To Be Determined

Chapter Thirteen: Bundle of Joy

I wake up to soft filtered sunlight warming my cheeks. My eyes flutter open to see unfamiliar lavender walls, cherry red power outlets, and circular lights. I'm propped up on an unfamiliar bed in a room that I have never seen before. There is a consistent beeping coming from a machine next to me. I feel as though I am tangled in wires and medical tubing. I look to my right and see Iliad sitting straight up on a black leather couch, dead asleep. He is donning a white lab coat, a stethoscope is draped against his neck. I don't see him wearing his work attire very often; it feels so foreign knowing that he has an entire part of his life that I cannot see. Maybe more than one.

Asha is asleep too, his head resting on my Ily's shoulder. My eyes are dry and blinking is a chore. I do not feel the familiar sense of impending doom, quite the opposite. I feel resilient. The tower inside has collapsed and I am free to walk away. I look to the left and see Ben sitting in a wooden folding chair. He's smiling and leaning forward.

He shushes me a little, then speaks soft and low. "You know, those two wanted me to wake them up as soon as you stirred. I get the feeling that you could use a minute though. They've been kinda unbearable this week."

"How long was I out?" I mumble, my voice is bubbling over with grogginess.

"Six days, four hours, and-" He looks at his bare wrist, pretending to read a watch. "Twenty-six minutes, approximately."

I smile at his joke and lay my head back down. "Have the guys been alright?"

"Oh absolutely not. It's been a horrible drag. Has your husband always been that much of an Aries?"

"I've acclimated to it, but yeah."

"He taught us both how to read vitals manually and insisted that we check them every half hour even though you are hooked up to monitors specifically for reading vitals." He says as I roll my eyes. "You know, we should just date so those two can be together, Holy guacamole. I've been with Ashara's sassy mouth for a long time but something about Iliad just hits a nerve with him."

"Yeah, it's called his personality."

Ben chuckles softly. "I have to say, it's been good to be with you all. Even though you haven't been much for conversation."

"I'm glad you're enjoying your walk among the living again Benjamin."

"Oh, Ben isn't short for Benjamin. It's short for Bencil."

I laugh so loud that the boys stir. They both run up and make sure that I'm okay, that I wasn't choking on my bodily fluids or being suffocated by an unknown assailant.

"It's actually Benji, but that joke is a real knee slapper."

Iliad is pressing a stethoscope to my chest. I noticed for the first time that I'm in a hospital gown and that I'm covered with my favorite blanket from home.

"Ily, are we home?" I ask, touching his arm with my heavy hand. He shakes his head and smiles down at me.

"No hon, we're at my clinic in Lochea." He leans down and kisses my forehead once he is finished auscultating. His hands are covered in gloves made of nitrile instead of leather and he is wearing his eyepatch. Everything feels sterile and foreign. He takes my pulse and smiles. "It feels strong and normal. You scared us for a while there. It was pretty fast and faint after you went out. You were in the third stage of General Adaptation Syndrome. Asha was finally able to get ahold of a car to bring you back home."

"I stole it." He says, bluntly.

"That's my boy," I say, raising my hand for a high five. "Be gay and do crimes, that was my motto in college."