregnant.
In the past months they had gone through a shooting, followed by a stressful court hearing, a wedding, her father’s heart attack and now this? She wasn’t sure if she should be happy or scared.
“Charity!” Elijah called from the front door.
Frantic, her eyes darted across the bathroom. She inhaled a deep breath through her nostrils and released it slowly through her mouth. “Relax,” she murmured to her image in the mirror. “You can tell him after lunch.”
“Charity, are you home?”
She flushed the toilet and washed her hands. “I’m in here,” she called as she dried them off. She slipped out of the bathroom, closing the door behind her.
Elijah stood in the hallway his face lighting up when he saw her. He grinned and played with the band on his left hand. Probably still getting used to its foreign feeling. He hadn’t shaved yet and his eyes were their beautiful bright blue. Gorgeous. Model handsome.
“Hey good-looking, how was surgery?” Charity hugged him tight and kissed him playfully on the lips.
“Crazy. It should have been routine, but it was far from it.”
“Complications?” She wished she could erase the worry lines appearing on his fore
head as he spoke.
“Before we had barely started. The woman had never had major surgery before. The new anesthesiologist administered the anesthetic and she went into bradycardia. It’s when the heartbeat drops to an abnormally low rate.”
She nodded. She knew what he meant but it didn’t matter. Elijah’s arms were still wrapped around her waist so she had no intention of moving. “Was she properly ventilated?”
Elijah blinked in surprise. “You sure you don’t want to finish your med degree? The anesthesiologist is new. He’s a cocky shit. Too busy listening to the sounds of his own voice. I had to find out if he used midazolam. He hadn’t bothered to fill in the chart.” Elijah shook his head. “Anyways, we had to administer Flumazenil, which started to wake the woman up. She began panicking before we were able to sedate her again.”
“Was it the anesthesiologist’s fault?” Charity couldn’t imagine the hospital having to go through another malpractice court case. She also couldn’t imagine going back to school. Not now. Not if she was going to have a baby.
Elijah pulled her tight a moment before letting her go. Taking her hand he began walking to the kitchen. “It might have been, but probably not. There’s a variety of reasons it can happen, possibly accidental - possibly because the woman’s body reacted to the midazolam for the first time. But he is at fault for not filling in his chart right away. He left to check on a patient in recovery so I had to call him back in two minutes after he left because I didn’t know if he used midazolam or fentanyl. We would have had to use naloxone then.” He kissed her forehead before letting go of her and opening the fridge. “It all worked out in the end, but it could have gone terribly. We had to monitor the poor girl like crazy to make sure she didn’t wake up in the middle of surgery. There was no way we were giving her more. I didn’t want to risk her overdosing on the anesthetic.” He sighed and leaned against the fridge door. “Then I had to deal with your father who was pretty pissed.” He stared blankly inside the fridge, his mind probably still on the argument he had to go through with her father.
