The Unexpected Has Arrived! (Unexpected, #2)

Chapter 12

Tay was sitting to the left of my hospital bed, holding a restless Tahlia against his side. His right hand was reaching out and holding my left. I didn't even take notice of the nurse to my right.

"It hurts, Tay," I whined. I couldn't help but let a tear escape.

"I know sweetheart; I know," he told me, releasing a tear of his own.

I was briefly distracted by Tahlia bounding around on Tay's lap. "Mummy," she was pleading.

"Hey Tahlia," I smiled.

She began reaching out for me. My heart fluttered at the sight and the machines knew it.

Tay smiled before releasing my hand and standing up. He held Tahlia in a tight grasp as he leant her over the side of my bed. Her lips were puckered out and soon enough, they were planted on the top of my cheekbone.

I smiled under her clean, warm touch. "I love you, Mummy," she said.

I cried tears of joy, "I love you too, Tahlia."

I gave her a light kiss back before Tay pulled her away. Instantly, he was back, this time with his own lips.

He leant over me and pressed his warm lips to my forehead. As they lingered, I felt one of his tears hit my skin.

"You had us all so scared," he said, slowly moving back to face me.

"Why? How bad are my injuries?" I asked.

He paused a moment before grasping my hand again. He sat Tahlia on his knee as he explained. "Well, you have a fractured skull, but its well on the mend. Your right leg's broken, and your three fractured ribs are almost healed. And- And- you injured your coccyx bone quite severely." He tried to hold back his tears, but a few escaped.

I didn't know how to react. The coccyx was part of my spine... did that mean I couldn't walk?

"My- My- spine?" I mumbled.

"It's going to be okay, sweetheart," he assured me, "you'll be able to walk again. I promise."

I believed him. I could never doubt him, ever.

"What about Sam?" I asked. I couldn't remember anything after making impact with the truck.

"She's fine. She has a few broken bones, but nothing serious." He lifted my hand to his lips.

Thank God! I still felt guilty though, nonetheless.

"Tay," my voice croaked through my sobs, "I'm so sorry. I was stupid and now I've ruined everything."

"Shh, Nas, shh," he crooned, "It's fine, sweetheart. Nothing's ruined; you're going to be fine."

"Yeah, after how long?" I asked, even though I could already guess the disastrous answer.

Tay looked at me for an extended moment. "Four months or so," he said in a week voice.

That was enough to begin my torrent of sobs. Tears flowed and my breathing became laboured. All because it was my own stupid fault.

"Mummy, look what I did," Tahlia began, holding out her colouring book.

Tay wiped a few of my tears away before sitting Tahlia on the very edge of his knees. She held up a picture, coloured in mostly green and pink, of a family smiling happily.

"It's beautiful, Tahlia," I replied truthfully.

"I coloured it in for you. Look," she said, pointing to the small child in the picture, "This one can be me, and these ones," she pointed to the two parents of the picture, "can be you and Daddy."

My daughter was beyond clever. She knew so much, and yet, she still knew only a small amount of what she's learn in her lifetime.

"And Mummy, look," she insisted, pointing to some grey letters, "Daddy helped me write this. It says 'To Mummy, from Tahlia'."

"It sure does, sweetie," I replied. I continued admiring the rough picture, my heart filling with complete awe.

"Sorry to interrupt," the nurse said, "but need to speak with Nasatya alone."

"It's Nasettia," I mumbled.

"Sorry," she replied, "Mr. Elliott, do you think you could give us some privacy?"

I looked back over to Tay as he stood, lifting Tahlia onto his hip. He leant down and kissed my lips ever so lightly.

"I love you," he said, his lips moving against mine.

"I love you too."

I watched as he reluctantly let go of my hand and walked out the door.

It was a few moment before the nurse spoke.

"Now, Nasettia, I am Nurse Dawson, and I need to explain to you some things about your injuries."

I gave a small nod.

"When your car collided with the truck, you received quite a few injuries," the nurse began, "You fractured your skull, but this is already well on the mend. You cracked a few of your left ribs, but these are pretty much healed over already. Your right tibia bone was cracked, and it is not as severely broken as what we thought. It should be fully healed in a few weeks."

She must have been leaving worst till last.

"And you've also damaged your coccyx bone," she continued. "This has temporarily paralysed your lower body and you won't be able to move your legs for about a month. Soon, you will regain some control of your legs, and then over the next few months, it will take a lot of physical therapy to help you walk again."

I kept a strong head as I took all of this in. I nodded, and the nurse began taking tests. I helped out as much I could, but my body was still weak.

As if I'd let this stop my wedding!