The Deadline (The Friessens: A New Beginning)

by Lorhainne Eckhart

  As he glanced at his wife, quiet and staring straight ahead out the windshield, he couldn’t stay quiet. “You know, if you gave Kim a chance, Laura, she’d probably be a good friend to you. She didn’t have to come over and help. She’s being neighborly and kind, and she’s concerned about Gabriel,” he said as he steered into the hospital parking lot and found a spot in the second row.

  “Andy, I’m sorry if I seemed rude, but the fact that you called another woman…Kim is pretty, probably more capable than I am, closer to your age, smart, and she would probably make your life easier. You’ve just met her and you’re already calling her,” Laura snapped. She set her hand on the door handle to yank it open, but Andy reached over and grabbed her arm.

  “Hey,” he said. He had to fight the urge not to laugh. “Are you kidding me? You’re jealous, that’s what this is about? You think I would call another woman and have her show up to help you if I was interested in her?”

  Laura gave him a look, her stunning green eyes flashing with what he was pretty sure was anger and hurt. He slid his hand behind her head and over her shoulder when she didn’t answer him.

  “I didn’t notice whether she was pretty. I suppose she is if you say she is, but she doesn’t interest me. You interest me. You’re my wife. I just want you to be happy. I want to make things easier for you. Kim is our neighbor, and I just thought…”

  “What did you think?” Laura snapped, her eyes now lit with a passion and fire that she couldn’t hide. “Did you think I was so incompetent that maybe she could teach me something?”

  Andy just watched her, trying to figure out how she could have taken the situation this way. He didn’t pull his hand away as he glanced out the window, resting his other hand over the steering wheel. The irritation was coming off her in waves. She was even fisting her hands.

  “Whatever she knows, whatever her experience is, I most certainly don’t want you to ever learn from her. A woman like her, she’s nice, but she has secrets and holds on to things. She has a past, and she doesn’t interest me in the least. I don’t want you ever learning how to hide something from me, not ever, Laura,” he said with a little more force than he’d meant, but his point must have been clear to her, as her eyes widened and she started to speak before he interrupted. “You’re the only woman who will be in my bed, under me. You’re the only woman I’ll bury myself in or whose lips will ever touch mine. So get it out of your head that Kim could interest me that way.”

  He was so close to her as he leaned down, and her warm breath brushed his lips. She parted hers slightly and leaned in, and he took what he felt was his, kissing her deeply until she was flushed and her every thought had disappeared.

  “Are you clear now?” he asked.

  She must have understood, as she licked her lips, breathing heavily. “Yes.”

  “Good. Now let’s go see our kid.”

  He opened the door and shut it a little harder than was necessary, but all Laura had managed to do was ramp up the fire between them. She was so inexperienced, and she had no idea the depths of madness she could drive him to. He just prayed she’d never become an experienced woman, learning how to bring him to heel. He’d seen other women wrap their husbands around their fingers, but Andy swore no woman would ever do that to him. It struck him, as he reached Laura’s side and opened her door, and her sweet smile touched his heart, that maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to have Kim stopping over to visit his wife.

  Chapter 16

  Walking into Gabriel’s hospital room and seeing her little boy so pale, lying there helplessly, made Laura feel like a horrible mother. She never should have made Andy feel he needed to leave her son alone just because she wouldn’t call the neighbor. She knew deep down that she’d pushed every one of Andy’s overprotective buttons, but her reasoning had been selfish. How could she have made him leave her son?

  Andy carried both babies, a carrier in each hand, and he set them on the floor in the room. Laura touched the rail and leaned over her son, smoothing back his bed hair, which was pasted to his forehead. The hospital blanket was tucked under his arms, and an IV tube was taped to the back of his hand. He moaned, and his eyes fluttered open.

  “Mommy?” His voice was so weak, and she knew he had to be scared.

  “I’m here. Did you have a good sleep?” Laura went to slide the side rail down so she could sit beside him on the bed.

  “Don’t do that, miss.” A nurse hurried in around the other side of the bed. “We don’t want him falling out accidentally.”

  “I’m his mother,” Laura snapped. She was tired of people talking to her as if she didn’t know any better. She continued to rattle the rail, trying to figure out how to move the damn thing, when Andy covered her hand with his and slid the rail down with a click. He set his hand on her back, standing beside her. The way he did it was so supportive, and just having him backing her up this way meant more to Laura than she could say.

  He even set his hand on her shoulder and his other on the bed beside Gabriel. “Hey, bud, sorry I had to leave to get your mom and your brother and sister. Did you wake up when I was gone?”

  “There were monsters,” Gabriel cried. “I want to go home.”

  “It took us a while to calm him down when he woke up,” the nurse said as she changed his IV bag and pulled a thermometer from her front pocket, setting it on the tray.

  Laura slid her arms around him and tried to hold him, but he cried out. “I’m sorry, honey,” she said. “Where does it hurt?”

  “He’ll still be sore where they did the puncture for the bone marrow,” the nurse said as she took Gabriel’s temperature. “Thatta boy, almost done.”

  “What puncture did they do?” Laura asked. She was reeling. She knew they had done tests, but she hadn’t thought to ask the specifics. For some reason, she was thinking it would’ve been nothing invasive—maybe more blood tests or an x-ray, but a puncture?

  “The bone marrow aspiration was taken from the hip, and he had a spinal tap,” the nurse added. Laura’s eyes widened as she glanced up at Andy. She should have been there.

  “I was with him. I went in with him, Laura,” Andy said, as if he knew where her thoughts had gone.

  “The doctor will be in soon, and he wants to get started right away,” the nurse said.

  Laura wanted everyone to stop until she knew what the hell was going on with her little boy. She rubbed Gabriel’s shoulder and his arm, wanting nothing more than to slip into bed with him and pull him into her arms and just hold him. He started fussing and tried to push the ear thermometer away.

  “Hey, bud, it’s going to be okay.” Andy was rubbing Laura’s arm and leaning down to Gabriel as if trying to hug them both. “Remember what I said to you last night, that I’m going to take care of everything?”

  “I want to go home, Andy,” Gabriel said. He was so scared, looking to Andy and then her. He loved Andy so much. He worshipped him, and she could see in his eyes how he truly believed Andy would take care of everything. The sun, the stars, the moon—everything set on Andy, and again Laura had to fight the urge to scoop her son up and run out of the hospital. She blinked back tears. Andy seemed to know she was struggling to hold it together, as he squeezed her shoulder. For a moment, it helped, and she took Gabriel’s hand and just held it.

  “Mommy is going to stay right here. The doctor is going to make you all better so you can come home.”

  “I want to go home now, please, Mommy.” He was going to start crying, and Laura knew they were coming to a point where he was going to be inconsolable.

  “I’ll be right back,” the nurse said. Before slipping from the room, she turned and added, “You can hold him. Just be careful of his hip. It’ll still be a little tender.”

  Andy went around the other side of the bed, lowered the rail, and slipped his hand under Gabriel’s legs and shoulders, lifting him onto his lap. He glanced over at Laura. “It’s going to be okay,” he said. “Remember how I said there’s a bug inside you
, making you really sick? Well, that’s why we’re here. The doctor is going to give you some medicine that’s going to kick this bug right out of you so you’re all healthy and strong and…”

  “And you’re getting me a pony?” Gabriel asked weakly, though Laura picked up on the hope in his voice. Andy was nodding at her as he wrapped his arms around her son—their son.

  “And you’re coming with me to pick out your pony, and then you and I are going to herd some cattle,” Andy said.

  “Like real cowboys,” Gabriel added as he fisted his tiny little hand in Andy’s dark blue plaid shirt.

  Andy rested his chin on top of Gabriel’s head. “Yeah, like real cowboys, you and me.”

  Laura watched her husband and saw the love spilling over to her son. Her throat thickened, and tears burned her eyes.

  “Hey, you two.”

  Laura slid around at the familiar voice as Neil Friessen leaned down and took in the sleeping babies. He was Andy’s very attractive, dark-haired cousin, well dressed, with the same height and build as Andy. He had the most charming smile, which lit up a room. His wife, Candy, was behind him, and she offered Laura a hesitant smile, her deep brown eyes and long, dark hair so distinct. She was beautiful and slim, and though she took in the room and the babies, she hung back. Anyone could read from her body language that she was uncomfortable.

  “Neil, I thought you were going to call me when you got in?” Andy didn’t move but kept Gabriel on his lap. The boy was more interested in staying right where he was, anyway, in Andy’s arms.

  Neil stood up and reached for Candy’s hand, bringing her closer to the bed with him. They were both in blue jeans and light jackets. Neil had an energy about him that was so different from Andy’s: He was vibrant and alive in a unique way. He drew people to him like a magnet, and he knew just what to say and how to be with people to make them feel better, or so Laura remembered.

  He touched her shoulder. “Hey, Laura, how are you doing?” he asked, watching her with such kindness.

  She had to clear her throat before she could speak. “I’m good.”

  He exchanged a meaningful look with Andy, and something passed between them privately. Of course, Laura couldn’t help wondering what that was about.

  A knock on the open door had them all looking at the light-haired doctor who’d set Laura’s teeth on edge just the day before. He wore a white dress shirt and blue striped tie, with a white doctor’s coat overtop. His hair was impeccable, and he looked to Andy first and then Neil, extending his hand. “I’m Gabriel’s doctor, Bruce Siegel,” he said. He gestured between Neil and Andy. “I can see the family resemblance. You must be brothers?”

  “Cousins,” Neil said, and the doctor nodded. He took in Laura and Candy and offered a polite smile. Neil moved back to allow the doctor to step by, but Laura had no intention of moving. Neil slid his arm around Candy’s shoulders and pulled her closer.

  “How are you this morning, Gabriel?” the doctor asked.

  The little boy just shrugged and wouldn’t let go of Andy.

  “I know you’re not feeling well, but we’re going to give you medicine that’s going to help you get better,” Doctor Siegel said. “We’re going to get started this morning with the chemo. Hey, Gabriel, I want to talk with your mom and dad for a minute, and then I promise I’ll give them right back.”

  Laura’s head was reeling. So much had happened, so many decisions made, so many tests given without her consultation. First chemotherapy, and then what treatment plan? They were starting now? She slid off the bed, her legs a little shaky.

  Andy eased Gabriel back on the bed. He kissed him on the cheek and said, “I’ll be right back. Don’t go anywhere.”

  Laura touched her son and kissed him on the forehead. “You’re going to be okay,” she said. “I’ll be right back.”

  Laura took in the babies, still sleeping, and then Andy came around the bed, holding his hand out to take hers. They followed the doctor to the doorway, and Neil followed with Candy.

  “Andy, what’s going on? You didn’t tell me they were starting chemo this morning. That’s going to make him really sick.” She didn’t know if she was more upset because of what this would do to her son or the fact that Andy was deciding everything again.

  He must have known, as he slid his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. “It’s going to be okay,” he said. She wanted to slap his arm away, but at the same time she felt safe and supported with him standing beside her. He squeezed her shoulder, holding her a little tighter.

  “Okay to talk with everyone here?” the doctor said, gesturing toward Neil and Candy.

  “Yes, they’re family,” Andy said.

  “Well, as I said last night, the type of leukemia that Gabriel has is not hereditary,” the doctor began. “It’s aggressive, and the cells are invading the marrow and will spread very quickly to the spinal fluid, the spleen, the liver, and the brain if we’re not aggressive with our treatment. We need to hit it hard and fast, and the chemo is going to make Gabriel very sick. He’ll have to stay here, as his immune system is going to be destroyed. It’s imperative we find a match for Gabriel now, and ideally we’ll be able to harvest and freeze the donor sample.”

  “Wait, I was tested last night. I’m his mother. Shouldn’t I be a perfect match?” Laura asked. She glanced up at Andy, and she knew, just by the hard set of his jaw, that he was holding on to something. “Andy?”

  “You’re not a match,” Andy said. “We need a better match, a match he can only get from his biological relatives.”

  Laura stared up at him, trying to understand what he was talking about. Then it hit her, this awful feeling that she wasn’t going to like what he said one bit. “So what are you saying, Andy? Please tell me you’re not considering…”

  “I have to, Laura. I’m sorry. I didn’t want you to find out this way, but I’m going to find your parents and the kid who fathered Gabriel.”

  Her heart was pounding at the thought of Andy contacting her parents or, worse yet, Tyler. She didn’t want to relive the humiliation, even though Andy knew everything she’d been through. She instantly felt guilty for thinking that way. She would do anything for Gabriel, and so would Andy, but she couldn’t help but be embarrassed. Andy’s cousin and his wife were listening, no doubt wondering what skeletons she had in her closet. She ached, thinking of what they must think of her.

  The doctor was shaking his head, and Laura couldn’t make sense of why. She wanted to cry. Her emotions were hammering her good sense and turning her into a basket case, which she could have sworn she’d never been before. She was starting to wonder how much a person could really take before they snapped.

  “We need to get each of them tested,” the doctor said. “Wherever they are, we can make arrangements at a local hospital for testing and extraction of the marrow. Just let me know, and, as I said…”

  “I know: Time is not on our side. I’ll get on it,” Andy said.

  Neil stepped forward beside Andy, and he offered Laura a sympathetic smile. “What do we need to do? How can we help?” he asked, looking from Andy to the doctor.

  “Gabriel is going to need someone to be with him while he goes through this,” the doctor said. “We can keep him comfortable, and children are actually much stronger when dealing with this than most adults are. However, he’s going to be scared, and…”

  “He won’t be alone. I’m not leaving my son,” Laura snapped. “When are you starting?”

  “Right away. Once we start the chemo and kill all the cancer cells in the marrow, we need to move on to the stem cell transplant.” The doctor took all of them in, and all Laura felt was nausea at the thought of what her son was going to have to go through. At the same time, she really didn’t understand how bad it was going to get. She’d have given anything to be able to trade places with him.

  “Wherever you need us, Candy and I are here to help,” Neil said. He set his hand on Andy’s shoulder and squeezed. “We need a plan
. Let’s figure this out and get a handle on what we’ll do first.” Neil took charge, all confidence. Candy slid comfortably and easily to his side as his arm hooked around her shoulder. “Let’s get some coffee, clear our heads, and we’ll figure this out together.”

  Laura looked to Andy, who was looking so tired. She realized that having Neil here was probably the best thing for them, and, just maybe, having that one clear head would keep her and Andy from completely falling apart.

  Chapter 17

  Laura was an absolute mess. She had to keep turning her head so Gabriel wouldn’t see her cry, but Andy could see how she kept wiping at her eyes. When the babies started fussing, he hoped Laura would take them out and nurse them, but he also knew she was in no shape to go off alone right now. Andy looked to Neil and the babies, hoping he understood. He also kind of hoped Neil’s new wife, Candy, would step in and help, but she looked about as uncomfortable with Laura as Laura was with her.

  “Oh, look at you!” Neil cooed as he squatted down to see the babies. Both were awake. “Now, which one is this? It’s kind of hard to tell.”

  “That’s Jeremy. He’s the demanding one,” Andy added as Neil scooped his son up. He was such a natural with babies, and so comfortable, too. “Laura?” Andy said.