Push The Button (15 page)

Marcy made her way towards them as David guided Nicole towards their car. She was oblivious to what was going on with her mother, which was probably for the best. When they reached the car, David opened the door and helped His wife sit down. As she slid down, she cried out as another pain coursed through her body. The tears came to her eyes and she moaned, “Not my baby… please, not my baby…”

****

Nicole became acutely aware of her breathing because she felt a cool breeze flowing into her nose. Before she opened her eyes, she thought that it was odd that the air seemed so crisp and fresh. She tried opening her eyes, but her eyelids felt heavy. She heard a steady beeping and several voices around her. She recognized two of the men’s voices, but not the woman who was speaking to them. The men sounded intense, maybe they were arguing, she could not really tell.

She then became aware of the pounding in her head. It was a headache unlike anything she had ever experienced before. She opened her lips to tell everyone to be quiet, maybe ask for pain killers.

“Why the fuck are you in here? Today of all days?” One of the men was questioning the other. “How many times do I have to tell you to stay far away from Nicole as possible?? Huh?? It’s been over 7 weeks already and you’re
still
not welcomed here!”

“Look, man,” Marcus began, “I just wanted to come by and check on her, OK?” Marcus stood still, annoyed that David interrupted his singing. “It’s Valentine’s Day, man, have a heart.”

Sir…

Her eyes opened and she looked toward the sound of His voice. She saw Him facing off with Marcus.
Why is Marcus here?
She was confused, her head was pounding, and she was beginning to get a sense of her surroundings.

She was in a hospital.

“The baby!!! Sir, where’s our baby? Where’s our son??” she screamed, frantically grabbing at her flat stomach as she looked around the room for a sign of her child. David rushed over to her and grabbed her into His arms.

“Oh Star, oh baby, you’re OK… you’re OK… oh my love, my heart…” He cooed as He tried to soothe her. He stroked her hair, wiping away the sweat beads forming along her temples. He was so relieved that she was awake, that He ignored everyone else in the room also interested in her regaining consciousness.

“Everything is going to be OK, Star. I promise, I will never let anything else happen to you again,” He continued, assuring her that she was safe with Him as His grip tightened. Nicole pushed back as she tried to disentangle herself from his embrace.

“Where’s Marcy??” she demanded.

“B-baby… w-w-what are you talking about? Who is…Marcy?”

“What the hell do you mean, ‘Who is Marcy?’? What’s wrong with you? Where’s our daughter? Where’s my baby, David?? What happened to our son??”

Nicole became frantic and started pulling at the wires that were hooked up to her. The nurse called for assistance and rushed over to help David calm her down.

“Yo, she’s wilding,” murmured Marcus, as he backed away from the bed and moved towards the far corner of the room.

“Where’s my baby? What happened to my baby?” she continued to ask, crying and pleading for an answer from David, the nurse, anyone. Three more hospital personnel entered the room and two approached the bed.

“Please back away, sir,” one of the nurses instructed.

“No! She is my fiancée,” He asserted. “I’m not going anywhere. She needs me. She keeps talking about children. We don’t have children. Something’s wrong!”

“Sir, please give us space,” another nurse requested again. David reluctantly backed up a couple of feet. Nicole reached out to Him.

“No!!! Sir, don’t leave me!! Don’t leave me again!!” she yelled. David rushed back to her side, pushing one of the nurses out of the way.

“I’ll never leave you, Star. Never. I’m here. I’m here,” He promised.

Nicole began to calm down, but she was still crying as she rubbed her stomach. She shook her head back-and-forth, fearing the absolute worst—she lost their baby.

“What happened? Did I lose the baby?”

David looked at her quizzically. He looked at the nurse. “What is she talking about? Nurse, is she… is she pregnant?” W-was she pregnant?”

The first nurse looked at Him with something odd in her eyes. “Let’s talk outside,” she said, motioning for Him to join her outside of the room. He squeezed Nicole’s shoulder and promised He would return. When He stepped outside, the nurse took a deep breath and began to give Him the news.

“As you know, your fiancée experienced serious head trauma during her fall. We ran several tests to get a better idea of any internal injuries. We conducted a routine pregnancy test, too,” she started. “Were you aware that she is preg
nant?”

“Pregnant?” He asked again. “How is that possible? She’s been on birth control for at least two years.”

“We ran the test twice,” the nurse said confidently. “She is definitely pregnant, and based on the sonogram, measurements, and presence of a heartbeat, she’s about 7or 8 weeks along.” David was stunned. He could not help but look at the nurse with complete confusion.

“That doesn’t make any sense. Why didn’t she tell me?” He looked back at the room and saw that Nicole was calmer now, but was still rubbing her stomach.

“I’m not sure, but I’m not entirely certain she was aware herself.”

“But she just asked about our baby…”

“I don’t know… Sometimes, when people suffer head trauma such as she has, they experience different types of amnesia or other cognitive impairments. She might just be a bit confused. Why don’t I get the doctor to come in and talk with you? Maybe she will have more answers,” she suggested, trying to offer some form of consolation to David.

David went back into the room and to Nicole’s bedside. He looked over at Marcus, met his eyes, and motioned for him to leave the room. Marcus did not put up a fight this time and he quietly exited the hospital room where Nicole had been in care for several weeks. David stroked her temples and grabbed her hand. He was overwhelmed by everything that had just happened in the past ten minutes that he was shaking. He tried to calm His body, His mind, His heart.

“Star, baby…?”

“What’s happening to me, Sir?”

“You took a really nasty fall, baby. You…fell… and you hit your head pretty hard,” He began. “You have been in a coma for several weeks. It is Valentine’s Day. You’re in the hospital. I’ve been here every day, waiting for you to come back to me…”

Nicole closed her eyes and tears began to course down her cheeks, burning the truth of what He was saying into her skin. There was no Marcy. There was no… baby.

“Don’t cry, Star. Please. I can’t bear it. You’re awake. I’ve prayed every single day for this and now, to know you’re pregnant—“

“What did you say?”

“Baby, the nurse just told me that you’re pregnant with our child,” David said, smiling down at her. He was still in shock at the revelation Himself, but He could feel the joy beginning to spread within Him. “I’m going to be a father!”

“It was so real,” Nicole began. “You shot Marcus.. and Marcy was his and…”

“Shhhh baby. It’s OK. It’s all over now. You’re here now, with me. We’re together. We’re going to get married. We’re going to keep our baby safe,” David promised.

He leaned down and kissed Nicole on her stomach. As He stood up, the doctor entered the hospital room and He began asking her questions about Nicole’s condition and the things she said. Nicole lay in the bed, listening intently, but the pounding in her head began to lessen, so she found herself drifting back to sleep.

After a few moments, the doctor left and David returned to Nicole’s bedside. He traced His thumb along her lips with His left hand and with His right, He covered her womb.

Mine.