"I want to see her." He turned to his parents.
"Go," Stanley urged him.
"Yes, darling, go be with her." Marianne reached out to clasp his hands. "We'll stay with our grandchildren."
He did not need to be told twice. Turning on his heels, he hurried away.
He found her propped up on pillows, the sheets drawn up to her breasts. A nurse was adjusting her chart, smiled at him as he came into the room, and left immediately, closing the door behind her.
Pulling up a comfortable ladder-back chair with plump cushions, he sat and took her hand in his, linking their fingers.
"We need to talk." He began softly, his eyes on her face. Her lashes made shadows on her cheeks and she looked so peaceful. So much so that he frantically felt her wrist for a pulse to make sure she was still alive. "No more getting your own way, nomatter the consequences. I allowed you to twist me around your little finger," his eyes dropped to her hand before looking back at her face. "Or the way you use your smile to get around me. It stops now. You gave me a scare." His voice thickened and he felt the unfamiliar tears pricking his lids.
"I thought I had lost you and our daughter." He shook his head and decided to leave that part off. He wasn't sure she could hear him, but if there was a chance she could, he didn't want her to be in distress after all she had been through, and it was not over, not by a long shot. "You promised me that this would turn out all right and you lied, darling." Lifting their joined hands, he rubbed the back of hers against his hair-roughened cheek. "I cannot lose you; that's not something I'm prepared for. So, no more sweet-talking me into doing anything else. I shouldn't have listened to you. Damn you, Eliza, do you not know how much I love you? That's the same thing I was running from when I first met you. You stirred up so much inside me that I knew from the very beginning you were going to be trouble. You're my bloody life; don't you get that? And I cannot live without you. I won't. So, no more twisting me around your little finger -- it's not going to work. Not anymore."
*****
The first thing she noticed when she opened her eyes was the searing pain in her abdomen. The second was that it was dark and her hand was being held captive.
Turning her head took a small amount of effort, but when she managed to get rid of some of the fog from her brain, she realized that her husband was asleep in the chair and holding her hand. Then it all came rushing back. Her babies!
She must have made a sound, because he jerked to awareness, his eyes flying open.
"You're awake." His voice was rusty from sleep, but there was joy and relief in the sentence.
"My babies," she whispered. "And why am I hurting?"
He addressed the second question first. "Where are you hurting?"
"My belly." She tried to sit up and had to sink back down, a gasp escaping her.
"You had surgery and you had a C-section, remember? Let me call the doctors--"
"My babies. I want to see them."
"First things first -- let's see about that pain." He was about to push the call button when the doctor came walking in.
"You're awake."
"She's in pain." Samuel told him abruptly.
"Let's see what we can do about that." Dr. Forsythe signaled to the nurse who came in behind him and issued instructions.
"My babies."
"They're holding their own. Your daughter is still at a critical stage, but we're hoping for the best."
She tried to sit up again, but the pain had her flopping back down.
"You're going to have to keep calm." Samuel said grimly, holding her still.
"Your blood pressure is elevated, and I assure you that the babies are getting the best possible care. As soon as you're able to move, your husband will take you to see them. In themeantime, you need rest. You just went through a major delivery and a surgery. Your body needs time to recuperate." He nodded to the nurse as she administered the pain meds intravenously.
"Just ring for us if there's anything you need. They will be serving breakfast in the next hour."
"You're going to be the death of me." Samuel lunged to his feet as soon as the doors closed behind the medical team. "I spent all of last night wondering if I was going to lose you." He rounded on her, expression fierce. "This is not acceptable, damn you, Eliza." He sucked in a breath and tried to rein in his temper when he saw the stricken look on her face. "Christ! You just woke up from almost bleeding out and I'm shouting at you."
"You were scared and you look like hell."
