Shattered

Chapter 9

Carter

She offered me a shaky smile, "I have good news and bad news. I will start with the bad news first, that way the good news will make you smile when you want to scream." I nodded for her to continue, I was frozen to my spot at the door. "The bad news is they are going to have to remove my leg, I had a blood clot and it caused severe nerve damage. Had they been able to operate, they could have saved it, but the surgery has to wait for about five months. By that time, it will be a total loss. I am going to need help doing everyday tasks for a while. That's why Grant is here." Tears formed in her eyes, "Oh, baby. I am so sorry, why do they have to wait, why can't they operate right now?" 

She slowly removed the blanket and I saw her once flat stomach was swollen, "Because if they do, it will kill the baby." My jaw dropped, "Is that mine? You are having my baby?" She nodded and I was next to her in a flash, peppering her face with kisses. "You aren't mad?" She asked me and I pulled back, "I wanted to marry you and have a family from the first moment I kissed you. I want a house full of blonde-haired, green-eyed monsters." She chuckled, "Boy or girl?" She asked me, "I could care less as long as the both of you are healthy." She smiled, "It's a boy, I had an ultrasound done a couple days ago. They have to monitor the baby as well as the blood clot, so I am a high-risk pregnancy for now." 

I pulled her to my chest, "I love you, you don't have to say it back yet." She pulled my face to hers, kissing me deeply. "I do love you, it makes no sense to me, but I do." I laughed, "Then marry me." She slapped me, "I can't until after I have my surgery, I'm not supposed to move any more than I have to." I nodded, "OK, after the surgery. It will be motivation for you to walk again, so you can walk down the aisle at our wedding." 

The next few months were hard, she was frustrated, moody, and sad. Lee never liked to be stuck, but she didn't want to risk our son's life, so she did what she had to. I retired from the Navy and hired a nurse to be with Lee when I worked. I took her spot on the private security team, she was happy to help me get the job. The nurse I hired was in her early fifties, a retired nurse who did the occasional home healthcare job, Carla, a Navy widow that I had known since I enlisted. Her father and brothers came by regularly, Davis and his family were constant visitors, but still, she was antsy. 

Our relationship was rough, she tried to be good and I tried to be patient, but we did fight and then makeup, we could have sex, but it had to be gentle and she wasn't all about the gentle. I was on the way home after a long ass day of listening to overly entitled women bitch about their husbands when my phone rang, it was Grant. "Get to the hospital, now, Lee is in labor and they have to cut her open." I threw the phone and floored it, speeding towards the base. When I got there, I rushed to the third floor, where Grant, Jackson, The General, Carla, and Davis were all pacing like lunatics. 

"Son, I'm glad you're here, go to the nurse's station and they will get you ready to go in with her." The General patted my shoulder I took off. It took forever to change into the scrubs and get scrubbed to go into the operating room, but seeing her laying on the bed, getting prepped for surgery, shattered my heart. Her eyes met mine, "You made it!" Lee's tired smile was a ray of sunshine. I held her hand and kissed her forehead as they removed our baby boy, then the shit hit the fan. 

Machines started beeping, her hand went limp in my hand and her green eyes dulled, "I love you, Carter." She whimpered and then, she was out. The doctor's rushed me from the room and I was in the waiting room with the rest of the family. "What happened?" Grant rushed to me. "She flatlined, I don't know, they kicked me out." I slumped into a chair and buried my face in my hands. The General sat beside me, "Don't do that, son. She knew the risks, she always does, but if she doesn't make it, she would say it was worth it to give you that boy. You have to be strong for him. However, she is a damn strong soldier and a fighter, she won't give up, so don't you dare give up on her." 

A few minutes later, a nurse came out, "Would you like to meet your son?" I nodded, "How's Lee?" She frowned, "I can't say, she has flatlined three times but keeps coming back. They are taking her leg now, it is causing more problems.  Follow me, you can bring him out to see the family after you see him." I nodded and followed the nurse to the nursery. He was laying there, bundled in a yellow blanket with a matching cap on his tiny head. There were tufts of blonde curls sticking out all over. She handed him to me, "Did you have a name for him?" I nodded, Lee and I had it all ironed out in case something happened. "Matthew George Stevens" She filled out the birth certificate and I was allowed to bring him out to see the family. I handed him to the General, "Meet your grandson, Matthew George Stevens." 

There were honest to God tears in his eyes as he held the baby, my son. Matt blinked open his eyes, the same green as his mother, and locked eyes with the General. It was as if they were talking. After a few hours of passing around the baby and the nurses taking him back to feed him, the doctor came out, looking beat. "She flatlined six times, but she made it. I don't know how, but she did. We removed the leg just below the knee. She will be here for a few days, then rehab. It's going to be hard, but she is going to have to want it."