Graceland: Family Affair

Chapter Nineteen

I play Charlie's words over in my mind as we sit in the hospital waiting room. I admit I like the sound of me saving Mike...of me being what he's needed all this time. But part of me hopes that the opportunity will never arise for me to have to actually 'save' Mike. To 'save' Mike properly would mean that his life would have to be in danger, and I definitely don't want that to happen.

"Ms. Garcia? Charlie Garcia?" A nurse calls. I don't move from my seat, sure that they're not calling my Charlie. But Charlie stands up.

"Uh...me..." She says quietly. The nurse smiles at her.

"If you would like to follow me, Ms. Garcia?" The nurse turns away and heads through a door to a side room.

"Just call me Charlie", she says kindly. She turns back to me, as I'm still sat in my seat. The false name had thrown me off, but then I remember that's procedure at Graceland. Real names could result in real problems in real names fell into the wrong hands. "Are you coming?" She reaches a hand out to me. If I'm not mistaken, Charlie seems a little anxious. I've never seen Charlie worry about anything before.

"Yes...of course...uh...yes..." I jump up, following her. We enter the room, and the nurse gestures for Charlie to jump up on the bed. I take the seat beside the bed, steadying my hands by resting them on my legs. I have butterflies in my stomach – butterflies of excitement and anticipation at the thought of being able to actually see my very first niece or nephew. I love them already, and I haven't even seen them.

"And you are?" The nurse asks gently as Charlie rolls up her shirt revealing a tiny baby bump that I hadn't noticed back at the house.

"Oh...uh...Sarah –" I nod and smile at her.

"She's the baby's Aunt!" Charlie smiles as she reaches for my hand, giving it a little squeeze as the nurse makes the final preparations, strapping the necessary monitors and equipment to Charlie.

"Okay...Mummy...Auntie..." The nurse nods at each of us as she sits down in front of the ultra sound machine. "You ready to meet your baby?" The nurse squirts the gel on Charlie, and places the ultrasound transducer on Charlie's bump. She swirls it around over Charlie's stomach for a while, searching for the baby. I feel Charlie's grip on my hand tighten. I place my free hand over hers in an attempt to calm her nerves, but the seconds it takes the nurse to find the baby's heartbeat feel like hours, and my own panic starts to rocket. I hold my breath awaiting the sound that will let me know that my brother's baby is okay.

I close my eyes, trying not to cry in fear that the baby has been lost. I hold tightly to Charlie's hand as she lies just staring at the ceiling. And then we hear it – the small, but beautiful, heart beat that we've been longing to hear. Charlie lets out a sigh of relief, grabbing our interlocked hands with her other one. My eyes fly open and I look to Charlie with tears in my eyes. I thank God that the baby is alive.

"That's the most beautiful noise I've ever heard..." Charlie gasps, a tear of relief trickling from the corner of her eye.

"And...there's your baby..." The nurse beams, turning the screen around so we can look at it. My tears start to flow freely, and I look at Charlie, who looks back at me, tears falling from her eyes. We both laugh at the sight of each other as we cry the happiest of tears.

"I'm going to try and get hold of Paul..." I wipe my eyes. Charlie gives my hand another squeeze and I leave the room as I take my phone out of my pocket. I have a text from Mike:

Meeting with Mendoza finished. Can't wait to see you. I love you xxx

I smile at the text, making a mental note to reply later. At least now I know that it's completely safe for me to phone Paul right now. I pace the floor as I talk, too excited to stand still.

"Sarah?" Paul answers the phone, sounding a little breathless.

"Is everything okay? Are you running?"

"Yeah...everything's fine...and yes..." He and Mike suddenly run through the waiting room doors in their nicest suits. "...we were running..." He hangs up the phone and runs toward me.

"I saw your baby..." The tears start falling again, falling on Paul's shoulder as I hug him. "A perfect baby! You're having a baby..." I sob. He holds me there for a second and then I lift my head and laugh at the small puddle I've left on his shirt. "You should be with Charlie..."

"Are you okay though?" He says, holding my arms.

"I'll take care of her..." Mike cuts in, standing a couple of feet away, with his hands in his pockets.

"Go..." I nod in the direction of the door, giving his arm a supportive rub. He heads down the corridor and disappears into the room. I fall straight into Mike's arms in the privacy of the corridor, away from the waiting room, and away from the events of the ultrasound room. He holds me with one arm around my waist, and places his other hand on my neck as he kisses me tenderly. When we break away, he still holds me close.

"You look very nice in your fancy suit..." I smirk. "...A little bit too nice for a hospital, but hey!"

"Well, the guy we were meeting...he's from a very upper class family...we had to make a good impression..." He smirks back as he places both arms around my waist.

"Well...you've made a wonderful impression on me..." I murmur softly, leaning in for another kiss. I still get giddy inside every time he kisses me. I break away from the kiss, giggling happily to myself.

"What?" He smiles, laughing a little himself, even though he doesn't know what I'm laughing at.

"I'm going to be an Aunt!"