“I need a moment alone with him first,” I ask.
Luckily the doctor ushers Lauren into the hallway and closes the door behind them.
“Noah, you have to listen to me. This needs to work. I need you. We need you,” I tell him.
Then I crawl into the bed beside him, to cry into his chest.
“We need you! This baby and I need you!” I scream into his chest.
I cry into Noah's chest, and I can't help wave after wave of tears.
The thought of another funeral devastates me.
When the tears subside, after what feels like hours, I merely lay with him, listen to the steady beat of his heart until the door opens again.
When the doctor sees me laying on top of him, she gives me a sympathetic look.
“What happens if this doesn't work?” Ava asks.
“He may never wake up,” The doctor announces in a somber tone.
“This is our last chance to try and get him awake. Otherwise, it’s up to him," she says.
“But he doesn't need to be put on a ventilator, right?” Corban points out.
“He's not on one now,” Corban adds.
“He's breathing on his own, for now. He may need to be on a ventilator and a tube if this goes on for years,” The doctor's explanation is bleak.
“It could be years?” Ava gasps.
“Don't panic just yet,” The doctor tells her.
“But it could be years?” Ava asks.
The doctor looks down at her shoes.
“It could be, yes,” Dr. Weaver confirms.
“Sometimes, they just don’t wake up,” Dr. Weaver adds.
I stay put where I am, in Noah's arms.
If he dies, I want to be to the woman in his arms when he dies.
“He can't die,” I tell them mournfully.
“He can't. I love him,” my words dissolve into tears, and I cry into his chest again.
37
Noah
“Oh my god!” I scream as I run through the hallways of the hospital, on a desperate search for Tinsley.
“Who are you looking for?” A nurse asks.
She looks remarkably like Ava.
A little plumper, but happy and relaxed.
She is Ava alright, I see her name tag.
I stop dead in my tracks.
“Ava?” I ask.
“Yes?” she raises an eyebrow at me.
“Tinsley is just down the hall, to the left. If that's even why you're here," she instructs curtly.
“What in the hell was that?” I ask.
“Well, you've ignored your wife her whole pregnancy. So, I don't understand why you're here now, Noah,” Ava's tone is angry.
What have I done?
I'm stunned into silence.
I can't deal with this right now.
I burst into Tinsley's room only to find her in an embrace with Connor.
“Noah!” Tinsley exclaims.
“What are you doing here!” She gasps.
“What is he doing here!” I yell as I step into her room.
“Noah, we didn't want you to find out like this,” Connor straightens himself up.
“Tinsley, what about us? The love? Everything?” I ask.
My chest is tight.
“Noah you and I both know it was a marriage of convenience. You knew this baby was never yours," she says.
She looks adoringly at Connor.
“We want to be together. It's only right for us to have a family together. You understand, don't you?” she pleads with me.
This has to be a dream.
I walk out of the room silently, close the door, and walk back in.
Connor and Tinsley have mystified expressions on their faces.
I walk back to where Ava is sitting at the nurse's station.
“Where am I?” I demand from her.
“An alternate universe,” Ava explains.
“Where you and Elizabeth made things work, you brought Evan and me up together," she adds.
Ava gets up with some charts.
“Follow if you want," she sounds like she doesn't care if stay or go.
“What do you mean? Elizabeth?” I ask.
“She died in a car crash ten years ago,” Ava explains, pain in her eyes.
“You were different after that," she adds quietly.
“Where's Evan?” I ask.
“He died too. An overdose, shortly after mom," she replies curtly.
That subject is apparently off topic.
“What? You're lying,” I accuse her.
“No," she states firmly.
“Remember? Alternate universe? I didn't want anything more to do with you after you married Tinsley because her father forced her to marry you. So, I became a nurse. We haven't spoken in years,” Ava explains.
“What?” I barely get the word out.
“Alternate universe," she sighs again.
Ava shakes her head, clearly exasperated with me now.
“I'm supposed to tell you some meaningful thing or something, but quite frankly, I'm mad at you. You never call, you never text, you never have Levi and me over for the holidays,”
“Levi?” I question.
“You’re stupid," she shakes her head.
“Honestly dad, you've been shit lately," she spits the words at me.
“So, give me one good reason, I should tell you what you need to know?” She asks.
This makes me pause.
“I need to know because I can be a better father, I can do better, I love you all, but most of all,” I pause in my grief.
“I love Tinsley more than anything in the world, and this can't be my reality,” I plead.
Ava's facial expression softens, but only slightly.
She mutters expletives under her breath.
“Alright, just go to the elevator, press PH, and you'll go home," she rolls her eyes.
“Home?” I ask her, staring at her stupidly.
“To where you're supposed to be," she explains.
“Now can you get out of my goddamn hair? I've got work to do!” Ava rages at me.
“Jesus,” I mutter,
I break into a run for the elevator and fall inside.
But there's another button.
The button next to the one that says ‘PH.’
It says 'Tinsley.'
I could press the button that says Tinsley or PH to go to where I'm supposed to be.
Then I see all the buttons have names on them.
Elizabeth. Evan. Corban. Ava. Athena. Lauren.
Jamesen and Julian are here too.
Along with Gianna.
I hit the button that says, 'Tinsley’ and take a chance because her face is the only one I want to see.
There’s a bright white light, and I hear her voice.
Part III
38
Tinsley
November 8, 2017
Someone strokes my hair as I cry.
“Beautiful angel,” There's a mutter of some sort.
“Beautiful angel,” I hear the words again.
“Tinsley he's awake!” Ava cries.
I instantly look up to see Noah's incredible blue eyes looking back at me.
“Noah, I'm not an angel, I'm here,” I whisper as I stroke his face.
“I'm here Noah,” I repeat.
“You're here?” His voice is so weak I can barely hear him.
“Where's here Tinsley?” he looks around in a daze.
“You're in the hospital,” Corban explains since he is the only one able to speak correctly.
Ava weeps with relief.
“There was a fire in your penthouse. Tinsley and Evan managed to get you out as the firemen were coming up,” Corban explains.
Noah nods, his hand now entangled in my hair.
I nestle myself against him and refuse to leave his side.
“Okay,” Noah's voice is weak, and his words are slow.
“How long?” He croaks.
“You were in an o
ut of surgery for three days,” The doctor's explanation is swift.
“You had a punctured lung, a couple of broken ribs, but there were complications with surgery. You're lucky to be alive Mr. Stone,” Dr. Weaver says.
During that first surgery, his heart stopped on the table.
But he made it through.
He fought through.
“Pain,” Is all he says, directly to me.
“He's in pain,” I plead with the doctor.
“I'll have the nurse get him something and give you all a moment,” The doctor nods before disappearing.
“How long,” Noah croaks again.
“I'll get you water dad,” Ava says tearfully.
She needs a moment.
I think we all do.
Corban nods, and we all watch Ava waddle out of the room.
“How long,” Noah repeats.
“You were in a medically induced coma for three days; it's been about five since they weaned you off the medication. You were good until you scared us all, by not waking up,” Corban laughs.
“Oh, you old bastard, you had us all sure you were going to die," he shakes his head.
“Not me,” I tell them.
I smile at Evan who stands there.
He’s covered his face with his hands, unable to speak.
“I told them all you weren't finished yet,” I add.
“She did,” Evan’s voice is barely even.
“Give me a second; I need to digest," he adds.
Then he sweeps out of the room in a flurry as Ava waddles back in.
With her eyes, red-rimmed her lips quiver as she offers him the water.
I can automatically tell that she broke down in the hallway.
Noah shakes his head.
Ava insists that he drink some water.
Noah takes a small sip from the straw, and Ava stands beside him, the water in her hands.
“I should get off you,” I say with a smile.
Noah shakes his head.
I can't say no to him.
I shift my position, moving away from him slightly but the hand entangled in my hair tightens somewhat.
“You're going to be fine,” I whisper in his ear.
Noah nods.
“Dad,” Ava's lower lip quivers again.
Noah's eyes widen, but he holds his hand out to her.
I watch Ava take his hand and squeeze it.
“I think your father just wanted to give us all a good scare. Right old man?” Corban jokes to lighten the mood a bit.
Noah winks, and we all laugh.
Corban looks at the two of us for a long moment.
“We'll give you two some time,” Corban offers.
Ava nods because she has tears in her eyes again.
Tears of relief.
“Let's get some food in you,” Corban entices Ava with the prospect of food.
“Mexican?” She asks.
“Sure,” Corban nods with a wink in our direction.
Noah gives him a thumbs up before closing his eyes and resting on me for a moment.
“You need more water,” my voice is soft.
He shakes his head again.
“Where's your husband?” his first full sentence, and it’s about goddamned Connor.
I shake my head.
“It’s over. I told you that, you’re my true love,” I say.
Noah points to my stomach.
It's too painful for him to talk, I give him some more water.
“The baby is fine. We're both fine. Now that you're okay,” I tell him.
Noah nods with relief, his face relaxes.
All I can do is rest against him, and listen to his heart.
His heart has a steady rhythm.
He is alive.
Noah isn't going to die.
I've never felt this as relieved as I am now.
This is our baby.
That familiar wave of comfort washes over me.
I haven't slept in days.
I fall asleep half in a dream state, with Noah's hand still in my hair.
“Tinsley,” A light whisper is in my ear.
“Tinsley,” the whisper says again.
When I open my eyes, Noah’s gloriously intense blue eyes are on me.
There's light streaming through the windows, and it's morning.
Last time I closed my eyes, it was nearly dinner.
“You must've been tired,” Noah says hoarsely.
“Everyone came and went, and you were snoring fast asleep,” His laugh is light.
“Oh my god. Do I snore?” I ask.
“Always have," he confirms with a familiar smirk.
“Oh my god! You never told me!” I exclaim.
“I was polite, but it was hard to ignore with the doctor trying to take my vitals while you were half on top of me snoring away," he attempts not to laugh again and fails.
“You're okay?” I question as I put my hand over his heart.
It's still beating.
He is alive.
I have to reassure myself of this for some reason.
Noah puts his hand on mine.
“I'm going to be fine. As long as you are okay, I'm going to be okay. You brought me back," he admits.
“How?” I ask, thoroughly engrossed in every word he says.
“I could hear your voice at points, not the words, but I could hear you say something, and then I realized I was awake,” His gentle smile is all I need.
“You pulled me out of this,”
Noah caresses my face lightly and pulls me into a chaste kiss.
“You and our son," he says.
“Our son?” I ask.
“It’s a boy," he tells me with certainty.
“I’m sure it’s a girl,” I say playfully.
“Boy," he argues.
Then he smiles and kisses me again.
“My penthouse is gone?” He asks a touch of sadness in his voice.
“Only for now,” I remind him.
“You can rebuild, make it better,” I add.
Noah's expression relaxes as I say this, then he laughs.
“I have nowhere to live," he says.
“You have the house in the Hampton's,” I offer.
“Far away from you?” He asks.
“No. It's colder there now anyway," he shakes his head.
“We'll have to find you a new apartment, for now then,” I smirk, knowing there's a vacancy in my mother's building that will work fine for now.
Then we’ll get our place until the penthouse is finished.
Noah's devilish smirk words work wonders for me.
“I suspect you've already looked for me?” He asks.
He is the same man I've always loved; he knows me.
“We should go to Fiji,” I tell him in a quiet whisper.
“Forever,” Noah confirms with a squeeze of my hand.
“I wish we had just run away like you wanted to. God that feels so far from where we are now," he admits.
“I want that now more than ever,” I assert.
I press my ear against his chest and listen to his heartbeat.
Thankful that he's still alive.
Aware that I could not handle the loss of him if presented with that.
They haven't ruled the fire arson just yet.
But none of that matters at the moment.
In the arms of the man I love, I'm content to stay here until someone makes me move.
39
Tinsley
November 16, 2017
“Romeo and Juliet are depressing,” Noah bemoans as he looks at the book that Ava has pulled out of her purse.
She takes it back and smacks him on the head with it.
“This is my good luck charm. It goes with me everywhere. If you think that's boring, get your own," she tells him hotly.
Noah starts to laugh but winces in pain.
“I'll get the nurse,” Ava nods to her father, then she’s off to find him more pai
n medication for his ribs.
“Does it hurt a lot?” I ask as I perch on the end of his bed.
“Not enough that I don't want you next to me," he grins.
Noah takes my hand to pull me towards him.
I oblige him and snuggle up next to him again.
The first thing he demanded was proper pajamas, Ava went right out and bought him a pair.
In a bright shade of pink.
He still manages to look incredibly handsome, and dapper, even if they are pink.
We all refused to bring him another pair.
A private joke within the family that I've somehow become a part of.
“I can't believe I'm here with you,” My voice is dreamy as I speak.
“I thought I was never going to see you again,” I admit.
“I'm sorry to have put you through that," he is apologetic.
“What was it like?” I ask.
“I don't even know. But, I'm back, what does it matter? We will find a way to be together; everything will work out,” His voice is calm.
Noah is confident it makes me wonder what exactly happens when your heart stops.
“What?” Noah quips.
“It's the pink isn't it?” He asks.
“No, you're different,” I try to explain.
And I fail miserably.
“I almost died,” Noah sighs.
“I almost died, and I would've left you to contend with all of this alone. It makes you look at things differently," he says.
“I’m leaving Connor, and you remember that don’t you?” I ask.
Noah’s face relaxes somewhat.
“Honestly I thought that was a dream," he admits.
“It wasn’t,” I assure him.
Business arrangements come to an end.
Just like Connor’s manipulative ways are finished.
“Did you tell him? How did he take it?” Noah asks.
I snort.
“He didn’t believe me, and he said we’d talk,” I laugh.
Noah laughs with me.
“But Noah, someone set fire to your apartment. Intended to kill you, and Evan. Maybe not me and the baby as well. But someone wanted to hurt you, aren't you worried about that?” I ask.
“I'm Noah Stone," he assures me.
“No one is going to get in my way when it comes to the woman I want. Even if you have to go through a difficult, public divorce, nothing is going to stop me from being with you," he says.
Denial_A Stone Billionaire Series Novel Page 20