| "Well, the baby is a little over five weeks early, so she's really underweight. They took her to the ICU a few minutes ago, but they expect her to be just fine." Mark let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. "So everyone's fine, then." Brad nodded with a bright smile. Mark nodded and turned. "Have you seen the baby?" Brad shook his head. "No, no one has. Not even Ayvee. They rushed her off right after she was born to get her into the ICU and make sure everything was gonna be okay." "So have you heard anything yet?" "Just that they expect her to be fine." Mark nodded, frowning slightly. "Mr. Armstrong? You can see her now." Brad nodded and smiled at Mark before following the nurse back through the doors. Mark's eyebrow rose, and he walked over to the counter. "Uh, can I see �ibhleann McIvers please?" The nurse looked up at him over her reading glasses. "Are you related?" "I'm the baby's father." "Your name?" "Mark Tremonti." She nodded. "I'm afraid you'll have to wait. She's got someone in there already." "Well, can I see the baby?" She shook her head. "Not stable yet." "What do you mean, not stable?" "The baby's vitals haven't stabilized yet. It could be a while. Just have a seat and you can see Ms. McIvers soon." Mark sat with a heavy sigh as he crossed his arms over his chest, fuming. This wasn't fair. He was the baby's freakin' father, and this clown got to see her first. He had just started to doze off when he heard his name break through the clouds in his brain, and he stood slowly, stretching. "Mark," the nurse said again. She smiled as he walked toward her. "You can see her now." Brad nodded at him as they passed in the long, narrow hallway. Mark forced a smile, then rolled his eyes as soon as he was out of sight. He thanked the nurse and entered the room silently. He smiled slightly when he saw her lying on the bed. She looked exhausted, her eyes closed and breathing steady. He sat in the chair next to the bed and reached out, taking the tips of her fingers into his own. She stirred slightly, turning her head to face him as her eyes fluttered open in slow motion. "Hey baby," he whispered. She closed her eyes again and smiled. "Where have you been?" she asked with a slight laugh. "I got here as fast as I could. The cabbies aren't too speedy around here." She laughed again. "You doin okay?" he asked, leaning forward to rest his elbow on the bed. His fingers traced patterns up her arm. She shook her head. "I just had a baby, Mark. I feel like crap." He smiled. "How is she, by the way?" "I don't know," he said slowly. "Brad said something about them taking her to ICU, and the nurse at the counter said she wasn't stable yet, but not to worry." "She's not stable?" �ibhleann nearly shrieked, sitting up suddenly, then wincing. Mark jumped forward, making her lay back down. "Hey, hey. Slow down there. Just calm down." "How can they say to stay calm if she's not stable yet? What's going on?" "Just calm down, baby. She'll be fine. She just came a little early and they want to make sure she's okay first." "But she's not stable--" Mark cut her off, putting his finger over her lips, shushing her. "Shh. Just rest for now, okay?" He though about asking her exactly who Brad was and what he was doing there, but thought it best to let her rest and not to upset her right now. She slowly drifted to sleep, Mark keeping a watchful eye, a warm fuzzy growing inside of him at the thought of actually really being a father now. He beamed. *** "Scott, it's me. Yeah, hey. Yeah. No, we haven't seen her yet. Not even Ayvee. I'm starting to get worried now. I know, I know. But still. Not stable after a day and a half? I just want to see her, that's all." Mark took a deep breath. "Scott? I don't know how to tell you this, but..." he trailed off. "Mark, please don't say it," Scott breathed. "I'm sorry, man. Either way I'll feel guilty, and at least this way I know I'll have a place in my daughter's life." Mark cringed as he said it, not having expressed his thoughts to anyone - not even �ibhleann. "It's not forever, Scott. I just need some time to figure stuff out, you know?" "Mark," Scott began, but he couldn't come up with anything to say. He sighed. "Can we at least talk this out first before you make a decision?" "It's just for a while." "Please, Mark." The desperation in Scott's voice caught Mark off guard. He sighed. "Yeah, okay. But I gotta go for now. I'll call you later tonight." "Okay. Bye." "Later," Mark said quietly, rubbing his forehead with trembling fingers. "What the hell am I doing?" he asked himself out loud. He took a deep breath and re-entered �ibhleann's hospital room, forcing a smile when she looked up at him. "What was that all about?" "Just talking to Scott." She nodded. "I couldn't get a hold of him before I left, so I just wanted to tell him I was going to be gone for a while." Her eyebrow rose. "What's wrong?" He shook his head, and she sighed. "Mark, something is bothering you. Please tell me." He didn't say anything. She sat up in her bed and looked at him, boring holes in him while he avoided her eyes. "Mark?" "I told Scott I needed to take some time off." "Like a vacation?" she asked, her brows furrowing. "Not exactly." Her eyebrow rose, and she leaned forward slightly. He didn't offer any more information. "What's going on?" "I need to be here with you," he said quietly. His eyes met hers as he spoke, sending chills down her spine. "But what about the tour?" "It'll have to wait." �ibhleann shook her head slowly. "Don't," she said. "Not for me." "It's what you wanted." She sighed, closing her eyes. "I've got to call Scott back tonight so we can talk about it." "Am I going to be in on the discussion or am I not a part of this?" she asked. "You can if you want to," he answered. She nodded. The tension in the room escalated as silence filled the air. A nurse stuck her head in the door. "You can see her if you'd like to," she said with a wink. Mark helped �ibhleann to her feet and they followed the nurse down the hall. The nurse asked them to scrub up before entering the ICU, and they followed her directions, slipping the hair nets and smocks on, finally going through the swinging doors into the ICU. They wound around the various incubators until they arrived at one with �ibhleann's name scrawled on a small tag. Orders hung on a clip board just below the name tag. The corners of Mark's mouth turned upward as he looked down at his child. She was sleeping, her little fingers curled up and her feet sticking up in the air just slightly. �ibhleann smiled and leaned forward slightly. |