Chapter 34
Declan
Inever thought I would be in this situation, rushing to the hospital in an ambulance with Autumn while we follow another ambulance that has my wife inside.
But here we are.
As soon as Brad had that look in his eye after hearing the sirens, I knew what Penny was going to do.
And I can’t exactly blame her, but at the same time, I can.
For her to risk her life like that is reckless, but I understand why she did it.
I would have done the same thing if I weren’t holding Autumn.
The ambulance takes us to the nearest emergency room, which is twenty minutes away in Temecula, and as soon as we pull up to the emergency doors, chaos ensues as nurses and doctors surround us.
My ears start to buzz, and the only things I can make out from their voices are: ‘gunshot wound to the shoulder’ and ‘kidnap victim.’
I catch sight of Penny as she’s being wheeled through the doors of the hospital, and I run to catch up to her.
“Sir, you can’t follow us into the O.R.,” a nurse tells me as we jog down the corridor.
“She’s my wife,” I growl out.
Penny has an oxygen mask over her mouth and nose, but her eyes are open. “I’m here. Autumn’s okay,” I tell her before the nurse has a chance to push me away.
Penny closes her eyes, and she disappears through the double doors before I can say anything else. I take a deep breath before heading back to where Autumn is. If I know one thing, Penny will want me to stay with her.
So that’s what I do. Luckily, Autumn stayed asleep through the chaos after calming her from her night terror. She didn’t wake when the EMTs put her in the ambulance or through the whole ride to the hospital.
“We’re going to check her vitals and do a physical while she’s still asleep,” a female doctor tells me once we get into a room. “Can you tell me what happened?”
I relay everything about Autumn’s kidnapping, including the fact that I’m pretty sure Brad was on drugs.
“We’ll do a full workup to make sure he didn’t drug her or do her any physical harm,” she tells me. “Are you her father?”
I shake my head. “I’m her stepdad. Her mom, Penny, is in the O.R. with a gunshot wound.”
The doctor nods her head. “I’ll find out more about your wife. In the meantime, why don’t you go get some coffee and wait in the waiting room? I’ll come get you when we’re done here.”
I look at Autumn, who is blissfully unaware of what’s going on around her.
I look at the doctor and the nurse, who silently walk into the room, and both give me warm smiles.
I nod my head and rub the back of my neck. “Sure. Yeah, okay.” I’m not totally comfortable leaving Autumn, but I know they need to check her thoroughly.
I start to head out the door when the nurse stops me with a hand on my forearm and a sympathetic smile. “I have a daughter about her age. She’s in good hands. I promise you.”
My shoulders drop in relief, and I thank her before heading towards the waiting room.
I spot a coffee machine on my way and decide I need something to do with my hands. Two nurses walk by, and I hear them say, “It must be a full moon because I can’t believe we have a kidnap vic, gunshot vic, an overdose, and a blunt force trauma to the head all in one night.”
I watch them walk away and grab my cup of coffee, and head to the waiting room.
“Declan!” a voice calls out, and I turn to see who it is.
Jordan rushes towards me, and Lucas follows behind. She throws her arms around my waist, and I hug her shoulders. I’ve gotten to know Jordan over the last few months, and I know how much Penny and Autumn mean to her. They’re her family in every way, so I know she’s scared right now.
In all the commotion back at the mansion, Lucas showed up with the cops and told me he was the one who called in the cavalry. I tossed him my truck keys before loading into the ambulance with Autumn so he and Jordan could follow us.
When Jordan pulls away, wiping her nose with her sweatshirt sleeve, I tell them what I know so far, which isn’t much. “Autumn’s okay, and they took Penny into surgery. She was conscious when we got here.”
“Oh, thank God,” Jordan breathes.
In a turn of events I didn’t see coming, my gaze is pulled behind Jordan’s shoulder, catching sight of a familiar face.
“Wren,” I call out.
Both Jordan and Lucas turn towards the brunette, whose eyes are glazed over, looking everywhere and nowhere all at once.
Wren has become a staple in all our lives over the last few months.
She’s like a sweet, quiet younger sister, who’s so warm and caring you can’t help but want to hug her tight and make sure the world doesn’t ruin her.
Her gaze snaps to us and she blinks a few times before tears start to stream down her cheeks.
Jordan instantly rushes towards her and wraps her in a tight hug, and Wren doesn’t hesitate to break down in her arms.
I look at Lucas and can tell his facial expression matches mine. We’re both confused, worried, and… horrified.
What in the world happened to Wren?
And why in the hell is she covered in blood?
~ ~ ~
“Sir.” A hand gently shakes my shoulder, and I flinch awake.
It takes a minute for my brain to orient itself, and Autumn’s doctor comes into focus.
My gaze shoots to Autumn, and she’s still asleep.
Jordan and Lucas decided to wait with Wren after she told us about her mom and sister.
To say we were all shocked was an understatement.
And she broke down even more when she found out about Penny and Autumn.
Not long after, the doctor came and got me, and I’ve been waiting for Autumn to wake up and for Penny to get out of surgery.
“Penny’s asking for you.”
My eyes go wide, and I instantly stand up. “She’s okay?” I ask.
The doctor gives me a warm smile. “She’s just fine. The bullet went through her shoulder and nicked a small artery. The operating team got it cauterized, and they sewed her up good as new.”
My eyes start to well, and I look to the ceiling to try and stop the tears.
“She’s asking for you and Autumn. But we’ll let her wake up before we roll her over there.” She gestures to Autumn. “I’ll have a nurse stay with her while you go and see Penny.”
I nod my head in thanks and follow the doctor to Penny’s room. The monitor is steadily beeping as we enter, and Penny is sitting up with her arm in a sling.
It’s been hours since the surgery ended, and her smile is warm and bright as I walk into the room. There’s finally color to her face that wasn’t there when she was wheeled into the hospital.
“Declan,” she breathes out.
I can’t control myself. I go to her side, grab her face, and plant my lips over hers. “You’re okay.”
I pull back and search her eyes while she gives me a small nod. “Yeah. I’m good. It hurts like hell, but I’m good. Where’s Autumn?”
“She’s sleeping,” I tell her and take a seat in the empty chair next to the bed, holding her free hand. “The doctors did a full checkup on her and said that she wasn’t physically harmed.” Penny’s eyes well. “She’s okay, Penny. She’s okay.”
Penny nods her head and releases my hand to wipe at her eyes. A moment later, a doctor I haven’t seen yet comes into the room, holding a clipboard and thumbing through sheets of paper.
“Alright, Penny, I got your labs back,” he says and looks at both of us. “And you are?” he asks, looking at me.
“Declan. Her husband.”
He gives me a nod. “Nice to meet you. I’m Doctor Rivas.
I was the lead on Penny’s surgery. She did exceptionally well.
She didn’t lose too much blood, and everything should heal nicely.
She’s a very lucky woman.” He looks to Penny.
“Your labs look good, Penny. And the baby is thriving, too. We’re going to keep you here for a few days just to monitor you, though. ”
My heart stops. What did he just say?
“Excuse me, what baby?” Penny asks because I’m momentarily stunned.
His eyes go from Penny to me and back again. “We took your blood as soon as you were admitted, and the results came in while I was operating on you. We did an ultrasound just to make sure, and it looks like you are twelve weeks pregnant.”
“Did you just say twelve weeks?” I blurt out. Because that would mean that she got pregnant three months ago, while we were still using condoms.
Penny is silent, and when I look at her, she looks a little green.
“You didn’t know?” the doctor asks, his brows furrowing.
Penny shakes her head. “I’ve had my period. Oh my god. I got a tattoo, and I drank. I drank in Vegas, and I’ve been drinking wine. We were using condoms.” She looks at me with wide eyes. “We weren’t even married yet. You still didn’t want kids yet…”
“Breathe, Penny,” I tell her and take a deep breath. She follows suit, but I can still see the panic in her eyes.
“You were probably having breakthrough bleeding. But there shouldn’t be a need to worry about everything else because you’re only in the first trimester.
But you’re going to want to find an OBGYN once you get back to Daybreak, just to confirm.
Why don’t I go get the ultrasound machine so you can see your little one's heartbeat?”
I nod my head. “That would be great. Thank you.”
The doctor steps outside, and I give my full attention to Penny. “Hey. Are you okay?”
Her eyes move from the door, where the doctor just left, to me. “We’re pregnant.”
I nod my head and squeeze her hand. “We are.”
“We’re twelve weeks pregnant.”
“We are,” I say again.
Her eyes bounce back and forth between mine. “How in the hell do I keep getting pregnant on birth control?”
My lips tilt upward. “I don’t know.” I kiss the palm of her hand. “But it was meant to be.”
“Are you okay with this?” she asks, worry evident on her face.
She just went through a major trauma, and now we’ve been given this information.
It’s a lot to take in all at once, but I can’t help but be excited about the news of her pregnancy.
Is it unexpected? Yes. But not that unexpected.
I’ve been coming inside of her without protection for over a month now, so I expected this at some point.
I nod my head and lean in to kiss her lips. “I’m more than okay with it.”
“You ready to hear your baby’s heartbeat, parents?” the doctor interrupts.
It’s Penny who responds this time. “We are.”