Splitting the Defense

by Amber Lynn

  Knowing his friends weren’t going anywhere, Toby turned his back to them and focused on the door to the room they’d taken Meredith. The doctor hadn’t said everything would be fine, but the way he commanded the nurses around made Toby think he at least knew what was going on. He’d been calm, a state of mind that hadn’t carried over to anyone waiting for news.

  Toby didn’t care if Caleb acted like nothing was happening, the kid wasn’t calm. He had to be freaking out in that tiny body of his.

  “So, your Mom’s having a girl?” Jen asked.

  “Maybe.” Caleb’s voice lost a little of the robot sound. “We don’t really know, but I keep telling her it’s a girl.”

  Jen attempted to keep Caleb talking about anything other than the fact that the last time he’d seen his mom she’d been passed out and bleeding heavily. Toby tuned it all out as he stared at the door. He tried to listen for any words or noises coming from the other side, but the room seemed to be more soundproofed than any doctor’s office he’d been in before.

  He saw the handle move before he heard a sound. At first, he thought it was just his imagination that the long handle moved down, but a woman slipped through the opening in the door, closing it quickly behind her. Toby tried to get a look in the room, but he wasn’t fast enough to focus on anything.

  The woman was wearing a light green dress. The only sign that she came out of a room where someone could be fighting for her life was the face mask she moved to the top of her brown hair. Toby studied her, just like she studied him. He couldn’t read anything specific in her eyes.

  “Since you’re not family and she’s not currently awake, the doctor says I can’t share what happened.”

  Toby’s eyes flared as he prepared to scream at the woman. Her hand lifted to tell him to cool his jets a second.

  “I can tell you that Meredith is recovering and her daughter is fine. The doctor needs to keep them both here under observation for probably a week, but he sees no immediate life-threatening issues.”

  A deep breath would’ve come in useful, but Toby wasn’t ready to calm down. Yes, someone was telling him Meredith would be okay, but until he knew what happened in the first place, it wasn’t as reassuring as it should’ve been.

  “Can you clarify whether the baby is out? I mean, you say they’re both fine, but I know Meredith didn’t want to know the sex and you just told her son.”

  The nurse nodded. “I figure you’ll hear cries eventually, so I’m not going to hide that the baby was delivered. Caleb, we’ll let you see your little sister just as soon as we get her all cleaned up and checked over.”

  Toby startled when he felt something touch his hand. He immediately looked down to find Caleb standing next to him, trying to hold his hand. Toby quickly enclosed his hand around the kid’s. He would’ve picked him up and hugged him, but he got the feeling Caleb wanted to keep his strong appearance up.

  “When do I get to see my mom?”

  A normal kid would’ve probably added an “I told you so” to rub in the fact he’d called the gender. Maybe Toby wasn’t giving kids enough credit, but he liked to think they wouldn’t be quite as aware of the situation as Caleb was.

  “She’s asleep right now. I’d say in an hour or so she’ll be awake and ready for visitors.”

  “Will we get to see the baby before then?”

  Toby had no right to ask the question. The nurse had said Caleb could see his sister when she got cleaned up, but Toby had a feeling the clean-up would take as long as it took for Meredith to wake up. It was only right that Meredith was the first to see her daughter. Toby just wanted to see some proof that what the nurse said was true.

  “I’m sure you know the baby is a little early, so it’s probably best that we keep her under observation and get her thoroughly checked over before she meets anyone. We don’t have all the fancy infant ICU stuff a big-city hospital would, but this isn’t our first premature birth.”

  “And you’re promising us that both of them are going to be okay?”

  Talking about not having the same equipment a hospital does didn’t do anything to assure Toby. He wanted someone to tell him everything was going to be fine.

  “If you need any assurances, go look at the degrees hanging up on the wall behind the desk. Dr. Theodore isn’t the hillbilly doctor you might imagine a town our size has. He went to the best schools. If Meredith would’ve been at home when this happened, things could’ve ended differently. So yes, it was a serious issue, but she’s moving out of the woods as we speak.”

  The woman’s voice was firm. It more than likely got other people to stop asking questions, but Toby liked to think he wasn’t like other people. He had what was often described as a bulldog attitude, and even the toughest coaches hadn’t been able to work it out of him.

  “We should go get the baby something to wear,” Caleb suggested before Toby could find something else to press the nurse about. “If we can’t see her for a while, we should make sure she has something to wear. And Mom too. She’s not going to want to wear that dress anymore.”

  The kid was way too logical. The only problem with his line of thinking was that Toby wasn’t about to drive all the way to the cabin to pick up supplies. They could probably make it back within an hour, but there was no way they could be that far away from the doctor’s office in case something happened. Obviously, the town had shops with what they needed, but they weren’t open.

  “That’s a great idea, Caleb. I’ll call Trevor and have him open the store so you guys can pick up some clothes. I’m sure he’ll be fine putting them on your mom’s tab.”

  Toby didn’t know who Trevor was, but if he was able to get them into a store close by, the guy was one of his new favorite people. Getting out of the doctor’s office for a few minutes was probably a good idea. If he had to sit around too much longer, Toby was liable to break into the room they were keeping Meredith.

  “I’ll pay for anything you think you need, Caleb, so don’t go mentioning tabs to anyone. Do you have an idea of what you need?”

  The boy nodded and pulled Toby along with him to the door. It was impossible to miss the scrutiny coming from Jimmy and Jen. He knew they didn’t understand what was going on in his life. Toby had no clue what was going on or why he was so invested in Meredith and Caleb. The fact that she was all alone and going through hell was all he could focus on. When things calmed down, he’d take the time to question things.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “It’s best if you keep still a little longer, Meredith. Your body needs time to recover.”

  Meredith heard Dr. Theodore, but her arms continued to push against whatever was underneath her so she could sit up. Her eyes still felt heavy, so she hadn’t opened them yet. It was foolish to think her arms would work any better.

  “What’s going on, Doc?”

  Closing her eyes tight, Meredith tried to remember why the doctor would be around. She remembered the dance and Toby’s friends showing up, but she couldn’t remember any other specifics.

  She felt a hand on her forehead, pushing her head into what felt like a pillow. With her little strength, Meredith hadn’t thought she’d been able to move it, but apparently at least one thing was working for her.

  “The placenta detached.”

  “The baby.”

  No amount of sluggishness was going to keep Meredith from checking on her baby. She fought through the blinders on her eyes as she reached her hands up to her stomach. She didn’t have to let her fingers brush against the fabric on her to know the baby was gone. She could feel the emptiness inside of her.

  “Is fine. We delivered via cesarean about an hour ago. She’s a little small, but still came in at six-pounds and just a little under eighteen inches.”

  “She?”

  Tears pooled in Meredith’s eyes as she listened to the doctor. He was starting to come in focus, but the liquid quickly blocked her vision.

  “Yes, you have a little girl. I’m obviously biased to m
y own daughters and grandbabies, but she’s absolutely perfect, Meredith.”

  “Can I see her?”

  Words weren’t enough for Meredith. She wanted to hold the baby in her arms and verify it was really her child. She could remember the moment Caleb was placed in her arms and how she instinctively knew she would die before she let anything happen to him. She wanted the same thing with her daughter.

  “Of course. Pam is just finishing up getting her dressed and ready to meet her momma. Caleb and the folks keeping an eye on him went shopping a little bit ago to make sure both of you were all set.”

  Meredith worked to open her eyes wider and looked around the room until her eyes settled on Pam delicately lifting a small object in a pink onesie. Caleb had been just over seven pounds, which made his sister look so tiny.

  “Do you have a named picked out for her? I’m pretty sure I heard Caleb and his friend talking about different options.”

  The people at the doctor’s office were pretty much the only people other than Paul who didn’t act like Meredith was the scum of the earth. It probably helped that they were all fifty or sixty and had grown out of the pettiness the rest of the town carried strongly.

  “Um, I guess I haven’t really thought too hard about it.”

  She was more concerned about getting the baby in her arms than coming up with a name. Eventually she wanted to get back around to talking about whatever had caused the detachment or whatever the doctor said, but her focus was all about the baby being placed in her arms.

  Meredith got one look in the blue eyes of her daughter and the feelings overwhelmed her. She tried her hardest not to do anything people would expect, but she couldn’t help it when it came to her children. A mother bear had nothing on her.

  “Is Caleb still here? Has he seen her?”

  Stroking the light fluffs of hair on top of her daughter’s head, Meredith looked up to hear the doctor’s answer. She assumed the folks keeping an eye on him were Toby and his friends.

  “He’s right outside. The guy that’s been living up in the Tinker place has been keeping him company. They’ve mostly stayed here, so I assume it’s okay. Caleb’s kind of glued himself to Toby. That’s his name, right? We haven’t been formally introduced.”

  The doctor looked up to Pam, evidently expecting her to answer. Meredith returned her eyes to the baby and worked to count fingers and toes to make sure none of them were missing.

  “Yes, that’s him. I think the folks with him left to get something to eat, but he and Caleb are still out there waiting.”

  Toby was the kind of guy who stuck around. That vibe was perfectly clear as he kept showing up. Most men coming from the city would’ve left when they realized they had to go outside to go to the bathroom and the women weren’t above sixes. Unless they were doing some kind of manly weekend getaway with a handful of friends, there wasn’t much for them up in the mountains.

  “Am I decent enough for them to come in?” Meredith asked. “I don’t remember what happened, but I imagine it wasn’t how either of them thought they’d spend the evening.”

  Having spent hours worrying about Toby when he blacked out in the woods, Meredith understood what they were going through. No matter how well you did or didn’t know a person, seeing them unconscious scared the crap out of you. Meredith wasn’t sure if she’d passed out, but the missing chunks of memory made her think it was probable.

  “I’m surprised Toby hasn’t broken down the door. Helen gave them the news that you were through the worst of it and she swore that big guy was going to throw her across the room.”

  Meredith smiled as she pictured the scene Dr. Theodore mentioned. She’d tried to fight Toby encroaching on her life, so she knew how fun that fight was.

  “That being said, I think we should talk about what happened before you see them. The only other time I’ve seen someone with a detachment was during my residency.”

  The doctor reached behind him to grab a piece of paper. Meredith didn’t know about the detachment business, but she got the sense it wasn’t good.

  “It only happens in about one percent of pregnancies. As far as I know, you didn’t have any of the common causes. Is there anything going on at home I need to know about? Rumor around town is that the guy out there has moved into your life and you just almost lost your baby.”

  With said baby in her arms, it was hard for Meredith to think about the concept of losing her. Dr. Theodore had never mentioned the few bruises and injuries he’d seen over the years on her. Very rarely were they actually from Lawrence, but he still kept quiet. She assumed he’d had a chance to do an exam while he delivered the baby, so he should’ve known there weren’t any bruises.

  “You shouldn’t listen to rumors, Doc. I don’t make mistakes twice.”

  Meredith didn’t feel the need to justify anything. All she wanted from the doctor was for him to tell her when she could go home. Even with her head elevated, which she just realized had to have been done while she waited for the baby to be brought to her, the hospital-like room they had her in didn’t have an ambience worth a long stay. She’d never particularly had issues with hospitals, but she could see how spending too much time in an unstimulating room could change her opinion.

  “I assumed you’d say that, but I had to check. You’re in a vulnerable position now and I’d hate for you to get hurt.”

  “Jeez,” Meredith said as she shook her hand. “He’s my neighbor. We’ve spent maybe four hours together since he moved here.”

  “Did you have any bleeding before today?”

  That question was a better starting point for talking about her health. Meredith was sick and tired of people making assumptions based on the latest rumor going around town.

  “Yes, but there wasn’t any pain, so I thought it was just normal spotting.”

  “How long?”

  The doctor scribbled notes on his paper. Meredith told the truth about the pain aspect, but she’d gotten the feeling the spotting wasn’t exactly normal. The baby continued to move and kick, so there didn’t seem to be any distress.

  “About a week. Once or twice a day I found some blood.”

  He nodded and put the paper back on the table to his side. Meredith hoped she’d explained enough that his thoughts of Toby abusing her were squashed.

  “Okay, that makes a little more sense. We’re going to need to keep you here a few days to keep an eye on you and the baby. Everything is looking fine, so I don’t want to worry you. It’s just a precaution.”

  “I figured that much. Can you let Toby and my son in? If you’re not going to let me out of here tonight, I’m going to have to make arrangements.”

  Even without complications, the doctor had kept Meredith overnight when she had Caleb. She’d planned on having a cot or something brought in for Caleb to sleep on, but that was a one or two-night kind of thing.

  “About that,” Pam said. “You’re going to need to be here for maybe a week, so I can look after him if you want. I live just down the street and have an extra bedroom.”

  The offer made Meredith close her eyes and shake her head. The woman couldn’t have said something more crazy.

  “Thanks for the offer. Right now, all I want to do is see my son.”

  “Of course. We’ll send him in and give you some time.”

  The doctor made a clicking noise with his tongue and waved Pam over as he moved towards the door. Meredith focused back on her daughter. For a second she thought about the father of her children and the gifts he’d given her.

  “Mommy,” Caleb squealed as he ran in the room.

  The sound was music to Meredith’s ears. The lack of noises coming from the baby was a little concerning, but a small coo came out at Caleb’s word.

  “Hey, sweetie. I hope you’ve been a good boy for Toby.”

  The man mentioned peeked his head in the door. With Meredith’s hands full with the baby, she made sure to make eye contact and nod Toby into the room.

  “I think
the worry lies in whether I was good for him. Your little man is something else, Meredith.”

  Toby still hesitated, but he let the door close behind him and leaned against it. Caleb was still in his clothes from the dance. Toby seemed to have changed his shirt and lost his cowboy hat.

  “Thanks. I don’t remember what happened, but I can’t thank you enough for keeping an eye on him.”

  “You fell down, but Toby caught you and I got the doctor. They wouldn’t tell us what happened. They just said you were okay and my sister was out.”

  Caleb stood next to the bed as he spoke. He was too short to see what he clearly wanted to, judging by him standing on his tiptoes.

  “Your sister is out, and I have it on good authority you’ve been coming up with options for names. Toby, do you mind helping Caleb get a look at the baby?”

  The man took a moment to think about it, but his reaction to Meredith’s request was relatively quick. Caleb immediately turned towards Toby and lifted his arms in the air to help with the endeavor.

  “Holy crap, she’s beautiful, Meredith. She’s teeny, but she’s definitely got your eyes and nose.”

  There was nothing but awe in Toby’s voice. Meredith knew he was probably seeing things that weren’t there, but she took pride in the claim.

  “Do you like her onesie? I picked it out.”

  Caleb didn’t give her a chance to comment on Toby’s words. His eyes flashed with the excitement going on in the moment. Meredith was still a bit tired to join in his energy, but she was relieved the ordeal was over.

  She’d looked briefly at the onesie to see there was a monkey face on it, but she hadn’t read it. Taking the time to do so, she saw it said “Mommy’s little monkey.” The smile already on her face couldn’t get any wider, but she pretended it could.

  “I love it. Are you going to tell me about the names you’ve come up with? I think we should get her a name as soon as possible, don’t you?”

  Toby stood about a foot away from the bed with Caleb propped on his hip. Both of them were mesmerized by the pair on the bed. Meredith had no idea how bad she looked, but if she looked half as bad as she felt, she was nothing more than a pile of sludge.