Give Into Me

Chapter Seventeen

"Ashton. Where's Ashton?" Harley asked, thrashing in her bed. "I need Ashton!"

"Luke's getting him, you need to calm down." Tyler said, helping the nurses hold her down. "Just quit moving, Harley!"

"I need Ashton!" Harley yelled, gripping Tyler's shirt. Ashton bolted down the hallway after Luke, nearly tripping as he opened the door to her room. 

"Harley!" Ashton choked out, running to the side of her bed. Harley looked up at him, her eyes wide and pupils dilated. 

"Where's the baby? Ashton, what happened to our baby?!" Harley screamed, letting go of Tyler and grabbing Ashton's bicep. 

"She's being taken care of, don't worry about her." Ashton reasoned, cupping Harley's cheeks. 

"It's all my fault. I never should have gotten on that 4-Wheeler. I hurt our baby." Harley sobbed, burying her face in Ashton's neck. 

"Hey, shh. It's okay." Ashton wrapped his arms around her and held her body close to his. "She's gonna be okay." Tears filled Ashton's eyes as he tried to calm Harley down. Hannah walked into the room with Dr. Brighton.

"How're you feeling, Harley?" Dr. Brighton asked, pulling out her chart.

"I just want to go home with my baby." Harley sniffed, using Ashton's shirt to dry her eyes. 

"Well, I'm afraid neither you nor the baby will be going home anytime soon." Dr. Brighton sighed. 

"Why not?" Ashton's head snapped over to face him. "What's wrong with them?"

"Before we get into that, we need to know what happened in the accident." Dr. Brighton explained. "Harley, can you tell me what happened?"

"I-i.. I let the calves into the pasture out on Rogers' land to be with their mothers." Harley started, her voice shaking. "Michael's calf got lost in the pasture when we brought the cows home, and Luke and I needed to find him before Michael got home." Her breathing became ragged as she recalled the events. "I got the 4-Wheeler so I could cover more ground faster. I thought I put the wire down, but apparently I didn't.." 

"Take a deep breath, Harley. It's okay." Ashton rubbed her back. She breathed deeply, trying to collect herself before starting again.

"I drove into the wire and it was still hot. The zap was so strong, I fell off the 4-Wheeler but it kept moving. My foot was stuck in the brake, so I got dragged behind it. The pasture was so rocky and bumpy that the 4-wheeler ended up hitting one of the silos. That's the last I remember." 

"Harley, the silo collapsed on top of you.." Luke whispered softly. "It took me and the whole Miller family to get you out from underneath it. All 14 of us spent nearly an hour trying to get you out. We thought you were dead." 

"It's a miracle you survived." Dr. Brighton added. "That both of you survived."

"Now, why can't she go home?" Ashton asked, holding Harley close to him. 

"Harley's injuries need to be watched. She's got 4 broken ribs, broken fibula, and a punctured lung." Dr. Brighton explained. 

"When can she go home then?" Tyler piped in. 

"Probably not for another 3 months, honestly. Her bones are not only broken, they're completely shattered." Harley looked down at the cast on her leg. 

"You mean, I'll be in this thing for 3 months?" Harley looked up at Dr. Brighton.

"Yes. And, since we can't put a cast on your ribs, you'll be in this bed 24/7 for the next 3 months." Harley looked up at Ashton. 

"I can't stay here for 3 months."

"It's gonna be okay, don't worry." Ashton shook his head and kissed her nose. 

"What about the baby?" Michael asked, speaking up for the first time.

"The baby will most likely be here for 4-6 months. The trauma she suffered coming into this world, we need to keep a close eye on her for as long as possible." Ashton sighed and leaned his head against Harley's. 

"She's so tiny.. she's barely bigger than my hand." Ashton whispered to Harley. 

"I want to see her." Harley looked at Dr. Brighton. "I want to be able to see my baby before she dies." 

"Harley." Ashton snapped, looking at her. "She's not going to die."

"Ashton, be realistic! We could lose our daughter!" Harley yelled at him, her eyes going wide in anger. 

"We are not losing our daughter! You need to have some fucking faith in these doctors! I spent the last 48 hours with her, she's not giving up and neither should you!" Ashton yelled back.

"Will you two quit yelling?" Luke pulled Ashton away from Harley and sat him down on the side of the room. Ashton crossed his arms and looked at the floor. 

"You two can finally choose a name for her now." Hannah smiled softly. Harley looked over at Ashton.

"You didn't name her yet?"

"No, I didn't want to name her without you.." Ashton mumbled, looking back at Harley. 

"You didn't even know if I was gonna make it." 

"Wishful thinking, I guess." A small smile tugged at Ashton's lips. 

"Alright, we'll give you two some alone time then." Tyler said, ushering everyone out of the room. Dr. Brighton placed Harley's chart back in the holder on her bed. 

"Use your call button if you need anything." He explained, smiling softly at them. 

"Thanks, Doc." Harley smiled. He left the room, closing the door behind him. "What's she like?" Harley asked, looking at Ashton.

"She's absolutely perfect." Ashton smiled. "She may be tiny, but she's got a very strong grip." He chuckled. "She makes the softest noises, and my heart melts every time she does." 

"I wish they'd let me see her." Harley sighed. 

"You'll see her when you're better. Your bones need to heal before you can do any moving." Ashton held her hand gently. "I have pictures of her, though."

"Show me!" Harley screamed, gripping his hand harder. 

"Harley, you are yelling." Ashton said sternly, pulling his hand away. She pouted and watched him pull out his phone. He opened the photos app and showed Harley the hundreds of pictures he had taken of the baby.

"Oh, my God, she's fucking adorable." Harley grabbed his phone and scrolled through the pictures. They were all relatively the same, but she didn't care. "She's so small, Ash. Look at her, she's fucking tiny." 

"I've seen her, babe. I know." Ashton laughed and took his phone back.

"Look at how blue her eyes are." Harley squealed. 

"Yeah, the doctors say they'll change slightly as she gets bigger. Like the next few months." Ashton smiled. 

"I want to name her Sydney." Harley looked up at Ashton. 

"Sydney?" Ashton looked down at her. 

"Yes, I want to name her Sydney Marie Irwin." Harley smiled softly.

"Then we'll name her Sydney Marie Irwin." Ashton grinned, cupping Harley's cheeks. "I love you so much." 

"I love you." Harley giggled and kissed him gently.