Lauren watched Cole’s back as he left the room, biting her tongue because she really wanted to call him back and ask him to stay. She knew once he was gone, all the bad thoughts she’d been suppressing would come flooding back. But she was saved by her private nurse bustling into the room.
“Hi Lauren, I’m Stacey. I’m going to be staying with you at night for now. Tomorrow another nurse will replace me.”
“Thank you for coming. I don’t really think this is necessary, but Cole insisted.” Lauren said, happy to have company.
“It’s no problem. I’ve known Cole for a long time. I’m happy to help. Did he go home?” She asked, settling down in the chair and pulling some books out of her bag.
“Yeah, he looked as bad as I do by the time he left. We had a little altercation with one of the nurses.” Lauren said, shaking her head.
“He told me. But I’m here now so there’s nothing to worry about. He’ll get some sleep. How are you feeling? I understand they started the antibiotics just a little while ago and that so far nothing significant has shown up on your tests.”
“That about sums it up. Did he also mention that I have MS in my family history?”
“He did, but I think it’s too soon to be worrying about that. I brought some books with me, I could read to you. It might help keep your mind off things. Negative thoughts are never a good thing, you need to keep positive.”
Lauren should have been annoyed with this woman, but found that her straight forward attitude was calming. It would help keep her mind off her worries and she’d always loved to read too, it was one of the things her mother had been able to do right up to the end. She chose a book and fell asleep to the sound of Mary Anne’s soothing voice with thoughts of her mother swirling though her head.
*****
Cole was awakened by the shrill sound of his phone ringing in the middle of the night. He’d given Mary Anne his cell number in case there was an emergency, then programmed her number so it would ring loudly.
He was instantly awake. “Mary Anne, what’s wrong?”
“Well, I thought I should let you know that Lauren’s running a high fever. It’s been going up the last few hours. The doctor thinks that she’s allergic to the antibiotics, they’re moving her to the ICU just to be safe.”
“I’m on my way.” Cole was already out of bed and half-dressed by the time the conversation was over.
When he got to the hospital, they were moving her from her room. He followed them up to the ICU then tried to follow them into the room, but the doctor on duty stopped him. “Are you family? Only family is allowed into the ICU.”
“What are you talking about? I was here with her all day.” Cole’s voice was rising with panic at the thought that he might not be able to be with Lauren.
“Hospital rules.” The doctor said.
*****
Lauren had been vaguely aware of what was happening around her, she knew that she was hot, so very hot. She’d also heard someone mention something about the antibiotics she’d been given. She’d started to panic when the bed had started moving, but then she heard Cole’s voice and knew that everything would be okay. He’d figure out what was going on.
But then she’d heard the doctor say Cole wouldn’t be allowed in her room and began to panic. The nurse tried to calm her, but Lauren wasn’t going to rest until Cole was allowed in. Summoning the last bit of her strength she managed to sit up a little in the bed.
Mary Anne was the first to see her and came rushing over. “Lay down, you need to rest.”
“I’m not staying here unless Cole is allowed to see me.” She said, desperate to make sure they understood how important it was.
“Only family members are allowed in ICU.” Mary Anne said.
“Is he considered family if we’re engaged?” Lauren managed to ask.
“Yes, then he’d be considered family.”
“Well, then you had better let my fiancé into my room right now.” Lauren said, then fell back on the bed.
Mary Anne patted Lauren on the shoulder then walked out in the hallway where Cole was still arguing with the doctor. “Cole I understand from Lauren that congratulations are in order. I hear that you two are going to be married. That makes you family.” She said, hoping he’d understand.
It took Cole only a second to figure out what was going on. “Yes, we are.” He said, giving the doctor a dirty look and pushed past him into the room.
He went straight to Lauren and took her hand in his, he could feel the heat radiating from her body just standing close to her. He wanted to scream at the doctor but knew that it would only make things worse, so instead he took a deep breath and leaned over Lauren.
“Hi sweetheart, I hear you’re not feeling well, but I’m happy to hear that we’re getting married. This wasn’t quite the proposal scene I envisioned, but I’ll take it.” He whispered.
Lauren had exhausted herself, but smiled at Cole and said, “I love you.” Then fell asleep.
Cole sat by her bed the entire night, he’d only left once, early in the morning to once again make some phone calls, he was fed up with the care Lauren was getting. It was time to put all his money to good use. He’d woken both Sadie and Beth up with instructions to get the best specialists to Prospect no matter what it cost.
Lauren’s temperature didn’t rise any more over the night, but it didn’t go down either. There was only so much they could do to counter act the damage her body was doing to itself. By morning it was clear that Lauren might not ever wake up again. No one had been able to diagnose her problem and she was continuing to decline.
Cole was frantic with worry when Sadie and his sister arrived at the hospital that morning. He was pacing in the hallway outside her room, muttering under his breath, when they found him. Rebecca pulled him aside, wanting to calm him before the medical team she’d gathered arrived.
“You need to calm down. Have some faith. I’ve got the best minds in medicine on their way here now. We’ll figure this out, you’ll see. It’s going to be fine.”
“She asked me to marry her.” Cole said, the anguish he was feeling clear in his voice. “But now I don’t think that’s ever going to happen.”
“Stop that. It’s not going to help anyone.” His sister said. “Let’s go get something to eat. You look like you could use it. Dr. Mathews and his team will be her any minute. You won’t be able to be in there when they examine her. By the time we’re done, I bet they’ll have it figured out.”
Cole allowed Rebecca to drag him off to the cafeteria only after Sadie promised him that she’d stay with Lauren. No one challenged her right to be there when they saw the look on Cole’s face when he thought they were going to refuse.
*****
Lauren had been vaguely aware of what was going on around her for most of the night, but as the night wore on she found it harder and harder to come back to reality. She’d been fighting all night long to stay tethered to Cole’s warm hand, but by morning she was too tired to fight anymore and slipped into the world that had been beckoning to her all night.
It was quiet here, the pain and discomfort left behind. It felt nice to be free, but she wondered where she was. Then it struck her, maybe she’d died and this was heaven. But if she was in heaven then where was her mother? Shouldn’t she be here to greet her?
As if she’d broadcast those thoughts through this peaceful place where she currently was, her mother materialized in front of her. She opened her arms to Lauren, arms that were as strong as she remembered from her childhood.
“Have I died?” Lauren asked her mother.
“No sweetheart, but you’ve come to a place where you have to make a choice.” Her mother said, leading her to a bench that seemed to have come from nowhere.
“A choice? I don’t want to make a choice. I want to stay here with you. It’s nice here.” Lauren said, looking at her mother whole again.
“That is one of your choices, but
you could also chose to fight and stay with Cole.” Her mother said, taking her hand. “He loves you.”
“But it’s so hard, I’m afraid I’m going to get hurt. What if I wake up and find out that I have MS like you did? Is he going to stay with me?”
“I can’t tell you that, but I can tell you that if you go back you won’t be sorry. You have a lot to give Lauren, trust your instincts. If you decide to stay here with me, I’ll be happy, but I’ll also be happy if you go back.” Her mother said, putting her arm around her.
Lauren loved the feeling of her mother’s strong arms around her, she felt cared for and protected. But she realized, she felt that way when she was with Cole. Suddenly she wanted to be with him more than anything else in the world.
“I think I have to go back. I don’t want to leave you, but I want to be with Cole.”
“I knew you’d make the right choice. You’ll see, everything will work out. Now go fight for what you want. And remember, I’m always with you, watching and loving you.” Her mother said, disappearing as soon as the last words were out of her mouth.
Lauren sat on the bench for a while, gathering the strength to fight. It was breaking her heart to know she was leaving her mother behind, but the lure of a life with Cole was dragging her back to the real word.
Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and thought about what it felt like when Cole kissed her the first time, the thrill of his lips meeting hers and that wonderful feeling of belonging that had come with it.
The next thing she was award with was the heat of her body as she lay in the bed sweating. There were multiple people in her room, she was aware of them by the sounds of their conversation. As her other senses began to return, she was aware that Cole was holding her hand where it lay on the bed.
She wanted to say something, but the effort to speak was too much, she couldn’t even move her hand to let him know that she knew he was there. She finally slipped back into unconsciousness, wondering what all the commotion in her room was all about. Hopefully she thought, someone had figured out what was wrong with her.
Chapter 12
Cole was sitting at Lauren’s bedside with Sadie, answering a barrage of questions from the doctors. Between the two of them they’d been able to trace Lauren’s movement for the last few months. The doctors had explained that none of the tests that had been run had shown any abnormalities. Lauren definitely didn’t have MS, nor was she suffering from any other number of diseases that had been high on the list. They’d finally narrowed it down to the possibility of some kind of a parasite or virus that she might have picked up during her travels.
“I noticed she has a rash on her arm. How long has that been there?” One of the doctors asked.
“I don’t know, I don’t think she had it last week.” Cole said, trying to remember if he’d seen a rash.
“It looks like the rash that often accompanies Lyme disease. It’s one of the tests we haven’t done and she’s certainly been places where Lyme disease is prevalent. I think we need to assume that we’re dealing with a chronic infection that’s gone undiagnosed for a long time. It would explain her reaction to the antibiotics and the rest of her symptoms.”
“Lyme disease. Is that hard to treat?” Cole asked, finally seeing some light at the end of the tunnel.
“It’s simple to treat and I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t begin immediately. It can’t hurt her to start the treatment.”
“Do what you have to.” Cole said, hoping that something would bring Lauren back from the brink of death.
They started the treatment immediately and within a few hours, there was visible improvement in Lauren’s condition. Her temperature began to drop and she was resting more comfortably. There was still no sign that she was going to wake up, but everyone was hopeful.
By the next morning, only a few hours after they’d started the medication, Lauren’s fever had vanished and her color had improved. The swelling in her joints had dissipated as well, but she still hadn’t woken up. The doctors were still hopeful, sure that given time she’d fully recover.
Cole hadn’t left her side except to use the bathroom and eat, but he was exhausted, the strain of Lauren’s illness beginning to show. He was sitting there thinking that if he was given another chance with Lauren, he wouldn’t make the same mistakes he’d made before. He’d stop working so much and let his staff do their jobs, he’d trained them, now he just had to trust them.
If Lauren still wanted to climb Everest, he’d do everything in his power to make that happen, he was busy making plans when he heard Lauren sigh, something she hadn’t done in a long time. Then to his amazement she squeezed his hand. It was a subtle squeeze, but when he jumped to his feet, she did it again.
“Lauren, can you hear me?” Cole asked, hoping for a sign that she could hear him.
She opened her eyes just a bit and said, “Hi.”
Cole was so relieved he sank to his knees right there, thanking who ever had given him Lauren back. He climbed back to his feet, shaky from the relief that had come pouring though him. Smoothing the hair back from her face, he stroked her cheek with one finger, her eyes watching him the entire time.
She tried to say something, but the words wouldn’t come out. Her throat felt like it had been scalded. Cole put a finger over her lips and said, “Don’t try to talk, just know that you’re going to get better. You have Lyme disease, you must have picked it up when you were in Peru.”
Lauren thought about that for a moment, then closed her eyes and let out another big sigh. She was so relieved, Lyme disease wasn’t as bad as what she’d feared. It was curable unlike MS and some of the other diseases they were thinking she had.
“It’s going to take you a while to recover, but I’ll be here for you every step of the way. Now I’d better go spread the good news, Sadie, Beth, and my sister will be happy to hear that you’ve woken up. They’re out in the waiting room right now.”
Lauren shook her head, a move that took most of her strength. The last thing she wanted was for Cole to leave the room. She still felt removed from the world, not quite part of it.
“I’ll wait until you go back to sleep. How does that sound?” Cole said, sitting back down in the chair next to the bed, but keeping a firm hold on her hand.
That was all Lauren needed to hear, she let the exhaustion take over and was quickly asleep. Once Cole knew that she was sleeping, he stepped out of the room to spread the good news. One look at his face told the entire story and they were all quickly reduced to tears of joy.
Lauren continued to improve dramatically over the next few days, soon she was moved to a private room, a big step for someone as sick as she’d been. It would take her months to fully recover from her ordeal, but with proper care there was no reason she wouldn’t be her old self again someday.
Cole was sitting by her bed, thinking about how nice it would be to take her home soon. He’d arranged for full time homecare in an effort to get the doctors to release her as soon as possible. Lauren was ready to go home, but something had been bothering her since she woke up.
“Cole, did I ask you to marry me?” She asked one night when they were sitting in her room watching television.
“As a matter of fact, you did. They weren’t going to let me into the ICU so you told them that we were getting married.” Cole said, a giant grin on his face.
“Oh, my. I thought I remembered that.”
“Don’t tell me that you’ve changed your mind, because I’ve already been making wedding plans.”
“Well, I guess that’s okay, but don’t I get a say. It’s my wedding too.” She said, a bit annoyed.
“I’m just teasing you, the only thing I’ve done is to get this.” He said, pulling a ring box out of his pocket. “Lauren I want to spend my life with you. Please say that you’ll marry me.”
He opened the box to reveal a beautiful diamond ring nestled in the velvet. “Yes, oh yes.” Lauren said
, the tears streaming down her cheeks.
Cole slipped the ring onto her finger, then kissed the center of her palm. “Now it’s official, you’re never going to get rid of me now.”
*****
Lauren surprised the doctors by her quick recovery, but she knew the secret. She was totally and completely in love, totally and completely devoted to a life with Cole and all that meant. She’d been released from the hospital after only a few weeks, and was convalescing at Cole’s house. The truth was that she’d probably never live in the apartment that they’d worked so hard to fix up, but she didn’t care, her place was with Cole.
One morning, Cole helped her down the stairs and into the sunroom where she found her wicker furniture. It looked like it belonged there, like it had been there forever. “Oh, Cole. Thank you. I don’t mind not living in the apartment, but I was sad to not have this. It looks perfect here, like it was meant to be.”
“Well, it’s not going anywhere and neither are you.” He said, helping her to sit down.
“I’m glad to hear that.” She said, snuggling up to him when he sat down next to her.
“I know I told you that we’d make all our plans together so I want to suggest something to you. What would you think about making that Everest climb for our honeymoon?”
“I don’t really know if I care about climbing Everest any more, Cole. It just doesn’t seem that important.” She said, looking at him in shock, it was the last thing she’d expected him to say.
“I think that when you’re better that’s going to change. Besides what better motivation is there to get better?” He said, taking her hand. “I want you to do this so that you don’t have anything you wish you’d done haunting you.”
“So you’re going to climb Everest with me?” She asked, not quite believing that he’d be into something so extreme.
“No, I’ll be sitting safe and sound in the house I’ve rented for us over there.”
Lauren thought about that, then smiled at him. “I really am the luckiest woman in the world. But it’s going to be a long time before I can even think about a climb like that.”
An Unconditional Love (BWWM Romance Book 1) Page 12