Chapter 23
Chapter
Twenty-Three
The Following Year
ZOE
Calways says things can turn on a dime in high stakes situations, and I'm reminded of that on the day Rachel goes into labor.
We expect it to be routine because Irina's delivery was so smooth.
Their new little girl however is much bigger, over eight pounds, and Rachel's small frame just isn't big enough.
There’s a crash caesarian section because both of them are in danger. After the baby’s delivered, Rachel hemorrhages severely. Her heart stops. The doctors are able to restart it, but she’s comatose when they take her to the intensive care unit.
We rush to the hospital, and when we see Sasha's face, the silence that falls is profound.
“How do things look?” C asks.
Anvil shakes his head as he clenches his jaw. “She hasn’t woken up.”
At those words, my stomach drops and I feel ill. Sasha’s eyes have a sheen, like he’s close to tears, which immediately makes me start to cry.
Irina was playing at Trick and Laurelyn's, and they arrive as soon as they arrange for Laurel’s sister Monet to watch Sean.
When Trick and Laurel get to the hospital, they have Irina with them.
As ever, Irina is excited to see Sasha. For a moment, I think Trick's made a mistake by bringing her, but when she exclaims, “Dada's here! My dada's here!” and reaches for him, Sasha's expression eases and he takes her.
I slip out into the hall because I'm crying and don't want Irina to see it. C joins me after a couple of minutes but seems at a loss for words.
“How's the new baby?” I ask. “Did he say? Is Makayla okay?"
“Trick asked the same thing." C nods. "Anvil hasn’t seen her up close, but they told him she's all right.”
I scrub the tears from my face. “Why haven’t they let him see her? If she's okay, he should be able to, right?”
“I don't think it’s that they’re not letting him. I don’t think he’s ready.”
My brows rise, and I lick my lips. “What happened to Rachel is not the baby's fault.”
“What 'Vil said is that it’s his fault. Rachel's tiny. This baby isn't." C shrugs as if he understands this logic. “Vil is preoccupied with getting back to see Rachel. The visiting hours are limited. Trick's making some calls.”
“Rachel will want Sasha with her for sure. She will also want someone to hold Makayla and show her some love.” I blow out a breath.
“They probably have restricted visitation for the babies.
Usually they would just take her to Rachel and Sasha, right?
We'll need to figure out who to talk to, so we can get to her.”
“We'll see what Anvil wants to do.”
“Sasha is wrecked, C. Did you not see the anguish on his face?” I ask gently.
“It's good that Trick brought Irina. He won't be able to resist her.
But if he's blaming himself and the baby, he's not thinking clearly.
Rachel is the one who wanted to have a second child.
She's been so excited. As soon as she's awake, she'll smooth things out. Until then, they need us to step up for their new baby.”
“The nurses are taking care of her, Z. Not sure what more you think she needs."
My brow arches, but I get it. I’m the only ‘baby’ C knows how to handle. I need to talk with Trick and Laurelyn, I realize. I kiss his cheek before making my way back to our group.
Trick stands about twenty feet away in the corner, speaking steadily into the phone. When he ends his call, he returns to us.
“Well?” Anvil asks.
“Yeah, he's making some calls. If we don't hear anything in ten, I'll circle back."
“No one's seen Makayla yet, huh?” I say. “Laur, maybe you and I can go to the nursery?”
“Yeah, we need wrist bands,” Trick says. “For security, the nurses need to scan a bar code. I'm working on it." He cocks his head. “Do you want to go now, ‘Vil? You’ve already got a band to get back there, and you’ve probably got a few minutes.”
“No.” Sasha glances out the window. “I'm staying here. A doctor could come.”
“Scott, we should donate blood,” Laurelyn says, with her hand resting on her baby belly. “I can't, but you…”
“Yeah, good idea. The big blood bank is forty minutes away. If Rachel needs more blood, we don't want her to have to wait for it,” Trick says.
“I'll go,” C says. “And I'll round up some crue and their wives to donate.” He takes his phone out to begin texting.
Trick's phone buzzes, and he looks down. “You’re set, 'Vil. No ICU visitation limits for you. A nurse will be out to take you to Rachel’s bedside in the next five minutes."
“That donation was the smartest one we've ever made,” Anvil says. “Glad you suggested it.”
C Crue donates money to a lot of city institutions and causes. It's their way of building loyalty in the community. Some people see them as modern day Robin Hoods. Trick jokes that they're hoods all right, but not of the Robin variety. Apparently they made donations to the hospital.
Trick's phone rings, and he steps away again.
“I'm going to find out where to donate blood. You want to stay, so you can see about getting in to see the baby?” C asks me.
“Yes, I'll donate later," I say.
C gives me a quick kiss and walks away.
Trick strolls back over. “Ash is on her way.”
“Baby G? Thought she was on her way to Cabo?" Sasha asks.
“Cabo will be there later.”
“Did you tell her she had to come?"
“You think I'd need to? It's a Crue family emergency. Besides, you pay her a fucking fortune to be on retainer as a babysitter.”
Sasha rubs his forehead. “It's good she's coming."
“Yeah, so stealing my sister's babysitting time right out from under me was a smart call on your part. Even if you did both stab me in the back.”
“You don't need Baby G. You'd leave your kid with anyone. Good thing your wife has some standards."
Trick smirks. “I'd never suggest a babysitter I haven't vetted.”
“What's the vetting criteria?" Sasha fires back. “Has a pulse? Knows how to work a microwave to heat milk?”
It's so good that Trick is here, I realize. Not just for his talent at pulling strings and calling in favors. But after so many years, Anvil and Trick have a routine of roasting each other that's a good distraction. C would not be able to do this as well under these circumstances.
The double doors open, and a nurse starts toward us.
Anvil’s expression immediately sobers, and he holds Irina out to me.
“No, dada! Me,” Irina protests, grabbing for him.
I pull her to me, cooing that I need a hug.
“I’ll be back soon.” Anvil kisses the top of Irina's head and then stalks over to meet the nurse.
Trick and I watch him disappear behind the electronic doors.
ANVIL
It’s close to dawn. I’m hunched over the bed, holding Raven’s hand as I have been all night. Her fingers move against my calloused palm, and my head rises. Her eyes open, and it’s the single best moment of my life to date.
There was no guarantee she would ever wake up again. But here she is, back among the living.
“I’m here, Raven. I’m right here,” I whisper, reaching above the bed to press the call button.
Her head turns back and forth. The tube hurts her throat. I can tell by the way she grimaces as she tries to talk.
“Wait. They’ll be here soon to help you. It’s all right.”
When the doctors and nurses hustle in, I stand, giving her hand one last squeeze before moving out of their way. I know the drill.
Time passes in a vacuum. It seems to take no time and a long time for them to get her free of the tube, so she can talk.
My name is the first thing she says.
“Sasha?” she rasps.
I want to shoulder my way in, the way I normally would, but these people clawed her back from death’s grip and let me sit with her all night. So I’m more careful than usual.
When she can see me, her face crumples. “The baby? Did she—?”
“Alive,” I say, nodding. “She’s all right.”
Tears spill over her lashes. “Really?”
She remembers the things they said just before rolling her out of the room to the operating suite. The baby’s heart-rate was dangerously low. They had to get her out quickly or she wouldn’t make it.
Someone would’ve told me if anything had changed, so I don’t hesitate to say emphatically, “She’s fine.”
“Can you get her?” Raven asks.
“You should rest,” I say, already knowing it’s a pointless suggestion.
“Yeah, but can you bring her? I really need to see her, Sasha.”
“All right,” I say. “I’ll get her.”
So I go, carrying my visitor pass and still wearing the bracelet that’s so tight it may split and fall off any minute.
Irina wasn’t born in this hospital, so I don’t know the way to the newborn nursery. The ICU isn’t connected to it, I realize, going down a floor.
When I arrive, Zoe is inside the nursery, sitting in a rocking chair with the baby. Trick is just outside, kicked back in a recliner, watching something on his phone.
“You’re still here?” I say.
“Rachel?” Trick asks.
“Awake.”
Trick blows out a breath. “Of course. There you go.” His tone is casual, like he knew all along things would be fine. But I know him. He wouldn’t have camped out here if he didn’t think there was a better than average chance they wouldn’t.
“Have you been in to see the baby?” I ask.
“Of course. This one’s my goddaughter, right?” he says tersely.
“Yeah.”
“Yes? You don’t need to ask Rachel?” he says, quirking his eyebrow.
“No. You’re it.”
Last time, we thought it was a good idea to have Zoe and C together. I suspect it was Rachel and Zoe’s subtle effort to domesticate C, which frankly has done fuck all. His level of engagement on the C Crue infant front is zero. I don’t blame him. Before Irina, I had no interest in kids, either.
At the news that he’s got the godfather gig, Trick nods his head, satisfied.
When I walk into the nursery, Zoe looks up at me expectantly. I nod, and she tears up.
“Thank God.” She swallows and walks the baby over to me. “This new baby is so pretty. Your eyelashes again, but eyes like your brother’s. And Stroviak hands and feet. She’s going to be tall.”
“I’m sure she will. She’s already fifty percent bigger than Irina was when she was born.” I put my arm out and settle the baby in the crook of it.
She stares straight up, like she’s checking out the world.
“You’re not a nervous dad this time,” Zoe says with a smile.
“No.” Luckily, I have had the practice I need because Rachel will need me this time. She’s been cut open. She needs to heal. No lifting either of the babies. That’s Daddy’s job for a month or two.
Zoe strolls out with me, and Trick joins us on the way to the elevator.
“You guys want breakfast?” Zoe asks. “I can swing home and make something to bring back.”
“Nah, I’m going home to sleep,” Trick says.
“Laurelyn will probably stay in bed with me. She was worried.” Trick rubs his eyes.
“Meanwhile, my baby sister and Stroviak Princess Number One slept all night.
Ash just texted a picture of them lying in a bed under a canopy of ten feet of silver lace hanging from a crystal fixture on the ceiling.
What the hell did you do to your guest room, ‘Vil? Disney it up?”
I shrug. “Irina likes bling. If something glitters, she wants it.”
Trick laughs. “If Irina didn’t have Rachel’s face and your exact eyelashes, I’d wonder if she and your real baby were switched at birth. She’s so happy all the time.”
I roll my eyes. The elevator slows to a stop and dings. “Thanks for the help last night,” I say in a low voice as I step off.
“What’s that? I didn’t hear you,” he deadpans.
Rolling my eyes again, I say, “You heard. Don’t try to milk it. I’m not your dick.”
Trick grins. “Truth be told, I’m just looking out for my interests. C racked up two godfather credits, and the guy has said about twenty words to either kid since.”
“True,” I say soberly. “On the domestic front, C’s strictly officer material. Stands back, surveys the field, no hand-to-hand combat whatsoever.”
Trick laughs, holding the door open. “Z, you’ve got your work cut out for you there.”
Zoe shrugs with a smile. “C is great at being C. That’s all that matters to me.”
I pause at the entrance to the ICU.
“Hey, ‘Vil,” Trick says. “Tell Rachel she owes me a hundred grand for angioplasty for the heart attack she gave me last night.”
“Yeah, that’s exactly what I’ll say.” I use the special badge to get back into the intensive care unit. Glancing down, I realize the baby’s not made a single sound.
“You don’t talk much, huh?” I whisper. “That’s probably another thing you got from me.
” I draw in a long breath and kiss her forehead.
“I’m glad you’re all right. It was a close call last night.
Too close.” I stretch out her fingers. Sure enough, they’re not like Raven’s or Irina’s.
“We almost killed her.” I shake my head.
“There can never be another mistake like that. So what you’ve got right now is all there is. Me. Raven. Irina.”
Her little brows crinkle, just like Irina’s when she studies me as I try to explain something to her.
“Glad we understand each other.”