Faith Family Football

Chapter Twelve

"One double double and a jalapeño bagel toasted, light on the cream cheese." John handed me a coffee cup followed by a small paper bag as he recited the exact order I had given him just a short while ago, "And I got some munchkins here for my munchkins."

He held up a neatly packaged Dunkin Donuts box and the kids sprang to their feet nearly tackling their grandfather to the ground. Can't say I blame them, there's not much I wouldn't do for a bite of confectionary heaven myself.

"Noah. Avery. What do you say guys?"

"Thank you grandpa." Noah managed to talk between bites, chocolate evident on the corners of his mouth.

"Me too!" Avery gripped a donut hole in each hand, bouncing up and down proclaiming her thanks in her own way. It had been all of five minutes and she was already a sticky mess.

"Thank you." I smiled in John's general direction as I watched him hand his wife her order, he was so patient and kind and it was a constant reminder of how JJ came to inherit those same great traits.

"Any news?" He took a seat beside Connie glancing at his watch to check the time, "The procedure was supposed to fairly quick, right?"

I nodded my head allowing myself time to swallow my mouth full of bagel, "Someone should be checking with us any moment now."

"How long do they plan on keeping him?"

"From the sounds of it they just keep him over night and in some cases they will release him the same day." I shrugged not entirely sure of what happens next, "The surgery is minor, I guess it's the recovery that's tough. That's the part I'm worried about."

"He's lucky to have you." Connie's lips curled up into a small smile, "You handle his Watt stubbornness with ease. He'll get through this recovery in no time."

"He certainly seems to agree with an easy recovery." I brushed the crumbs my bagel left behind off my lap and set the small bag aside, "He keeps telling the kids our annual Disney vacation is still a go. He won't allow me to cancel or postpone it. It's in four weeks. He's not even out of surgery, I can't even imagine him being ready for that."

John's body shook with full belly laughter, Connie and I both looking at him with curious smiles on our faces. I wasn't so sure what had him so entertained and judging by the surprise on her face, neither did Connie.

"What is so funny?" She questioned hoping to find out what we had missed in our simple conversation that would've caused him to break into laughter.

"This kid is a new level of stubborn." John shook his head as his laughter ceased, "I don't know what the hell is going on in that head of his but he's not going to let anything keep him down."

"He just doesn't want to disappoint the kids. You guys created this off season tradition and he's not going to let football take that away."

I nodded, I understood completely where my husband was coming from but I couldn't help but to worry about his health. John is right, his stubbornness was reaching a new level. Maybe he was trying to prove something to himself, that he could still balance football and family the older he got and the more prone to injury he had become. He wasn't going to quit until he had a Super Bowl ring, until he helped take his team all the way to the top and he made that clear to not only me, but the entire Texans fan base and organization. I want that for him, I really do but I didn't want him to neglect himself and his health in the process.

Connie placed a gentle hand on my knee and I looked up to see Dr. Humadi standing in front of us. My heartbeat increased and I grew anxious, not that I had a reason to be but hospitals and surgeries and doctors in surgical scrubs made me queasy.

"First of all... Everything is fine." A smile spread across the young doctors face, he could sense the obvious worry filled tension that fell over the waiting room, "Surgery went great, he's awake. A little groggy but he said he's up for visitors. He's been asking for his wife from the time he opened his eyes."

"Thank you doctor." Connie spoke for us all, I had lost my ability to speak for a moment as my heart fluttered at the thought of being the first thing on my husband's mind when he came to after surgery, "Why don't you go see him? We'll wait here with the kids for a moment and meet you in there."

I rose to my feet and gave my in laws a grateful smile, I appreciated them more than they knew and I never understood why or how so many married couples could dread theirs. It never really made any sense to me. JJ and I would be lost without the support our parents provided to our family and we had a great respect for them.

I walked down the incredibly white hallway en route to his room. The beeping of machines and the smell of that God awful hospital food permeated the air as nurses hustled about. It's no wonder hospitals make people so anxious, there's always something going on and everyone is always in a hurry to be somewhere. I would be happy when we could leave this place.

I pushed open the door to JJ's room and was immediately met by the sight of him lying helplessly in a hospital bed that almost seemed too small for his large body. A petite red haired nurse was at his bedside checking his vitals I presumed, it seemed to be a hospital standard. My stomach was in knots to see him this way, granted he was only experiencing a minor situation, but it suddenly didn't seem like he could possibly be this tough 6'5 football giant.

"There she is." He spotted me almost immediately, my attempts of entering the room without disturbing the nurse from her task failing.

"Hey babe." I closed the gap between us, the nurses smile letting me know I was welcomed. I leaned over the bed to kiss his forehead, "How you feelin?"

"I'm not feelin much of anything right now." His voice was groggy and it sounded as if talking was even a struggle for him. The affects of the anesthetics still very present, "You look beautiful."

"Those must be some good drugs they have you on." I raised an eyebrow at him quizzically, I looked anything but beautiful today as I stood there in my skinny jeans, a chunky sweater and my duck boots. When you become a mom and a wife, getting yourself ready and presentable is your last priority.

"No you're beautiful... Isn't she beautiful?" JJ looked at his nurse for validation, causing her to giggle and her cheeks flushed almost as quickly as mine did.

"Yes, she's very pretty." The young girl smiled at me briefly and returned her focus to her famous football patient in order to wrap up her duties.

"Daddy! Daddy!" The kids voices echoed in unison through the large rather empty room as they made their way straight for his bed.

"Careful, careful!" I held my arm out in order to slow the ambush that was headed straight for him, "Daddy just had surgery guys, you have to be gentle."

"There's my monsters." JJ held his arms out giving both Avery and Noah a chance to hug him and both kids happily obliged. All they had been doing in the waiting room was coloring him pictures and making him cards, keeping themselves occupied as long as they could.

I took Piper from Connie giving him a chance to see her and interact with her. Granted she didn't have a clue as to what's going on, but she always loved to see him. Sometimes he got the hardest laughs out of her just by being him. Seeing him in daddy mode never got old and despite the long road to recovery, I was happy we were all going to be together as a family unit.