"Did he tell you anything else?"
"No, that's it, Ayden. I'm sorry," Jackson answered.
I managed to peel my eyes open and it took a few seconds before everything came into focus. Jackson and Ayden were by the door talking. Me? I was lying in a fucking hospital bed. Again.
"Okay. Keep me posted," Ayden said quietly. "Thanks, Jackson."
After Jackson left, Ayden leaned forward in his wheelchair and shut the door to my room. He didn't turn around, though. He just sat there, staring at the door.
"Hey there, Sergeant." Damn, my voice was raspy.
He snapped his head in my direction and I saw the tenseness and fear melt away. "There's my Goddess," breathed. He came over beside the bed. "How are you feeling?"
"Drained, I guess. Exhausted." That's when the panic set in. I sat up quickly and my hands flew to my stomach. "The baby! Oh, my-- is the baby--"
"The baby's fine, Lanie." He placed his hand over mine. "He's just fine."
My eyes went to Ayden's. "He?" I felt my face break out in a smile. "We're having a boy?"
I covered my mouth with my hand as a profound joy filled me. My chest tightened when I saw Ayden's eyes get teary.
"That's right, baby," he said in a ragged voice as he reached out and cupped my face. "We're having a boy."
Tears streamed down my cheeks as Ayden pulled me close for a deep kiss. I couldn't believe this. A son. We were going to have a son.
"He's going to look just like you," I breathed against Ayden's lips.
"Yeah," he chuckled, "with your stubborn personality."
We both laughed as I leaned back on my bed.
"You, me and Nate are going--" That's when it hit me. It all came rushing back. Jules showing up here at the hospital. Me trying to get rid of her. I barely remembered what she said. What stood out to me the most, was my brother choking on the ventilator.
"Oh, God. Nate! Is he--"
"Hey, take a deep breath," Ayden said firmly before glancing at the monitor that told him my blood pressure and heart rate. "He's okay, Lanie."
I tried hard to get my breathing under control. "He's...he's okay?"
"Yes. The doctor said that he was choking because he was starting to breath on his own." I stared at him blankly and he tried to explain it more clearly. "Babe, this is good. It means he's getting better. He doesn't need the ventilator anymore."
It took me a few minutes to try and process everything. I wanted nothing more than to have Nate wake up and be okay. "But he's still in a coma?"
Ayden's eyes told me the painful truth. "Yes. But try to stay positive. He's getting better-- not worse."
There was a knock on the door before Dr. Wilson came inside. "Lanie, we have to stop meeting like this." She smiled at me. "How are you feeling?"
"Tired," I said with a heavy sigh.
"Actually," Ayden added, "she said she felt drained and exhausted."
I rolled my eyes playfully. He was so protective of me, I could only imagine how overprotective he was going to be of our son.
"Yes," I said to the doctor, "I've been feeling a little drained and exhausted. The dizziness has been a little better. Well, except for today."
She recorded what I told her into her computer and was quiet for a few moments.
"Okay, Lanie. You are in the eighteenth week of your pregnancy. While it's good that you are out of your first trimester, I still want you to try to take extra precautions, okay? Your pregnancy is still high risk and I'm trying my best to make sure you carry this baby full term."
Ayden tensed and he squeezed my hand. "Trying your best? So you're saying there's a chance that she could go into preterm labor?"
Dr. Wilson's expression was pensive. "Yes. More importantly, you are at high risk of preeclampsia. We need to monitor your blood pressure regularly. As often as we can. Do you happen to have a blood pressure machine at home?"
"Yes," Ayden answered immediately. When the doctor arched a brow at his tone, he let out a shaky breath. "I went to medical school. I'm-- I'm an MD. I have a whole med kit at home."
That was a surprise to me. Well, I knew he went to medical school, but I didn't know he kept a med kit at our house. It also appeared to be a surprise to the doctor.
"You're a doctor? May I ask where you went to med school?"
Ayden looked even more uncomfortable. "Harvard."
Dr. Wilson also seemed to notice that Ayden didn't like talking about his medical background. Instead of pressing him further she said, "Well, Lanie is in great hands then. Check her pressure twice a day. If its concerning, please call me. We want to do everything we can to avoid preeclampsia or any other conditions that can hurt the baby or Lanie."
"You got it, doc."
Dr. Wilson started walking towards the door to leave when she turned around and looked at me with a stern expression. "I want to keep you overnight tonight, Lanie. Just to monitor you and the baby. I see no reason why we can't discharge you in the morning."
Even though I wanted to leave immediately and go to Nate's room to see that he was okay for myself, I knew I didn't have a choice. Besides, the safest thing was to do what she said.
"Thank you, Dr. Wilson. For everything."
The room was quiet after the doctor excused herself. I had so many questions for Ayden about his medical background. Not to mention, a few other things. There was still a lot I didn't know about him. While I trusted him completely, I still wanted to know these things.
"Ayden..."
He stroked my hand with his thumb. "Its okay, baby. You can ask me anything."
Where to start? "So, Harvard?"
"Yeah. I ended up getting a full ride there and completed medical school."
"That's amazing, Ayden. Why aren't you proud of that?"
His brows formed a deep V. "I am. I am proud of it."
"But you refused to be a doctor."
That's one thing that confused me. He told me when our relationship started that he didn't want to follow down his medical path and become a doctor. But he never told me why.
Ayden had trouble finding his words. His pained expression told me he was battling some kind of inner turmoil.
His voice was ragged when he finally spoke. "I told you I was in love once before. Before I met you."
"Yes."
"Her name was Jill. I met her during my second year of medical school. I wasn't trying to get into a relationship at the time. I wanted to focus on graduating and hopefully getting a job at a good hospital. But we had a connection and we started dating."
I sat in a surprised silence when he started telling me his story. He told me multiple times he wouldn't talk about this.
"Right after we both graduated, we went out with friends to celebrate. She and I weren't living together, but we had been dating for about a year-and-a-half at the time. I drove my car to her place to pick her up and she kept on insisting that she wanted to drive. So, we took her car to go meet up with our friends. On the way there, a drunk driver ran a red light and T-boned her car on the driver's side."
Oh, God...no wonder he never talked about this.
His eyes dropped to our joined hands when he continued. "I had minor injuries since I was on the passenger side. I had lost consciousness for a few minutes. When I came to, I looked at Jill and she was--" he cleared his throat multiple times. "She was covered in blood and glass. I pulled her out of the car and tried to asses her injuries, but there were too many. She had head trauma, her left arm was broken, and more. When I didn't find a pulse, I started doing compressions."
He closed his eyes tight. "It took the ambulance three minutes to get there. I tried to breathe for her for those three minutes. I tried to keep her blood flowing to help save her life. But I couldn't. She was pronounced DOA at the hospital. After that I just...changed. I didn't want to ever feel the pain of a loss like that. I was scared to get close to someone again."
He looked up at me with a weak smile, "Then I walked into that bar to meet Nate's little sister." We both chuckled at that. "I know people make jokes and say there's no such thing as love at first sight, but the instant I saw you-- I just knew."
My heart ached for what he went through. And for Jill. "I'm so sorry about Jill, Ayden. I'm so sorry that that happened to both of you. But it wasn't your fault. You said yourself that her injuries where too extreme. I know you feel guilty because you let her drive, but it's not your fault. It was the man who chose to drive under the influence of alcohol."
"I know that. For a while after it happened, I did blame myself. I went through a hundred different scenarios in my head of how that night could have gone differently. But eventually, I had to accept that it wasn't my fault that she died. I still miss her and I still have days where I feel the guilt, but it's different now."
"Have you considered using your medical experience since then? You could do so much good as a doctor."
He shook his head. "Honestly, I haven't. Not until recently. When I couldn't save her, I doubted my ability to be a doctor. It changed when I was lost in that desert with Nate. I started thinking maybe I could be a doctor."
I reached out to him and ran my finger along his jawline. When he looked up at me, I smiled at him lovingly. "You would be an amazing doctor."
He returned my smile and let out a heavy breath. "Perhaps. But that's enough story telling for today."
He started to get out of his wheelchair.
"What are you doing?"
He lowered the railing on my bed. "Scoot over. I need to lay beside you for awhile."
When he climbed on my bed and got comfortable, I curled up next to him and laid my head on his chest.
"I love you more than anything," he whispered as he kissed the top of my head. "You and my son."
My fingers were already tangled in his dog tags when I looked up at him. I kissed him softly. "I love you, too."
As the two of us laid there in a comfortable silence, I couldn't help but wonder what else he keeping from me. When the doctor brought up that condition called preeclampsia, I saw panic in his eyes.
There's something else he's not telling me.
A/N: Hey, Guys! I just want to dedicate this chapter to my big brother. He passed away in 2007 due to an accident involving a drunk driver. Make sure to always be safe and don't drink and drive 💚💚