Serving Chicago

Chapter 43: Adaline and Eleanor Halstead

Emilia had slept pretty much the whole afternoon, with little energy to speak, move or eat. The Lieutenant was exhausted. Her body ached, her head stung, opening her eyes was a chore. She had barely been able to mutter a sentence.

Jay had not left her side. Knowing his girlfriend - the mother of his twin daughters - was in a fragile state he had enlisted the help of Erin and Gabby to help with the girls, allowing him to focus his full attention on Emilia. Jay hoped that the CT results would come back soon and they can start to think about the next stage of Emilia's care plan. If, like Dr Choi had said, the surgery had an adverse effect on Emilia's memory. This was going to be a long road.

The news of Emilia's consciousness when relayed to her firehouse family, the intelligence unit as well as staff at the hospital, was greeted with deep sighs of relief as well as a few tears. This woman, who everyone loved for the past 7 years was awake. Whilst no one could be quite sure what state she was in, she was awake, she was one step further than she was yesterday, a step closer to recovery.

Jay looked at his phone as it chimed in his pocket. It was an image from Gabby, a photo of the twins and their recent weigh ins. Twin 1 had gained 0.6lb whilst twin 2 had gained a whole 1lb. Jay smiled, he was glad they were doing okay. Twin 2, although born significantly smaller than twin 2 was thriving. She definitely had her mothers will.

A knock on the glass door broke Jay's train of thought. Looking back, the Halstead caught sight of his brother. "Hey man, sorry, I didn't mean to make you jump." Lifting the blue file, he continued. "Em's results are back."

Jay didn't know whether or not to be fearful or hopeful. He shoved his phone into his pocket, reaching for his girlfriend's hand before looking back to his brother.

Not wanting to keep Jay in suspense, Will lifted the corner of his lips, a smile brimming. "It's clear, the swelling hasn't gone completely but it's reducing significantly. I can't see any reason for concern. Although, I do think she'll be on some sort of anti-anxiety medication for the next few months to make sure there's nothing that will trigger this sort of thing again. But, whatever steps we'll need to take, we're on the right path." He said delightedly.

Jay couldn't say anything but launched to his brother, giving him a hug. But Jay pulled away, quickly. "And the memory?"

Will shook his head. 'We can't know for sure. This internal bleed, the pressure it caused on her brain. She's lucky to be here Jay. To survive it and not have any deficits. It would be a miracle but the fact that the swelling has gone down. It's really good news Jay." 

Jays heart broke a little more. They still weren't out of the clear yet. Jay could only hope that Emilia had the will in her to survive her recovery. But nevertheless, she was alive, she was awake even. He lept towards his brother, wrapping him in a hug. He was grateful, incredibly grateful. 

"Do I not get one? A raspy voice spoke, making the brothers spin instantly. Whilst Will called for some assistance, Jay headed straight to his girlfriend. Before he could speak, Emilia spoke. "Don't fuss, please."

Ignoring her request, Jay asked. "Are you okay? How are you feeling?"

Although still not 100% Emilia slowly shot Jay a glare. "I feel... rough". She said, trying to shift herself in her bed. Jay protested and helped her to move slightly. It was then, that Emilia's face dropped in horror, as if she remembered what had happened. "The..the babies? Jay where are they? What happened?" The panic was clear but Jay's smile seemed to gentle calm her.

"They're okay, they really are okay." He said genuinely, "we have, two baby girls. Twin A, she's amazing, so content but Twin B, she had a little rough patch. She was much smaller than A but she's managed to put on a few pound and now she's building her strength up. She's doing good. Hell... they're both doing good."

Emilia sighed in relief, her voice still raspy, "can, can I see them?" 

Jay nodded, "I'm sure they're going to have no objections." Smiling, he headed towards the door to call Will and Natalie to arrange to move the twins. He was stopped in his tracks when Emilia called back to him.

"Jay?" She called, "thank you". It was words that could have remained unspoken. He was just glad she was okay, he was just hoping this would be the last of their drama. 

----

It had been a couple of hours following their reunion. Emilia was besotted. The girls were dreams. 

"They really are gorgeous Mia. You did such an amazing job" Erin smiled as she manoeuvred Twin A from Emilia's arms to enable her to take a drink. 

Emilia smiled, her hair strewn back from her face. It was as if the light had returned. "I don't think I can take all the credit." She said smiling as placed her drink back to the table. "Hey Erin? Why didn't Jay name the twins if I was out for so long?"

Erin smiled sadly, "he was waiting for you. I think it was a way of him convincing himself you were coming back to us. I mean, it was touch and go what was going to happen."

Emilia nodded, her eyes following the twins as they moved. "I know, well, I guessed. Jay hasn't really left my side. I only managed to convince him to go home because my clothes were wrecked. He tried to get Kelly to bring them but I said I wasn't comfortable with my best friend rooting through my underwear, and definitely not my brother either!" She cringed.

"Nah, you're alright sis'" the familiar voice called from the hall. "I think Will's just sorting the paperwork, Dr Manning said she's happy for the twins to go home, she knows you've got enough training but she's insisting she needs to come and check up on them tomorrow. But I'm confident that's for the cuddles and wasn't a medical decision." Jamie smiled as he stepped into the room. "Hey, Er."

"Hey" Erin waved back. "Well, it'll be great for you to head home. I think the four of you need some family time. God knows you've been through a lot." 

"Hey I'm back" Jay called as he walked through the door. "Hey guys" He said, acknowledging Jamie and Erin. "I got some clothes. And the car seats. I don't think there was anything else?" He said, not entirely convinced. 

Emilia smiled. "Thanks babe."

"I didn't realise there was a party in here." Will smiled as he walked in. "I have your discharge papers."

Emilia beamed "Does that mean we get to go?"

"Yes, it does". Will smiled. "But, there's one more thing. I need to put down names from the twins on the discharge form, ya know. Just in case you mix them up."

Emilia laughed, knowing that was not the reason. Looking to Jay, she asked, "have any ideas?"

"I like Adaline, I know it was one of our favourites," Jay said, mentioning one of their favourite names. 

Emilia smiled, "I love Eleanor" She grinned. "Ada and Ellie. Twin A and B".

"They're beautiful." Erin smiled. 

***

Quick update to get me back into the swing of things... so I do need to know... what do you want to happen next?