by Nikki Ryan
“Is she going to be okay?” Alyssa asked the three of them as they ascended.
“We want her to be and that’s why we want you under our care for a while. Just in case.”
Kat lightly brushed the hair that had fallen into Alyssa’s face. “We have the best obstetric nurses in Boston right here in this hospital. They specialize in this kind of thing. You seriously could not be under better care.”
The elevator had reached the third floor and opened its doors. They wheeled her down the hall way to the very last room. It was spacious with a full size bed against one wall. There was also a rocking chair off to the side. Alyssa was comforted by the homey feel it emanated. She suddenly felt better having to stay here for extended amount of time.
“Not bad, eh?” Kat asked.
“Not bad at all.” The four of them laughed.
“Okay. Let’s get her onto the other bed. Kat held Alyssa under the shoulders while a nurse took her legs. The other nurse went to the other side of the bed to aid in the transfer.
Kat pushed a button on the console and the bed immediately moved into the incline position. The three nurses bustled around the room; adding blankets to the bed, placing another pillow behind her head. One nurse left the room and returned with a full bottle of ice water.
“I feel extremely pampered right now. Thank you.”
There was a knock at the door. Jack peaked his head around the corner.
“May I come in?”
“Yes.”
“We’re leaving. If you need us at all, Alyssa, just push the button. You are not to stand up; even to go to the bathroom. So if nobody is here to assist you then you need to call us, okay? Joan is getting a wheel chair now.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
Jack moved the recliner closer to the bed and sat down.
“Looks pretty cozy in here,” he said, looking around the space.
Kat continued to glare at him. He met her glare.
“Can we please call a truce for right now? Please?”
“I want to talk to you outside for a moment,” Kat told him.
He followed her out into the hallway.
“I’m going to run home to shower and change real quick. If you do or say anything, and I mean anything, to upset her I will cut your balls off!” She stabbed at his chest to push her point.
“I’m very well aware that she is no condition to be made upset right now. Give me some credit. She and I were together for a very long time, Kat. I love her. It was great seeing her last night. It solidified how much I’ve missed and want her back.”
“Oh no you don’t. You leave her alone about that. In fact, you need to leave right now if that is your intention.”
“I’m not leaving, Kat. Get over it.”
Kat stood there looking at him.
“Fine. But I swear if you upset her, I’ll hunt you down and turn you into a eunuch.”
She walked back in to the room and told Alyssa that she’d be back as soon as she took a shower and changed into clean clothes.
“Jack insists that he stay with you while I’m gone. Are you okay with that?”
Alyssa smirked. “Yes. I’m fine with that, Kit Kat.”
“Okay then. See you soon.” She kissed Alyssa on the forehead.
She walked past Jack giving him one last warning with her eyes as she did so.
A half an hour later, Jack and Alyssa were settled in watching the three stooges and laughing hysterically as Moe beat on Larry and Curly. Jack had taken his boots off and relined the chair so he laid closer to Alyssa. He had grabbed a blanket and draped it over his lap when Sam walked in.
Chapter Twenty-One
Sam finally arrived at the hospital. The ride had only been thirty minutes from the Cape but it seemed to go on forever. His father dropped him off at the hospital entrance and the three found a place to park as Sam climbed the stairs, taking two at a time, to the third floor. Kat had called them when they’d left the hotel lobby to tell Connor that Alyssa had been admitted and what room they had put her in.
He reached the room and heard two voices laughing hysterically. One was a male’s. He entered the room, turned the corner and stopped dead in his tracks. What the fuck?
Jack sprang from the relined position and hurriedly put on his boots.
“Sam,” he said.
Sam looked at Jack, then to Alyssa. It suddenly became clear to him. This was the Jack. Her ex-boyfriend Jack. The Paramedic JACK that flirted and hit on every woman who came into his path. Alyssa’s Jack. And he was here looking all comfy cozy with his girl.
He walked over to where Jack stood and swung at him. He connected with Jack’s lower jaw.
“You stay away from her!” he shouted.
“Sam don’t!” Alyssa screamed. She sat straight up, pleading to him.
Jack held his jaw. “What the fuck man?”
John, Connor and Sylvia walked in.
“What’s going on in here?” John asked.
Sylvia immediately went to Alyssa’s side and hugged her.
“Oh, baby. How are you feeling? I was so sick when Connor told us.”
Alyssa hugged her back.
“I’m okay now. They want to keep me here in case I have contractions again.”
Sam watched her as she watched him nervously. She had been going back and forth from wringing her hands to biting her fingernails.
“What is going on here, Alyssa? Why is your ex-boyfriend in here with you?” he asked.
“Ex-boyfriend?” Connor said. “Damn this is getting good.”
John placed a hand on Connor’s chest and shook his head at him in warning. Just then, Kat entered. She stopped when she reached Connor.
“Jack ass here is a paramedic,” she explained to the group. “He was the first responder to the situation last night and also happens to be Alyssa’s dickhead of an ex-boyfriend.”
“Kat will you stop with the name calling already?” Jack pleaded.
“Nope. I won’t.” She looked at Sam and closed in on him like a cheetah stalking her prey. “And you! What the hell is wrong with you? You have life by the balls! A beautiful girlfriend, baby girl on the way, new house, good job . . .” she stopped and looked around the room and started again, “a wonderful family! You almost pissed it all away last night. Connor said it was all a misunderstanding . . . which by the way, I’m currently chomping at the bit waiting to hear this story. Because why Sam? Are you scared? What?”
Sam looked at Alyssa’s best friend. He was scared. Scared to death. His nightmares were becoming more frequent and always included something dire happening to Alyssa and his baby and him never being able to save them. He looked over at Alyssa whose eyes were as round as saucers.
“I . . . think . . . I should go now.” Jack grabbed his flannel shirt and looked at Alyssa. “Can I come check on you tomorrow?”
Alyssa glanced over at Sam then back at Jack.
“Yes. You can.”
Jack nodded. He leaned down and kissed her forehead before he walked past the three McKiernan men. His eyes never leaving Sam’s as if goading him.
“Well,” Sylvia said. “I think Sam and Alyssa have some talking to do.” She looked at Kat and Connor. “You guys up for IHOP? I’m starving.” She looked back at Alyssa. “Would you like us to bring you two something back?”
Both Sam and Alyssa nodded and gave them their order before they left the room.
Sam stood for a moment as they both looked at each other intently.
“Jack?” he asked.
“Tiffany?”
“A total misunderstanding that would not have happened if I hadn’t been so piss drunk. I’m so sorry, Lys.”
Alyssa looked as she fought the tears from falling.
When she said nothing, he continued, “I passed out on our bed when Dad left our hotel suite last night. Apparently, Connor, the ass clown set his keycard on the bar as he rummaged through his pockets for money and had forgotten about it. Tiffany swiped it knowing t
hat I headed up to the room alone. From what I gather from my parents and what you had told Kat was that you had caught us sleeping together. Only I wasn’t a willing participant. I didn’t even know it was happening. . .” He paused when Alyssa put her hand up to stop him.
“No. Don’t say anymore. I saw you two with my own eyes. Your pants and boxer briefs were gathered at your ankles as she rode you. She came all over you, Sam. I heard her.”
“Alyssa! I . . . was . . . passed out. I had no idea what she was doing. Did you see my face? Were my hands on her hips like I do with you when you ride me?”
Alyssa shook her head slowly.
“I take full responsibility of this situation because I should never had gotten that drunk. This would have never happened. Please forgive me,” he pleaded. He was now sitting next to her. He took her hand in his.
She gently removed it and looked at him.
“It seems like all I’ve done since you’ve come into my life is forgive you. I don’t think I can live like this anymore, Sam. I need you to respect that and leave me alone for a while. I don’t want to see you.”
Sam let a tear escape and fall down his face. He was losing her.
“No. Please don’t say that, Lys. We’re so good together.”
“Please leave, Sam. I need to rest now.”
Sam sat there, staring at her as the tears fell rapidly down his cheeks. He stood when she looked away and stared out the window. He had no choice but to leave.
“So what? You’re going to run back into Jack’s arms now?”
“How dare you!” she spat at him. “At least he only cheated on me once, unlike other men I know.”
Sam knew telling her how untrue that statement was would only make him look like a jealous ass and hurt her more. So he turned and walked out of her life. At least for now.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Alyssa punched the pillow behind her head when he left and began to cry until she finally succumbed to sleep. Kat and Connor came back after breakfast but she had been asleep and Kat hadn’t wanted to wake her. So they left quietly so as not to wake her and went to the nurses station where her friend sat.
“How long ago did the guy leave that was here?” Kat asked knowing Joan didn’t know Sam by name.
“About twenty minutes ago or so. He looked terrible and had been crying, I think.”
“Shit,” Connor said. “We need to find out what’s going on.”
* * * * *
Two days later, Jack appeared in Alyssa’s room. She was up watching Rachael Ray on the television. Nobody else was in the room. He placed a bag down on the cart in front of her.
“I stopped at Chico’s and ordered your usual. You still like their western omelet with home fries and a bagel with cream cheese, right? I opted for the OJ instead of mimosa this time for obvious reasons.”
“This is so nice of you. Thank you.”
Alyssa licked her lips. She opened the bag and removed the Styrofoam package steaming with yummy goodness. She placed the freshly squeezed orange juice beside it on the cart. Jack chuckled and sat in the recliner. He watched her eat with an enthusiasm he had never seen before.
“The baby,” he asked, pointing to her food.
Understanding his meaning, she nodded her head. She hadn’t eaten there since they had broken up. They used go to Chico’s every Sunday morning for brunch. It had been their thing.
Alyssa thought about that as she took a bite of the omelet. What was he doing here anyway? She sneaked a glance his way as he pointed the remote at the TV.
“Mind if I change the channel?”
She shook her head. Her show had just ended.
They sat in silence while she ate. The only noise coming from the TV and his work radio. He was in uniform and was clearly on the clock.
“Jack, why are you here?” she asked when she had finished eating.
He set the remote down and turned to her. He rested his elbows onto his knees as he leaned forward towards her.
“Lys. I made a mistake. I miss you. I miss us. I don’t know what I was thinking by sleeping with her. I want us to get back together. I stopped by at your apartment a couple of weeks but you weren’t there. Your neighbor said that you had moved and wouldn’t tell me anything else.”
Alyssa didn’t know what to say. Did she still have feelings for him? What about Sam? And what about her child? He clearly knew she was pregnant and he still wanted her?
“You still want me even though I’m seven months pregnant with another man’s child?” she asked.
Jack nodded. “I don’t care about that. You know I love kids.”
Alyssa shook her head in disbelief. She thought about Sam and the home they had created. And Tiffany. Alyssa was very much in love with Sam but right now she couldn’t see past the hurt.
“I don’t know what to say, Jack.”
He reached for her hand.
“Say you’ll come back to me, Lys. Let’s create a family together starting with this little peanut. McKiernan doesn’t deserve you.” He rubbed her stomach.
Her abdominal muscles flinched when he touched her. It felt very odd having him trace his fingers over her belly so intimately like that. That was for Sam to do. Not him.
“I can’t make any decisions right now, Jack.”
The dispatcher called Jack’s call sign number. He let go of Alyssa’s hand and reached for the radio.
“This is 422,” he said.
“There is a two car accident on 93 mile marker 6. Please respond immediately.”
Just then his cell phone dinged.
“10-4,” he responded.
He looked down at his cell. “It’s my partner. He’s downstairs in the truck. I gotta go. Think about what I’ve said.” He kissed her on the forehead and left.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Sam stood outside Alyssa’s hospital room listening to every word Jack and Alyssa said. He hadn’t dared to come see her until today. He leaned his head back against the wall when he heard her response to Jack wanting her to live with him and start a family. Over his dead body! Sam stood up straight when he heard the call come in over Jack’s radio and knew that Jack was on duty and would be leaving any minute.
Jack ran into him as he turned the corner to leave. He stopped dead in his tracks and stared at Sam. Then, remembering why he was leaving, walked past him and left the hospital grounds in a screaming ambulance.
Sam didn’t know whether he should go in now or not. So before he could talk himself out of it, he forced himself over the threshold. Her eyes widened at the sight of him.
He knew he had to look like shit. He saw his face this morning in the mirror. He had dark circles under his eyes. He hadn’t slept well since Friday night. Another nightmare haunted his dreams again last night. The chief had ordered him to go home this morning when he showed up for his shift.
“I can’t have you at fifty percent,” he had told him.
“Sam.”
“Alyssa.” He walked to the side of the bed and willed himself not to reach out to her even though every cell of his being cried out to.
“Why are you here?” she asked. “I told you I needed space.”
“But it’s okay for Jack to be here?”
He knew he was pressing his luck by bringing his name up but he couldn’t understand why Alyssa was being so kind to that asshole.
“Sam . . .” she warned. “I do not want to fight with you right now.” She reached for his hand. He looked down at it and took her hand in his. The bed sank as he sat down next to Alyssa. He put his bag down on the floor. She searched his face.
“You don’t look good at all, Sam.”
“Yea well . . .” He looked away momentarily. It hurt him so much that he couldn’t kiss her or taste her sweet skin.
He had gone to the hospital right after the chief dismissed him for the day. He hadn’t bothered to change out of his uniform.
“Are you working today,” she asked.
“No. The ch
ief sent me home. Said he needed me at 100 percent not fifty.”
“I see.”
“Lys, when’s the last time you’ve showered?”
A look of anger crossed her face then embarrassment. He knew so well.
She looked down at her hands.
“The nurses have given me sponge baths because I don’t want them to see me naked. I’m not to shower by myself and the only other person I’d allow to see me other than you is Kat.”
He nodded. Now that was a positive statement on his behalf.
“And where has she been?”
“She’s been working like a dog in the ER since Sunday. She thought picking up extra shifts would have allowed her to be up here more with me but that hasn’t been the case. Joan told me that the ER has been insanely busy this week. I heard her murmur “full moon” or something like that.
Sam nodded again. He didn’t know why but the oddest things happened when ever there was a full moon. All the crazy people came out of the woodwork like some freaky gravitational pull.
“Would you like to take one now with me?”
She didn’t answer him right off. He watched her face as a million emotions crossed over it. She finally replied, “Yes.”
He pressed the call button on the console of the bed. He asked Joan to fetch a clean hospital gown for Alyssa after informing her that he would be giving Alyssa a shower.
“No sex allowed,” she said before she went in search of a gown.
“I won’t,” he said, smiling at Alyssa. “Not that I won’t be tempted.” She blushed.
He scooped her up from the bed and carried her into the bathroom.
He sat her down on the toilet and turned the water on in the shower. He stood there for a moment with his hand under the direct stream to ensure he had set it to the proper temperature. He undressed himself and then reached behind her to release the tie in the back. It fell off her shoulders exposing her beautiful enlarged breasts and belly. His gaze fell over her entire body. She looked so sexy. He placed one arm under her armpit and other under her knees and lifted. The shower had a seat which he sat her down on. He adjusted the nozzle so the water fell perfectly on her. She closed her eyes. He wasn’t sure if he was going to get through this without sporting a hard on but she needed to be bathed.