The Journey to Love

Chapter 13

Maya: Is that you Andy? Andy: Yes, it is. Maya: Guys, Andy is here. Travis: No, she isn't. (They come out.) Travis: You are here. Andy: Yes, I am. (They all hug.) Andy: How are y'all? Maya: Good. We miss you. Andy: I thought since I'm in town for a little bit, I'd drop in. Travis: Good, when are you coming back? Andy: About sixteen months. What do you think of your captain? Travis: I like him. He has a wife and two daughters in the NICU. Andy: I know. We're good friends, and that's why I picked him. Maya: How long are you in town? Andy: Till Monday. However, I may be back off and on. Maya: Can we do a girl's night? Andy: We can try. Maya: Okay. (Robert comes up the stairs, and sees Andy.) Robert: Hey, you. What are you doing here? Andy: Visiting some friends before I head to Hawaii. Maya: What are you going to do in Hawaii? Andy: I'm going to spread my dad's ashes at his favorite spot. I'd thought he'd like that. Maya: That's nice of you. (Little do they know, two weeks after Pruitt died, his ashes were spread off Mt. Mauna Kea.) Travis: Are you going to do anything else? Andy: I don't know yet, but I'll train some firefighters. Travis: Okay. Andy: I gotta get going. See y'all later. Robert: I'll walk you out. (They go downstairs.) Robert: What's going on? Andy: The PDA stopped shrinking, and she has to go up on her meds. So, I needed to let some anger out. Robert: Okay. I love you. Andy: I love you too.: End of Conversation After that, they do a short kiss, and Andy heads back to the hospital.

Andy takes a shower at the hospital and hangs out with her girls. For the rest of the day, she takes care of her girls, rests, and works on her computer. That evening, they give the girls their sponge bath and go to bed.

NICU Day 34: Amanda and Diana are Thirty-Four Days Old... Last night was difficult. Hannah was off, so they had a different nurse. However, Andy mostly took care of the girls by herself. Today, Kaylee and Kylie work.

This morning, Vic showed up at the hospital, and Robert went home for rest. When Vic got there, she took care of the babies to let Andy rest. Around eight, Andy was awake. So, Kaylee came into the room, and they did the baby's checks.

Around nine, Robert shows up. Then around nine-thirty, Dr. Lori shows up. Conversation... Dr. Lori: Morning everyone. Andy: Morning. Dr. Lori: How's everyone doing? Andy: Long night. Dr. Lori: What's the report? Kaylee: Going down on Diana's oxygen has gone well, and Amanda is on the increased dose of her heart meds. Dr. Lori: Anything else? Kaylee: Overnight, Diana kept up her weight with only one tube feeding. Dr. Lori: Okay. Tomorrow, we'll try no tube feedings. Kaylee: What about Amanda? Dr. Lori: Let's wait a couple of days. Kaylee: Is there anything else? Dr. Lori: What do you have for the girls? Andy: Not much. Cribs, dressers, and a stroller. Plus, everything at Vic's and Luke's. Dr. Lori: My goal for you this weekend is for you to get ready some. I want you guys to get the crib done. Then, Vic, I need you to bring everything to her house once everything is built. Can you do that? Andy: We can try. Dr. Lori: Good. You need to buy the carseats, and I'll have our CPST (Child Passenger Safety Technician) contact you. Andy: Is there anything else? Dr. Lori: I'll have a list for you tomorrow of what they will need when they come home. I'll see you guys tomorrow. Andy: See you then. (Dr. Lori leaves.)

Robert: I guess we have a list. Andy: I guess so. We have to get our carseats, build the cribs and dressers, and have Vic bring everything over after we build stuff. Robert: Okay. Vic: I'll have Luke get everything ready and come by. Andy: Okay. (They all hang out, and after an hour, Lucas shows up.) Lucas: Hello, everyone. How are the girls? Andy: Did Vic fill you in about yesterday? Lucas: She did. Andy, I'm so sorry. Your little girl is a fighter. Andy: Yes, she is. (Andy smiles, and gets a text from Maya.) Andy: I just got a text from Maya. She's asking if I'm free tonight and if we can go out to our normal bar. Robert: You are free. Andy: I know. I don't want to go. Vic: No more of that talk. We're going out and having fun. Robert: I agree with Vic. Vic: Let's go out and celebrate having two daughters. However, we aren't going to tell Maya what we're celebrating. Andy: I can't drink. Vic: Pump and dump, girl! Robert: Andy, we have enough milk. Andy: Robert, that means the girls won't be able to breastfeed at all tomorrow, possibly. Robert: That's okay. Andy: Fine. I guess I'm going out. Robert: Meet you at home. Luke and I will start building the cribs. Andy: Okay.

They kiss, and the guys leave. When they leave, Andy texts Maya to let her know that she's in. Shortly after, Vic gets a text to invite her to the get-together. Andy then feeds the girls, and they head to her place. When they get there, they work on the cribs. They make a contest out of it. Girls vs guys, and the girls win. After that, the girls go buy the carseats, wearable pumps, and bottles. Plus bedding.

Before they head to Andy's place, they stop by Vic's, to pick her up a dress to wear for the evening. They then head to Andy's and get ready there. They do their hair, and makeup, and get dressed. Before they went to the bar, they decided to stop by the hospital. So, Andy packs her bag for the evening. She feeds the girls and then she and Vic meet Maya at the bar. When Maya walks in, they get ready.

Maya: You're here. Andy: Why wouldn't I be here? Maya: We've only seen you once in eight months. Andy: I needed to find myself. Maya: Why? Andy: Do you want the truth? Maya: Yes, please. (Vic has a scared look on her face.) Andy: I've wanted a baby for about five years, and I've lost four babies before I was nine weeks along. My husband and I agreed that I needed to get away. So, I did that. Maya: Andy, I'm so sorry. Andy: That's what everyone says. I'm so tired of hearing it. Maya: Let's get a drink. Andy: I've stopped drinking for the most part. I've changed a ton during the past eight months. Maya: Apparently. Vic: Change is good. Andy: How's everything at the station? Maya: Vic is always with the captain's wife now and not us. Andy: Why is that bad? She's family and so are those girls. Maya: I just wish we could meet her at least. Andy: She's not ready. I've asked. However, the girls are adorable. If Vic wants to hang with the wife and the captain let her. That's helping her get ready to tell you guys. Maya: Okay, but it sucks. (Andy and Vic stare at one another.) Maya: Do you have a picture of the girls? Andy: Of course. I have a ton.: End of Conversation After that, Andy shows the pictures off.

When she shows off the pictures, she feels proud of being a mother to those girls. They all hang out for a while, and around eleven they leave. Andy heads home and pumps. When she pumps she checks her milk and it has alcohol in it. She's sad it has alcohol, but she had a good time. However, when she got home, she found the dressers built.

After she pumps, she goes to bed, but first, she checks on the girls. When she checks in, they are doing amazing. So, she's happy to go to bed.