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I turned my head, finding DeLuca. He stared at me, searching my face as he reached out with a wipe in his hand.
“There’s blood all over you.”
I stared at that wipe, then took it as the elevator doors opened. My body moved automatically, stepping inside as I dragged the cleaner over my face. Carven was silent, staring at the closed doors. Colt was motionless, standing at the back. None of us were speaking.
“They’ll take her straight into surgery. We won't find out anything for a while. I’ve arranged for you to have the entire doctors’ break room to yourselves. You can grab coffee or something to eat, or just even rest while we wait.”
It wasn’t for us. I knew that. It was for all the other patients and their families. Out of sight and out of the wrath of our rage. At that moment, I didn’t care. I gave a nod as the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened. I caught the movement as I stepped out. Vivienne was on a bed, her belly a mountain partially hidden under a white blanket as they rushed her through a set of double doors.
“Gentlemen,” DeLuca urged. “This way. I’ll get you some clean clothes and some coffee.”
I stared at those double doors before I turned. “Come on, boys,” I urged, heading after DeLuca.
They wouldn’t leave without me. Maybe they wouldn’t even leave if I did. Who could blame them? I followed the doctor to a break room marked Staff only, pushed open the door and headed for the sink.
London!
LONDON NO!
Her screams resounded in my head as I hit the faucet with shaking hands and bent over, splashing water on my face. The echo of steps was faint in the hall. DeLuca went out, guiding Ryth and her stepbrothers in as I grabbed a towel and switched off the water.
“What happened?” Caleb asked.
What happened?
Carven and Colt looked at me. They all did…but I turned away, giving them my back. I couldn’t look at them, not now. “I don’t know.” My words were a choked hiss. “I just don’t know.”
Silence grew behind me.
Empty silence.
Not a scrape of a shoe, or a drag of breath. Not even a cry from Ryth’s son, now asleep in Nick’s arms. There was nothing. Maybe this was how my life would sound now? Empty, vacant…until she came back to me.
The door opened and someone eased their head inside. “Doctor, can we see you for a moment?”
I spun at the sound, watching a nurse dressed in surgery gear glance my way.
“What’s happening?” I asked.
She forced a smile. “Just the Doctor, that's all.”
“I’ll be back as soon as I can.” DeLuca strode toward her. “Wait for me, London. Just wait.”
He was gone in a heartbeat, leaving us all alone.
“Okay, looks like we’re going to be here for a while. So, we need coffee.” Helene murmured and headed for the cupboards.
Doors opened. The hiss of the coffee machine sounded. Still, I couldn’t look away from that door. Not even when she pushed a cup into my hands and urged me to drink.
A nurse came in, handed out a stack of fresh scrubs, and motioned for us to change. I did, making my way to the bathroom at the side, then returned while the others followed.
Ryth and Helene left, returning minutes later with whatever they could scrounge from the vending machines. Sandwiches and bottled water were laid out on the table. Still, I clutched the cup of coffee until it went cold, unable to take my eyes off that door.
Then it opened.
And my entire world shifted.
DeLuca walked in, cradling a tiny bundle in his arms, one that mewled and cried out, stopping the entire room cold. He glanced at Carven and Colt, but slowly made his way toward me, dressed in the same surgical scrubs like the nurse wore before.
