His Forever Flame

55. Realizations

Lauren slowly woke to the sound of an oxygen machine and a steady heartbeat. She could feel an IV line in her arm. She groaned a little which alerted Nat to the fact she was awake.

"Hey sweetie, you're ok. Just take it easy," she smiled rubbing Lauren's arm.

"Nat?"

"Yea, I'm here," Natalie smiled.

"The twins?" she asked clearing her throat which was so dry.

"They're ok. Kelly and Shay have them," she said getting Lauren some water.

Lauren took some small sips. "What happened?"

"Tell me what you last remember," Nat said instead.

"I came up and knocked.... I was a.... A hot mess," Lauren said her eyes focusing on the ceiling in embarrassment. "When I came in, I sat the twins' carriers in the floor. I turned back to talk to yall and that's it...." She said finally meeting Natalie's gaze.

"Yep. Your memory is clear. You passed out and Will just barely caught you before you hit the floor."

Lauren nodded and looked away again. "Where... where is Will?" she asked noticing he wasn't in there with them.

"He'll be back. Just had to run somewhere," Nat smiled.

Lauren just nodded.

"So... wanna tell me what happened? Why you were so upset before you passed out?" Nat asked gently.

Lauren stared off at the wall. "I.... I was so exhausted," she whispered as a tear leaked out.

"Yea I know.... That's why you passed out. Have you been sleeping? Eating ok?"

Lauren shook her head no as a few more tears fell.

"Why not honey? What's going on?" Natalie asked. She and Will had kinda pieced together while waiting on test results that something had happened and Jay wasn't around, but she needed to know the whole story so she could relay it to Will.

"Jay.... Left," she whispered as more tears fell. "Mouse.... Mouse called at the beginning of the week. Jay wouldn't tell me what was said but that night.... He had a dream, a ptsd attack I guess. He hit me in his sleep, and he snapped out of it when I fell to the floor with him over me. He.... He...." She took a deep breath. "He jumped up and started throwing clothes in a bag. I begged him not to go but he wouldn't listen. He's been gone all week."

"Why didn't you come to us sooner honey? Or Kelly and Shay?"

"I thought he'd come back. I call every day and he won't answer. I leave voice-mails and text and he doesn't respond," she cried softly. "The twins miss him. They cry every night looking for him but he's not there. By... by the time I get them to sleep, I can't sleep. I call and call until I end up getting maybe an hour or two of sleep."

Natalie rubbed her arm softly. "It'll be ok. He'll come back," she said gently.

Lauren wasn't sure. It'd been a week and he still wasn't home. "The twins? They're ok?"

"Yea sweetie they are. Kelly and Shay have them."

Lauren nodded. She finally met Natalie's gaze again. "So why did I pass out?"

"Your body's exhausted. Without enough sleep or food it starts shutting down and finding ways to get what it needs. There's also one other thing," Nat said gently.

"What's that?" Lauren asked a hint of fear in her voice.

"We did blood work when you came in. You're.... You're pregnant sis."