Untangling the Web

Chapter 26

After getting into the requisite mask, gown, and gloves, the nurses finally let Reyhan into the room to see Emir. They had tried to prepare Reyhan for what she was about to see, but nothing could have prepared her for this. All she could do was grab his hand and collapse into the chair next to his bed and cry.

"Reyhan," Narin says as she enters the room some time later, similarly gowned and covered. "Don't make yourself sick, canim. Let me take you out of here so you can calm down."

"No!" Reyhan protests when Narin tries to pull her away. She takes a deep, calming breath before looking straight at Narin, her eyes still tear-filled, but determined. "I'm not leaving him."

The doctors leave her for now. She stays well past the time limit, but Narin is able to help her bend the rules. Emir's condition is actually more stable with Reyhan there. And while there isn't much improvement and he hasn't woken up, the threat to life seems much lower with Reyhan present. So they let her stay.

After the first day, they move him to a private suite, a benefit of the many years of Tarhun donations to the hospital. The suite is better accommodated to care for both Emir and whatever needs arise due to Reyhan's pregnancy. It has a bed for her, but she spends most of her time in a recliner that's been placed next to him. Suna and Zeynep have used the bed more than Reyhan, alternating which one spends the night. Tonight is Zeynep's night.

It's a rare sight to see Reyhan not next to Emir. She tends to be always next to him, holding his hand, wiping his brow, stroking his hair. She talks to him. Almost non stop. More words than she's ever said in her life. But she feels like if she stops, she'll lose him.

A nurse comes, and Reyhan decides to take a stretch while the nurse does all her necessary checks on Emir.

"How has he been, Reyhan hanim?" the kind hearted nurse asks. She's one of Reyhan's favorites. Most of the nurses are nice, but this one is an older woman who has treated Reyan and Emir like her own children.

"The same," Reyhan sighs, getting a little sad. It's been nearly a week and he still hasn't woken up.

Reyhan sucks in a quick, sudden breath and her hand shoots to her stomach.

"Reyhan hanim?" the nurse gives her a concerned glance before coming over to her. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. They're just getting a little feisty in there," Reyhan explains, a tear in her eyes. The babies have started kicking, and the one person she wanted to share it with doesn't even know.

Understanding, the nurse leads her next to the bed and then lifts one of Emir's lifeless hands to Reyhan's stomach.

"Let him feel," she says with a smile. "Let the babies help heal him. All of them."

The nurse looks over to see a sleepy Zeynep watching them. She nods her head to bring the girl over and Zeynep quickly comes. She wraps one arm around Reyhan's waist and places her free hand onto Reyhan's belly too.

The nurse slips out, leaving the family alone.

"Come back to us, Emir," she hears Reyhan whisper just as she closes the door. The nurse sends up a quick but sincere prayer that Reyhan gets her wish soon. For all of their sakes.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Reyhan's miracle comes three days later. She's sitting in her usual spot, next to Emir while she reads to him, sings to him, or talks to him. But this time, she has his hand firmly planted on her every growing belly. The babies give a particularly vigorous kick and it jolts Emir's hand. But when she looks closer, she notices that he's moving his hand on his own.