by Hart, Lea
Mark looked up at Sam, “Why is she putting too much salt? Usually she’s a really good cook.”
Sam looked down at his tray again and then at Mark, “It’s the pregnancy. She is craving salt and puts it on everything even her fruit. The doctor told her to cut back, but she’s not really doing it yet. I have to keep a close eye on her without her knowing what I’m doing. I want her to be healthy but I don’t want to piss her off. There is nothing worse than an unhappy, mad pregnant wife. I would rather face a nest of Tangos than face my wife when she’s mad. I’m not afraid to admit it either, she scares the crap out of me.” Sam was bigger than Mark and the known expert on explosives, many people thought he was a mean son of a bitch. Yet he was openly talking about his being scared of his wife who was 5’2” and a kindergarten teacher. “I love that woman like crazy and I would do anything for her, but sometimes I have to watch my step.”
“Good luck man, I hope you both survive.” They finished up and headed back to barracks, 0400 would be here soon enough.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
FRIDAY MORNING
The training op went better than they expected, the new equipment was working and they all thought it was going to be useful in the field. They had one more exercise to go through and then they could head back to base. Mark was looking forward to seeing Birdie, he missed her like crazy.
Birdie went out to the garage and loaded her bag in the back, but as she went to start it, there was nothing. It was completely dead. She had not driven it in several days…. maybe had left a light on or something. She didn’t have time to call Triple A, so she grabbed her bag and headed to her store. She could drive the Wagoneer this one time, she was just taking flowers over to a house that was two miles from her shop. It would be fine.
FRIDAY AFTERNOON
Josh saw Ace running out from the hangar where they were packing up their equipment, he handed Josh the Sat phone and looked down. “It’s Maryanne, she needs to talk to you. The pilot is getting the chopper ready.” He put the phone to his ear and had a feeling of dread run down his spine.
Maryanne’s voice was a little shaky, “Josh, Birdie was in an accident. A drunk driver ran a red light and plowed into her - she was driving the Wagoneer.” Josh felt his legs go weak and he crouched down before he fell down. “They had to medevac her out and she’s at Scripps Mercy Hospital. I’m at the hospital with her. Her parents are on some European cruise and I can’t get a hold of them yet. They have her in a medically induced coma because she has some swelling on her brain. She is stable for now. Tell Mark and bring him with you, hurry please!”
Josh stood up and let out a string of curses as he walked towards Mark. “Birdie was hit by a drunk driver and they had to medevac her to Scripps. We have got to go, they have the chopper waiting for us.” Mark stared at Josh and tried to process what he just said, but his brain couldn’t do it. Josh pulled his arm and his legs finally started moving. Ace held both of their bags, Josh took them from him and they ran to the chopper.
Mark finally snapped out of it, “I fucking told her not to drive that car until I got airbags installed. Why would she do it?” They boarded the chopper and it lifted into the sky. Mark sat in his seat and closed his eyes, the images that ran through his mind were like watching a movie of the best moments with Birdie. He bowed his head and started saying prayers. He hadn’t been in church since high school, but somehow the words he needed were lodged in his brain. Josh looked out the window with his eyes closed - he was probably saying his own prayers. Mark lifted his head and caught sight of the small airport and looked at Josh, “Nothing can happen to her. I love her and she is going to be my wife.” Josh nodded his head as they jumped out of the chopper and grabbed a taxi to the hospital.
Maryanne met them in the waiting room of the ICU unit. She gave them a quick update and then went to find the nurse. The staff was hesitant to let Mark in, but Josh explained that they were engaged. Josh looked at how badly Mark was suffering, “You go in first. I will get the update from Maryanne and work on getting a hold of her parents.”
“Thanks man, I appreciate it.” He walked into her room, and saw that she was hooked up to a lot of equipment that was helping her body function. He stood next to her bed and took her hand and let himself look at her. She had major contusions on her face and a black eye. His legs felt weak and he managed to sit down before he fell. He had spent eleven years on the battlefield and visited most of the world’s hell holes. He had seen men being blown up and shot and had brought fellow soldiers home in bags. He thought he was beyond being affected by seeing someone injured, but he wasn’t. Seeing Birdie in a coma wiped him out. He kissed her hand and put his head on the bed and let go of his tears. He had not cried since he was a kid, but holding Birdie’s small hand had been his undoing. He sat there for a long time until a nurse came in to check on Birdie’s vitals. He heard the nurse speak and finally lifted his head. She was trying to tell him that Birdie was doing well despite all of her injuries.
He stood up and thanked her, “I’m going to let her cousin Josh come in for a minute and then I’ll be back.” Mark met Maryanne and Josh in the waiting room, and they looked exhausted and worried. “Tell me the son of a bitch who ran into her is dead, otherwise I need you to bail me out after I kill him.”
They sat in the chairs and Josh filled him in, “The guy spun out after he hit Birdie and then managed to hit a light pole. He died upon impact, apparently he had several DUIs. The Wagoneer is totaled, and it went to the junk yard. We are going to go in and see her and then you can go back in. Maryanne has her phone and has been getting in touch with the family. I’m going to continue to work on that tonight. Do you want us to stay and keep watch?”
Mark grabbed his bag, “Let me grab a quick shower and then you guys can go. I’m not leaving until I take her home. You guys go home and get some rest.”
Josh shook his hand, “OK go get cleaned up and we will meet you back in her room.”
Mark talked to the nurses and they let him use the doctor’s locker room to get cleaned up. Medical personnel were often ex-military and they usually tried to help out a soldier. He grabbed a quick shower and changed into clean clothes. He didn’t want Birdie to wake up and have to plug her nose, he wanted to see a smile on her face. He met Josh and Maryann outside of Birdie’s room, “I will keep a close eye on her.”
“Catch a little rest if you can and we will see you tomorrow.”
Mark walked into her room, moved the chair closer to her bed and sat down. He studied her for a moment and took her hand in his and he held on tight. Just rest baby, I’m right here and when you’re ready you can open those big pretty eyes of yours and we can begin the rest of our lives together. He put his head down next to her hand and when the nurse came in an hour later, that’s how she found him. Mark had her hand in his firm grasp and had fallen asleep in the chair.
CHAPTER TWELVE
SATURDAY
Mark woke up when he heard the nurse come in around 5:00, he sat up and stretched and studied Birdie for a moment. She looked the same which he took as a good sign. The nurse was checking her vitals and looked over at him. “How are you doing son? Our patient here seems to be doing a little better, no fever today. Last thing we want is an infection, she seems to like your company.”
He kissed Birdie’s cheek, “I love this woman and I’m going to marry her. I haven’t told her all of my plans yet, but once I get her used to the idea, it will work out.”
The nurse gave him a long steady look, “Well love is one of the best medicines, so I’m sure it’s going to help that she has you. It looks like she is scheduled for an MRI later on this afternoon. They’re going to check the swelling, and if it has gone down, they may try and bring her out today. We want to give her body plenty of time to heal itself though, we don’t want to rush it.”
Mark understood, he was also trained as a medic and had seen similar cases. “I can’t bring any flowers in here, right?”
The nur
se shook her head, “Not in here, when she gets moved to a regular room you can bring her all the flowers you want.” She finished charting Birdie’s information and moved to the door, “She is doing well and her chances are good.”
Mark sat back down in his chair and took her hand, “Do you hear that baby? You’re doing great, so just go ahead and rest and maybe you’ll be ready to wake up tonight or tomorrow. I’ll be right here with you, so don’t worry about a thing. In a couple of hours, I’ll get on the phone and make sure your shop is taken care of and your family knows what’s going on. I told you the other day that I loved you, but you were asleep so you didn’t hear me. I’m going to tell you every day that I love you. Don’t be scared that it happened so fast, that’s just the way it is with me. It will be the truth today, next month and next year. Don’t worry, I will give you time to get used to it.”
He got up and grabbed his phone from the table and checked it. The team had blown up his phone with texts asking about Birdie. He sat down, took her hand and started to update everyone.
Josh and Maryann showed up around 9:00 and had the nurse bring him into the waiting room. They brought him coffee and breakfast. Josh handed him the coffee and he took a big gulp and sat down. “So we got a hold of Birdie’s parents and they’re getting off the ship this afternoon and are catching a flight tonight. They should be here by tomorrow. I let the family know and they’ll probably start showing up later on today. I checked the calendar on her phone and it doesn’t look like she had any events this weekend, but we should probably go to the shop and make sure. Ana is on her way over, so she can go to the shop and make sure everything is running smoothly. I just need to get her keys to the shop - I think she must have an extra set at home.”
“I have her house keys in my bag, I can give them to you and you can look in her desk. I’ll call the guys and have them go to the shop and clean out any flowers that they need to. I think Adam’s kids help every weekend and they probably know the routine.”
Josh looked at Mark, “When did she give you keys to her house?”
“She gave me a set before we left on Tuesday. I told you she is the one for me. It is my job to take care of her.”
Maryanne looked at her husband with sympathy, “Don’t worry Josh, it was the same way with us. Don’t look so surprised.”
He looked down at his beautiful wife and shrugged his shoulders, “I guess you’re right.”
“Why don’t you guys go in and visit.” Maryanne and Josh walked into the unit and disappeared around the corner. Mark got started on making sure that Birdie’s life kept running smoothly. He looked up as Ana walked in, he waved to her and she came over and sat down. “Josh and Maryanne are in with her now, when they come out - you can go in. She had a good night and the nurse said her MRI is this afternoon. They could start bringing her out of it as early as tonight.”
“Thanks Mark, I know she’s going to be fine. There really isn’t another choice. Birdie and I talked yesterday and she filled me in on how things are going with you two. I want you to know that I have not heard her this happy in a very long time. Don’t hurt her or I will hunt you down and do serious damage. She can’t take another broken heart.”
“I love her and I’m going to marry her, no breaking hearts.”
“Does she know about this yet?”
Mark looked down at his hands, “Not exactly. But when she wakes up, I’m going to make sure she knows. I may wait on the marriage part, I don’t want to spook her.”
“Probably a good idea. Listen I have a set of keys to Birdie’s house and the shop, I’m going to go get her some clothes and toiletries and then I can go to the shop and check the calendar. Are Adam’s kids going in today?”
Ana looked up and in walked the guys from the team, she spotted Blake and looked down at her shoes. Just looking at the guy made her nervous, it didn’t stop her though. Mark introduced her to everyone again, “Hey Blake can you give Ana, Adam’s number? She’s going to go to the shop today and was wondering if the kids were planning on going in.”
Blake looked at Ana and smiled, she looked at her shoes and blushed. Jeez am I that scary looking that she can’t look at me? He pulled out his phone and walked over to her and she finally looked at him and gave him a small smile. “Here’s Adam’s number, I’ll also give you Susan’s. I talked to Adam yesterday and the kids are not planning on going in. Do you want me to go pick them up and bring them over to the shop?”
Ana was putting the numbers in her phone and looked up at him, He is one good looking guy, a little intimidating, but good looking. “I can call Susan and work it out with her, I have to see what I have when I get there. Thanks for the offer.” She saw Josh and Maryann come out and walked over and started talking to them. Blake was left standing there wondering what her deal was.
Mark got everyone organized, and it was finally his turn to go back in to see Birdie. He sat next to her and started to fill her in on what everyone was doing to keep her life going. He knew she couldn’t really hear him, but he wanted her to have the feeling that everything was being taken care of.
SATURDAY AFTERNOON
Mark paced outside of the room where Birdie was getting her MRI. He felt like he’d been out there all day when it had only been a couple of hours. The doors finally opened and they rolled her out, “How does it look? How is my fiancée?”
The tech shook his head, “You have to wait for the doctor to read the results. He should be up in a little while.” Mark threw him one of his death stares to see if he could shake any information loose from the guy. “That may work on your recruits, but it doesn’t work on me,” he turned around and walked back into the room. Mark shrugged and took Birdie’s hand as he walked beside her bed.
While waiting at the elevator, Mark leaned down and kissed her, “Don’t worry baby, I feel like we’re going to get good news. Maybe you’ll be done resting soon and they can start to bring you out tonight.” The orderly looked at him and felt for the guy, he’d seen cases like this go either way. Mark felt very confident as he looked at the guy, “God doesn’t give you a woman like Birdie to love and then take her away. I have a lot of credit built up and she’s sticking around.” The orderly nodded his head in agreement and rolled her onto the elevator.
SATURDAY EVENING
They had moved Birdie out of ICU and into CCU, her MRI had come back with positive results. They were in the process of bringing her out of the coma. They received the results they had hoped for. It had been six hours and she was in the minimally conscious state. Her body was functioning on its own and she would open her eyes for short periods of time. Mark held her hand the whole time and kept talking to her. He was also playing music from her phone. The nurses had just left after checking her vitals, and Mark stood up and stretched and kissed her, then sat back down. The song came on that they had their first kiss to and he started telling her about how crazy he felt when he first met her. He felt some movement in his hand and looked down and swore he felt it again. “Birdie if you’re squeezing my hand, you keep doing that. I love you and I want you to come back to me. Have you had enough rest, can you wake up baby? I want to see your pretty eyes looking at mine, I love you and I miss you.” He focused on her face as she opened her eyes and looked right at him.
Mark stood up and started kissing her and laughing and kept repeating, “I love you, I love you, I love you.” She kept looking at him and it seemed like she did not recognize him. He started to feel panicked and pressed the button for the nurses. He kept looking at her and smiling and she continued to look at him without recognition. The nurse finally came in and started evaluating her condition and called for the doctor to come in.
It seemed like days had passed before the Doctor showed up. Birdie had fallen asleep again and Mark held her hand while she was getting examined by the Doctor. “What’s your opinion Doc? How is my fiancée doing?”
“It looks like she is having all the appropriate responses. Let’s give her body a chance to r
ecover from the drugs and then we can take another look. I’m not concerned that she’s not recognizing you. Let’s give her a little more time.”
“I’ll give her all the time in the world - I don’t care how long it takes.” The Doctor wrote his orders and walked out of the room. Mark settled in and held Birdie’s hand as she dozed. She didn’t seem to be in any pain and he took that as a good sign.
He felt his hand being squeezed and woke up instantly. He popped up quickly and looked at Birdie, her eyes were open and she was looking at him. A very small smile started to form on her lips. That’s when the tears started to fall from his eyes, he knew God wouldn’t take her away from him. He pushed the nurse’s button again and then it was chaos for several hours with everyone coming in and out.
Birdie had been fully checked out and most of the wires had been disconnected. Her voice had not yet recovered from having the breathing tube in, but she managed to thank the nurses. She settled back into bed and pulled Mark down with her. He managed to squeeze his big body in without jostling her too much. He curled around her and took her hand, she pulled his head down and she whispered in his ear. “I love you too, thanks for sticking around.”
His heart stopped when he heard the words. He kissed her very gently on the lips with reverence. “Thanks for coming back to me baby, I knew you would. I love you.”
They fell asleep with Mark curled around her very protectively, she held onto him and that’s how her parents found them in the morning. The nurses had filled them in before they walked into the room so they were not surprised. Joy and Tom, Birdie’s parents looked at the couple, “I guess this is one way to meet your future son in law.” They quietly walked out and went to the waiting room to grab some coffee.