You smell like love

Chapter 15

It took almost an hour, a couple of infusions at the coffee shop and the silent company of his parents and Owen for almost twenty minutes while he caught his breath, for Carlos to begin to feel better and be able to think with some coolness... though not too much either.

"Sorry," he said to them all with the cardboard cup of tea, still steaming, in his hand.

"There's nothing to be sorry for, mijo," Gabriel replied, rubbing his back. "I can assure you that I was a bag of nerves the times all of you were born, Carlitos, and I assure you that they were all natural deliveries. Long, yes, but without complications and two days after birth, we were all at home."

Carlos smiled, that was what he had wished for. The moment to do the cesarean would have been decided by them, TK would have been ready to bring the twins into the world and both Luna and Daniel would have been in his arms now because they would have been big enough not to be in the incubator. Daniel would have no problem with his hip and his leg and TK would be ready to rest a few days at home.

He had dreamed of this moment so many times and, in the end, the dream had turned into something more like a nightmare, or at least something that was not what he had wished for.

"TK's birth was complicated," Owen said, snapping him out of his thoughts. "It was long, I remember we spent over a day in the delivery room. Gwyn wanted a natural birth because then...she'd heard a lot of stories about cesareans and almost thirty years ago it was riskier. So she was determined to have TK with a natural birth. And I can assure you that Gwyn will always be my hero because of the strength she showed that day."

"She was exhausted and barely had any strength left. The doctor was saying that TK didn't want to come out, I remember that sentence, that moment when I was told that maybe I should make a decision about mother and baby."

"But I didn't have to. Gwyn, just like TK now, was and always will be one of the strongest people I have ever met in my life. She put every last bit of energy into bringing our boy into the world. They had to give her two blood transfusions and she spent almost three days in recovery, but you see it all worked out in the end.

"You know TK is extremely strong, and I would like to say that comes from me, from his Strand blood. But, no, the strength my son has always shown is from being a Morgan and having had Gwyn as his mother." Owen's eyes filled with tears; Carlos was having a hard time but he had forgotten there was someone else so concerned about TK.

"Owen, I'm sorry I...I should have told you, I should have talked to you and..."

"Hey, no reproaches or feeling bad about not caring about other people, Carlos. It's your family in there."

"And your son and grandchildren."

"Then let's take care of them together." Carlos nodded. "How about we go back to the waiting room until they tell us we can go in to see them?"

Carlos thanked the captain for his words and, although he had to lean on his mother, he managed to get up and made his way to the elevator.

The team left because they had to work and, without TK in the ambulance, nor Owen in command of everyone, they needed to get organized again. Tommy was the last to leave, offering to help with whatever was needed.

Then they were left alone: Carlos, sitting in one of the blue plastic chairs, with his mother on one side, Gabriel on the other and Owen pacing the hallway, making no secret that he was as nervous as the cop.

TK spent the next six hours resting, sleeping in the ICU and with no visitors possible, while the babies spent their first hours in the incubator without any complications.