heartbeat 4 u

29. forever & always

After the heart transplant and everything was done, Maddi was returned to her room.

The doctor approached her parents to discuss how things went.

"Well, Mr. and Mrs. Emerson, you're in luck. Maddi's body completely took in the donor's heart and didn't reject it at all. However, for medical reasons, she will have to stay at the hospital for about two weeks and then we can discharge her."

"Thank you so much, doctor." they said as they shook his hand.

They were happy that Maddi will be able to live, but so sad in the fact that it had to be Leo's heart.

The doctor noticed they were discouraged and tried to cheer them up.

"You should be happy! Your little girl is going to live! What's with the sad faces?" the doctor asked with a smile.

They looked up at him.

"The donor...we knew him." Mr. Emerson said quietly as Mrs. Emerson started tearing up.

"Oh..." the doctor looked at his clipboard and flipped a page.

"The donor of the heart for your daughter is Leo Davis. You know a Leo Davis?" he asked as he looked at them.

They nodded.

"He was actually our daughter's fiancé--well, he was going to be...today. But then..." Mr. Emerson trailed off as the doctor must have known the rest.

The doctor looked remorseful as brushed his hand over his face as he couldn't believe what has happened.

"Wow, I am so sorry." the doctor said.

They continued to cry.

"Is there anything I could do for you?" he asked them.

They shook their heads, not knowing what to do about the situation.

"May we see Maddi now?" Mr. Emerson asked.

"Yes, of course. She's still sleeping though because of the anesthetics."

"That's alright."

The doctor walked them to Maddi's room and let them go inside.

They sat beside Maddi as she was resting peacefully. They could see her heartbeat and couldn't bear to think that that was Leo's heart inside her.

"Excuse me, doctor?" Mr. Davis said as the doctor passed by them.

The doctor recognized them because he previously talked to them to ask permission to transplant Leo's heart for the surgery. He remembered what Maddi's parents told them and immediately started apologizing.

"I'm so sorry about what happened. I didn't know."

They were crying.

"We didn't know the heart was going to Maddi. We didn't know any of this would even happen." Mrs. Davis said as she sobbed.

"I'm so sorry for this whole situation. If there's anything you need, don't hesitate to tell me. I'll be happy to do it." he said with a comforting smile.

They knew he was trying to comfort them, but there's no way they could be happy about this.

Maddi eyes slowly began to open. She felt the warmth of her dad's hand on hers.

"...Leo?" she said as she opened her eyes.

She heard sniffles when she mentioned Leo's name.

Her eyesight adjusted and saw that it was her parents.