The Other Side (Book Four in the Peterick Mpreg Series)

Can't Fight against the Youth (Patrick's POV)

I swear to god, if Pete keeps blaming himself for all of this, I'm going to slap him. Hypothetically of course. I could never lay a hand on him. Ever. But he just needs to know that none of this is his fault!

I don't like blaming people in general, but this is all Jack's moms fault! If she wasn't so fucking insane, none of this would be happening! She couldn't have gone to a therapist for her issues, no. She had to beat her only son. She had to take all of it out on her son. Once again, how anyone thinks that is ever ok is beyond me completely.

Now, here Pete and I sit once again, in the lonely waiting room, waiting for the doctor to come out again. Surprisingly, there's no one else here. People walk past us down the hallways and whatnot, but no one ever come in here and sits down. Slow night, I guess. Joe and Andy took Jaimee to Brendon and Dallon's place, back with Ethan. I don't know if they'll come back. Part of me wishes they will, but part of me wishes they won't...

I feel like Pete and I need to be alone, but then again, I wish there were more people here for the support and everything like that. It's always good to have support from people you love, right?

Anyway, I'm still in Pete's arms. Somehow, we've now wound up sitting on the floor against the chairs. It's easier for him to hold me this way, and frankly, it's more comfortable than the chairs. We're left here with our thoughts. We're not talking. We're not laughing. We're not looking at each other. We're just sitting here, thinking.

Thinking about the inevitable, of course. We shouldn't, but we are. It's kind of hard not to. So many things are happening all at once, so your mind is working three hundred times faster than it should be, trying to comprehend everything that's happening. It makes you head hurt, makes you get a piercing migraine. But you can't help it... It's just... There.

I can't even imagine life without Emily. It's impossible. How would I go on? How would Pete go on? God, Jaimee and Ethan? They both are so close to her and love her so, so much. There's no way I can tell them that Emily isn't with us anymore. It's physically impossible.

"Patrick," Pete said, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah?" I asked as I picked up my head.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked.

"Things I shouldn't be," I responded. "What about you?"

"Same," he said as he lowered his head. "There's just no way I could live without her."

"S-Same," I said as a single tear fell down my cheek. "She's our first daughter. The person that made us find out what was happening with me. She's the second person I've loved just as much as I love you. I can't lose her. I can't lose her love. I can't lose all the joy she brings to my life. I just can't. I can't, Pete."

"A-And you think I can?" he asked as he began to cry. "I love her just as much as you. You, her, all of you are my everything. I can't bare the thought of no longer having her around, no longer hearing how her concerts and tours went. I can't think about us waiting in the house like three year olds, just waiting for her to walk through that door so we can see her again. It's unimaginable."

I looked up at Pete once he was done talking and he was a wreck. I couldn't help myself, so I sat up, put him literally in my lap, and hugged him tightly as he cried. It hurts me everytime I see him cry, and when he does cry, it doesn't stop. It seems to go on and on. It may stop for a couple minutes, an hour at the most, but then he's crying again. It's never ending. I feel bad because I feel like I could do more to help, but I know I'm helping all I can and that Pete appreciates it.

"Pete and Patrick?" a doctor asked as he walked into the waiting room minutes later.

"Here," I said as I raised my hand.

He walked over, giving us a weird look because Pete and I were still on the floor, then continued to sit down in a chair close to us.

"Is she ok?" I asked.

"We were able to get the seizure under control," he said. "But we discovered that Emily has some swelling in her brain. Did she fall at all when everything was going on back at the house?"

"Um, I don't think so. She was sitting on the floor the whole time, then when she blacked out, she was laying against the bed. I don't think she ever fell," Pete said.

"Oh, well she has swelling around her brain, like I said. We came to the conclusion that she has Encephalitis," the doctor explained.

"What is that?" I asked.

"Encephalitis is inflammation of the brain that is usually the result of a viral infection," he said.

"Then what caused the seizure?" I asked.

"Well, there are many symptoms of this, most not being too bad, but Emily had severe symptoms. Sometimes severe symptoms develop, such as seizures, tremors, personality changes, and even slipping into a coma. In general, symptoms that develop suddenly and are serious from the start, usually mean a more severe, life-threatening form of encephalitis," he said.

"L-Life-threatening?" Pete asked as he swallowed a lump in his throat. "She's not going to die, is she?"

"Most likely not. We are giving her medicine to help treat it. She should be alright, but there's a possibility that she could have more seizures. The medicine should help with that, but there's always a chance," the doctor said.

"C-Can we go see her?" Pete asked.

"Sure, she's resting now, probably will be a little out of it, but feel free to go and visit her," he said as he smiled.

"Thanks," Pete said as he got off of me and stood up, helping me up afterwards.

"Could you please let us know if and when you find anything out about Jack Barakat as well?" I asked.

"Sure thing," the doctor said as he smiled.

We shook the doctor's hand, then made our way back down the halls and to Emily's room. I really hope all of this blows over fast...