Stitches of Life

From a Whisper to a Scream

Chapter Thirty-Two: From a Whisper to a Scream

"I don't get it, you don't have to be there for another hour." Lucas watched me from the bed as I ran a brush through my hair before pulling it up into a ponytail to keep it out of my face. "Why are you leaving now?"

"I'm leaving because George's dad is in the hospital, awaiting to have heart surgery later today." I reminded him. "I want to go and visit him before my shift starts, let him know that I'm thinking about him, give him some support before he goes in."

"You're worried about him." He sighed, pushing himself up out of the bed. I watched him through the mirror as he made his way over to me, slipping his arms around my waist and resting his chin on my shoulder, giving me a soft kiss on the neck. "You shouldn't worry. Didn't you say that he has the best heart surgeon on his case?"

"He does." I nodded. "But there are still so many risks with surgery, especially when he has cancer in his esophagus and stomach. I just- I just don't want to see George get hurt. I don't want him to lose his father."

"Like you lost yours." He guessed.

"I didn't lose mine, he walked out on my mother and I." I corrected him, my body tensing at the mere mention of my father.

"You still lost him, Beth." He shook his head. I stayed quiet as I removed myself from his grasp, walking over to sit at the end of my bed to pull my boots on. "Have you ever thought about looking him up? Trying to find him now?"

"Finding that man is the last thing I want to do." I shot the idea down instantly. "He left my mother, my six month pregnant mother. Why the hell would I want anything to do with a man like that?"

"Because I know you." He said. "I know that you don't like leaving things left unknown, not when you can know what's going on and try to fix it. You're a fixer, Bethany. It's one of the things I love about you."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Mr. O'Malley." I smiled at George's dad as I walked into his hospital room, finding him watching tv, none of his sons in sight for once, likely at home, getting some rest before returning to see him before the surgery. 

"Please, call me Harold." He smiled right back at me, the same cheerful look on his face that I had seen when he and his sons came to pick up George on Thanksgiving. Though, when I looked at him now I could see some fear in his friendly eyes. "You're Beth, right? Georgie's friend?"

"That's right." I nodded as I walked over to his bedside. "I just thought I'd swing by before my shift started, see how you're doing."

"You're just as nice as George says you are." He told me. "He's told me about all of you, you know. He says that you're like the mother hen of the group, always watching out for the others. Comes naturally to you, doesn't it? With you being a mom?"

"I guess it does." I chuckled. 

"How is the little one?" He asked. "What was his name? Joey?"

"Joel." I corrected him. "He's doing great, he's at home sleeping right now, getting as much sleep as he can before school today. I have to admit, I'm a little jealous of him."

"Yeah, I'm sure the others around here would agree with you on that." He laughed. "So, you got anything to say about my doctors? The ones that are gonna be doing my surgery?"

"Dr. Burke is the best guy around. He's the only one I'd want operating on my heart." I assured him.

"And Dr. Yang?" He raised a grayed brow at me.