by Lexy Timms
“I work directly for Dr. Thompson.” Maxine glared at Charity. “Given the circumstances I’ll excuse your rude behavior.”
“My rude behavior?” Charity was ready to tear down the shatterproof glass between miserable Maxine and her. She snorted and took a long deep breath. It wasn’t Maxine’s fault she was a bitch. Maybe she was just born that way. Maybe she had to deal with too many dickheads trying to get into places they shouldn’t. Charity had worked here for two years and didn’t remember ever meeting Maxine. Maybe she was new. It didn’t matter. “Please just page my father.”
“I can’t.” Maxine crossed her arms over her small chest.
“Excuse me?” Julie smacked the glass and Maxine jumped.
“I can’t because he’s in the CCU.”
Charity grabbed the counter, sure she was about to faint. “He had a heart attack, again?”
“He and Elijah’s mother didn’t want to bother Jamie Lynn’s parents.”
“What the hell?” Julie shouted, already moving towards the elevator.
Charity followed close behind. They skipped the elevator and went straight for the stairs, Charity taking two at a time. No way was she losing her father tonight.
On the cardiac floor, Julie grabbed an iPad off the nurse’s station desk and found his room. They ran down the hall and pulled up short when a doctor stepped out of the room that Julie had said was Dr. Thompson’s.
“What happened?” Charity barked. She didn’t recognize the doctor, but she was pretty sure he knew who she was.
Gesturing with his hands, he motioned for them to slow down. “Ladies, it’s after midnight here. Can you please keep it down?” He stepped closer to them and leaned against the railing in the hall. “Doctor Thompson had a heart event. A fib is common in a situation like his. He’s a heart patient who endured a great deal of stress when his granddaughter took a tumble.” He looked directly at Charity, his doctor face giving away nothing. “He was fully aware of the symptoms, as was his girlfriend. She must spend a great deal of time on WebMD because Margaret knows her stuff. She knows more than most residents.”
“Margaret’s Doctor Thompson’s girlfriend?” Julie shook her head.
Charity ignored Julie’s comment. “Is he going to be o.k.? I assume it’s paroxysmal?”
“Yes. I don’t think it’s a permanent, or even recurring event that he’ll have to worry about. Doctor Thompson’s resting comfortably and back to his normal self.” The doctor grinned. “He’s already barking orders at anyone who’ll listen. He was adamant that it be kept away from Charity and Elijah as long as possible.”
“So he’s okay?”
The doctor nodded. “He’s going to be fine.”
Charity sank back against the wall. “Is he resting now?”
“Margaret’s with him. They’re both lying on two hospital beds beside each other.” The doctor grinned. “Holding hands.”
“Really?” Charity smiled for the first time since arriving in the hospital. A real smile of joy.
Chapter 13
Elijah found Charity shortly after, and slipping his arm through hers, escorted Charity to recovery.
“I put her in a private room. She looks a bit like a little mummy,” he joked. “But she’s okay. Her cast covers the majority of her tiny body. We expect a full recovery thanks to Dr. Bailey and a little voice I heard in emergency." Elijah winked.
“I don’t care about the cast. I just want to know she’s okay. I’m going to ask Julie to pick me some things up from home because I’m staying with Jamie until she leaves here.” She was going to be an amazing mother from now on. “Is anyone with her now? She must be so scared.”
Elijah pulled his arm free and put it around her shoulders.
She leaned against him, so tired and disappointed in herself. She hadn’t been a very good mother or daughter. Realistically she knew she was being silly and overreacting, but it didn’t stop her from feeling responsible.
The touch of Elijah’s arm around her gave her strength. She felt like she could make it through tonight. It was moments like this, when she connected with Elijah, that kept her going.
“She’s just going to be waking up. She’ll be confused, sore and… scared.”
Charity thought back to her residence experience. “I remember from my peds rotation during my residence that it’s the restriction of being in the Spica when they wake that scares them most. I remember Greg Croman, another resident, offered to be put in a cast. He thought it would make him more sensitive to what it felt like.”
Elijah raised an eyebrow. “That’s a little odd.”
“Especially when they set the cast on him and then took off and left him on his own for an hour.”
“Really? That’s not nice.”
“It’s residency. We all do strange things after not enough sleep.”
“True,” Elijah chuckled. “Whatever happened to ol’ Greg?”
“I’m not sure.” Charity was overcome with the giggles. She surprised herself with the outburst. “He’s probably still stuck in the cast somewhere.”
Elijah pulled her against him. “They say laughter is the best medicine. I hope they’re wrong because it would put me out of business.”
A nurse shushed them and they quietly continued on.
“Here’s her room.” Elijah opened the door to Jamie’s private room.
Jamie looked so tiny as she lay in the hospital bed with IVs and monitors covering most of her exposed skin. Dr. Bailey and his team managed to keep most of her right leg free but she was immobile.
Jamie looked groggy, but the anesthesia had begun to wear off. “Mommy,” she whispered and tried to raise her little arms for Charity.
Charity smiled as tears poured down her cheeks. She hurried beside Jamie’s bed and leaned over to carefully hug her baby. “Shhh… Mom’s right here.”
Jamie’s first word had come out whispered and gravelly from the intubated tube they’d used when she first arrived at the hospital. Still, her blue eyes sparkled as they always did.
“Are you sore, Peanut?” Elijah asked, his voice had taken on a tenderness Charity had never heard before.
“I’m okay.” Jamie closed her eyes and Charity thought she had fallen back asleep. She sat on the chair beside the bed. A moment later her little girl tried to lick her lips. “I need juice.”
Elijah dipped a small cloth into the ice water beside her bed. “You can suck on this, Peanut. You have to wait a little bit for juice.” He pressed the corner of the cloth to her lips and Jamie sucked greedily and noisily.
When she’d had enough she twisted her neck and grimaced. “I sore. I so sore, Momma.” A tear slid down the side of her face and fell on the pillow. “Are you mad I fell?”
Charity squeezed her little girl’s hand. “Not one bit Jamie Lynn. I’m happy you’re okay.” She wiped her face with her free hand and realized she was still wearing boy’s clothes. She leaned toward Elijah, “Can you ask Julie if she’s got extra clothes here I could borrow?”
“Do I still get ice cream?” Jamie’s little voice spoke softly.
Charity stared down at her beautiful girl all hurt and bandaged. “We are going to spend the whole summer eating ice cream. As soon as Dr. Bailey says so, we are going to wheel an ice cream cart into this room and get you any kind you want.”
“Sprinkles on top,” Jamie whispered.
“And gummy bears too,” Elijah added. He leaned down and whispered into Charity’s ear. “I just sent Julie a message. She said she’ll get you stuff.”
Charity nodded. “I’m not going to leave this hospital until you get the exact ice cream you want.”
“Till I better?”
“As long as it takes. Isn’t that right Daddy.” Charity looked to Elijah and squeezed his hand.
“Your Mommy’s right. We’ll set up an extra bed for Mommy to sleep in and I work here with Grandpa so we’ll all be around. If you thought Gamma spoiled you before, well just wait and see what she does no
w.”
“I feel funny. Itchy and sleepy.”
“Elijah, allow me to explain what happened. You can be too technical and I don’t want to scare her,” Charity said.
Elijah moved to the other side of the bed and took her little hand into his big one. He knelt down so he was level with her. “When you fell you hurt your leg.”
“Did it snap like a stick?”
“Kinda sweetheart.” Charity smiled. This kid was going to be a doctor one day. “Daddy and Doctor Bailey put it back together again. Remember when the men were building Gamma’s room over the garage.”
“Did they help too?”
“No, no. Like those people, Daddy and Dr. Bailey used screws. They used flexible screws to put your leg back together. Soon, like magic, your leg will grow back together.”
“I like magic.”
“I like magic too.” Charity could see Jamie was falling back asleep. The drugs were controlling her pain and it was the middle of the night.
“Mommy?” Jamie’s little voice cried out as she tried to move. “I scared.”
Charity cleared her throat and brushed Jamie’s soft curls away from her face. “Mommy and Daddy are right her. The magic needed a cast on your leg so you won’t move as it heals.”
“What’s cast Mommy?” Jamie yawned but watched her mother with wide, drugged eyes.
“It’s like a giant bandage that’s hard. Magic is happening under it.”
“I like magic,” Jamie repeated as her eyelashes fluttered. “I tired.” She grimaced as she tried to roll over. She finally gave up and let her eyes close. A moment later steady little snores came out of her perfect pink mouth.
“Sweetie, Julie said she has clothes for you. Do you want to change?” Elijah led Charity out of Jamie’s room with his strong hands grasping her long, elegant fingers.
“We’re going to get you a bed alongside Jamie’s.” Elijah led Charity into a suite next to Jamie’s room. “You deserve a room away from home while Jamie remains in the hospital.”
“Elijah.” Charity’s bleary eyes popped. “How did this room exist without me knowing about it? Do you know how many hours I spent in this place? Many of those hours were spent sleeping on hard furniture in the doctor’s lounge.”
Elijah laughed and handed her a change of clothes. “I know, silly. I was the one rubbing the knots out of your tired body. Not that I’m complaining, mind you. Tired or not I’ve always had a hard time keeping my hands off your body.”
The suite featured a full bed and a couch across from a flat screen T.V. Whoever decorated the space was certainly not the same person who chose the awful blue couches in the waiting room. The walls were ochre with beige and red Oriental carpets over wood floors. Tasteful flower arrangements were scattered throughout on cherry wood furniture. An opulent bathroom featured a shower-stall, which was larger than most patient rooms. It had several showerheads able to come at you from all directions. A decent size Jacuzzi tub sat in the corner. This place was a palace.
“Nice pad. Explain Elijah.”
“Let me start by saying that I never take advantage of your father’s last name at this hospital. I also don’t brag about any wealth or prestige that my family has accumulated. Having said that; I decided to take advantage of every perquisite available to take care of my beautiful wife and precious daughter. Someone decided it was time to donate something to this place. They purposely requested this room be built for families with children in long care. It’s like a VIP suite. I was asked to keep it a secret as the donor doesn’t want recognition.”
“My dad or your mom?”
He laughed. “One of them. Or both. I’m not allowed to say.”
“I might not want to leave this place when Jamie’s better.”
“I might just stay here with you then.”
She laughed. “You’re crazy.”
“And that’s why you love me.”
Kissing him, she smiled. “And that’s why I love you.”
Elijah’s phone began vibrating. He groaned and stepped back. “Sounds like duty calls. Why don’t you take a shower? Jamie’s sleeping right next door. There’s a video monitor so you can watch her while she sleeps. Even the very wealthy become ill sometimes and we here at Thompson offer them privacy and luxury.”
“I’m too tired, stinky and blood-caked to argue.” Charity smiled gently. Although the time to seduce her husband was not appropriate. She did have a clear video of Jamie as she slept. There was even an audio option so she could hear her breathing. “Do you think the drugstore downstairs sells my favorite coconut lotion?”
Elijah’s eyebrow went up. “I can check.” He was running on zero sleep and he was dirty, but to Charity, he was perfection. “I think duty can wait till I’ve had a shower too.”
He helped remove her clothes and tossed them aside, along with his. He caressed her shoulders lightly with the soft touch she craved. By the time they stepped inside the shower, both were wet with desire.
They had just survived the worst day of her life and Elijah’s touch made her feel alive again. Charity explored every curve of his toned body with her curious fingers. Elijah forced her head beneath the powerful surge of water and forced himself inside of her. Frantic, they clawed and clung to each other, both needing release from the stress of the night. Their timing was flawless as they climaxed at the same moment, both panting and almost animal in their nature. This was not about love, it was simply about being alive.
Chapter 14
Two weeks passed at the hospital. Despite the pain, the itchiness, and awkwardness of the large cast, Jamie managed to be quite happy. Charity spent each day with her, thankful so such for an amazing little child. Elijah popped in and out whenever he could. He was on call most nights but since they were at the hospital, it actually made it a lot easier. Margaret and Charity’s father came each day. Jamie’s face brightened each time she saw them. While they visited, Charity spent time working on the fundraiser. She had ideas floating in her head for what to do with the money, but she first needed to see if she’d be able to match the donation needed. She did the minimal amount of work needed.
Despite the stressfulness of the two weeks, they managed and Charity swore they were a stronger family because of it. Jamie was healing nicely and the hospital threw her an ice cream party the day they checked out. Charity’s mouth fell open when she looked out in the backyard once they were home. She’d been terrified to see the pile of rubble where the terrible accident had happened. Instead, a treehouse complete with swings and safe equipment sat where the pile once had. Elijah informed her their parents had done it just for Jamie.
“Thanks for all your help the past weeks Margaret.” Charity sat drinking coffee while Margaret moved comfortably about in the kitchen. “I have to admit, I was mad at first when I heard about my father’s a fib. I understand why the two of you kept things quiet, but can you promise me that you’ll never do that again?”
“We can’t predict the future, Charity. I hope we never have an accident like Jamie’s happen again.” Margaret continued making breakfast. She held the frying pan up at an angle to show Charity. “Mickey Mouse pancakes!”
“Cute.” Charity smiled and decided to push her mother-in-law for some personal, but not too personal, information. “I hope Haunch understood when you had to delay your getaway to Florida.” She couldn’t resist being a bit nosy where her father was concerned.
Margaret set the cooked pancake on a plate and started making another. “I hesitate to get into this now because it’s such a long story.”
Oh, I’ve got time. “I just checked on our little patient and she’s sleeping soundly. She was up late last night so we have time. You don’t have to involve me if it’s too personal,” Charity offered. She was actually anxious to hear the news.
“I’ll dish if you feel like listening. It does involve Scott, so therefore it involves you.”
Charity pulled herself closer to the table and set her chin on the heel of h
er hand. She topped off Margaret’s cup of coffee and settled in. “I’m all ears.”
“Jamie’s accident set into motion a chaotic time in all of our lives. When your father went into a fib, it only added to the drama. I went into protective mode as if I was a mama bear. Not only did I want to protect my sweet grandchild, you and Elijah; I wanted to make sure I could do anything possible for Scott. He never lost consciousness and he wasn’t in any imminent danger of dying but I was scared. I didn’t know that at the time. It got me thinking of him as mine to lose and our whole dynamic changed in my mind.” Margaret paused to sip her coffee. “Why we kept your dad’s condition from you and whether or not it was the right thing to do is a story for another time.”
Charity interjected. “It’s fine. No further explanation needed. It gave me an idea of just how much people around me care. Elijah and I are very lucky.” She shifted in her seat. “So what about Florida?”
“Florida was suddenly out of the question. I had two people whom I care about deeply in the hospital and I wasn’t about to head south. Haunch is a laid-back man. so I thought he wouldn’t mind skipping Florida and coming here to New York. The city isn’t lacking in tourist attractions and he could head out to the Hamptons if he wanted the beach.”
“You invited him here?”
“I did.”
“Let me guess, the man with the odd name started acting like the jealous boyfriend.” Charity knew there was something up with her father’s rival for Margaret’s affection.
“Bingo. How the hell do you know so much about a man you’ve never met?” Margaret smiled.
“It was the name at first but now I have other reasons. I don’t like a possessive man.”
“Yes, well Haunch threw an ultimatum at me. Be in Key West by the end of the week or he was heading back to New Zealand without me.”