Reality Check

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The next morning.

I woke up around eleven with something squeezing me tight around my chest, I opened my eyes to see Alex, holding onto me with all his might. He was sleeping so I tried to slowly adjust myself but even my tiniest movement woke him up. He rubbed at his eyes, groggily and then snuggled back into my chest.

"Don't move, Daddy."

"I have to Baby, I'm uncomfortable."

I pushed myself a bit higher so I could sit up, and collect my thoughts, Alex didn't like that too much. Once I looked around the room, I noticed we were alone, and a sheet of water was steadily running down the big window as the rain was pouring outside. I caressed his head lightly, as he snoozed longer but I also noticed, I wasn't in any pain. What, the hell happened? Did I dream again? Just then, Darlene walked into the room her hair and jacket, damp, she threw her backpack on the chair in the corner.

"Where were you."

"I went to get some food, I'm sure you're starving, and it's not like this place is a five-star restaurant."

I was about to get mad at her, for leaving Alex alone while I was sleeping, but decided against it. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

"Where are the twins, did they tell you anything?"

At this point, I just wanted to see them, I didn't care about food, right now, I want my kids.

"They're in intensive care, especially, the boy, apparently, he had some breathing problem they had to work out."

I need to see them.

"Hey, can you hold Alex for a second, I can't really adjust with him holding me."

Kindly, she obliged and took him into her arms, using that moment, I eased myself close to the edge of the bed, I ripped the IV full of whatever they were pumping into me, out of my arm and bolted for the door.

"What are you doing? ELLIOT! Stop!" All Darlene could do was, shout after me, since she had Alexander in her arms.

Considering my surgery wasn't that long ago, the feeling in my legs hadn't fully come back yet, my legs were partially numb, and the cut in my abdomen rendered my core muscles useless, I didn't know how to walk. I stumbled out of the room and into the hospital hallway, it felt like I was walking for the very first time, it took all my strength not to fall over. As I stumbled deeper into the hallway I caught a nurse walking by.

"Where is the NICU?"

She didn't reply and stuttered, I don't have time for that, instead, I kept stumbling along holding myself up with the walls looking for signs that would direct me to where I needed to go. Realistically, I hadn't gotten that far when I tripped, unable to move my legs properly, as Darlene shouted in the distance. Soon she caught up to me, presumably having left Alex sleeping in the room.

"Can somebody help?"

She yelled around, and a random nurse came to assist. I was now feeling a stinging pain coming from my elbow and my stomach. Once I looked down, I noticed blood flowing from the crook of my elbow where my IV had been and a patch of blood was forming on my gown, where the cut had been made not even twelve hours ago. I couldn't get up. Quickly, another nurse showed up with a wheelchair, who after a moment I realized, was Stacy. Together, the two nurses hiked me up in the wheelchair and rolled me in the direction of my room.

"Page Dr. Jones, her patient tore his stitches."

The other nurse went to do as she was asked as Stacy and Darlene put me back in bed, the stain on my gown growing slowly. Instantly she got to cleaning my arm and put a bandage around it, going over to the other side of the bed to insert a new IV into my other arm. Out of nowhere, the door to my room flung opened with an angry Layla in tow.