A Bad Boy's Gift

Chapter 39

"Okay River, you still in the room?" I hear Mr Hamilton ask, I say something but it makes no sense at all, at least it doesn't to me. "Great, I'm going to get Dr West to give you the nerve block now, you may feel her touching you, but it shouldn't be too painful."

I hear people talking in the background, feel a tingle in my shoulder and then after a while I try to move my fingers, but I can't feel them. Well I suppose that's a good thing.

I hear someone say "Stop" and then they're asking a bunch of questions, different people answering them and then they say, "You're good to go, Mr Hamilton."

"Okay River, we are going to start, can you feel this?"

"Feel what? You aren't doing anything." I manage to get out in a haze, or at least I think I said the words.

"Fantastic River, if you think you can feel anything, just let Dr West know and we can give you some more anaesthetic." I mumble something in return, "Fab, you rest now, think about your baby, and you can tell me what you're going to name them when I'm finished."

I hear someone say "Skin" and the rest is a blur.

---

"River?" A quiet voice comes through the haze, "time to wake up now, love. Surgery is all finished, it went well. River?" Someone is pushing really hard on my collarbone.

My eyes fly open and I take a deep breath.

"Hello, River, I'm Suzie, you're in the recovery room. How do you feel?" A small Filipino girl is standing next to me, a small smile on her face.

"Can I have some water please?" I choke out, my throat feeling like razor blades.

Suzie crosses the room for a cup of water and returns, helping me take a sip.

"Thank you." I smile at her. I rest my left hand on my belly and gasp. "Am I still pregnant?"

Suzie looks at me from where she was writing in my notes. "Yes, dear, we checked while you were asleep, like you asked before we started. No bleeding." She smiles at me and I feel my heart slow down. The alarm on the monitor stops shouting.

"What time is it?" I ask, my eyes still a little fuzzy; I can't see the bottom of the bed, let alone be able to find the damn clock.

"Just after eleven, love." I lie back down and close my eyes. I feel like I've been hit by a bus, I need some sleep.

My eyes open again when the ward nurse, who wasn't on shift when I came up to theatre, is standing at my bedside, taking a hand over from Suzie.

"River, my name is Helen, I'm the nurse looking after you tonight, shall we get you back to the ward for a sandwich and a cuppa before bed? I'll leave the monitoring on you so I don't have to wake you to attach everything to do your obs through the night, is that okay?" She smiles at me and I agree. "Wonderful. Let's get going then shall we, Suzie, do you have the transport bag?"

A big green bag is placed at the bottom of the bed, with my notes tucked underneath. Suzie disconnects all the monitoring from the machine and unplugs the bed. We start moving and I feel like I'm in a movie, looking up at the ceiling; the lights flying overhead, it makes me feel dizzy, so I close my eyes.

I'm being rolled into my bed space, the ward is in almost darkness, just some dim lighting above the nurses station, so I allow my eyes to open, feeling less dizzy.

"Right then, River, look after yourself, and your little jellybean." Suzie smiles and gives my hand a little squeeze. My heard flutters and I instinctively look at my belly. No physical signs that there's a little human starting to form inside me, I look back to Suzie and smile, thanking her before she departs.