The fourth floor wasn't the obstetrics ward, so if baby wasn't coming early then the problem was with Sara. She'd been doing so well since she left the hospital in August, as far as Jack could determine; except for being tired from the chemo she was pretty much her old self. The doctors had been very encouraged by the way her cancer had responded to the initial treatment, and she looked good, not at all what he had envisioned. Thanks to the pregnancy hormones, she hadn't even lost her hair.
Steve was watching for him when he got off the elevator. Jack tried to read his face but he couldn't. "How is she?"
"Stable right now. This way," he said, turning down the left corrider toward the ICU. "She was having trouble breathing when I brought her but they gave her oxygen and a steroid shot and she's better. Her temperature's up, though They said it might be from the chemo or it could be an infection, but they won't know until they run some tests. They've started her on antibiotics as a precaution."
"What about the baby?"
"They hooked her up to a monitor downstairs, everything checked out."
"So what happened? Did she call you?"
"I went over this morning; we'd already planned to spend the day together. She seemed okay, just tired. We ordered dinner in, and afterwards she fell asleep on the couch . She woke up with chills and fever, shaking so hard I couldn't even take her temperature. I told her we were going to the hospital, and she didn't argue. On the way here she starting wheezing. That really scared her. Me, too." Steve took a deep breath as they paused outside Sara's door, and his shoulders seemed to sag with the weight of the memory. "I sure didn't expect to wind up here tonight."
"I'll bet." Jack regarded him with sympathy. "But I sure am glad you were there."
"Yeah, well, I think I'm in the doghouse for calling you."
"Is that so? We'll have to see about that," said Jack, following him into the room.
A nurse had just finished taking Sara's blood pressure. "That's all for now," she assured her. "I'll be back with another blanket for you."
Sara murmured her thanks, and then her eyes moved to Jack. "Hi, Dad." Her voice was small, her face pale.
"Hi, angel." Her forehead was warm where he kissed her. "How are you feeling?"
"Better. Sorry to get you out of bed. I told Steve to wait until morning to call you."
Jack shook his head in gentle reprimand. "At least he had the good sense not to listen. And don't worry about getting me out of bed. I wasn't asleep. Besides, I'm right where I want to be. I thought maybe my granddaughter had decided to make an early appearance."
Sara smiled and put a hand on her stomach. "Not yet, though she never lets me forget she's on the way. She kicks like the devil."
"Like mother like daughter," he grinned.
"Let's hope so," said Steve, covering her hand with his. "Honey, I'm gonna go call Mark again. I left him a message and told him I'd update him as soon as I could."
"I hope he's home at this hour," said Jack, remembering Mr. DeMarco's daughter and the other teenagers who never made it home.
"Actually, he's on a camping trip this weekend." Steve leaned over to kiss Sara. "I'll be back in a few minutes."
Jack watched him leave and then turned back to Sara. "Why don't you marry him and put him out of his misery?"
"We tried that once, remember?"
He ignored her glib reply. "If you hurry, you may still have time before the baby is born."
"I had no idea you were so conventional. Besides, you were the one who said I shouldn't marry an actor in the first place."
"Let's be serious for minute, can we? Are you that stubborn, or do you really think it's better to maintain two households and shuffle this kid back and forth between them? It's obvious to everyone that he loves you and you love him, and I honestly don't understand why you're dragging your feet on this. You'll probably say it's none of my business and I suppose it isn't, but I just wish you could tell me why."
The smirk she had been wearing was gone, replaced by a look of tender amusement. "I can only tell you one thing, Dad." She raised the hand with the IV attached, the left one, and wiggled the third finger.
He arched an eyebrow. "Is that what I think it is?"
"If you think it's an engagement ring, then yes."
"And you just let me go on."
She smiled. "You were on a roll. I didn't have the heart to stop you."
He smiled down at her, pleased by this new turn of events, yet troubled by the circumstances that had brought them here and the uncertainty of what lay ahead. Cancer was a fact of their lives, and Sara still had to beat it.
tbc
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