My Boys

Chapter Four - Things are Getting Messy

"Doctor, we'll talk

-," Troy began.

"Now," the doctor cut Troy off sharply, his tone equally quiet. "Your wife does a good job of keeping your indiscretions to herself. My nurses, however, are more than happy to stretch a tale and spread it." The doctor held up his hand as Troy opened his mouth. "Whether you have a mistress or not, I don't care. In general it is none of my business. Right now, there's a woman in your life, other than your wife who is endangering my patient's life and the life of her newly formed unborn children. In the event that you fail to fix this their blood will be on your hands. I've advised your wife against going home but she insists that she's safer there than she is here. She's on a mild tranquilizer at the moment but in her condition it isn't recommended. She had a severe panic attack and if we hadn't gotten to her when we did she would have hyperventilated and lost consciousness." Doctor Kugara paused, his handsome features becoming graver as he looked Troy straight in the eye. "She is in a very fragile state. If you want her and the baby to make it she can be under no more stress of this degree. As her partner you must monitor and avoid stressful situations. The more stress she endures the more likely she will develop eclampsia and require complete bed rest or forced induction of labour regardless of what stage of development the baby is at."

Troy swallowed. A nagging thought in the back of his mind of his mind told him it was all his fault and it was completely related to what he'd read in his wife's diary. Trying to swallow again Troy found his throat dry and constricted. He looked at the floor his feet were on trying to determine what type of flooring he was standing on while quelling the surge of panic that hit him. He didn't know exactly what eclampsia was but he knew it wasn't good. A nurse walked past them and curiously watched for as long as she could before continuing on her way. Machines beeped and footsteps squeaked and echoed down the corridor as the rest of the hospital went about its business.

Troy cleared his throat and looked at his wife's doctor in the eye, "She's coming home. At least there I can guarantee her privacy and monitor strictly who goes in and out of my house. Is there any bill to settle or any papers I have to sign?"

Doctor Kugara admired his patient's husband's confidence. He hoped it wasn't based on pride alone. In the event that anything lethal happened to Eve the blame would definitely fall on her husband's head. He motioned that the husband should follow him with a quick motion of his left hand. The gold of his wedding band caught in the harsh florescent lights flashed quickly before disappearing under the doctor's lab coat.

Troy followed with confidence he didn't feel in his step. His mind raced as he calculated the possible permutations. Looking closely at one of the documents Doctor Kugara had handed to him to sign Troy penned his special signature. The rest he initialled. Standing he bid the obstetrician good bye and rushed to the nurse's station to sign the release forms and cover short falls if there were any.

As he thumbed through his wife's bill he noted that she had required emergency care two more times than he was aware of. Before he let himself delve into the possible reasons why he hadn't been informed he walked into his wife's hospital room. The sight of her hooked up to machines monitoring her vital statistics halted his steps. She opened her eyes and he smiled. The smile didn't reach his eyes.

"I don't care. I want to go home." She pouted with her arms folded over her chest.

Troy's deep laughter filled the room. Trust Eve to shoot from the hip, as usual. The pout was a dirty play on her part and Troy felt his heart clench and jump as heat stirred in his loins.

She's sick you pervert! He told himself sternly. Just get her home and when she is relaxed she will tell you what happened, Troy told himself.

Eve looked at her husband as he laughed. She knew well enough not to trust what her visitor had said completely. The frightening part was that her visitor's son did indeed share physical resemblance to Troy. Every time that child smiled Eve's heart skipped a beat. That smile was all too familiar.