Chapter 20: Helpless
POV: Zac
Word Count: 3307
May 20, 2009
I would never again downplay the amount of pain or comfort issues any abdominal wound is, it was one bullet that missed all major things but it was highly uncomfortable. It really wasn’t bad Sunday or even Monday, Tuesday had been pretty bad. But, her appointment was today and I didn’t want to miss any of them so I nagged the doctor all day yesterday and Shawn ended up double promising them I wouldn’t even get out of the chair. He was driving a special van so that the wheelchair would be locked.
Our accounts were flooded with get well soon messages, they had announced the incident Monday when I was clear enough to say go ahead and by then everyone knew I was here. I’d woken up before her and just enjoyed the quiet room until there was a light knock.
“Come in.”
I expected a family member but Lucas is the one that came in the room.
“Morning, I didn’t know if you were awake.”
“I moved and yeah my pain pump says I have an hour left.”
“The bastard thing.”
“I’m telling you, don’t ever get shot dude.”
“Not a problem, Gabby here?”
“Do you not see her on the cot dude? Maybe you should get your eyes checked.”
He glanced and lingered a moment too long for my liking but then sat down at the foot of the bed.
“How are you?”
“Aside from the uncomfortable pain and the boredom of being here, I’m good. Worried she’s not resting well and I’m not because she’s not here.”
“So, I’ve heard multiple things. What happened?”
“She went to take the trash out and I was going out with the last bag, very small one and I needed to dump the heavier bags too. I heard her talking and heard him talking, I didn’t know he had a gun but she stepped back and I saw it. He looked dead set on killing her and I couldn’t let him. I pushed her out of the way and I don’t know which shot hit me, but I remember seeing her laying on the ground and him running away.”
“So, she was arguing with someone?”
“Her ex-boyfriend, Simon. Bastards been a thorn in my side since I met her. He kept sending messages to her even before we were together, kept on with dick pics and pictures of him with other women. He then sent his band members to scare her, he sent Max to her, although he says the he didn’t. He’s just…he’s stressing her and I both and then he tried to kill her.”
“Sounds like he needs to let her go.”
“He does, but he won’t. I doubt this would stop him. Added, did I mention we have to move in a week and four days and I can’t do any lifting of any kind. I can’t pick up boxes or pack up things. Ike’s wedding is Sunday and I don’t even know if I’ll be there.”
“You will be Zac. Just calm down.”
“Lucas, we have to be out of the apartment by the first, he’s already got a tenant moving in. I can’t miss my brother’s wedding. I don’t know how to accomplish those and deal with this.”
“Believe me, you’ll figure it out. You’ve been the person to solve problems forever.”
“I hope so.”
He smiled some. “Is there anything I can do?”
“Not really. Taylor will bring her food soon, he’s been averaging nine. He can bring me some stuff but not much.”
“How is she?”
“Tired of the hospital.”
I saw her sit up, hair sticking up everywhere and she rubbed her eyes. She refused to believe me but I could see a little bump, not a huge one, but it was noticeable to me. Especially when she was laying down. She looked beautiful really, even right now. She kept the blanket around her though because the pajamas she had were kind of short.
“Morning baby.” I said.
“Morning, morning Lucas.”
He turned. “Morning.”
She sat there several minutes before she got up and adjusted her clothes, got her bag and went to the bathroom. Lucas definitely watched and I moved my foot next to him.
“How have you been?”
“Good, just worried and stressed too. I mean, I heard about you and didn’t know what was going on. You are an asshole, but not that bad! Made me wonder if a previous booty call got mad.”
“No, just an ex.”
I heard the shower come on and knew she was getting ready for her appointment also, which was this afternoon. Taylor arrived at ten after nine and she came out of the bathroom at thirty after. She settled in beside me on the bed, using my tray table for her own table. Some may find it weird that I take pleasure in the fact she was eating.
“Were you starving?” Lucas asked.
“Hey, dinner was a long time ago.”
“It’s fine, I think Shawn said you were stopping on the way back for lunch.” Taylor said.
“Way back from where?” Lucas asked.
“Routine doctor’s appointment, nothing major.” I said.
He stayed for another hour before leaving and she didn’t move from that spot. Not that I minded it gave me a place to rest my head and nap before the doctor came in with Shawn.
“Okay, I’m approving you to go with your wife to the appointment, I understand you don’t want to miss scans and she may not have another one until 20 weeks. This is uncommon and dangerous but the only way I will approve it is if Shawn stays with you. He will drive you both there and back.”
He removed the IV and checked the stitches and area before he ever had the nurse bring a wheelchair.
“You do not get up.”
The doctor and Shawn helped me from the bed to the chair and got me settled in.
“Are you ready Ella?”
“Yeah.”
We used the ambulance entrance because I couldn’t be seen, there were some fans hanging around the lobby and we wanted to avoid them. Likewise it felt weird to ride in a wheelchair but Shawn dropped her off at the front door and took us around back, coming in a rear door. We did have to wait until she was called back.
“Have you ever been to one of these?” I asked.
“I came to one with a female friend long ago, I didn’t come back though. She was just a friend who needed someone to bring her.”
The nurse lead us to the room and Gabby was already sitting there, Shawn parked me out of the way and was just standing there.
“Shawn…do you mind?” Gabby asked.
“What?” He asked.
“Can you step out for just a little bit? There requiring me to take things off and well, I don’t mind if I’m dying but I’d really rather not be half naked in front of you.”
“Gottcha, I’ll wait outside the door. But, I want to be here with that sonogram.”
“She’ll move me to that room, no problem.”
He stepped outside and they did just that, doing a complete exam and I just sat here quite confused. I hadn’t been to one of these types and this was new.
“You okay?” she asked.
“Yeah, never had to sit through one of those exams before. I’m not sure how I feel about that yet.”
“Nothing major, they just want to make sure things are okay.”
The nurse left with the samples and her doctor came in a few minutes later, reviewed the chart and looked at us.
“Mr. Hanson are you okay?”
“I was shot Saturday but wouldn’t miss this.”
“Dedication, glad you have it. It looks like all the blood work we’ve done has been normal. That is good. You’re blood pressure is also in a normal range but keep a check on that at home too. We will call you if the swabs have issue, but the nurse said she didn’t think it would. How are the headaches?”
“Pretty much gone, I have had one or two since the last appointment but nothing a little rest didn’t cure.”
“Good. Your weight is good, gaining about the normal for how far you are. We’re going to do a sonogram today and look to make sure things are where they should be, we’ll also check for abnormalities and routine checks. Do you want us to test for down syndrome and other genetic disorders?”
“Yes.” She said.
“Okay.”
He went ahead and drew blood and then left her to get dressed again, the nurse then lead us to the sonogram room where Shawn parked me and stood behind me.
“You will remain dressed right?” Shawn asked.
“Unless they do a vaginal ultrasound, yes. Which they shouldn’t.”
“Phew.”
I giggled and winced at the pain. The technician came in, greeted us and then began to set up, getting the machine set up and her settled and then the cold jelly. For several moments she kept the screen to her before turning it. Both of us seemed shocked, what was just a tiny bean looking thing last time at 7 weeks, was now way more human like.
“Here’s the baby’s head, I don’t see any signs of down syndrome or abnormalities.”
He or she was clearly moving around, she kept having to find him or her to make sure she got the right scans.
“That’s a foot, lower leg.”
“You can’t tell the sex can you?” Shawn asked.
“Not right now. We will look for the sex of the baby at the 20 week anatomy scan if they want to know.”
She moved the wand again. “Arm, looks like he or she is waving. Like hey mom, hey dad. I’m here.”
There was this indescribable expressions on Gabby’s face, which seemed much more relaxed. She played the heartbeat again, the same noises but strong, steady and the sound was like music to me. She got some more images and printed them. I expected her to hand them to me but she didn’t. Maybe she was finally coming around to this idea and here I was, helpless to do anything for her right now.
Once we were ready to go we went out the back way, no need to separate now. Shawn did the drive through and then we returned to the hospital. The IV was left out as long as the pain didn’t get bad. Shawn hung around until his shift and then headed out. Gabby had spent a large portion of the time looking at the sonogram pictures from today.
“Are you okay? You didn’t do that last time.”
“Last time I was trying not to remember much, so that when I was told I wasn’t, it wouldn’t hurt near as bad.”
“And this time?”
“Well, there is rapid proof that that won’t happen. She said there was no abnormalities that she could see, I can’t feel the movement but clearly he or she is moving. I guess I feel like I can enjoy it now because I don’t have to be so scared that I’ll suddenly be unpregnant.”
“Not going to happen.”
“You want to explain why you’re looking so down?”
“I just feel helpless here. Like I can’t really do anything.”
She got up and came to the bed, sat down beside me. “You can talk to me.”
“I know, but I mean like I can’t protect you like I should. I can’t stomp Simon’s ass right now. I can’t even help Isaac with his wedding and things, I’m not even sure I’ll be able to attend. We are so close with the house and now I can’t even pack and move anything. It gives me perspective on how you felt last year when you couldn’t do shit.”
“Yeah, feels pretty shitty to know you can’t really do much of anything. The doctor is confident and there is talk of releasing you Saturday. I think you may not feel up to standing that long, but I know you’ll be there.”
“That does nothing for our move. We’re not ready and he has tenants lined up already. We can’t extend the lease.”
She moved some of the hair out of my face. “Just because you cannot move anything or do anything, doesn’t mean I can’t. Don’t even say it, I don’t plan to do any heavy lifting. But, I can pack. I think I know at least three people that would move everything.”
“Gabby.”
“No. Sorry, you are on the do not do shit list with me. So, deal. If they release you then I can let you pack up stuff too. Andrew and Jack will move us if I ask, you know they will. Taylor will also be available, Sierra, and Abby. I’m sure between them we can get moved on time.”
“Is the house even ready?”
“I spoke to Marello yesterday and Abby went by, he has a list of things he’s completing this week and the house should be move in ready Monday. He does want me to come over and verify colors tomorrow. Once they are approved then they’ll put the hardwood floors down and the carpet, then all that’s left is base boards and little odds and ends.”
“Where have I been?”
“Asleep. I did a lot of calling Monday and some of those were asking them about moving and stuff. I haven’t told them why I couldn’t lift anything.”
“I think if you want to tell them you can.”
“No. We need to tell the family members first. I told them I couldn’t lift things because I’d pulled a muscle Saturday night while packing the trailer up. Taylor, Isaac and Shawn will confirm it. They may have their suspicions but they can’t be mad that I want family to know first.”
“Don’t you consider Sierra and Abby family?”
“I consider them friends and I know Abby can’t keep her mouth shut.”
“Truth. Okay, so they bought this story?”
“Yes. After Isaac’s wedding they’ll head to their honeymoon and we’ll get moved in. I’ll make sure the bedroom is moved first and set up. That way you can chill there while the rest is moved.”
“You didn’t ask Lucas?”
“No. I didn’t.”
“Do you mind me asking why? He’ll help us Gabby.”
“I don’t need another guy. Three should be fine. Besides, we’re using Andrew’s truck so only three can fit in the front. Abby and Sierra will come with me in Abby’s parents truck. We’ll load them both up, unload. Six people. We really shouldn’t need more than maybe two trips, we don’t have a lot of large items really.”
“We need to buy other things too.”
“Later. We don’t need to put anything in the other rooms yet. What we primarily need is the bedroom, living room and kitchen. Once we’re there full time we can determine what we need to buy for the rooms. Which, we know one will be a nursery so it’ll have a crib.”
“You have this all thought out and here I’ve been worrying myself about it. Anything else I don’t need to worry about?”
“You need to worry about getting better. I know you guys can write and do some smaller things but they seem to want to move forward with the album.”
“I told them I can’t really drum much until I’m healed and cleared. So, we’re going to get some writing done and we can record demos and stuff. I can then lay down drum tracks when I am cleared.”
She smiled. “See, you’re here worried about all this and it’s already taken care of.”
“No word from Simon?”
“No. But, something bothers me about that.”
“What does?”
“We assumed Simon killed Max and that Simon sent all those items. Zac he didn’t know about Max. When I mentioned him being dead he had no clue what I was talking about. What if…What if he didn’t kill Max?”
“Well, baby he was dealing and supplying drugs, it’s very possible that he pissed someone else off.”
“Simon said he hasn’t talk to him since November, if that’s true, who the hell was he taking me too? He told me Simon.”
“It’s possible Simon lied about that but not about knowing.”
“He also said the gifts weren’t him.”
“What exactly are you trying to say here?”
“What if there is someone else? I said all along the gifts didn’t seem like him. You cannot deny that these are not just simple thank you items. There more personal than that. Come on Zac, we can’t be blind to this.”
“Okay, what if it isn’t Simon? Any ideas on who it could be?”
“No. But, I called Mabis Monday too. He agreed to meet with me next Monday. I want to show him everything we have gotten since, not just the one he has.”
“Okay.”
“Debbie also called yesterday…”
“Good news?”
“The painting of the swan, on the lake. The one inspired by the little figurine, she put it up as a bid item. One purchaser kept over bidding people.”
“What do you mean?”
“She started the bid at 250, the final bid was over five thousand. The first couple of bids were fifty to a hundred, then it jumped to a thousand, she said she thought for sure that was it, but apparently two people wanted it. She capped it at five thousand and the winner jumped from 1700 to 5g’s.”
“He wasn’t playing was he?”
“No. I’m betting the person that bought the painting is the one that sent the item.”
“Why?”
“The buyer told her his girlfriend was picking it up. Check cleared already, she’s already sent my part too.”
“Well, it’s possible. But, it’s also possible the person just had to have it.”
“Yeah. It is. It was a good painting.”
“It was. Do you want a girl or a boy?”
She looked quite stunned by that question really and she just sat there.
“Honestly, I don’t think I care either way. As long as he or she gets here safely and nothing happens.”
“I want a boy.”
“You sure are set in that, let me guess you have a theme in your head and a name too?”
“Sports theme with all kinds represented and Elijah James.”
“Elijah James?”
“Yes. That’s just the one I like.”
“I really haven’t thought about names, I mean really I’m just now kind of letting myself get use to and comfortable with the idea. Letting myself stop worrying about losing the baby. I can’t believe the difference from 7 weeks and 12.”
I smiled. “Think about it, at 20 weeks he or she will look just like a little baby. Fully formed and just needing 20 more weeks to gain weight and for the heart and lungs to be mature enough.”
“20 weeks is a long way off.”
I smiled. “Yeah.”
She moved and settled back beside me where she pretty much stayed the rest of the afternoon, even when Isaac and Nicole brought dinner to her, mine was from the hospital. She sat there beside me. They went over potential plans in the event I couldn’t just stand the entire time. We come to the conclusion that her husband can walk her down and then sit down himself near the front and I’d just sit there until he arrived then take over. It wasn’t traditional or even normal, but the doctor agreed that I didn’t need to be standing that long that soon. He wanted ‘rest’ and nothing but ‘rest’.
I saw that as I’m going to be bored! But, getting better was more important than anything else. I’d get better so that by the time we did have this baby, I could protect them both from Simon or anyone else.