Soulmates | Kate & Ana

Chapter 12- The Accident

At my five month ultrasound appointment, Kate and I get the news that our baby blip is a baby boy. We didn't have any preference going into this but now that we know it's a boy we're both very excited about having a son. There hasn't been a male in our house in a long time, but I think it'll be a fun change to have a little baby boy running around the big house. Kate loves sports so if he desires to play them he can learn from her and if he wants to read or write he can learn from me. If there's anything else he's interested in learning that we don't know and he can't learn from school or on his own, we can always ask Jose for help. He's basically the babies uncle with all the time he's spent with Kate and I, and Kate's actual brother Ethan will also be around. Our boy with have plenty of masculine role models to look up to and he'll have two mommies to smother him with love and care. The next day, I have gender reveal party with Kate and I's friends from work. Kate and I haven't told any of our families the news yet, other than Kate's brother. They all know I'm pregnant but we were hoping to get the chance to tell our families in person at some point. Possibly at my birthday party that's coming up. When I'm leaving work for the day, my cell rings and I'm expecting it to be Kate, but when I answer it's Jose's dad. My scalp tingles when I hear the upset tone of his voice on the other end. "Is something wrong, Mr. Rodriguez?" I ask, already knowing that something is, but hoping that I'm wrong. "it's Ray. He's in the hospital, Ana I'm so sorry." A choked sob escapes my lips, then I take a deep breath and get into action. I hang up with Mr. Rodriguez, call Kate, and we go to the hospital together.

As Kate and I wait in the elevator, it's travel to each floor takes a painfully long time. Every ping it makes causes me to flinch. Finally, we get to the floor Ray's room is on Kate holds my arm as we walk down the hallway to room 304. His room. When we get there, I run into the room, abandoning Kate's grip on my arm. All I can think is that I need to see him, I need to see that he's okay. He's in a massive hospital bed, surrounded my machines. My jaw drops when I see him. He looks so small and fragile, like I've never seen him. He's always been so strong. He's got a tube in his mouth, eyes closed, and a needle in both his arms. He doesn't look well at all, it makes my heart ache seeing him like this. There's a clamp attached to his finger, a bright blue cast on his left leg, and a monitor beeping loudly next to him. The monitor beeping loudly beside him is monitoring his heart rate. It's strong and steady beat is reassuring to me. At least his heart is still beating. That's the most important thing. I take a few steps closer to his bed and see the tube planted in his mouth is connected to a ventilator. His mouth is in a strange position from having to accommodate the ventilator, but he looks relaxed. It's strange to see him look so peaceful with so much medical equipment attached to his body. I'm aware of Kate standing behind me, also examining Ray, but she doesn't say anything. We just stand together in silence until a nurse comes in. She checks his monitors with care. "Can you tell me if he's going to be okay?" I ask her, wondering if she's even qualified enough to give me the answer I'm looking for. "Yes, I think he'll be okay. His vitals are getting much better than they were and he looks stable to me. He's been in critical condition for a while now, but he's making progress quickly. From what the doctor's told me he has suffered several very serious internal injuries, mostly on his upper half. He's had some blood loss, and suffered a cardiac arrest during his surgery, but his heart seems to be doing fine now and the brain swelling from the accident is still present, but with time he should be able to fully recover." I nod, feeling a small weight lifted from my shoulders. He's in bad condition, but he can recover. "Can I touch him?" I ask. "Sure, just carefully. Try to avoid any tubes or machinery." She smiles kindly, then heads out the door to give us some privacy. I carefully take hold of his hand and lean in towards him. "Get better soon, Daddy." I kiss his cheek, tentatively, then I turn to Kate so we can leave. There's no point in staying right now, he needs time to rest and heal. We'll come back tomorrow. 

When we arrive at the hospital the next day, he appears to be doing at least a little better. He's still unconscious, but he looks a bit better, and his vitals are getting stronger. He's definitely improving. Kate sits in a guest chair while I stand by his bed for a moment. "Can you pass me one of those chairs?" I ask Kate and she gets up and pushes a guest chair over to his beside so I can sit. I read the sports section of the paper to him, quietly. Then I move on to read a few more sections. When I've finished reading through the paper, I begin to talk to him about my own life events. I tell him about work, and about the baby. I'm just starting to talk about my most recent ultrasound for the gender reveal when his eyes open. "Dad!" I jump up from my seat and squeeze his hand. "Annie, what's going on?" He asks, his voice hoarse and confused. "Kate can you get him some water?" I glance back at her and she nods, then runs out of the room to get water. "You're in the hospital, you had a car accident." I explain the situation briefly, not wanting to add too many painful details. Kate returns with water and I give it to him. He takes a drink, fixing the raspy sound of his voice. "Hey, welcome back." I say, smiling hugely. I'm so glad he's awake. "Hey, It's good to be back." He says. "Hey, Kate." He waves at her and she comes over. "Hey." Kate and I both stand beside his bed. "We've got news if you're up to hear it." I smile at Kate, then look at my dad. "I'd love to hear it." He smiles and I nod. "Kate and I found out the sex of the baby. It's a boy. You're gonna have a grandson." He beams at the news and for once I actually forget about how worried I've been about him and am reminded that soon we'll all be back in the hospital for a much happier reason.