Fleurie
Charlotte pulled me into her arms, tears flooded down my face. "Daniel." I spoke softly down the phone. I'd just told him everything that had happened and there had been a solid minute of silence.
"Momma bear. Are you okay?" He asked before adding. "Do you need me to fly over?"
"No." I replied quickly, "Charlotte is here with me, I should be fine. I just told Ollie about the baby and he's happy, but Rose doesn't know and Alex isn't here." I took a long breath and grabbed a cookie from the batch that Lottie had made.
I didn't want to bother anyone else. Rose, once given the organ, would be in the ICU for twenty four hours to see if she accepted or rejected the organ. Action would be taken from then on, where she would be on immunosuppressant drugs, painkillers and an antibacterial/ antimicrobial ointment to apply to her wound when cleaning it.
Alex would be given pain killers, and he would be given a follow up appointment to see how he was coping and then action would be taken from then on.
Who said that I didn't know basic biology? I studied for the AP exam in high school but we didn't have the money to pay for me to do the exam so I only did four instead of the five I was set to do.
Oh, how my life had changed. I'd even now gotten to the point where I didn't worry about the hospital bill, or whether or not our insurance would cover it.
So long as they got better that was all that ultimately mattered in my book.
"You have a lot on your hands at the moment Daniel, don't worry about me."
I could hear him sigh, "Okay, but if you need me I'm only a flight away."
"I know. Bye Daniel, I'll keep you updated."
I hung up and placed my phone face down on the table. Charlotte sat next to me, squeezing my hand softly.
"I have no clue how you're so calm at the moment, if that was my Adriano, Faye or Matteo in the same position as Rose. I wouldn't be able to think."
"I can't." I replied, my heart was in my throat. I couldn't hear myself for my thoughts but I kept myself calm for nothing but the unborn child that I'd known about for less than twenty four hours.
Charlotte quickly swiped my mug of tea from the table and handed it to me. "Whenever I'm stressed-" She said quietly, her eyes darting upwards for a moment, "-Diego bless him, he takes me to the home cinema room. Makes me a cup of tea and just puts on a random movie. We don't watch it, it's background noise. We simply sit and have a chat."
I smiled, "Me and Alex do something similar but it always ends up in sex."
Charlotte grinned, "I never said that mine and Diego's didn't."
I was ever so grateful to have Charlotte in a time like this. Daniel would have stressed himself to a heart attack trying to make me laugh, but Charlotte just sat with me and talked to me. Charlotte dealt with issues in a very different way to Daniel. She faced them head on where he tried to distract until it was resolved, Which worked in some scenarios and not others.
She was the right person at that moment.
"What can we do to calm you down?" She asked, I turned to face her, trying to read her expression but I couldn't. "Oh, I know. You are going to go take a nap, I'll watch Oliver for you and make us all some lunch."
"Lottie-"
She cut me off, "No, you know just as well as I that the leading factor to miscarriage in the first trimester of pregnancy is stress. I've lost a baby because of that and I will not have you losing another one."
I ducked my head, I could still remember the call to this day. It was two am and I answered my phone to her sobbing. I could hear Diego trying to comfort her but he was almost as upset as she was. She wanted to know how I had dealt with it as she tried to navigate the loss of a child herself.
I'd woken Alex who'd just finished work and he talked to Diego, telling him what to do and how best to help her through this.
We'd grown so close to this couple over the years, we knew they had our best interests at heart and we had theirs.
"Okay." I then replied, I reached out and gave her a gentle hug, reminding her that I was just as here for her as she was for me before I headed up to bed.
👑★👑
By the time that I had arrived at the hospital Alex had been moved to a room. He was still knocked out by the anesthetic and looked like he was having the best night sleep that he's had in years.
I sat by his side, holding onto his hand with a soft grip, my finger fluttering over his pulse every so often to check that he was still with me.
He stirred slightly and I smiled at him. Alex then sat up, opening his eyes for a brief moment before closing them again.
"Hey ma reine." He greeted me groggily.
"Hey baby." I moved to sit up on the bed next to him, I moved my head to his shoulder and pressed a soft kiss to his neck.
He smirked, "Did you miss me?" He asked and I nodded,
"Oh so much. Are you still tired?"
He shook his head but it was the most unconvincing thing I'd ever seen. "How's Rose?" He then asked.
"I haven't gone to see her yet. They don't really want people visiting her because of the immunosuppressant drugs that they have her on. So I was going to see her after you." He nodded and I continued, "But the doctor did say that they thought it went successfully."
He smiled and then lowered his head. He pecked my lips softly before resting his head atop of mine.
"I love you." He told me before his heart monitor went berserk.
I jumped off the bed, trying to analyse the ECG but I couldn't, a doctor sprinted into the room, a couple others followed.
"Ma'am we need you to leave the room." One of them said as they wheeled in a defibrillator. I couldn't move, I was frozen.
"Alexander." I whispered softly through tears. He was having a heart attack. My husband of over ten years was having a heart attack.
A nurse carefully moved me from the room and placed me outside. They sat with me as I collapsed to the floor. Sobbing into my hands.
First Rose and now this, anyone would think that we as a family were cursed. I'd always told Alex not to overwork himself because he would have a heart attack and just after he saved our daughters life he had a heart attack.
I spotted Noah walking down the corridor, as he spotted me his stroll turned into a jog, which then turned into a run.
"Fleurie." He said softly, "What happened?"
I couldn't breathe, I couldn't think. I couldn't do anything. My husband could be dead in there and I wouldn't know.
"Mr Marshall has suffered a cardiac arrest." The nurse who was sitting outside with me answered. I sobbed harder as Noah sat next to me and pulled me into his arms.
"He has to make it." Noah said, almost hopefully, "I am not telling Rose that she survived from her father's kidney but then he died because of that surgery. That'll kill her."
"I don't want to raise my babies without a father." I told him, "Alex can't die on me. If he does, I'll kill him."
The irony was entirely lost on me, but Noah and the nurse snorted a laugh. Then a round of applause sounded in the room.
They wouldn't be clapping if he was dead, he had to be okay. He couldn't be anything but okay.
"Can I go in?" I asked the nurse through tears, not of joy but of fear, of trepidation.
She nodded and I ran into the room. Alex was sitting up on the bed, awake. His eyes widened as he saw me. I launched myself at him, pulling him into an insanely tight hug.
"Don't you dare do that again, you hear me." I told him before pressing kisses all over his face. "If you pull any of this again, I will kill you."
Alex laughed but it was obvious that he was still in shock and unaware of all that had transpired.
"I love you." He said quietly. I pressed another soft kiss to his lips.
"I love you too, you idiot."
The doctor smiled at the both of us before explaining what had to be done. Alex would be in hospital for another couple of days while they worked out the root of his heart attack.
Alex held my hand tightly, his gaze darting from my face to my stomach as the doctor spoke, then finally to the door. Noah was standing there, a small smile on his lips as he announced.
"Rose is awake."
👑★👑
Alex looked at me for the entire time that we were on our way to Rose's room. "Stop." I told him, he pouted at me before I pressed a soft kiss to his lips.
Alex was walking but I knew the moment that we got to the room he would collapse onto either Rose's bed or the chair to the side of her bed. I had insisted that he let me wheel him down but he refused. He wanted to be strong for Rose, for me, for everyone but it was hurting him. I had to get it drilled into him that he just had to worry about himself at the moment and not everyone else.
I reached out for his hand and squeezed it tightly. He had been desperate to see Rose for the past two days but he wasn't well enough to see her and Rose had to be kept isolated to ensure that she didn't get sick.
We arrived at her room and Alex had a stricken look on his face. I rested my head on his shoulder for a moment before opening the door.
I stepped inside the room, Alex followed behind me. Rose was fast asleep. Noah was asleep on the chair next to her. Alex moved to sit at the foot of her bed as I made my way over to Noah and shook his shoulder slightly.
He slowly woke up, his gaze immediately darting to Rose, "Is Rose okay?" He asked immediately and I nodded.
"Rosie." Alex then said, giving her foot a squeeze. Rose squirmed, before moving to sit up.
"Mom, dad." She then said quietly, I pulled her into my arms as quickly as I could. Rose rested her head on my shoulder and wept silently.
"Mom, is Ollie okay?" She asked and I nodded, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead.
"You did really well coming to my office." I hated hearing her cry but having her in my arms alive and well. My heart was hammering in my chest, "My beautiful baby." I told her as I stroked her hair softly.
Alex reached out and placed his hand on my back, rubbing it softly.
"Me and your father have a little bit of news for you." Rose pulled herself from arms and looked at Alex. I shifted off the bed and helped him up. He wandered over to Rose's side and pulled Rose in for a hug before saying,
"Your mom and I are having another baby." Rose smiled at me over her father's shoulder. "How are you feeling princess?"
"I'm tired and my side feels a bit sore." She told us and I couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt. "But besides that I'm okay. When can I leave?" She asked and I smiled. She was mine and her fathers child through and through.
Noah moved off the chair and stood next to me. I smiled at him for a moment before patting his shoulder.
Noah's gaze was only on Rose and I thought that it was the sweetest thing in the world. My lips curled into a smile as my gaze was snagged on Alex. I was worried for him, everything that had happened had made me realise just how much I cherish him. The thought of one breath being his last broke me, same went for all of my kids, I couldn't bear the thought of anything happening to them, so for as long as I was breathing I would do anything to stop that, even if it ultimately meant sacrificing myself.
The world around me faded to nothing more than a low hum, Alex was explaining that it would be at least a week until she could leave and even then two weeks until she could travel back to Sicily which I was more than grateful for. Noah was still dealing with the threat, with the help of his aunt and uncle nonetheless but there was still a threat out there and I didn't want to let anyone out of my sight until I knew that the threat was eliminated.
"Fleur." Alex said softly, breaking me out of my daze, "Why don't we give Noah and Rose a moment?" He suggested and I nodded, moving over to Rose to press a kiss to her forehead.
"I love you baby." I told her and she nodded. Noah made his way over to her, he sat next to her and gripped her left hand in his.
He whispered something I couldn't quite make out to her and she smiled up at him. My heart filled with a rush of warmth. I could actively see that he was in love with her and that was more than enough for me. The thought of Rose going back to Sicily, while it filled me with sadness because she was my baby and she would be thousands of miles away, the dread and guilt didn't accompany it because I knew that she would be safe, she would be happy and most importantly she would be loved and that was all that I ever wanted for her.
Alex gripped my hand softly and we made our way outside of the room. He took a seat on the chair outside her room. His gaze darted to mine and he smiled.
I wrapped an arm around him and took my seat next to him. "I love you." I told him and he nodded, pulling me close to him. My lips brushed him for a brief moment. I closed my eyes and relaxed into the kiss, savouring every moment like I was twenty four again and it was our first kiss.
When I opened my eyes, I found Alex looking at me with puppy eyes,
"I can't believe we nearly gave this up." He said and I nodded, resting my forehead on his. He then closed his eyes and I spent every moment memorising his features.
I sighed, "I know. When you nearly-" I cut myself off. Not wanting to think about what nearly happened. "-I felt like I was dying, like my heart had exploded and my lungs had been cut with the shards."
Alex reached across and placed a hand on my cheek, caressing it softly. "Til' death do us part remember."
A tear rolled down my cheek, "Entreat me not to leave thee." Alex sniggered before wiping the tears.
"Say it." He whispered softly,
"Til' death do us part." I repeated, his hand snaked around my own before he pressed a kiss to the top of my head.
"I swear to you that I will be here for you no matter what baby. You and our kids mean the world to me and I would never want to abandon that."