Unsportsmanlike Conduct

by Melody Heck Gatto

  "Gia, hello. I am Dr. Smith, the obstetrician on call. We contacted your doctor and she’s on the way. In the meantime, I’ll be treating you. You seem to be experiencing some cramping and I need to look at the films of the ultrasound, but for now we will hook you up to some pain meds to help you relax between contractions. The nurse will be in to start that and your doctor should be here shortly.” He patted her hand and left the room as quickly as he came in.

  "Patrick, I'm scared," she whimpered, just as the nurse came in. Tears filled her eyes. Why is this happening? Since they are hooking me up to pain meds, the doctor must already know something, because they would never give me those medicines if I was still pregnant, would they? Her heart sank. Pain tore through her.

  CHAPTER 32

  PATRICK

  The doctor wanted to exam Gia alone and asked him to wait in the hall, so he decided to call Kat and let her know Gia was in the hospital.

  "Kat," Patrick said into his phone as he paced the hallway. Not only was he trying to stay calm, he was trying to convince Kat to stay calm too.

  "Look, there’s nothing you can do here. Gia wants you to stay at home with Ian. Her doctor is in with her now. Once I get to talk to her, I’ll call you back." He knew she was worried, but that was all he could tell her right then. He wasn't sure what was happening, but his gut told him it wasn't good.

  He sent Ben a text to let him know he probably wouldn't be at the practice tomorrow, and he wasn't sure about the game. It all depended on what happened with Gia. Just then, the door opened and the doctor waved for Patrick to join them. He quickly jogged over to the room. "Hi doc, I'm Patrick, Gia's fiancé."

  "Patrick, hello, I'm Dr. Rollins. Okay, I examined Gia and looked over the ultrasound. I wish I had better news for you." She glanced expressionless at Gia and Patrick.

  Patrick's stomach cramped and his heart pounded wildly. He grabbed Gia's hand and kissed her fingers.

  "Gia, I'm so sorry, but ... you lost the baby. You had a miscarriage."

  Gia's stared at the floor and a tear ran down her face. A pain ripped through Patrick’s chest. He wanted to throw up. His eyes stung with hot tears. But he needed to be strong for Gia.

  "Oh no." Patrick sighed. He held Gia's hand tightly, moved in beside her on the hospital bed and pulled her head to his chest. Running his hand along her hair, he did his best to comfort her. He leaned his chin on her head, placing small kisses on top of her hair as she sobbed against his chest.

  "Your body seems to be responding on its own the way we hoped, so I'm not recommending any procedures at this time. But I will keep you on some pain meds for a little while longer. Just rest, sweetie. I’ll be back." She smiled sympathetically at Patrick then left the room.

  "Patrick," Gia said softly.

  "Yes, baby?" He kneeled down at her side so he could look in her eyes. They were filled with such sadness. There was no sparkle; they just looked empty.

  "Can you please call Kat and tell her?" Her gaze dropped to the floor.

  "Sure, I can do that."

  "No, in the hallway, okay? I want to close my eyes for a bit."

  "Okay, sure. Can I get you anything?" He just wanted to hold her. He wished she would let him, but it seemed like she was just shutting down. "Okay, I'll be back." He kissed the top of her head. "I love you."

  Gia lay silent. He tried to not be hurt when she didn't say it back to him, but his heart was doing weird things. Rationalizing that she was hurt and in shock didn’t ease the pain.

  He opened the door to the hallway.

  "Patrick, wait."

  "Yes, baby girl?" She looked so helpless lying there all alone and hooked up to machines.

  "Ask Kat to call Tyler, please. He needs to know too."

  "Sure, Gia, I can do that." He forced a smile. "Gia, I love you and I'm so sorry." He wasn't sure how to proceed. Did he leave her alone or did he push? He couldn't lose her.

  She managed a small smile, but it never made it to her eyes. Quickly, she looked away from him and down at her lap.

  Patrick turned and walked out of the room. Aimlessly heading down the hallway, he realized he had no idea where he was going. He stopped by the nurse’s station. "Hi, I need to make a phone call, where is a good place for me to go?" His head was spinning and the bright white halls weren't helping.

  He must've looked pretty confused because a nurse smiled sweetly at him then said, "If you follow this hall, there is a waiting area at the end. There’s also coffee machines in there too." She pointed in the direction of the hallway.

  He thanked her and headed down the hall. How was he going to tell Kat? He decided once he got to the waiting area, he would call Kris's phone instead. Slowly he walked, looking at the plain white walls and people in scrubs passing by him. He was in a daze. His chest ached and his shoulders felt heavy. He felt alone for the first time in a long time.

  He didn't realize how badly he wanted this baby to be his. How badly he wanted to raise their child together. He let out a long sigh. When he found the waiting room, he was relieved to find it empty for the moment. The small white room had red chairs lined along the walls. He flopped down in one and dialed Kris's number.

  "Kris," he said once his cousin picked up.

  "Pat, is everything okay? What's going on with Gia?" he asked.

  Patrick could hear an angry Kat in the background. "I told you he wouldn't call me. Is my sister okay? What is going on?"

  She had a right to be snippy; she was worried about her sister. "Kris, man, I hate to have to tell you this and I thought it would be easier for you to tell Kat than me. She lost the baby."

  "Oh Pat. Oh no," Kris said softly. "I’ll talk to Kat. Call us if you hear anything else, okay?"

  "Will do. Sounds like we might be coming home tonight, so don't run over here, okay? I'm sure Kat will be over bright and early in the morning." He shook his head and rubbed his eyes. "Kris, can you call Tyler?" That was the last thing he wanted to do right now.

  "Of course, we’ll take care of that. Hang in there, cuz, okay? Let us know if there is anything we can do."

  "Thanks. I'm sure we'll see you tomorrow." Hanging up the phone, he sat there in the empty room as the ache in his chest grew. It wasn't a real pain, more like his heart breaking. He never imagined this would hurt so much.

  What was he supposed to do? What was he supposed to say? He wanted to help Gia. He wanted to be there for her.

  Just then, the original emergency room doctor who had treated Gia walked into the waiting room. "You okay?" he asked a dazed Patrick.

  "No doc, not really. I keep wondering if I could've done something to keep this from happening. We didn't exactly avoid stressful situations. I should have seen this coming. If I had been there for her more, helping or taking care of her. I shouldn't have let her clear the table. I should have made her sit down and relax. I could have done that …" Patrick rambled.

  "Son, you didn't do this. There’s nothing either of you could have done differently to change what happened. You have to understand that sometimes these things just happen. Not because she did something wrong, not because you did anything wrong, but just because. This is a common occurrence in first pregnancies, and this doesn’t mean she won’t be able to carry a healthy baby full-term in the future. Sometimes this just happens." He put his hand on Patrick's shoulder.

  "Thanks, Doc." Patrick looked up at him.

  The doctor smiled before leaving the room. Patrick looked back down at the floor and ran his hands through his hair, resting them on the back of his neck. He let out a long heavy sigh. He wasn't sure what he would say to Gia when he walked back into that room. He just wanted to fix this. How did things go so awry? One minute they were happy, in love, a baby on the way and engaged. The next minute they were here in the emergency room.

  He looked up at the coffee machine. Coffee sounded good. His hands trembled as he fumbled to find the right amount of coins in his pocket. He had more change than he thought. He put sixty cents in the m
achine and waited for the mocha coffee to pour into the cup. He thought about how miserable he felt right then and realized there were probably other people getting even worse news or just worried for their loved one. He thought about putting some extra change into the machine. He had more than enough in his pocket.

  He took his hot coffee and put in sixty more cents. Maybe the next person who needed a little caffeine to help their long night or day would appreciate a free cup. The thought made him smile a little. He liked helping when he could. He started to walk back to Gia's room. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a sign for the gift shop. It was right off the waiting room area.

  He didn't know why he went in, but he did. It's not like anything in there would make this all better or make her feel okay about it. He walked through the little store not much bigger than a patient’s room. He browsed at the 'get well soon' stuffed animals and the 'congratulations' candies. Everything was overpriced, but he couldn't help himself.

  What would she like? He picked up a huge, stuffed teddy bear about two feet tall. He held a big, puffy heart that read 'Get Well Soon' and wore a red bowtie that matched the heart. Patrick didn't even look at the price tag; he just picked it up and walked to the cashier. On the way, he saw a brown stuffed dog with big floppy ears and a pretty pink bow tied around his neck; he grabbed that too. It was much smaller than the teddy bear. Then he saw a frog with a heart in his mouth that said, 'I Love You'. He grabbed that as well.

  "Anything else?" the lady behind the cash register asked, holding back a giggle.

  Patrick looked around and ran his hand through his wavy hair. "Yeah, this flower thing." It was a pink heart vase that held silky dark pink flowers. Gia liked pink. He handed the lady his credit card. She handed him a bag big enough to hold the big teddy bear and the smaller stuffed animals. He grabbed his cup of coffee, the bag of goodies, and the flower vase. He must be crazy. What am I doing with all this stuff?

  ****

  "Hey babe." Patrick walked back into her hospital room carrying all the goodies he’d picked up.

  She looked at the huge bag in his hand and the cup of coffee he juggled. "Patrick, what in the world did you get?" A grin actually spread across her face.

  He pulled out each thing from the bag. First, he handed her the flowers and she set them beside her on the tray table. Then the super big teddy bear, which made her giggle slightly. Next came the little floppy-eared doggie followed by the silly-looking frog.

  "Sorry, but it's the best stuff they had in the sorry excuse for a gift shop." He grinned at her before kissing her on the forehead. He pulled up a chair right next to her bed. "As soon as we get out of here, I’ll buy you anything you want. I am so glad to see a smile on your face, babe." He set the stuffed animals around her bed.

  Gia's smile disappeared, then she sighed, "Patrick ... "

  He slipped his hand into hers and looked down at their fingers intertwined, avoiding her eyes for a moment. Whatever she had to say didn't sound like something he wanted to hear.

  "I'm sorry …" Her bottom lip quivered as tears fell down her cheeks. Her nose was red, her eyes were swollen, and she had been crying while he was gone.

  Patrick softly moved next to her on the edge of the bed. He pulled her to his chest and held her. His eyes stung as they filled with tears. "Baby, it's not your fault. It just happened." He stroked her hair. He could feel her hot tears through his shirt. "These things happen," he whispered, remembering what the doc told him. They had never even found out the baby was his or not. Up until now, he didn't realize how much he wanted it to be his. He never imagined himself a daddy, but now that was all he could think about.

  Gia pulled away from him. "Here." She slid the antique ring off her finger and handed it to him. "I'm sure you’ll want this back now." She avoided his eyes and stared at her hands.

  "What are you doing?" he asked softly, wiping the tears from his eyes. His heart dropped to his stomach and he thought he might be sick. "Gia?"

  She placed the antique ring into the palm of his hand, trying to close his fingers around it.

  What was she doing? Quickly, he took her hand in his. "I don't understand, G. This is yours," he said, trying to hand the ring back to her. "It belongs to you. It was always meant for you."

  "Patrick." A tear ran down her cheek. "You don't have to marry me now. Even if the baby was yours, it’s not there now. You’re off the hook. It’s okay. So take the ring back. After all, it was your Grandma's."

  She tugged at her hand, trying to pull away from his, but Patrick refused to let her go.

  "Good thing we didn't do anything drastic like buy a house," she said softly, wiping away tears with her free hand. "You can let go of my hand, Patrick."

  "G, you’re out of your mind. No offense." He held on to her hand and puffed out his chest with confidence. So now he had to fight for her? He could do that. "This ring is yours, baby girl. It was always meant for you. I love you, Gia Torella. Period. I want to be with you." He took his other hand and tilted her chin up with his index finger. "Look at me, Gia. This doesn't change anything. I know you’re sad and hurt. I am too. I have the same empty feeling inside that you do. But it doesn't mean I love you any less. I still want to marry you." He took her hand and slid the ring back on her finger. "After everything that has happened, you thought I was only marrying you for the baby's sake?"

  He felt like he couldn't get enough air and everything seemed to be crumbling around him. He was dumbfounded. That thought hadn't even crossed his mind. He loved her because she was amazing, not because she might be carrying his child. Would she really leave him now? Loving her was the one thing in his life that felt real and right. He was meant to be with her.

  "Patrick, everything is ruined now. Don't you see? I messed it all up." She shook her head. "Please just take the ring back. You don't have to ma–"

  Patrick took her mouth in his and stopped her before she could finish her sentence. He refused to hear those words from her. He would show her how much he loved her. As he pulled away, he saw a small smile on her face.

  "Baby girl, I’m still going to marry you. I love you and we are still buying the perfect house together. And maybe someday, we will have a little one of our own." His eyes stung as tears flowed from hers, this time flowing past her smile. "A baby just wasn't meant to be right now. It hurts, but we can get through this together. But know this for sure, I'm not going anywhere." He kissed her cheek, trying to kiss her tears away. "I love you," he whispered.

  Tears rushed down her cheeks. "Patrick, I love you too."

  He pulled her close and held her tight. She looked around at all the silly things he bought her at the gift shop.

  "There's that smile that I love," he said with a grin. "I love you babe, and we are going to be okay. I promise."

  EPILOGUE

  Gia stood in front of the priest, her white gown draped behind her, cascading down the steps that led to the altar. Pink lace accented the fabric. Her tan shoulders were bare, the dress a sleeveless halter-top. Her hair curly was piled on top of her head with just a couple loose tendrils hanging lazily down her neck and on shoulders. A few curls framed her smiling face.

  She stared into Patrick's eyes as she held his hand. He looked so handsome in his black tux, white shirt and pale pink tie and cummerbund. Kris stood beside him in his tux; Kat beside her in a simple sleeveless pink dress that fell all the way to the floor.

  Gia was beaming. She never imagined they would be here. It hadn’t been that long ago that they had stood up here for Kat and Kris.

  Her parents sat in the first pew smiling with pride: her dad in a very handsome, black tux, her mother in a mauve dress and jacket, holding her nephew Ian in her lap. The little guy had on the cutest suit she’d ever seen. Leave it to Kris and Patrick to find an outfit for him.

  Claire and Matthieu Lafleur sat on the other side of the aisle, beaming with pride at their nephew. Before the ceremony, Claire commented to Gia, "I know Pat's mother picked you out esp
ecially for him. You’re the angel meant for him. We couldn't have asked for a better wife for our Patrick.” She was still confused about what to call them: Mom and Dad or aunt and uncle? However, that would work itself out in time.

  Gia met Patrick's glance and smiled. She saw nothing but love in his eyes. That cocky pain in the ass playboy was gone. His dark eyes held only devotion to her now.

  The priest boasted loudly, "I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

  Patrick's grin widened as he leaned in and took her mouth with his, slipping his tongue into her mouth. As much as Gia tried to resist doing that in front of everyone, including the priest, he was irresistible. After all they had been through, she was so happy to finally be his wife. Her tongue mingled with his as she basked in his scent.

  The priest cleared his throat. Gia was sure they’d made him blush. "Ladies and gentlemen: the new Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Dubois," the priest announced to the church as Gia and Patrick parted and turned to face their family and friends. A cheer erupted from the wedding guests.

  Patrick beamed his trademark cocky smile. Taking his new wife's hand in his, he said, "Well, Mrs. Dubois, shall we?"

  Gia couldn't help but smile. It was now a permanent fixture on her lips. She took her husband’s hand and they walked up the church aisle lined with white flowers. Patrick nodded to his teammates who sat a few pews back. The entire team was there, including Coach Walker and the team owner Ben. They all cheered and hooted. Ben winked at the new couple as they passed. After all, he was instrumental in this union; he was the one who brought Patrick to the team.

  On the front steps of the church, Gia and Patrick waited for their guests to come outside. The team passed by first, minus Tyler. Gia saw his little sports car pull out of the parking lot as their guests congratulated them.

  "Gia!" Kat practically screamed as she hugged her sister, almost pushing Kris out of the way after handing Ian to him. "Yay! I am so happy for you two!" she gushed. "My little sis is married! Yay!" She sang to a tune only she could hear.