Trouble Times Two

Chapter Sixty-One

Monday

I walk around the floor a little more before deciding to go to the hospitals shop all the way down on the bottom floor. Just so that I could get some steps in.

I guess I was experiencing guilt from eating those chips and now wanted to 'burn it off.'

I grab two stuffed rabbit toys, and then grab a dinosaur I see. I love dinosaurs.

I get a bag for it and run out to my car. I put the dinosaur away and make sure my parking ticket is still valid.

I get my sewing kit and crochet stuff, which I kept in my car as I needed stuff to do if I ever get held up. and then go back to the room where Donovan is sleeping.

There still aren't any updates on the screen.

I put the stuff down and go to the reception on the floor and ask if the TV isn't working.

"What's the patients name?" The nurse asks.

"Maisie Rosling." I show her my visitor pass which has M. Rosling on it.

"Yes, Miss Rosling hasn't made any progress since when she checked in. When she has the screen will turn on automatically."

"Does that mean since she's checked in three hours ago, she hasn't dilated even a centimetre?" The nurse looks at me and offers me a soft smile. That immediately puts me at ease. Just a little.

"She'll be okay lovely, she has a brilliant support system with her in the room and she has amazing doctors on board as well. She'll be okay." The nurse smiles at me and I nod.

"Thank you so much." I say and then make my way back to the room. I sit down next to Donovan where I try not to think about it too much, while sipping on some mountain dew.

I stand up and start pacing around the room, trying not to think too hard about the screen but I can't not do it.

I lift the blind up and can see everyone is just encouraging her and speaking to her. Dacre's holding her hand but they all look pretty stressed.

I'm guessing she's really not making any progress.

I close the blind and sit down on the floor.

My watch dings. A notification. The time is seven, she's been in here for at least four hours.

I try to take deep breaths but it doesn't work very well. I start rocking myself back and forth over and over and over.

"She'll be okay, she'll be okay, she'll be okay..." I'm saying it again and again and again but I don't quite believe it.

I start pulling at my hair, biting my nails, picking my skin but none of those temporary releases are helping my anxiety.

I go through a cycle of standing up, then sitting down. Over and over again.

"Oh God." I check the blind again and she just doesn't seem any different. "What's going to happen?"

Donovan starts stirring around but I'm too consumed in trying to see what's going on in Maisie's room to notice.

"Please be okay..." I start whispering that repeatedly.

I finally hear Donovan get up but I only stop stressing when I can feel his presence above me.

He moves closer and hugs me from behind and I just stand there, waiting for him to speak or do something to annoy me but he doesn't.

"I'm worried too. Dacre first messaged me at one in the evening saying they were already at the hospital as she was in labour. She's not dilated at all. They're going to have to do something to speed up the delivery. I read a lot about it." He says and I giggle the tiniest amount.

"I know. I also know c-sections with twins are commonplace but she's already started the process of a vaginal birth. Doing a c-section can cause issues at this point. She's also going to be healing for a lot longer than she wanted to if she gets one. She really wants to spend as much time with all three of us. She wants me to bond with her babies as much as possible but I'd feel weird bonding with the babies without her." I sigh.

"Why does she want you to bond with her babies so much?" He asks and we open the blind again and see no progress, after he closes it, he rests his head on my head.

"Well she wants me to get some bonding time with twins to make up for the lack of time I had with my own. It makes sense." I go and sit down.

I start to move away from him again. I really don't want to, but I feel myself getting stressed out just being in close proximity to him.

I stand up again, but I don't know what to do with myself.

I'm starting to get increasingly stressed with myself for not knowing what to do or how to act around Donovan because like with anyone who shows they care, I just want run away.

"What do you 'bond with my own?' bond with your own siblings?" Donovan asks and I look at him, he's looking right at me.

"Yeah I guess but she probably meant the time I didn't have with my own twin?" He's shocked.

"Vincent!" He shouts and now I'm shocked.

"You don't remember me having... of course. Sorry I forgot. Vincent told me to never associate myself with him or anything like that." I take a deep breath. "So yeah, that was um... fun. Yes, it was fun."

He pats the seat next to him and I sit down. He wraps his arm around my shoulder and pulls me in.

He gets a blanket which he clearly brought with him ,and puts it over us.

"Maisie's a good cousin, isn't she?"

"She's amazing. I technically am her first child as Carter and her are my guardians. I don't know what 20 and 19 year old would do that and not leave the responsibility to their parents but they did it, for me. I'd never felt so loved before that moment." I say and yawn.

"Your parents sucked didn't they?" He makes me laugh with that.

"Yeah they did a teensy but they loved me and sure as hell were better than what I got in between them and my family." I close my eyes, resting my head against his shoulder, basically asleep.

I feel like I'm imagining it but I'm sure I feel his hand start to come off my shoulders and his hand entwined in mine. 

It feels... comforting. That's weird.