Living Or Dying

Chapter Twelve

A/N 100 reads!

The hospital was nearly empty. There was an old man in the corner, a young mother with a baby, and a man. All three looked at Byern and Sherry.

"Sherry, I do believe we are being stared at." Byern muttered in her ear.

His warm breath tickled her ear. She found it very hard not to laugh. Holding it in she turned back to Byern. "It doesn't matter. I'm going to call my mom now, okay?"

Byern nodded. He glanced worriedly across the room. He caught the mother's look. He held her gaze awkwardly. He waved,and she waved back

Sherry pulled out her phone. She spoke in rapid French over the phone. Byern was still looking at the lady.

She picked up her baby and walked across the room. She sat next to Byern and smiled.

"Hey, do you remember me, Byern?" She looked like a lady, but her voice sold her as a younger girl.

"It's Clarissa. You helped me at the care center."

He nodded, unable to retrieve a memory of her. Clarissa nodded to Sherry. "Is this a girl you're helping?"

Byern shook his head, then nodded. "Well, she started as a client but now she's my friend."

"Oh. Has she popped yet? Or did she abort?"

Byern shook his head. "No. She's only a couple of weeks along. She still hasn't made a decision."

"Oh" Clarissa sighed. "But still, thank you for convincing me to parent. I would have missed out on so much!"

Byern smiled, and nodded to the baby. "What's the name?"

"He's Jackson. Named for the father."

Byern's eyebrow went up. "Oh? Are you still together?"

Clarissa shook her head sadly. "He actually died right before Jackson was born. He was in a car accident."

"I'm sorry for your loss."

Clarissa smiled. Standing up as her name was called, she said "It's okay. I'm going to grief counseling. It really helps."

Byern waved goodbye just as Sherry hung up. She had completely missed the entire conversation.

"So, mom said I can give the hospital her number for legal guardian."

"That's great!" Byern shouted. He got menacing looks from the two men. Whispering, he leaned in closer "We can double check it in your info sheet."

Sherry nodded. A nurse called her name. Byern stood and grabbed Sherry. He carried her to the door. The nurse saw them and smiled. Sherry recognised her blue hair. Sherry smiled at Cassandra.

"Hey," Sherry waved.

"Hey!" Byern grinned. "I didn't know you had a day off the center today!"

"Well, I gotta get work that pays somewhere. Anyway, come on to the back room. Is this yet another pregnancy test?"

Byern shook his head. He nodded to Sherry's ankle. Cassandra saw it and nodded.

"Could we also check my baby? When I fell, I fell on my stomach."

"Of course dearie."

The back room had a couple of hospital beds. The walls were a painted brown with white animals plastered everywhere. There were cupboards with supplies like gauze and medicines in the cupboards.

Byern laid Sherry down on the bed. She smiled softly at him. He felt the redness creeping up his face. He quickly turned to talk to Cassandra.

"Hey, could we get a look at Sherry's records? There is something we want to check."

Cassandra raised an eyebrow. "You didn't have to break her ankle and risk her baby just for that. The care center has the same information, if not more. You should know that, Byern." Cassandra scolded.

"Hey!" Byern defended himself. "We were on our way there when Sherry tripped!"

Cassandra nodded and pulled up the files on the computer. She waved for Byern to come look. He stood over her shoulder as she pointed out various things. Byern's grin kept getting bigger and bigger. Sherry sat nervously on the bed. The butterflies in her stomach wouldn't settle down. But when she looked at Byern's grin she forced herself to be positive. When he and Cassandra walked back from the computer his from was a mile wide.

"Good news! Garth isn't your legal guardian!"

A huge weight lifted off Sherry's heart. She sat still, taking deep breaths. A smile crept onto her face, almost as wide as Byern's. She let her breath out slowly, trying not to get too excited.

"So, my mother really is my mother?"

This time it was Cassandra who smiled. She handed a piece of paper to Sherry. It was her legal information. It said it plain and simple.

Legal Guardian: Pierrette Raye

Sherry smiled to herself and clutched the paper to her chest. She rubbed her nose, trying to stop the tears.

"I'm so happy. I don't have to live with him anymore!"

Byern held out his hand. The biggest grin was on his face. Sherry always thought his face would explode if he smiled any larger, but he always surprised her.

"Now, shall we go get an X-ray and check your pregnancy?"

Byern picked Sherry up. Cassandra motioned to a wheel chair. Byern whined as Cassandra made him put Sherry down. However, he refused to let anyone else push the wheelchair. Cassandra gave in and let him. Through the labyrinth Cassandra guided them.

"Here we go. Byern, I'm gonna have to ask you to stand behind that glass panel there if you want to stay with Sherry." Cassandra opened the door to the room.

Sherry hopped put of the chair. She kept her foot high off the ground. Pulling herself up on the table, she laid down on the table. Cassandra set up the x-ray, taking special care to protect Sherry's stomach. Then she left the room

The machine hummed to life. It whirred, then snapped a picture. Cassandra came in, reset Sherry's ankle, then left. The machine hummed, whirred and snapped a picture. Then Cassandra came in a again. The routine was repeated a few more times. The last time Cassandra came in, she removed Sherry's lead apron.

"All done! Now, we'll go get a doctor to set that bone and fix it." She helped Sherry hop off the table and back into the wheel chair. Byern stepped out from behind the glass. Cassandra noticed. "Do you want to push her? Byern."

He smiled, all giddy, and grabbed the wheelchair. Following Cassandra, they left the room.