Mending the Soul

by Alexis Lauren

  Jenna called Nicholas to Emma's room, where both kids were having their secret discussion. After both parents were there, Jenna explained what she had overheard. The kids admitted to feeling that way, and Jenna and Nicholas spent a lot of time reassuring the kids that they were never going to be forgotten. Nicholas told them that if anything, they were going to be idolized, being the older brother and sister to the baby. After he told them that, both kids were relieved, and finally loved the idea of the baby coming.

  A week into her second trimester, Jenna had her first ultrasound. Nicholas sat by her side as they saw their beautiful baby, comfortably floating in the womb. The doctor told her that everything was progressing nicely, and wished them well as they set off for the day.

  Nicholas took the rest of the day off work to spend it with Jenna, hoping to finish the day in the most perfect way. It was so special for him and Jenna to be able to see their baby on the ultrasound screen, and to be able to hold the very first picture of their baby in their hands. He just wanted the rest of the day to be as wonderful as it had been seeing their baby for the first time.

  Nicholas drove Jenna home and made her a nice lunch, pampering her and trying to show her how much he loved her. Somewhere along the line, something went horribly wrong, and Jenna's hormones kicked in.

  As they sat down to eat, Nicholas's cell phone rang. He got up to answer it, leaving Jenna to sit at the table waiting for him. Jenna didn't want to eat without Nicholas, especially since he had gone to so much trouble to make the nice meal.

  After waiting for ten minutes for him to return, Jenna went to see what was going on. Nicholas was in the office on his cell phone when Jenna walked into the room. He mouthed "Work. Five more minutes," to Jenna, and with a nod of her head, she walked out of the office and back to the table. She was a little annoyed because he promised that he was going to take the afternoon off to spend with her.

  Five more minutes passed, then ten, then twenty. He had been gone for half an hour at that point, and Jenna was starting to get heated. Her stomach growled as she looked at the food sitting in front of her. She decided to forget about waiting for him and dug her fork into the food. As she put it in her mouth, she was met with cold mush. She spat the food back out onto the plate, then got up and scraped her plate into the trash.

  Angrily, Jenna took out some bread and made herself a sandwich, slapping the ingredients on as she muttered to herself about how rude Nicholas was being. She ripped into her sandwich, eating it savagely, as only a hungry, angry, pregnant woman could. When it was all gone, she cleaned up the mess that she had made, and walked back up to the office. Nicholas had been on the phone for 45 minutes, and he was never on the phone for business that long.

  Nearing the room, Jenna heard Nicholas laughing. She heard him whisper a few things, not clearly making out what he was saying, then laughed some more. Jenna's anger had reached new heights when she walked into his office and saw the surprise on his face at seeing her. She could feel the redness and heat rising up her body, from the tip of her toes, to the top of her head. She felt as though her blood was boiling. The only logical explanation to what was happening, was that Nicholas was cheating on her. That's what the phone call was about, the laughing and the whispering. He was cheating on her, when she was 13 weeks pregnant with his baby. She knew that as soon as she started to gain weight, he was out of there.

  Nicholas quickly told the person at the other end of the line that he had to go and hung up the phone in a flash. He knew that he'd have to do damage control, wondering how much of the phone call she had heard. As he began to speak, Jenna held up her hand, motioning for him to stop.

  "I don't even want to hear it right now." Jenna said, her voice full of disgust. She turned from the room and ran downstairs. On her way out the door, Jenna grabbed her purse and the keys to her Isuzu Axiom. She slammed the door when she left, and squealed the tires of her SUV as she took off. Nicholas knew she was mad.

  He picked up his cell phone and dialed the number to his office. "Hey Zoey. That was a close call. I hope she didn't hear any of the plans for her baby shower. I want to really surprise her."

  "Is she still there?" Zoey asked.

  "No, she got mad that I was taking too long on the phone, and she left. I'm sure she's just got her hormones all worked up, and she'll be back in a few minutes when she calms down. Now, what kind of games were you talking about? The one with the dirty diaper kills me! You melt chocolate and put it in the diaper?" Nicholas asked and started laughing again.

  *****

  Four hours later, Jenna still hadn't returned. He was starting to get nervous. Nicholas had tried calling her cell phone numerous times, never getting an answer. He had a horrible feeling at the pit of his stomach, worried that something was wrong. Not knowing what else to do, he called Vanessa to see if she had heard from Jenna. Vanessa said no, but on hearing the worry in Nicholas's voice, she told him that her and Nathan would be right over.

  When Vanessa and Nathan walked into the house, Nicholas looked scared. "I can't explain it, I just feel like something is wrong." He told them. Almost as if on cue, the phone rang. Nicholas slowly picked up the phone, afraid of what he'd hear at the other end.

  "Could I please speak with Nicholas Tiller?" The voice asked.

  "This is Nicholas." He said, his heart thumping.

  "Mr. Tiller, this is Dr. Miner calling from the hospital. Do you know a Jenna Chase?" He asked.

  Nicholas's mouth went dry. All of the liquid in his body went to his eyes as they filled with tears. "Yes, I do." He choked out. "Is she ok?"

  "Ms. Chase was in a car accident today. I think you better get over here, and contact any family that she has." The doctor told him.

  Nicholas tightened his grasp on the phone as he dropped to his knees. He brought the phone to his chest as his face blanched and tears poured from his eyes. "NO!" Nicholas belted out in a heart-wrenching scream.

  Vanessa and Nathan ran over to where Nicholas was slumped on the ground. "Nicholas, what is it? What happened?" Nathan asked, then looked into the worried eyes of his girlfriend.

  "Jenna…she-she was in an-an accident." Nicholas stammered. "Oh my god. I can't lose her. I can't lose her the way I lost Leslie. I need her in my life!" He said, looking up to Nathan like a lost little boy, grabbing the sleeve of his shirt.

  Nathan put his arm around his best friend and looked up to Vanessa, who was now crying tears of her own. "Where is she? What did they say?"

  "She's at the hospital. All they said was that I'd better get over there and to contact her family." Nicholas said, sobbing.

  "Where are the kids?" Nathan asked.

  "At my mom's." He relied.

  "Ok, come on. We need to get to the hospital." Nathan said, pulling Nicholas off the floor. He put one arm around Nicholas to keep him steady, then his other arm went around Vanessa.

  Somehow, Nicholas made it into the passenger seat of his Xterra, with Nathan driving and Vanessa sitting in the back seat. They couldn't take Nathan's truck, because it was too uncomfortable to fit 3 adults in there. He drove to the hospital at break-neck speed as Nicholas looked out the window, remembering the night he lost Leslie. 'Please god, don't take Jenna from me. I need her in my life. Colby and Emma need her. Our baby needs her!' Nicholas prayed, then as if a thought struck him, he whispered, "Our baby!" His heart felt as if someone was squeezing it. "Oh god, what about our baby?" He cried as he put his head in his hands.

  Nathan reached over and put his hand on Nicholas's shoulder reassuringly. He had never seen Nicholas in this much anguish, not even after Leslie died. Sure, he was upset during that time, but now he seemed like a shell of a man.

  They pulled up to the emergency room of the hospital and Nicholas jumped out of the vehicle before it came to a stop. He ran into the ER and at the desk, frantically asked for Jenna Chase. Vanessa followed behind him while Nathan went to park. The nurse told him that she would get the doctor and motioned for them to sit in the waiting ro
om.

  Nathan walked in and ushered Vanessa and Nicholas to the waiting room. Vanessa sat next to Nathan and put her head on his shoulder and cried when he wrapped his arm around her. Nicholas remained standing, pacing throughout the waiting room while waiting for the doctor.

  Not long after, a man in a white lab coat and green scrubs walked in. "Nicholas Tiller?" He asked.

  Nicholas looked up. "That's me." He said nervously.

  The man stuck his hand out for Nicholas to shake. "I'm Dr. Miner. I was the doctor on duty when Ms. Chase was brought in. Luckily, her OBGYN was here, passing through and recognized her. We got your name out of her doctor's files as an emergency contact." The doctor explained. "Ms. Chase was in a serious car accident, along with another vehicle. It appears to be the other driver's fault, though we can't be certain until the police complete the investigation. From the way we heard it from the paramedics, Ms. Chase's vehicle was t-boned on the passenger side, and the airbags inflated, causing-"

  Nicholas interrupted. "Is she ok? Can we see her?"

  "Well, we aren't sure if she's ok or not. There was some internal bleeding, and possible head trauma. It looks like we are going to have to operate to try to stop the bleeding." The doctor said.

  "What about our baby?" Nicholas asked.

  "The baby is touch and go right now. This is a lot of trauma for a pregnancy to survive, and we aren't sure if it will make it through the surgery." The doctor told him. "Ms. Chase is in a room for the time being, until we can take her up to be operated on. I can let only immediate family in to see her right now."

  "I'm her fiancé." Nicholas stretched the truth. "She doesn't have any other family, other than an eight year old son."

  "Ok, you can go in. Just follow me." The doctor said and led him out of the waiting room. Nicholas had completely forgotten that Nathan and Vanessa were there, luckily they had heard everything the doctor said so they weren't relying on him to explain it all.

  Nicholas slowly walked into the room that Jenna was laying in. As he looked at her bruised body, tears came to his eyes again. He took her hand and sat in the chair next to her bed. "Oh god Jenna. I can't lose you! How could this happen? My worst nightmare is coming true again, only it’s even worse the time. You have to be ok! You have to make it through this. You have too much to live for. Me and Emma and Colby all need you. Our baby needs you." The tears flowed down his face as he reached over and touched her stomach. There was still a nice little bulge there where his baby was. "Neither one of you can leave us. You both have too much to live for. We have the rest of our lives together, so you both need to make it through this." He cried.

  The doctor slowly pushed open the door and told Nicholas that they had to take Jenna up for surgery. Nicholas leaned over the bed and kissed Jenna's stomach, then kissed her forehead. "I love you both. I'll be here waiting for you." Nicholas said, and just as he was about to let go of her hand, he felt a little squeeze from Jenna.

  Nicholas watched as they rolled her away, then made his way back to the waiting room. He got Vanessa and Nathan and went up to the waiting room on the second floor, where the doctor told him to wait. Nathan went and called Nicholas's mother to let her know what had happened, and she said that she would keep the kids as long as Nicholas needed her to. He went back to the waiting room to comfort his best friend and girlfriend, as they all waited for news of Jenna's surgery.

  A couple of hours later, Dr. Miner appeared back in the room, looking solemn. "Mr. Tiller?" He asked. Nicholas looked up, with tears in his eyes, waiting to hear if his life as he knew it was over or not.

  Chapter 28 Time to Wake Up

  A couple of hours later, Dr. Miner appeared back in the room, looking solemn. "Mr. Tiller?" He asked. Nicholas looked up, with tears in his eyes, waiting to hear if his life as he knew it was over or not.

  Nicholas stood and walked over to the doctor. His feet felt like they were made of lead, his knees like they were jelly, and his mouth like a desert. He looked at the doctor with pools of tears in his eyes, mixing with hope.

  "Ms. Chase is out of surgery, but she still has not regained consciousness. We were able to stop the bleeding, and there doesn't appear to be any serious damage that won't heal over time. As for her pregnancy, the next 24 hours will be very critical. For now, she still has a viable pregnancy, but that can change quickly. At this point, all we can do is sit and wait. We are monitoring her closely, though there isn't much else we can do in this situation." The doctor explained.

  Nicholas was filled with a mixture of relief and anxiety. He was happy that Jenna made it out of the surgery, but the prognosis for the pregnancy didn't sound too promising. "Can I see her?" He asked the doctor.

  "I'm afraid not yet, but after she is out of recovery and into her own room, then you will be able to see her. I suggest that you go get something to eat, and take a break from the hospital for a while. It will be at least two hours before she will be allowed visitors." Dr. Miner told Nicholas.

  "Thank you Doctor. For everything." He said shaking the man's hand. Nicholas turned to look at Nathan and Vanessa. He was still a ball of nerves, but it looked like he wouldn't lose Jenna. "Do you guys mind taking me a few places? I don't think I can really drive right now."

  "Sure man, I'll drive you wherever you need to go." Nathan said, giving Nicholas a typical man hug. "Sounds like she's going to make it."

  "As long as she gains consciousness soon." Vanessa said, still skeptical of Jenna's condition.

  "We need to hurry up so that we can get back here and see her." Nicholas said absently, thinking of where he needed to go. The doctor was right, he really should get something to eat, and he had to go to the flower shop before it closed, run to Wal-Mart, then head to the house for a minute…he just hoped they had enough time to do it all. When he told Nathan all he had to do, Nathan set the order of where they would go.

  After stopping at the flower shop to get flowers and balloons for Jenna, they went to get a quick bite to eat at the Golden M. No, not a fancy sit-down restaurant… McDonalds. After a quick Quarter Pounder and fries, Nathan drove to Wal-Mart, where he parked in the fire lane while Nicholas ran inside. A few short minutes later, Nicholas came out with a big bag in his hand, jumping in the passenger seat and hitting the dashboard, telling Nathan to go.

  When they got to the house, Nicholas told Nathan that he was going to get a small bag ready for Jenna, then he had to grab one other thing and be right out. When he got back in the Xterra, Nicholas turned around to Vanessa. He turned on the overhead light in the SUV, then fished a small box out of his pocket. "Vanessa, as Jenna's best friend, I need your opinion on something. Do you think she will like this?" He asked as he opened the box. Inside was a beautiful marquis cut diamond ring, with two rows of small diamonds in a channel set on each side of the large diamond.

  Vanessa gasped seeing the ring. "Oh my god! It's beautiful Nicholas! When did you get this?"

  "I bought it for her a couple of days ago. I know that she didn't want me to ask her to marry me just because of the baby, so I didn't. I want her to marry me because I can't see myself spending a single minute without her for the rest of my life." He said and paused as he began to get choked up. "Today, that almost happened."

  "She's going to love it Nicholas!" Vanessa cried, and reached up to hug Nicholas. "She's lucky to have you."

  "I'm lucky to have her." Nicholas said as he shut the box and put it back in his pocket as Nathan began driving back to the hospital.

  "I never thought I'd see the day…" Nathan said, as he looked proudly at his friend. "Not after you lost Leslie. I never expected you to find someone else."

  "Neither did I, but I'm glad I did. I love her more than I ever thought possible, and it's so different than the love I felt for Leslie. It's so real, and so pure. When you find a love like this, you should never let it go." Nicholas said candidly.

  Nathan looked into the rearview mirror at Vanessa and smiled at her. They pulled into the parking lot at the hospi
tal, and before they got out of the SUV, Nathan grabbed Nicholas's arm to stop him. Nathan turned to the side so that he could see both Nicholas and Vanessa. "Hey Nicholas, is your house still empty?"

  "Yeah, we haven't found the right person to rent it to yet." Nicholas said.

  "Well, do you think me and Vanessa are the right people?" Nathan asked.

  "What!?" Vanessa and Nicholas both shouted together.

  "Well, Vanessa and I have been discussing moving in together, and I think we've both had some reservations about it, but you're right, when you find love, you shouldn't let it go. We need to get over our fears and realize that we really are meant for each other. I want to be with her and not a million other women. I've been there, done that, and found something better." He told Nicholas, knowing that Vanessa was listening to every word coming out of his mouth.

  "You really mean it Nathan?" Vanessa asked.

  "Yes, I mean it." Nathan said, looking into Vanessa's eyes. "No more playing around, it's time for a commitment."

  "Well, if you guys want it, it's yours." Nicholas told them, a small smile on his face, for the first time since he had heard of Jenna's accident. "Now, if you guys will excuse me, I need to get in there to try to see Jenna."

  "We'll be right in." Nathan said. As soon as Nicholas had gotten out of the passenger seat and grabbed all of his bags, flowers, and balloons, Nathan pulled Vanessa in the seat next to him and began kissing her to seal their decision.

  *****

  Nicholas walked slowly and cautiously into Jenna's hospital room. He set the vase of flowers and the balloons on the ledge of the window, next to her bed. He put the bag that he had packed for her in the closet, and took the teddy bear out of the Wal-Mart bag and after removing the tags, placed it in the bed next to her stomach. Nicholas placed a soft kiss on her stomach, and rested his hand on the pregnant mound. He sat down in the chair next to the bed and with his free hand, he picked up Jenna's hand and nuzzled it against his forehead.