The Gift
Chapter 26
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Brian bit his nails all the way home. The flight was terrible, but he wasn't even thinking about that. Nick sat beside him, staring out the window the whole time.
"You know you didn't have to come with me," Brian said softly.
"What? Like I'm gonna let you go through this alone," Nick said, still not looking at him.
"I tried to get through to somebody at the hospital to see if I could talk to her, but they were transferring her to University. Apparently they're better equipped to handle... Oh God, Nick. What am I gonna do? What if something happens to the baby?" Brian said, resting his forehead on his hand.
"I'd be more worried about Lainie," Nick muttered.
"Well, of course I'm worried about Lainie," Brian snapped. "She's my wife. I love her more than anything. I'd die without her."
"Could've fooled me," Nick said, finally turning to face Brian. "What was that girl doing in your room, man?"
Brian sighed heavily and looked away.
"That's what I thought," Nick said quietly. "Did you?"
"No," Brian replied.
"But you wanted to," Nick stated. Brian nodded.
"That's not cool, man. That's really, really not cool." Nick said, shaking his head. They didn't speak again for the rest of the flight. Once the plane landed in Orlando, a limo met them at the front of the terminal, and they rushed off to University hospital.
Brian ran up to the reception area.
"Lainie Littrell's room number please," he said, breathlessly.
"And you are?" the receptionist said, her tone condescending and nasally.
"I'm her husband," Brian said, shaking his head in confusion.
"Alright, so you're the famous Brian Littrell?" she asked. "There have been so many people asking for your wife's room number tonight. Teenage girls have been mobbing this place. I guess they're looking for you or something." The lady shook her head disgustedly. "This is a hospital, not a rock concert."
"Please," Brian pleaded, "just give me her room number."
"She's in room 415," the lady said, pointing to the elevators.
Brian and Nick raced to the elevator and Brian punched the up button about 1442 times. Finally, the doors opened, and they got on to take the short ride to the 4th floor. Brian ran down the halls to room 415. He said a silent prayer before he entered. He slowly, quietly opened the door and entered. Nick stood outside.
Lainie was curled up on her side sleeping. She had all kinds of IV's hooked up to her, and a fetal monitor strapped to her stomach. Brian could hear the reassuring whoosh whoosh sound of the baby's heartbeat clearly over the monitor. He sat down in the chair beside Lainie and gently stroked her forehead with his thumb. She slowly opened her eyes and smiled.
"Hey baby," she said, her voice raspy from sleep. "I'm glad you're here."
"Are you ok?" he asked, taking her hand in his.
"I'm ok. They said it was just a small abruption of the placenta. It's apparently sealed itself off for now, though. The baby's doing fine. But I'm gonna have to be in here for awhile," she said, frowning.
"That's ok. I'm not going anywhere," he said. "I'm staying right here with you. I wouldn't leave you for anything in the world."
"Good," she said, smiling again. "They gave me this shot to make the baby's lungs mature faster just in case they have to deliver him before it's time."
"Good," Brian said, taking her hand in his. He kissed her fingers and stared down at her wedding band. His thoughts went back to the inscriptions on their rings... What God Hath Joined Together, Let No Man Put Asunder. He closed his eyes as the tears began to fall.
"What's wrong, baby?" she asked, her eyes filled with concern.
What on earth could he tell her? He certainly couldn't tell her WHY he was upset. Because he had been unfaithful to her. His beautiful, sweet wife. This was all his fault. He knew God was punishing him for not living up to his vows. He had put their vows asunder by kissing that woman and allowing her to touch him, and now God was punishing him by making him suffer like this. Lainie didn't deserve this. Brian knew he had to tell her...
"Baby, I..." he started, but Nick's entrance into the room interrputed him.
"Hey Laine," Nick said quietly, taking a seat on the other side of her. "I know you're still not speaking to me, but I just wanted to make sure you're ok."
"I'm fine," she said, flatly. She still didn't like Nick. Her dislike had really grown more into an irritation with him, but still... she would prefer it if he would leave.
"Can I get you anything?" Nick asked, straightening her blankets.
"No. I'm fine," she repeated.
"Ok. Well... Brian? You need anything? I think I'm gonna head down to the snack bar or something," Nick said, standing up.
"Yeah. Could you get me a coke or something?" Brian asked.
"Sure, man. Hey, can I talk to you outside for a minute?"
Brian nodded and let go of Lainie's hand. He kissed her forehead and walked out into the hall with Nick.
"Brian, I'm not gonna tell her and I don't think you should either," Nick said, looking down.
"I have to, Nick. This is all my fault. If I hadn't broken my vows, none of this would have happened. God's punishing me, and I have to confess," Brian said, looking up at the ceiling. The tears were threatening to spill over again.
"Look at me," Nick said. Brian looked at him, and tears rolled down his cheeks. "Rok, you didn't sleep with the girl. If you 'confess' to Lainie, you're just gonna upset her. And what's the point in doing that? Also, if you tell her, you're just gonna be clearing your own conscience. What good will it do? You'll upset her for the sake of clearing your conscience.You ask forgiveness from God, Brian. That's what you've gotta do. Ask forgiveness, then don't do it again."
Brian nodded. Nick was actually making sense... for once. And Brian knew from that moment on, he would never, ever slip again.
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Even though Lainie wasn't really speaking to Nick, he still hung around. He didn't feel right leaving. When Brian had to go home to shower, Nick would sit in the rocking chair beside Lainie and watch television. She tolerated his presence, although he really did irritate her to no end.
One afternoon, in the 35th week of Lainie's pregnancy, Brian had gone home to feed the dog and take a shower. Lainie was feeling particularly gloomy that day. It was raining outside, and she was alone. For once, Nick wasn't there. She actually wished he was. At least she'd have something to look at besides the gray material of the recliner that was right beside her bed. She wasn't allowed to roll off of her side very much, because it put too much pressure on the baby when she laid on her back. She was sore. She was grumpy. She was tired of being in that damned bed.
"Hello, sunshine," Nick said, as he entered the room. He always said the same thing every time he came in. She was getting sick of being called Sunshine. She ignored him, but she was glad he was there. He sat down in the chair beside her and turned on the television.
"Turn that off," Lainie grouched.
"Sorry," he said. "Guess I'll read my magazine."
"Oh, did the new edition of Mad come out today?" she asked sarcastically.
"Ooooh you're bein' mean today," he laughed. "No, actually, it's People. Kevin's in it. You remember... he did that Sexiest Bachelor thing a while back."
"Oh yeah," she said. "Lemme see that." She flipped though the pages to the article about Kevin. There was a beautiful, closeup picture of Kevin and his emerald green eyes. He looked incredible, as usual. Lainie quickly scanned the article and handed the magazine back to Nick. Her hip was hurting. She needed to roll over just a little, so she shifted her body ever so slightly. When she did, she felt something pull deep inside her stomach, and she flinched.
"Owww," she muttered.
"You alright?" Nick asked, not looking up from the magazine.
"Yep. Fine." Lainie replied, but she wasn't so sure. A few minutes later, she felt a wet sensation between her legs. She cautiously put her hand down there and brought it up. It was covered with blood.
"Nick," she moaned. "Oh God. Get the nurse..."
Nick glanced up from the magazine and his eyes grew huge. "Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit." He jumped up and ran out of the room. Within seconds, the room was filled with people, examining Lainie, monitoring the baby's heartrate, shooting drugs into her IV. Finally, Dr. Richmond came in. He had a calming tone to his voice with he spoke to her.
"Lainie, honey, it's time to deliver the baby. You've had another abruption, and the baby's having a little problem keeping it's heartrate up. We're going to have to do an emergency c-section, sweetie."
Even as he spoke, the nurses began prepping her for surgery. They gathered all the IV tubes up and began to wheel her out of the room on the bed.
"NICK!" Lainie called. "Nick, please come with me!"
Nick ran to her side and held her hand.
"Dr. Richmond, can Nick be in there with me. Please?" Lainie begged.
"Ok, but you're gonna be asleep, honey," the doctor replied. "You won't know if he's there or not."
"No, but I want him there. And the baby might recognize his voice or something. Please!" Lainie knew she wasn't making sense, but she was just so scared. She didn't know what else to do.
"He can come with you, sweetheart. Just let us get you in the OR, ok?"
"Ok, "she said, holding Nick's hand tightly in her own bloody hand. Nick looked down and cringed. Oh man, that was a lot of blood. It was beginning to seep from under the sheets, and Nick felt a little faint. He had to let go as they transferred her carefully to the operating table, but he quickly grabbed her hand again as soon as he could. She looked at him with panic in her eyes.
"Don't leave me, Nick," she begged, as they injected something into her IV that made her very drowsy.
"I promise I won't leave," Nick said, stroking her forehead. They gowned Nick just as Lainie fell asleep. He stood back and let the anesthesiologist insert the tube into Lainie's throat. The doctor cut the gown off of her and exposed her belly. Within seconds, the doctor pulled the small, red baby out of Lainie's abdomen. It wasn't crying.
Nick swallowed hard. Oh God, don't let that baby die, he prayed. Dear Lord, don't let it die.
The pediatric specialist took the baby to the warmer and began to work on it. They suctioned it's lungs, then began doing CPR. Within just a few seconds, Nick heard a lusty cry come from the warmer. As much as he wanted to go to the baby, he had promised Lainie that he wouldn't leave her. And he didn't.
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Brian returned to the hospital and found Lainie's room empty. He saw blood on the floor and he panicked. He ran out to the nurses station.
"Where's my wife?" he asked, frantically.
"She's in surgery, Brian," one of the nurses answered. "They had to take the baby. It was an emergency c-section. But everything looks fine. Your friend was with her, though. She wasn't alone."
"My baby... is here?" he asked, wide eyed.
"Yep. Sure is. And Lainie's doing fine," she said, smiling.
"Can I see them?" he asked.
"You can see the baby," she replied. "Lainie'll be in recovery for a few hours, though."
"Ok," he said, numbly following the her to the nursery. They gowned him and had him wash his hands as soon as he entered. The nurse led him to a basinette and he stared down at the tiny baby inside, bundled up tight.
"Brian, this is your son," she said, smiling. She picked up the baby and motioned for Brian to sit down in the rocking chair. He sat, and she place the baby in his arms. He was so tiny. He opened his tiny little eyes and looked up at his daddy, confused. He had somehow worked his arm up beside his face, he sucked his little thumb. Brian smiled.
"My son..." Brian said, shaking his head. "My SON. I have a son..."
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On the first day they brought little Thomas James Littrell (T.J. for short) home from the hospital, Lainie sat in the rocking chair in his nursery and watched him nurse at her breast. She stared out the window at the trees blowing in the Florida breeze, and she sighed. Her life was exactly as she wanted it... She had her beautiful husband and now her beautiful little boy. She never thought it was possible to be this content with life.
"Hey. You up for company?" a voice said from behind her. It was AJ and Kevin.
"Sure," she said, throwing a blanket over her shoulder for modesty's sake. No need to embarrass the guys by making them watch the baby breastfeeding.
"Awww I wanted to see him," Kevin said, sounding disappointed.
"Well, ok," Lainie laughed, pulling the blanket away.
"He's beautiful," Kevin murmured, stroking the baby's cheek with the back of his forefinger. "He's gonna look like his mama."
"No, he actually looks just like his daddy," Lainie laughed.
"Poor kid," AJ said. "But at least he has a cool name. Hey, TJ, don't ever let anybody tell you that having initials for a name isn't cool. Only the coolest people in the world can get away with having initials for a name."
"Well, we won't bother you," Kevin said, kissing Lainie's cheek. AJ did the same.
"Bye sweetheart," AJ said. "We'll be back later."
"Ok," she said, smiling up at them.
A few minutes later, Brian came in and sat down on the floor in front of her. He stared up at her, smiling.
"What are you smiling at?" she asked, laughing.
"I got you something," he said, holding out a small box with a ribbon.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Open it."
She took the box from his hand and pulled off the ribbon. Inside the box was the most beautiful princess cut diamond engagement ring she had ever seen.
"Oh Brian," she gasped.
"I never got you an engagement ring. We've been married almost a year, and I never even thought to get you one. I figured it was time. You can consider that your baby gift from me," he said, sitting up on his knees.
Lainie put her hand behind his neck and pulled him to her. They kissed softly and Brian was nearly in tears from the emotion of it all. They looked down at their baby, peacefully nursing at his mother's breast.
"It's a beautiful ring," she said. "But you already gave me the best gift anybody could ever give. You gave me our son, and you gave me your love. That's all I ever wanted, and that's all I'll ever need."
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