You Sang To Me - I'm Not Broken Hearted Trilogy, Book 3

Chapter 10 - Allie

A/N: Just to reiterate what I said in my update of the other book, I am so so so so so so so sorry for how long this took!! I'm sorry it's so short, but there will only be one more chapter to this book, and I will be updating again very soon! After that, I have another Patrick fic already started and ready to show you guys! I'm super excited about it, and I hope you're all gonna love it! And I hope you love this, even if it is a super short, super later chapter, lol. Enjoy!

It was nearly three hours after our arrival at the hospital before we heard any news of or daughter. Patrick had long since fallen into a nervous silence, sitting beside me with his legs bouncing incessantly up and down. He was clutching my hand so tightly that it almost hurt, but it seemed we were both numb to the pain and numb to the world around us. Joe had brought us both coffee, and he and Andy were talking casually, if not with a nervous shake to their voices. Marie, Meagan, and Sara did the same, but Pete sat on the other side of Patrick and stared blankly at the wall opposite. Declan and Ruby sat beside me. They had gone for a walk a few minutes ago, but came back quickly when Declan couldn't stand to miss it if a doctor came in with news of his sister. Now, he mimicked his father's position, and Ruby whispered words of encouragement into his ear.

When a nurse did finally walk into the waiting room, Patrick and I were the first on our feet, as if we were ready to bolt down the hallways to our daughter. The nurse stopped abruptly in the doorway and I realized we must have startled her. Once we were on our feet, however, we were rooted to the spot. Patrick's hand began to shake in mine, and I wrapped my free hand nervously around his arm. It was Pete who actually managed to approach the nurse, but she brushed him aside, looking at Patrick and I. "Excuse me," she stated, "You are the parents of Rose Stump?"

I nodded solemnly, and Patrick stood stock still, squeezing my hand.

The nurse looked around at the room full of people, her eyes landing finally on Declan, who still sat beside Ruby with tears in his eyes. "May I speak to you alone, Mr. and Mrs. Stump?"

"Of course," Patrick finally spoke, gently tugging my hand to lead me into the hallway. For a moment, I wondered f they would tell us bad news about our child after taking us away from our friends and family. Then, I wondered if they would do that just so that Declan could hear it from us instead of a nurse. Once we were in the hallway, Patrick let go of my hand and pulled me against his hip by my waist. He kept one hand firmly at my back as we both looked anxiously at the nurse.

She held a clipboard in her hands and glanced at it briefly before looking at us both with an empty, practiced smile. "Your daughter is in recovery," she started, and immediately, Patrick broke down. He pressed his hand over his eyes, shaking as he sobbed in relief. I leaned into him and did the same, looking at the nurse as she tried to go on. "She lost a lot of blood, so she will need to stay overnight so we can watch her and be sure that her body accepts the new blood. It might be a while before she wakes up, but family will be able to see her in about twenty minutes."

"Thank you," I breathed, desperately wiping the tears from my eyes. She smiled again and nodded to us, before turning and leaving us alone. Patrick pulled me fully into his arms and kissed the top of my head, rocking us back and forth as we both cried. When we finally began to pull ourselves together, Patrick grabbed my face between his hands and tilted my head up to kiss me. He grinned at the look of surprise on my face, then shook his head.

"I'm going to be a better father to her," he stated, making me furrow my brow slightly. "I'll listen to her more, and I'll make sure she's happy. And I won't wait up for her when she goes on dates, and I'll trust her to make her own decisions, and I'll let her play her music in the car, and –"

"Patrick!" I giggled, "Relax. We'll figure it out together, okay? One step at a time."

"Yeah," he breathed, kissing me briefly again, "One step at a time."

***

Twenty minutes later, Patrick and I were led by a nurse to our daughter's recovery room. I walked in first, nearly breaking down into tears again at the sight of her. Rose was asleep, her head propped up on fluffy white pillows, and a pale blue sheet pulled up to her chest. Her arms lay on top of the sheet, with an I.V. protruding from the crease of her left elbow, and white bandages covering her forearms. Beneath, the bandages were packed with gauze, but what concerned me most was the unexpected bandage around her forehead. I immediately looked at the nurse in concern, while Patrick rested one hand on the small of my back and looked at her the same way.

"When she passed out she must have hit her head pretty hard," the nurse explained, "There was a small cut on the back of her head, which might have been covered by her hair, so you didn't see it at first. Head wounds tend to bleed more than others, so it needed to be taken care of right away, to avoid any more blood loss."

"Thank you," I breathed, looking back at Rose again. The nurse stood aside then, telling us to let her know if we had any questions, and then she left. Patrick nudged my back gently, silently propelling me towards our daughter. I didn't need to be told twice, and I quickly moved to her side, sitting in the chair beside the bed. "Oh, sweetheart," I whispered, reaching up to gently run my hand over her hair. Patrick pulled up a chair across from me, leaning over the bed and taking Rose's hand in his.

He pulled her hand up to his lips and kissed her knuckles, and I could see that he was shaking as he did so. "Hey, baby girl," he whispered, "I'm so sorry."

"Trick," I whispered, giving him a look to tell him that he need not apologize. He only nodded and held Rose's hand against his face, sighing heavily. We watched over her in her sleep for what seemed like an eternity. We were only there alone for about half an hour, however, before Patrick sat up suddenly, looking past me at the doorway. I turned to follow his gaze, and saw Declan, alone, looking at his sister with a frown.

Patrick stood up slowly, gesturing to Rose with one hand. "Come here, Dec," he mumbled, moving to stand behind the chair. He walked into the room hesitantly, his eyes never leaving Rose's form, and slowly sank into Patrick's chair. After gently clapping a hand on his son's shoulder, Patrick came to stand beside me, sitting on the edge of the bed and holding my hand. Declan nervously ran his fingers over the bandages on Rose's arm, then drew back quickly, as if it had hurt him. "Hey," Patrick said, purposefully waiting for Declan to look up at him. "She's okay. She'll be fine."

Declan nodded, looking at Rose as though he were still unsure, and Patrick squeezed my hand. The four of us sat in an odd sort of silent for a while, each of us looking over Rose. I looked around at my family, wondering what I had done to deserve each of them, and thanking God that I still had my daughter.