Shark Out of Water (27 page)

Mr. Coughlin glanced at Guy and Charlotte’s parents, checking for any disagreement. Guy was not surprised by what he had said, but the information flitted away on a wave of fear.

“Charlotte’s car is to be sold to help cover any costs that might be incurred by, uh, funeral expenses,” he said. “Mrs. Brooks’ only other sizeable asset is Warren’s college fund. It is currently in Charlotte’s name, but in the event of her…” He paused as Warren shifted on the couch, scooting closer to the lawyer. “Should the need arise, it would be put into a trust for Warren, to be used for college after his eighteenth birthday,” Mr. Coughlin continued. “Charlotte’s life insurance policy currently lists Warren as the sole beneficiary. Any money remaining after her final expenses will be put in a separate trust for day to day expenses needed for Warren’s care.”

He checked with both parties again, frowning at the Martins’ muddled expressions. When he asked if they had questions, though, they simply shook their heads. Guy’s only response was his body trembling in dread. Mr. Coughlin seemed hesitant, but continued on. “As far as custody of Warren, Charlotte had me draw up all the necessary paperwork to make Dr. Saint Laurent his legal guardian in the event of her, uh, well, you understand.”

“What does custody mean?” Warren asked in a small voice. He was clinging to a shocked Guy, nails digging into his skin.

“It means,” Guy said, “it means we get to stay together,
mon petit homme
.” His voice was barely more than a whisper, but the weight suddenly lifted off his shoulders made him slump against the couch.

Warren slammed into him a moment later. The tears that poured down his face mixed with Guy’s as the boy clung to him. “I get to stay with you? For really real?” Warren demanded. His voice was muffled, thanks to having his face smashed against Guy’s shoulder, but everyone heard him all the same.

“For really real,” Guy said and he crushed him to his chest. “You are my boy. I will always take care of you.”

The two held each other, sobbing, not caring that anyone watched them. He had not lost Warren. He would not. No matter what else happened, they would be together. Guy could only pray that Charlotte would not be taken away from them, either. They both needed her so much.

It was a long time before Guy was able to pull his attention away from Warren and looked up at Charlotte’s parents. They sat in stunned silence. Mrs. Martin was crying, but her husband seemed more confused than anything else. “I’m not sure I understand,” he said. “Does this mean we won’t be able to see Warren anymore?”

Mr. Coughlin was startled by the question. He started to answer, but Guy was faster. “No, of course not. I would never keep Warren from you. You are his grandparents. Charlotte would not want that, and neither do I.”

“You’re not…taking him back to France?” Mr. Martin asked.

“No,” Guy said, confused, “why would you think that? My life is here, with Charlotte and Warren.”

“But, Warren said he was going to live with you in France.”

Even more confused, Guy looked down at Warren for an explanation. Still teary-eyed, Warren peered up at him. “You said we could,” he whispered. “After Mommy gets better. You said we’d go back to France and live in the castle again.”

Pressing Warren to his chest with a trembling smile, Guy said, “Yes, I did say that, but only for part of the summer. Not forever. You like living here in Chicago, yes?” Warren’s head bobbed up and down against his chest. “You would not want to be too far from
grand-mere et grand-pere
Martin, yes?” His head shook back and forth. “I did not think so.”

Guy continued to hold Warren, still afraid of him slipping away somehow, but he tried to reassure Charlotte’s parents as he did. “Charlotte and I had discussed going back to France during the summers once she is recovered, but only for visiting.”

“
Grand-maman
and
grand-papa
live in a castle,” Warren added with a grin.

“A castle, huh?” Mr. Martin said playfully. He must have been thinking that his grandson was exaggerating. Guy only smiled. His parents’
château
was as large as a small castle. Guy truly hoped he would one day be able to take Warren and Charlotte back to France. For now, they could only watch and wait, and they all knew it. Even Warren.

“
Avoir la foi
,” Warren whispered to Guy as he nestled back against his chest. Guy held onto those words. This frightened little boy had faith that his mother would survive. Guy had to do the same.

Chapter 32

Précieuse

Guy was not sure what day it was anymore. Had they been at the hospital for three days? Four? It had all blurred together at some point. All he knew for certain was that Charlotte had still not woken up. No longer afraid of being stolen away from his
papa
, Warren had finally agreed to go back to the hotel with Guy’s parents to sleep. They could not convince Guy, however. He paced the halls, unable to sleep.

He knew it was late, or maybe early. Everyone else had gone home hours ago, but he could not bear the idea of leaving. He was half-convinced that as soon as he left, Charlotte would slip away from him. It was a fear he could not escape. As relieved as he was to know Warren would not be taken away from him, Guy was terrified of raising him alone. He needed Charlotte. They both did.

Unable to resist any longer, Guy headed for Charlotte’s room. The night duty nurse was heavy-lidded, sitting at her desk when he walked in. Guy did not bother to ask permission before beginning the now ritual washing. He was suited up and making his way into Charlotte’s room soon after. His feet dragged as he walked to the chair beside her bed.

Knowing if she really looked a little better, or if he was just telling himself that, was impossible. He wanted to see some improvement so badly. He had seen her only hours before, but he scoured her for any sign that she was not getting worse. He would take no change at all by that point. Stable was better than watching her decline. Stable meant she was still fighting. She had to keep fighting. She could not give up yet. Too many prayers, wishes, and hopeful thoughts were being offered up on her behalf for her to get any worse.

“Don’t give up, Charlotte,” Guy pleaded. She had to fight just a little longer.

His hand gently took hers. The heat pulsing through her body caused his chest to tighten. They had managed to keep her temperature hovering around one hundred and three degrees, but it had been going on for too long. Her weary body could only take so much.

Guy rested his elbow on her bed. He was intent on staying vigil, but his head soon dropped into his hand. He could not close his eyes. It was too frightening to lose sight of her. Part of him wished Warren had stayed…just in case, but he knew the boy needed to rest. Charlotte would be all right. He had to keep believing that. Guy had promised Warren he would watch over her all night. His strength of will was not enough to stave off exhaustion, though, and eventually his eyes drifted closed.

***

Guy was not sure what woke him. It was still dark when he jolted awake, but he sat up blinking furiously and scanning the room for some hint. His eyes swept every corner, but nothing was there. Everything looked as it had when he came in. He listened, then, for anything out of the ordinary, but nothing struck him as out of place. His entire body turned to ice as he realized it was not a sight or sound, but a sensation.

The heat he had come to expect from Charlotte was gone. His eyes locked on the blank wall across from him. He could not look at her. The hand that still held hers went numb as panic set in. Why was she not burning up anymore? Why did Charlotte’s hand feel so cold? Something inside of Guy broke. Whatever small amount of strength he had been holding in reserve vanished and he collapsed onto the bed sobbing.

“Dr. Guy?” the duty nurse’s panicked voice called out as she rushed into the room. “What’s wrong?”

He could not bear to lift himself back up. “Her…her hand…too cold,” tumbled out of his mouth, barely coherent. That was all he could manage before breaking down again.

The rustle of the nurse’s clothing as she raced over to him skittered over his mind unheeded. “It broke,” she exclaimed. “I can’t believe it. It finally broke!” Her gloved hands grabbed Guy, shaking him like she had lost her mind.

Guy nearly shoved her away, just to get her off him as he grieved, but the sight of joy in her eyes stopped him from lashing out. “What?” He stared at her, desperately confused.

“The fever!” she said excitedly. “She isn’t cold, the fever just broke!” When he continued to stare at her, dumbfounded, she grabbed his shoulders and forced him to focus. “She only feels cold because she was burning up when you fell asleep holding her hand! She’s not dead, Guy.”

“She’s not?” he finally managed to ask.

“No!” The nurse shook her head, nearly bouncing with happiness. “Look at her vitals.”

Guy turned to stare at the screen displaying her vital signs. It took him a moment to even comprehend them. Her heart rate was back to normal, her temperature hovering slightly above average, but nowhere near what it had been only a few hours before. Everything else was beginning to even out.

“Call Myles,” Guy ordered. He was not leaving Charlotte’s side. The nurse scurried off, disappearing from view. Every ounce of Guy’s focus was pinned on Charlotte.

The fever had broken, but she still slept, and Guy had no idea how well her kidneys were functioning. It was good news, but Charlotte was far from being out of the woods yet. He sat waiting for Myles, having no clue what time it was or how long it would take his friend to get there. He had left his phone in the decontamination room as well. He wanted to call everyone and give them what little news he had, but leaving Charlotte’s bedside was impossible.

It seemed like hours later before Myles’ fist banged on the window of Charlotte’s room, then gestured for Guy to join him outside. He did not want to leave, but Myles was insistent. Slowly, Guy forced himself to stand. “I will be right back,
ma chérie
,” he promised. Her cool hand slipped from his grasp and he rushed outside.

Myles grabbed him as soon as he stepped into the decontamination room and crushed him in a bear hug. Still clad in protective gear, Guy returned the embrace heartily. The two men clung to each other for a few more seconds before pulling back. Guy was startled to see his friend standing in front of him in flannel pajama bottoms and an old sweatshirt, hair springing from his head in every direction.

“What time is it?” Guy asked.

“Three…four in the morning. I’m not sure. I came as soon as Danielle called.”

Looking around for the nurse, Guy realized they were alone. “Where did she go?”

“Getting ready to take new samples from Charlotte for lab tests.” Myles shook his head. “I was getting scared, Guy. It looked bad when I went home last night. She wasn’t showing any signs of improvement. I had nearly lost hope.”

Guy leaned against a counter for support. “She has defied the odds in so many ways.” He ran his hands through his hair as he let out a long breath. “Getting this cancer in the first place at her age, her reaction to chemo, kidney failure, the infection… none of this should have happened to her, yet it did.”

“It’s about time her luck worked
for
her instead of against her,” Myles said. “She’s still got some fighting to do, but this is the break she needed. Her kidney function is already improving, though. That’s no guarantee there isn’t permanent damage, but it’s a good sign.”

They were silent for several long minutes. Guy felt ready to collapse. “I thought she was gone,” he said quietly. “When I woke, and the fever was not there, I thought she had gone cold. I did not even hear the heart monitor still tracking her. I could only panic when I thought I had lost her.”

“She wasn’t ready to let go of you just yet,” Myles said as he put his arm around Guy’s shoulders.

Guy was tempted to race out and wake everyone up, but he knew everyone would be sleeping. They had all gotten precious little sleep since Charlotte was admitted. It would be several hours before the tests Myles wanted done would be back from the lab. Until then, Guy knew little more than that the fever was gone. Permanent damage to her kidneys was a real possibility. Her other organs were at risk as well, and there was no knowing yet what effects the fever had on her brain or body. Too much was still unknown, including when, or if, Charlotte would wake up.

In the end, he settled for sending a group text message to everyone waiting for news. The list was long, and the message thread created over the last few days was even longer. It would likely not wake anyone, but they would see it when they woke up. In the meantime, Guy dropped his phone back on the nurse’s desk, stripped out of his gear, and began the decontamination process all over again.

By the time he made it back to Charlotte’s side, fear stopped his hand before touching hers. Part of him worried that touching her skin would reveal it was all a fantasy. The need to touch her finally won out and he slipped his fingers over hers. A shaky sigh of relief escaped him when he felt the coolness of her skin. He sank into the chair to wait, once again.

Guy did not even realize he had drifted off to sleep again, until something brushed across his forehead. He bolted upright, eyes darting everywhere. His heart nearly stopped when he saw Charlotte staring at him in confusion.

“Where are we?” her papery thin voice begged.

Not grabbing her and pressing her to him was pure agony. His entire body shuddered at the sound of her voice. “We’re at the hospital,
ma chérie
.”

Her eyes closed as she struggled to understand. “Why?”

“You have been very ill. An infection gave you a very high fever. You have been here four…five days now.”

She seemed shocked by the news, but she was too weak to really react. Even moving her head to the side was nearly too much. “Where is Warren?”

“He’s with my parents,” Guy reassured her.

That only seemed to confuse her even more. “He’s in France?”

“
Non, non, ma chérie
. They are here, well, at their hotel, but nearby. They took Warren with them to sleep. Your parents are here as well. They should all be here soon.” Guy stroked her tangled hair gently. She was so drawn, so weak from everything she had been through, but she had not given up.

Charlotte began trembling as he spoke, frightening Guy badly. “Charlotte, what is wrong?”

“This was bad, wasn’t it?” she asked.

Caressing her cheek with his gloved hand, Guy nodded. “
Oui
, but your fever is gone.”

“I meant to talk to you…about Warren, in case I…”

Shushing her gently, Guy shook his head. “I already know,
ma chérie
. Your lawyer explained everything.”

“You called my lawyer?” Her face paled. “I almost died, didn’t I?” Her eyes closed as tears spilled over her cheeks. “I almost left you and Warren.”

“But you did not,” Guy crooned.

She looked up at him pleadingly. She was already tiring, but she refused to give in to sleep just yet. “What the lawyer told you about Warren, you would have taken care of him, right? If I had… if I was gone?”

“Of course, Charlotte. I will always take care of him,” Guy promised.

“My parents,” Charlotte said as she struggled to keep her eyes open.

“They are fine.” He pressed his gloved hand to her cheek, stroking his fingers along her skin soothingly. “I am afraid your mother still does not like me much, but your father at least seems to tolerate me.”

Without opening her eyes, Charlotte smiled. Her eyebrows pulled together a moment later. “Mom will come around.”

“Well, now that you are better, I can focus all my French charm on winning her over,” he joked.

Charlotte attempted a smile, but it wavered and fell. “I’m not better,” she said as a tear slid down her gaunt cheek.

“What do you mean,
ma chérie
? Your fever has broken, and Myles said your kidneys are doing better already.” He tried to comfort her, but she just shook her head.

“Guy, I still have cancer. What if this happens again? What if…?”

Cradling her as best he could with all the tubes and sensors trailing from her body, Guy attempted to shelter her from her fears. He had never been so terrified in his life as he had been thinking he might lose Charlotte. He knew what she said was true. It could all happen again. There was still much Charlotte would be forced to overcome, but Guy’s faith had been restored.

“
Ma fille précieuse
, do not be afraid. You are so precious to me. We will face this together. I am not ready to say goodbye to you, and neither is Warren. We are all here for you,
ma chérie
.”

“I’m not ready to say goodbye, either,” Charlotte whispered. “I love you both so much.”

“I love you, too
, ma chérie
.” Guy stroked her hair gently. “Rest now. Your…”

Guy’s words were interrupted by the sound of pounding. Guy and Charlotte were startled into turning, and found Warren’s small fists banging on the window. “Mommy!” he wailed as joyful tears streamed down his face.