by Nana Prah
They drew labs and ordered an X-ray.
The doctor looked somber when he came back with the results. “He’s lost a lot of blood and we’ll need to transfuse at least two units. His bleeding hasn’t stopped, so I want to take him to surgery and explore. Unfortunately, his blood type is rare and we don’t have it here. People are becoming less willing to donate blood these days. We called the nearest major hospital which is at least thirty minutes away, but they don’t have the matching blood either. We’re trying to contact other hospitals now.”
“What’s his blood type?” Jasmine asked.
“O negative,” he replied and gave her an odd look when she smiled.
“I’m O negative,” she explained. “I’ll donate a unit. My father is too, if he agrees, he can donate the other.”
“That’s wonderful. I’ll get the nurse to come in and draw your blood for testing.” He gave her a pointed look. “We’ll have to check it for HIV, Hepatitis B, and a few other diseases.”
“I’ll be clear for everything,” she assured him.
“Good. We’re getting ready to prep him for surgery.”
Jasmine’s family came in as the nurse finished drawing her blood. “What’s happening,” Dad asked.
“He’s lost a lot of blood and needs at least two units The blood bank is out of O negative.”
Dad nodded. “Where do I donate.”
“Sean, buddy, how are you doing?” Ed asked.
“Hanging in,” he said weakly.
“You’ll be all right. We’re praying for you.”
“Call my parents. Number’s in my cell phone.”
Ed grabbed the phone Sean held out. “I’m on it.”
Jasmine slapped her hand on her forehead and frowned. “I should’ve done that.”
“Sweetie, you were preoccupied,” Mom said.
From then on time seemed to move in hyper speed as they prepared to send him to the operating room. “Everything’ll be all right. I’ll see you when you come out. I love you, Sean,” Jasmine said as she left him at the operating room door, restricted from entering.
She watched him go as her blood infused into his body.
Time slowed to a snail’s crawl as they sat gathered in the waiting room.
Jasmine paced and prayed without ceasing.
“He’ll pull through,” everyone kept reassuring her.
“I know,” she said, more as a prayer than a statement.
When the doctor came out, a trillion decades later, they gave a collective exhale when he smiled. Jasmine locked her knees so she wouldn’t fall to the floor.
“Oh, God, thank you.” Grandma’s prayer reflected the one echoing in Jasmine’s mind.
“The bullet nicked the kidney,” the doctor explained. “But the bleeding had slowed considerably by the time we went in. He’ll be fine. The blood you and your father donated helped tremendously. Please consider being regular blood donors. We need you.”
“I already am. I’m actually a little past due for donating,” Jasmine admitted.
“Glad to hear it. Would you like to see him now? He’s groggy from the anesthesia so he may not be completely coherent.”
***
Sean swam through a sea of loopiness. He’d had the strangest dream of being a Jewish woman in a Nazi prison camp who was betrayed by the man she loved.
As a prisoner, he’d recognized the soldier as Jasmine. He’d loved her so much. Even when she’d turned her back on him, breaking his heart and almost destroying his spirit. Somehow, he knew he had to forgive her for the betrayal. He had to let it go so he could move on, hopefully with her. It had all been so clear.
But with every second, more details evaporated. He couldn’t remember everything anymore and he really wanted to.
“Hi, Sean.”
“I forgive you.” He had to let her know before it all disappeared.
Jasmine clasped his hand. “For what?”
“For you not having the courage to love me. For leaving me.” His tongue was thick and heavy as he mumbled the words. “You were scared. I forgive you.”
“I’ve been here the whole time.”
He had to let her know before it slipped away. Everything was getting fuzzy in his mind, and it was a struggle to keep his eyes open. “No, you left me to the Nazis. I confessed my love and you left me. I forgive you. I love you too much not to.”
***
Jasmine stroked his face as tears rolled down her cheeks.
The nurse came in. “We should let him rest. You can see him again when we send him to his room.”
Jasmine kissed him on the lips. “I love you, Cuauhtémoc. Thank you for forgiving me. Now I’ll try to forgive myself.” She turned to the nurse and said, “Thank you.”
She walked to the waiting room. Carly took her hand and led her to the bathroom where she held her. The stress of the experience hit her at once. She released it in the unyielding flow of sobs that wracked her body. She was barely aware of Carly’s comforting words.
“I was so scared, Carly.”
“I know, Jas. You were strong.”
Jasmine sniffled and noticed Carly’s red eyes and tear stained cheeks. She looked in the mirror and frowned. “We look horrible.”
Carly nodded. “Yeah.”
They washed their faces and went out to their family. As soon as Jasmine walked into the waiting room she was engulfed by seven pairs of arms. “I’m suffocating,” she said, loving every second.
Chapter 19
The family was lounging in Sean’s room, unabashedly breaking all of the hospital’s visitation rules and watching him sleep when his parents arrived later that evening. His mother whimpered when she recognized her only child lying in a hospital bed. “Mi pappy.” She rushed to him. “Sean, I’m here. It’s Mama.”
His eyes fluttered open. “Mama,” he croaked.
Mrs. Taylor gave a small cry of relief. “Hi, darling.”
Mr. Taylor touched Sean’s shoulder. “I’m here, too.”
“Hi, Dad.” Sean’s eyes were fully open and searching the room. When he saw Jasmine, he grinned. She returned the smile and he drifted back to sleep.
Mrs. Taylor stroked his hair and watched him for a little while. She went to Jasmine and held her. This brought fresh tears to Jasmine’s eyes.
She introduced Sean’s parents to the rest of her family.
“This was not how I imagined us meeting,” Mr. Taylor said. His voice weighed down with fatigue.
“Neither did I,” Mom responded.
“What happened?” Mrs. Taylor asked. “Edward only told us Sean had been shot, with few details.”
Jasmine’s father recounted the story.
“But that doesn’t make sense.” Mr. Taylor’s brow furrowed. “Did he always have a psychological problem?”
“Not that I know of, but he’d been using drugs. Maybe that pushed him over the edge,” Jasmine said from Sean’s bedside.
Her mother stroked her hair. “Jasmine, you’re a mess. Let Mr. and Mrs. Taylor sit with Sean while we take you home to wash up and eat. Ed will bring you back.”
She was hesitant to leave his side.
“He’ll be all right,” Mrs. Taylor assured her. “You can call me Anna and the big guy over there is John.”
Mom smiled. “I’m Patricia and my husband is Anthony.” She touched Jasmine’s shoulder. “Let’s go, sweetheart.”
Jasmine reluctantly stood up and kissed Sean on the cheek. “I’ll be right back,” she whispered to him, but he didn’t stir.
At the house, Jasmine rushed through a shower and ate the food forced on her by Grandma.
Then Ed drove her back to the hospital, where she went straight to Sean. “How is he?”
“The same as when you left, dear. He’s been sleeping the whole time. He opened his eyes once and mumbled a strange word I couldn’t quite catch. It sounded kind of like cinnamon.”
“Must be the pain medication,” Jasmine muttered.
“I’d love
to stay, but I know he’s in good hands with you. We’ll see you in the morning.” Mom kissed Sean on the forehead before heading toward the door with her husband.
Jasmine wondered about how the Taylors got to the hospital so quickly. “Weren’t you supposed to be in Italy?”
“We were at the airport when John said we shouldn’t go. So we cancelled our flight.”
Jasmine looked at Mr. Taylor. “What made you change your mind?”
“I had a feeling something was wrong. If my wife has taught me one thing over the years, it’s to never ignore my instincts.”
“But you got here so quickly.”
“We were in New York City when we got the call.” Mr. Taylor said. Our change of plans included taking in the city since it’s been a while. There’s nothing like Manhattan at Christmas time.”
“Then we were going to surprise you and Sean with a visit.” Mrs. Taylor added.
Jasmine nodded.
“We’ll be back early in the morning.” Mr. Taylor squeezed Jasmine’s shoulder. “Take care of our boy.”
“I will.”
The night was filled with thoughts about the trauma of the day. She could’ve lost him.
Jasmine wondered if this was how he felt when she’d died all those centuries ago in childbirth. It amazed her that he remembered loving her as a Nazi prisoner, even if it had been at a subconscious level under the remnants of anesthesia.
It reminded her of the strength in their connection.
The nurses came in throughout the night to check his vital signs and give him mediation through the IV. He would wake up, look for her, and then fall right back to sleep.
They had him on some very good pain medication and she knew he wasn’t feeling anything. She didn’t envy him having to get out of bed to walk tomorrow.
***
“Get this out of me.”
The words infiltrated Jasmine’s light sleep.
“Hmmm?” Her neck cracked as she lifted her head.
“Get this out of me,” Sean ordered pointing to the urinary catheter.
She smiled. “We’ll have to wait for the doctor.”
“You’re a nurse. Can’t you take it out?” he implored. “I don’t want it.”
“You weren’t complaining about it last night when we didn’t have to give you a urinal or make you get up to hobble to the bathroom. And besides, you had an injury to your kidney. They need to make sure your urine output is good.”
“Is it?”
She looked down at the nearly full bag of pale yellow urine and did a mental calculation of how many bags of intravenous fluids they’d given him. “Yes.”
“Then remove it,” he insisted.
“How are you feeling this morning?” she asked, attempting to divert his attention.
“Like I got shot,” he said, gingerly touching his side.
She stroked his hair. “Baby, you did get shot.”
“That explains it.”
“What I don’t understand is why you rushed at David like that.”
“Who?”
“David, Venge, my ex-fiancé, the one who shot you when you tried to take the gun away from him.”
His jaw muscle flexed. “The bastard. I could sense you were going to attack him. I couldn’t bear it if I lost you. I would rather die myself than lose you, so I went in first.”
Tears sprang to her eyes. “But I’m trained for the fight. You aren’t.”
“Love overrides everything.” He canted his head. “Maybe it’s my near death experience, but the unexplainable fear I had of you hurting me is gone.”
“You trust me now?”
“Yes. The feeling of doubt is gone. I trust you with my life and my heart.”
She got up to kiss him on the cheek. “I’d kiss your lips, but your mouth is fowl.”
Although weak, he pulled her close and kissed her full on the lips. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”
She laughed. “Not for you. I brushed my teeth last night, unlike you.”
He started to laugh, but stopped when the pain hit him.
She kissed him on the lips again, not minding the funk of his breath.
Sean was alive and he’d make it through.
Happiness flowed through her like her blood had infused into his veins, bringing him life.
“Did you know we’re the same blood type?”
Epilogue
Know-it-all Carly had been right. Sean and Jasmine couldn’t wait until their wedding night in May to make love. Sean’s near death experience brought them closer and they found it close to impossible to not manifest it physically.
They got pregnant on their wedding night, not on any of their previous trial runs, and now had a set of four year old twins--Eric and Alexander, both named after their great grandfathers. The children were the joy of their lives. Spoiled by everyone including Carly’s first born daughter Tanya who was very protective of her twin cousins even though she claimed they annoyed her sometimes.
David ended up in a psychiatric hospital with a diagnosis of drug-induced schizophrenia. Everyone forgave him, but none of the family ever went to visit him. Carly even stopped growling when his name came up.
Jasmine hadn’t had any more vivid daydreams since her last one almost five years ago of her being an Aztec warrior. She’d come to terms with them. After doing some research and sharing the same memory with Sean about being in the concentration camp, she had no doubt they were actually her past lives. Jasmine didn’t share the information with anyone other than Grandma. Who would believe her?
When she looked at Sean she remembered how blessed she was to have him in her life. She remembered how she’d almost lost him and how they’d found and gotten to love each other again through time.
About the Author
Nana Prah first discovered romance in a book from her eight grade summer reading list and has been obsessed with it ever since. Her fascination with love inspired her to write in her favorite genre where happily-ever-after is the rule.
She is a published author of contemporary, multicultural romances. Her books are sweet with a touch of spice. When she’s not writing she’s, over-indulging in chocolate, enjoying life with friends and family, and tormenting nursing students into being the best nurses the world has ever seen.
Nana loves to connect with her readers on Twitter @NanaPrah and Facebook at Nana Prah, author. Feel free to leave a review if you enjoyed this book.
GENRE: PARANORMAL ROMANCE/ROMANTIC SUSPENSE
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, businesses, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental. All trademarks, service marks, registered trademarks, and registered service marks are the property of their respective owners and are used herein for identification purposes only. The publisher does not have any control over or assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their contents.
LOVE THROUGH TIME (Revised Edition)
Copyright © 2013 by Nana Prah
Cover Design by Taria Reed Digital Artist (www.TariaReed.net)
All cover art copyright © 2016
All Rights Reserved
EBOOK ISBN: 978-1-626944-35-0
FIRST PUBLICATION: AUGUST 3, 2013
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