Last July

Chapter three 🍷

Hope:/ to cherish a desire with anticipation.

Maverick and I watched from outside the room as the doctors mumbled inaudible to our hearing about her condition. There was a lot of fluid in her lungs along with bacterial infection and practically the amount of mucus there wasn't helping. The difficulty was that the villain bacteria Streptococcus pneumoniae was actually encapsulated. Meaning the bacteria was covered in its own little shield to keep us from getting to it. At least that's what I managed to make of their jargon littered speech they fed us a few minutes ago.

I tried to get maverick from the window but he didn't budge, unwilling to take his eyes from her one second. He hasn't gone home in three days, just sat in the chair next to her bed and watched the machine breathe for her. This morning when she stirred, he came to life. After one week of being in the hospital, she woke up finally.

The doctor returned and he held on to my hand tightly bracing himself. His pale colour hinting that any day now he might end up switching places with her instead of going home. I looked at the physician as he placed his stethoscope around his neck.

"So" he said starting off. "We've taken her off the machine, she's breathing on her own now"

Her father gave himself permission to breathe again, pulling me closer into his arms.

"When will she be able to be discharged?" I asked since Maverick had lost the ability to speak overcome with joy.

"Sorry I can't say yet, she's doing well for now, the antibiotics seem to be working but we're keeping her for observation"

I nodded and Maverick busied himself with staring at her through the glass again. The doctor glanced through his clip board frowning and then called out to me as I moved off heading towards my boyfriend.

"When was the last time she had to be taken in?"

" Well" I frowned thinking. "Maybe a month ago. It wasn't that serious, she had a cold that wouldn't get better and we brought her in"

He nodded and left. Jesse fiddled with her food uninterested looking more lost than a lost cub. Her father didn't care to stay from her a second longer and when he burst through the door and sped to her bed, her eyed lit up so brightly it felt like the sun entered the room. Maverick hugged her tightly almost in tears realizing he hadn't lost her. I walked in slowly unwilling to interrupt their reunion and settled into the abandoned chair.

"Daddy I want to go home" said Jesse.

Maverick stared into his little girl's expression seeing the irritation burning in her eyes with having being stuck in a bed and attached to an IV.

"I know but we're going to have to stay a little longer just to ensure you're doing okay" he replied brushing his hand through her hair slowly.

"But I'm fine daddy, see?" She held out her hand and pinched her skin the blood retreated from the area where her right grasp was before it turned a few seconds later. "And my head don't hurt anymore and my chest is fine "

"Yes, yes I can see that" he took her face into his palms. "Lets stay with the doctors just a little longer. See even Kenzy is here to see you too" he glanced at me begging for some back up and I laughed lightly.

I grabbed my present and slowly made my way to her placing the plushed bear into her hands. Jesse squealed with delight. It was a blue bear she had been saving for a few weeks now and after seeing her like this I figured she deserved to have it. Maverick wanted her to appreciate having things by being able to purchase them herself but if she didn't pull through, I had to think of the negatives too because let's face it; whether we accepted it or not, there was nothing we could do to change that death was an inevitable part of life. I figured, she'd be happy to see her new friend and right now, the smile on her face made it worth it.

                                                                              🌟

"Where are you going?"

I stepped into Maverick's bedroom realizing he had a suitcase across the bed already half filled with clothes. He didn't answer just kept moving from one side of the room to the next.

"Babe" I tried to get his attention standing before him as he made his way over. Instead of meeting my eyes he dropped the clothes he had in his hands to the side of the bed and walked off again. What? I walked over to him pulling everything from his hands as he took up a few socks and dropped them back into his drawer.

"Maverick" I said standing before him. "Are you really ignoring me right now? "

His blue coloured eyes darted around before meeting mine and he ran his fingers through his hair making it more disheveled than it already was. I raised an irritated eyebrow at him.

"I'm leaving town for two weeks" he said finally.

"What?!" I shouted in disbelief . "Jesse just woke up yesterday and you're leaving!" I shook my head unable to make sense of what he'd said. "This isn't like you"

He pulled his hand from my grasp and went back to the drawer.

"I'm not doing this for me Kenzy. You think I want to leave her all alone?" his voice rose and I felt taken aback at his words. What had gotten into him suddenly? This was the moment we'd be praying for all week and now that her eyes finally opened he was bailing!

"She isn't alone I'll be there" I said slightly offended. "But you're her dad"

"Keeping her in that place costs Kenzy" he retorted glancing over at his shoulder at me zipping the suitcase shut. "I have to work to offset those expenses and we both know they aren't cheap"

I stepped back. I've never heard that much resent in his voice as I heard in his few sentences in five minutes ever over the last three years. Was it stress causing him to lash out like this or was there another underlying factor? I could have helped with medical expenses but it wasn't like we were married so I couldn't add her to my insurance.

"Yes but-"

"I have to go Kenzy" he pulled the bag across the ground cutting me off. "If I loose this job we're screwed and I can't let anything happen to her". When he got to me he pulled me into a tight embrace and we stood there for a while. "I don't want to leave her, but I don't have a choice. Take care of her for me okay" he placed a light kiss on my lips before disappearing through the door and as usual he didn't say goodbye.

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Author's notes: hey amigos thank you for stopping by

So, really she's wide awake, still alive and dad's gone😱

What would you have done? Sucks being an adult/ dad!

Thanks for your comments and votes

Charms💕