by Amber Lynn
Casey’s eyes seemed to take on a little sadness and anger, with the sadness just a little stronger. The look didn’t help spell things out for him.
“Apparently we should’ve tried harder to find Steph. She’d been living in one of your guest bedrooms, waiting for one of us to show up alone. She’s told the police that she was hoping it was me, but she took the first chance she had to make sure we didn’t find a happy ending.”
“She was living in my house?” Dylan had no idea how that was possible. He had an alarm system that he set every time he left. “Has Nelson been here? I should probably call him to make sure he isn’t freaking out.”
“I don’t know how you expect him not to freak out. His sister tried to kill his best friend. I’ve heard she’s been very talkative to the police. Your neighbors have also come forward and said she’d gone around and introduced herself as your fiancé. I guess it’s good that I don’t have any neighbors. I could see you doing the same thing.”
“Yeah, but I’d be telling half-truths. Not total fantasy. I suppose we should get back to what exactly I’m doing here in this hospital bed. Am I missing any other organs I’ve always been fond of?” Letting all the news sink in was going to take Dylan some time.
“You have to keep in mind that I’m getting everything through a go-between, because the doctors can’t reveal your condition to me since we aren’t married. Your mom says you also lost your spleen, but other than that and the gallons of blood I wasn’t successful putting back in, you’re good to go.”
“My parents are here?”
Of course the police would call his next of kin, but that didn’t prepare Dylan for what he was sure was an onslaught of relatives.
“The look in your eyes tells me you know exactly what that means. I’ve met two cousins, an aunt and uncle – who aren’t married, and one grandmother. Along with your parents and brother. I was promised some other grandparents would be showing up just as soon as they could work out transportation. The somewhat funny part was that not a single one of them had heard about me.”
Well, if Casey ever wanted to get married, they ought to do it right there in the hospital room, because the guest list from his side of the family was going to be there within a week. He was surprised Casey hadn’t run for the hills after the questioning she must have gone through.
“I’m pretty sure I owe you an apology. I haven’t been phoning in regular updates to them in years, so they wouldn’t have known about the recent changes in my life.”
“You’ve dealt with my dad, and he’s been here more often than not, so they got the pleasure of meeting him too. We’ll have to see exactly who’s apologizing once all the dust settles.”
“We should probably be happy they aren’t in here with us. What are the chances I can discharge myself and sneak out with you before they notice?” Dylan wasn’t hopeful, since he still had the tethers on his arm.
“You’d have to go against doctor’s orders, because there’s no way they’d let you out. Like I said, they weren’t optimistic at all when they gave your mom the prognosis. You’d lost a lot of blood and there was a little trouble with your brain swelling. I tried to tell them your head swelled all the time, but they wouldn’t listen to me.”
“Since you’re my girlfriend, they probably thought you were confused and talking about a different part of my body.”
Casey’s shoulders lifted to shrug. Dylan didn’t notice any of the usual wincing she’d been doing with any slight movement.
“How are you doing? You said it’s been three days, so you’re a week out from your surgery?”
“I’m good. All sorts of weird sensations going on, but I’m feeling better.” She lifted her free arm into the air to prove her point. “I kind of glossed over Nelson earlier. He’s been here every day, kind of standing off in a corner. I’ve tried to remind him that you wouldn’t blame him, but it’s been a difficult few days for him.”
“Thank you. I’m sure it’s been hard for everyone. Do you really have no clue when I can get out of here?”
“I think we’ve established already that I’m not a doctor. Best the Internet can tell me, they’ll want to look you over and if things look good, a couple days. That’s probably the best recovery time for having your kidney cut out.”
Dylan was taking in a lot of information at once, causing his head to hurt a little. He hadn’t looked around the room, but all of a sudden his nose seemed to decide to start working, and it smelled like he was in the middle of a flower shop.
“How many bouquets of flowers are around us?”
“Less than have been sent. If I didn’t know the person, and their name was feminine, I threw it out. And I lost count of how many times I did that.”
“Thank you for that, too. Next question, in your opinion, is my playing career over?”
“You really don’t understand that I’m not a doctor. For me to say you can’t play anymore would be nothing more than a selfish statement, because I want you around for a few more years. I don’t think full contact sports are recommended, but maybe there’s some kind of padding that would keep you protected.”
That was basically what Dylan had assumed. He’d planned on playing a few more years, but he was on the backside of his prime, even if he was playing better than ever. Some players could make it to forty, but there weren’t a lot of them.
“I guess maybe it’s time to see if I can put my college degree to good use.”
The corners of Casey’s mouth turned up. “Yeah? You going to find yourself a job as a farmer? Don’t you have some agriculture degree?”
“You’ve been reading my bio again. I don’t know what I’ll do, but I want to be around for our future, so I’ll follow whatever advice the doctor gives.”
“Good. I’m trying to think if there’s anything else I need to fill you in on. I should’ve taken things a bit slower, and not overwhelmed you.”
Dylan smiled as he watched a mental checklist play out in Casey’s eyes. “I didn’t hear me complaining about letting me digest things. Am I going to find a permanent indent of your head on my chest, or have you taken some breaks from sitting at my bedside?”
“I’m going to plead the fifth on that one. It’s around lunchtime, so everyone else left to get something to eat, but I can run and get them if you want better company.”
“I was the one suggesting that we make a break for it. I’m perfectly happy just sitting here staring into your eyes. Will you marry me?”
The question came out of nowhere, and Dylan wasn’t sure how she’d react to it. He wasn’t sure how he’d react if she freaked out, but he’d always been taught that it didn’t hurt to ask. If she started throwing things and screaming, he’d blame it on the drugs they had pumping into his system.
“Sure,” she said shrugging her shoulders. Dylan almost wished she was still in pain so she couldn’t do that. “I’d like to wait until you’re up and moving and I’ve got my fake boobies, but we can get married.”
“Really?” The response lacked the enthusiasm he hoped for, but it was the one he wanted.
“Why not? I don’t think either one of us is getting any younger, and we’ve both admitted we love each other. You’ve practically moved into my house, so it’s not like there’s anything stopping us from putting it on paper, other than the aforementioned health speed bumps.”
“They didn’t just rip my clothes off for surgery and throw everything away, did they?” Dylan’s brain was putting together more pieces of the day he was stabbed, and there was one other errand he’d done.
“I wondered when you’d ask about that, but I figured you’d ask one of the doctors or nurses instead of proposing. They gave your belongings to your mom and she decided to hand me a little box she thought was meant for me. I was quite surprised when I opened it and found this little sucker.”
She lifted up her free hand in front of his face, so he could see the princess cut diamond ring on her finger.
“And you’re a
ctually wearing it. I don’t remember what happened when I got to the house, but I’d spent the morning meeting with a realtor to see what it would take to sell the house and there was a jewelry store next to his place that I decided to stop in. I wasn’t planning on giving it to you for a while, but I saw it and wanted to have it if the time ever felt right.”
“It took me a day to put it on, but it meant I didn’t have to fight as much with the nurses, who liked to try to claim I wasn’t family. Technically, just saying I was your fiancé wasn’t as powerful as wife, but they didn’t seem to think I could’ve afforded the ring myself.”
“Practical as always. I have to say, hearing you’ve been spreading around rumors that you’re my fiancé elicits a very different feeling than hearing Steph was.” Dylan wasn’t sure what was going on with Steph, but he hoped she was getting the help she needed.
“Good. Now, I’ve come to the conclusion that we’ve had all the drama either of us needs for an entire lifetime. So, I’ll promise you that I won’t get breast cancer again, and you have to promise me not to get stabbed by a fan.”
Neither one of them could promise their side of the deal. Casey had been lucky that none of her lymph nodes seemed to have gotten cancer, but there was still a chance it could redevelop in what cells were left. For him, he couldn’t stop crazy people from attacking him, not unless he started wearing a Kevlar vest. That didn’t stop him from agreeing.
“I promise. I know I’ve been asleep for a while, but I think the medicine is making me tired. How about we just stare at each other until I fall asleep, or someone else decides to check on us.”
Waiting for her response, Dylan noticed Casey’s face glowed as a ray of sun stretched into the room. Never in a million years could he have pictured someone more perfect for him. It was hard to believe it all started with her yelling at him from the stands.
Epilogue
“Are you sure you want to know?” Dylan asked.
Dylan and Casey were waiting for a doctor to show up. For not wanting to ever spend another minute in a doctor’s office, they’d been spending a lot of time waiting for doctors to show up. The bad part was that there didn’t seem to be any end in sight for months.
Casey picked up his hand and put it on her protruding belly. It wasn’t much more than a bump, but there was a tiny baby growing inside of it, and that scared her to death.
She didn’t have dreams of it growing sharp fangs and claws to rip its way out of her, but she was scared of what it represented. Casey Jones was going to be a mom.
“No, but we’re going to find out anyway. We’ve got four months to figure out a name, and focusing on just one gender will make the battle less stressful.”
The little peanut inside of her was the product of a donor egg and swimmers. Casey had tried to convince Dylan to use his own DNA, but he claimed he didn’t want to pass down his stubbornness, just like she didn’t want to risk passing along cancer. She thought his claim was more of a trait that cropped up from nurturing, so they were going to be screwed anyway.
“As long as you let me call her Petunia, we won’t have any problems.”
“You’re going to be paying for your son’s psychiatrist bills if you call him that.”
They could’ve adopted a baby instead of using Casey as an incubator, but Dylan had the horrible ability to get his way during the year they’d been married. He’d spent a little too much time on the Internet looking up what he could about donor eggs and in vitro fertilization, and had convinced himself it was the way to go.
It took Casey a little longer, but only because she’d convinced herself at a young age that she couldn’t be a mother. She’d used the excuse to try to scare him away, even after she had a ring on her finger. She thought eventually he’d wise up and run the other way.
Instead, he was right there next to her every morning when she woke up. Right there when something went wrong at work and she needed someone to vent to. Like literally right there, since he’d joined the front office by becoming Senior Advisor for Hockey Operations.
His transition from player to watching the game from the stands didn’t happen overnight. It was obvious the team was lucky to have him stay on in any capacity. Women still showed up in hopes of catching a glimpse of him, which was why Casey had suggested he put on the mascot uniform and launch t-shirts into the stands during intermission.
Sadly, she was overruled. It was probably for the best. Casey had heard a couple of the guys who traded the mascot suit off and on had just as many female admirers as the players, which made no sense to Casey.
“Do you really think it’s a boy?”
Casey didn’t have a feeling one way or the other, but it was fun pretending some kind of incubator intuition told her it was a boy. She actually wanted it to be a girl just as badly as he did. There was no way she could handle Dylan and a miniature Dylan running around their tiny house. Even if the baby didn’t share their biology, Dylan was bound to teach him or her all of his bad habits.
“I have no idea, but I’m sure we’ll love the baby no matter what. I know I’ve said it before, but you’re going to be a really good dad.”
Casey still wasn’t sure about her abilities, but Dylan had been amazing in the aftermath of everything they’d been through. They’d had so much to deal with, so early in their relationship, that Casey was a little surprised they’d made it through things intact.
Some guys would’ve dealt with losing their ability to continue a career they’d been working for all their life a little different than Dylan. He had no problem sitting on the sidelines while his team went on to win the cup, and he was actually thrilled that he wouldn’t have to travel anymore. According to him, the western swings were sucking the life out of him.
Casey didn’t think that was necessarily true, because they still travelled with the team. He just didn’t have the pressure to perform every night.
“And you’ll be the best mom in the world. I’m really hoping she gets your hair.”
It was an odd thing to say in the situation they found themselves in. Hoping a child who wasn’t biologically yours ended up with some of your characteristics wasn’t generally possible unless you used a relative for a donor.
That wasn’t a possibility in their case, so the only request Dylan had when they were talking with the doctor about finding donors was that one of the donors had red hair. It didn’t take as long as Casey had expected to meet his criteria. Which was a relief, because she could envision Dylan walking up to strange red-haired women and asking them if he could have one of her eggs.
He was weird like that, and most of the time Casey loved that about him.
Before Casey could reply about the hair comment, there was a knock on the door and a female head quickly peeked inside. They’d met with Dr. Nichols many times, but they weren’t really on first name basis.
“You guys ready to find out what you’re having?”
She stepped into the room, and brought with her the usual larger than life personality she had. At first it had scared Casey to have someone that in her face as far as medical decisions went. The other doctors she’d dealt with had a completely different mentality when it came to dealing with patients. They didn’t immediately wrap their arms around you, claiming they were huggers.
Casey thought she was trying to make up for her stature, which was on the small side. The doctor couldn’t be more than five-three, and the lab coats she always wore seemed to swallow her body.
Dr. Nichols came highly recommended on every doctor rating website they could find, so they stuck it out because they didn’t want to go through the search again. Finding a doctor had been one of the only things they had trouble agreeing on, and by the time they’d picked the one, they’d torn up every other option they’d printed out.
“Dylan thinks we’re having a space alien,” Casey blurted out.
It was the first thing that came to her mind, since they’d had a long discussion the night before about the chance
s of an alien invasion targeting their baby. The conversation happened over sharing a half gallon of peanut butter and chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, so sugar delusion could have been involved.
“Does he now? I usually don’t find my patients concerned with that until after they’ve felt the baby moving around.”
“That should be happening soon, right? I don’t think I’ve felt anything, but I’m not exactly sure what I’m supposed to be looking for.”
It was nice that the doctor was patient, because Casey had the tendency to ask questions over and over again, and then Dylan would ask them the next time. It was her turn to ask when they could expect the baby to start kicking.
“Any time now. It could be today or another two weeks. There’s no official schedule. You’re looking a little less pale than last time. I’m guessing the morning sickness has stopped.”
“Let’s not bring that up. I think getting on with the show is a much better use of our time.”
The morning sickness had lasted longer than Casey thought it should have. It’d been about a week since she hadn’t thrown up because she picked up an odd smell or something else rolled her stomach.
Dr. Nichols moved to turn the ultrasound machine on and took a seat next to the exam table. Casey was used to the program, so she lifted her shirt and waited for the cold jelly substance.
She wasn’t disappointed when the goop was squirted out on her belly. They had a fetal Doppler at home that they listened to, but even hearing the heartbeat once or twice a week didn’t stop the excitement when it echoed through the small room.
“That’s still sounding good and strong. Have you come up with any new issues you need to quiz me about?”
She studied the monitor as Casey tried to make sense of the picture. They’d had one other ultrasound done, and it’d been hard to make out anything. In the new one, she thought she saw a hand along with what was clearly a head.
“I guess any hope that she’ll look like you is out the window. She’s looks like your dad with that bald head.”