More than Life Itself (an Ed Sheeran Imagine)

The End

The next day, Ed was standing holding his baby, facing the window. He glanced down at the sleeping child in his arms. Ed already felt such a deep connection with his baby. He felt as though his whole life had been leading up to this very moment...the moment where he got to hold his child peacefully, looking out the hospital window at the castle on the hill in the distance. It was early in the morning. The three of them could be at home right now, but Liza insisted she stayed at the hospital. She didn't care to explain her reasoning.
"Mr. Sheeran?" A brunette nurse stood behind Ed.
He turned around to face her, waiting for her to continue.
"Have you figured out a name yet?" She said, tapping her clipboard lightly with a pen.
Ed was hesitant to name his daughter after his wife, so he had waved the nurses off the day before every time they asked for a name. Even though he knew deep down that Liza wouldn't make it, he still held on to his last shred of hope. Finally he exhaled, letting go.
"Elizabeth." Ed said. "Elizabeth Marie."
The nurse smiled shyly, "I think that's a wonderful name Mr. Sheeran."
Ed faked a smile. He couldn't find happiness inside himself today. His whole world has dimmed as fast as it had brightened when his baby was born.
Ed cradled his baby softly and walked quietly over to Liza. He stared in shock at Liza's sleeping body. It was as though the shadow of death had passed over her in the few hours of the night. Her skin was yellowing, her undereyes were dark and bruised looking, she was sickly thin even though she had been eating regularly. Ed watched her chest rise and fall in shaky breaths as he sat by her feet, putting down his baby in the crib the hospital had provided for them.
"Ed?" Liza's voice was a harsh, raspy whisper.
"Yeah?" Ed could barely manage to get out one word without sounding like he was about to cry.
"Ed...I wanna go home."
"You.." Ed was about to protest, but realized why Liza wanted to go home.
She wanted to be comfortable when she....
"Okay." Ed whispered, rubbing Liza's leg gently above the covers.
A tear slid down his face.
Liza was wheeled out of the hospital as Ed brought out the baby in a carrier. Two nurses helped Liza into the back seat of the car...she was too weak to walk, while Ed strapped his baby into a car seat next to her. He closed the door and hopped into the drivers seat. Before he sped off, he risked a glance at his wife. Her eyes were closed. Ed couldn't help but relate her sickly body to a walking corpse. He wiped his face with the back of his hand before he sped off.

Ed pulled the key out of the ignition and walked around to the back of the car to unbuckle his baby. He gently carried her inside and put her down in her new playpen.
"Welcome home baby girl." Ed whispered.
The front door was still open, so Ed had a clear view of the driveway. Liza's door was open. Ed walked outside and peered around the car. He gasped,
"Liza oh my God!" She had fallen to the cement, and Ed ran to her. It looked as if she had crumpled to the ground the second she tried to stand. Ed didn't know a person could possibly be that weak. Liza waved him off, "I'm fine Ed." She croaked.
She began to stand, but immediately fell back to the ground.
Ed scooped her up in both arms, bridal style as he tried to make a joke, "Love, I know you're a strong independent woman who don't need no man," He smiled at himself as he did a valley girl American accent. "But, you need my help on this one."
His smile dimmed as he looked down at Liza. A tear was trickling slowly down her face. Ed walked in the front door and up the stairs. He put Liza down on the bed and tucked her in.
"Love..." he began, tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear.
The baby was still asleep downstairs.
Suddenly, Liza began to erupt in a violent coughing fit.
"Liza?!" Ed shouted.
Liza held up her hand and grabbed at him. Her hand latched on to Ed's shirt as she pulled him close to her. Liza's body shook with every m cough until finally she put her hand over her mouth. She could tell she was about to vomit. Liza flailed her body over the side of the bed so that her torso was inches away from the floor and her legs were on the bed and vomited. She wiped her mouth and looked down at her hand. What was before her was a rusty red color, and sticky in consistency. Blood. Liza looked at the floor. Blood. She had thrown up a pool of blood. She sat up so that she was laying in the bed again.
"Liza?" Ed was barely audible as he was trying not to cry.
"Ed..."
Ed cut her off, "I'm gonna call an ambulance and have you back at the hospital."
Liza gasped and lurched over to her side, grasping her head in her hands tightly. Her vision became cloudy as her head pounded. The liquid was leaking behind her eyes. The blood.
Ed squeezed Liza's hand.
"Ed..." Liza coughed lightly, splotching more red liquid onto the floor.
"Ed don't." She whispered.
"But Liza you're-!" Liza knew what he would say, so she cut him off.
"I know Ed...I know." She sat up straight and allowed Ed to hold her frail body in his arms.
"There's nothing they can do for me now Ed." Liza's voice was so quiet....so weak.
But those words hit Ed harder than any words ever spoken before. Those eight words hit him harder than all the people who said he would never make it in the music industry. They hit him harder than the people who said he was ugly...useless....those eight words hit him harder than the people who told him to die...who told him to kill himself. He finally realized that there was no hope left. Liza was going to die. He couldn't stop the tears from falling down his cheeks.
"Ed?" Liza whispered, laying back down. Her eyes became droopy, and she sounded tired. Ed waited for her to continue.
"Will you stay with me?" She asked.
Ed sniffled, holding on to the hope that was so far gone.
"Of course I will stay with you, beautiful." He began to sob, barely getting out his sentence.
"And you will stay with me."
A tear fell down her cheek, and Ed placed his hand on the side of her face.
Liza parted her lips to speak; she could barely whisper.
"Ed, you know I can't." She took in a shaky breath as more tears fell from her bloodshot eyes,
"I have to go Teddy." She whispered.
Ed began to raise his voice, "Liza no. Liza stay with me please....just one more day." He began to cry uncontrollably and became practically blind from the tears.
"I love you Teddy." Liza whispered, closing her eyes.
"I love you too." Ed whispered, holding her in his arms.
Finally Liza released her last breath. Ed felt her weight become heavy in his arms as he realized what had happened.
"I love you." He whispered almost silently.
"I love you so much."