Risking Fate (Mitchell Family #4)(55)
Author: Jennifer Foor

I went to put my phone back in my pocket and heard doors in front of me crashing open. Two men in white surgical gear came out. They had on face shields and both of them were covered in blood from head to toe. They didn’t see me standing there, staring at all of the crimson.

“That was one of the worse cases.”

The other guy gave him a half smile. “You did everything you could to make it easier for her. Don’t be too hard on yourself.”

The other guy agreed, “Yeah, I just hate to see them suffer. I couldn’t just leave her lying there alone. I had to stay until we had exhausted all of our options.”

As they walked further away, their words went with them. I took a few steps closer to where they came out of and just like it was planned, another man, covered in blood came walking out. As the doors swung, I saw what I feared from the moment I saw all of the blood on that first man.

My wife lay motionless on the operating table.

God, please no! Please don’t take her.

Chapter 21

Ty

Apparently, where I had walked to make my phone calls was a prohibited area. The nurse, that had taken me to see Izzy, came and drug me out of there.

I caused a commotion. At one point, she even threatened to call security. I wasn’t about to leave my wife, not when I’d seen where she was. It took everything I had not to bust through those doors and take her hand.

The woman was pulling me down the hallway when I stopped her. “Wait! Please, just tell me if she’s still alive? I saw her on that table. I saw the blood.” I ran my hands through my hair. It killed me to say it out loud. “She didn’t look like she was breathing.” Tears rolled down my face. “Just tell me if I lost her?”

She put her hands on her hips and looked down to the ground, then back up to me. “I really don’t know her condition. If you come back to the NICU with me, I can try to find out more. Mr. Mitchell, I can’t imagine what you must be going through, and I do apologize that I don’t have all the answers. How about we bring your daughter in to meet her brothers? We aren’t normally supposed to let children her age in there, but they are the only babies right now and I am sure it would help both of you.”

I didn’t answer, but I nodded and followed behind her anyway. I’d imagined seeing my sons born for so many months and now they were here. I wanted to be thrilled that I had two twin boys and that they were going to be okay. I wanted to hold them in my arms and promise to love them forever, because I would love them forever, but all I could think about was Miranda. All I could see was her lying on that table, not moving.

A flutter of happiness lifted my spirits when I saw my daughter coming out of the room. She ran up toward me, stopping only because she rammed her body into mine. “Daddy, this lady say’s you are going to show me Jake and Jax.”

I looked up at the lady and she smiled. She began walking ahead of us. I reached out my hand for Iz. “She’s right. Are you ready to meet them?” I tried to focus on the kids, because if I broke down I would have to tell Iz about her mother. Since I didn’t know exactly what was going on, it was better I stayed quiet. Izzy didn’t need to feel the way I was feeling. It was unbearable.

Seeing the twins for the second time was a happier experience, not like the first had been sad, it just wasn’t what I expected. Izzy walked through the room of nurses, holding my hand tight. As we approached the plastic bassinets where the boys were, she hesitated and stopped me from approaching them. I bent down to her height. “What’s wrong, Iz?”

“I don’t like this place.”

I pulled her toward the center of the aisle, in between the babies. “Don’t be afraid. The clear beds keep them safe and warm.”

A nurse came over and maneuvered the two boy’s bassinets to touch each other. I picked up Iz so that she could look down at both of them. I watched her expression as she studied both of the newborns. “Do they hurt?” She looked up at me with concerned eyes.

“No, the wires are giving them medicine and feeding them. They wouldn’t be sleeping if they were in pain.” I was hoping what I was saying was enough. I didn’t ever want to explain what my two sons had gone through to take their first breath. Both of them being born with collapsed lungs was horrific enough, but to explain it to someone who wasn’t yet five, was just too difficult.

“How come Mommy isn’t here? Baby Christian got to stay in the room with Aunt Van.”

I stared down at the boys and tried so hard not to cry in front of my daughter. “She’s just with the doctors, Sweetie. What do you think of these two handsome little guys?”

She shrugged and looked down at them. “Which one is Jake?”

I reached down and touched the bigger boys little fingers. “I was waiting for you to make the choice.” It wasn’t exactly the truth, but I needed the distraction. I had to do this, because if I really was losing Miranda, this responsibility was all on me. I had to be able to do all of this without her.

“It’s hard to choose, Daddy. Can you help me? I don’t want it to be wrong and Mommy be sad about it. She was really sad earlier today. I told her that you were sad too and that you loved her.”

She looked right at me and I felt like my barrier was shattering to pieces. My eyes burned with wetness, but I refused to blink, knowing tears would roll down my eyes. I couldn’t do this in front of Iz. I couldn’t let her see me so sad.

“Thank you for telling her. I’m glad she knows that. Mommy would never be mad at the name you choose. She will think it’s special because it’s from you.” I looked down at my beautiful sons; the sons that Miranda and I made together out of love. With one hand on one of the boys little hands and Izzy in my arms, the tears started to fall down my face. Thankfully, Izzy was too busy studying her brothers to see my initial burst of tears.

She pointed at the bigger of the two boys. “That’s Jake.”

“Are you sure, because if you change your mind later, they might get confused.”

She turned to give me a dirty look, but her grin changed as soon as she saw my face. Her little fingers reached up and wiped away the tears. “Daddy, are you sad because of Mommy?”

I nodded but couldn’t admit the words out loud.

“I’m sad too. They took me away from her. I could hear her crying at first. Maybe if she saw us she wouldn’t be so sad.”

The little miniature version of my wife looked up at me for answers, but I didn’t know what to tell her. Hell, it was like I was living the worst possible nightmare ever. I took my hand and moved away a piece of her light blonde hair. “We can’t see Mommy until the doctors are done helping her. For right now, we have to stay here with your brothers.”