You Belong To Me

Chapter Fifteen

The second helicopter arrived at the hospital a short time after the first one landed. The group made a mad dash for the emergency room where Marlena was waiting for them alone. Belle rushed towards her mother and embraced her tightly.

"Oh Mom, I am so glad to see you."

Marlena held on to her daughter and kissed her on the top of her head. "Same here... I'm glad you kids are all safe now."

Belle smiled and looked up at her mom. "Where's Brady and Chloe?"

Marlena let go of Belle and sat in a nearby chair, as Belle took the chair to her left and John sat on her right. The three others sat in the chairs across from them, waiting to hear the news that Marlena had to give them.

Marlena rubbed her hands together and sighed. "They rushed Brady into the operating room as soon as they landed. Chloe insisted that Craig be allowed to observe. Chloe and her mother are in an exam room right now, waiting until she can get checked out."

Mimi breathed a sigh of relief and slumped down in her chair. "Well, that's good... cause of the baby and all."

John and Marlena both snapped their heads in Mimi's direction and uttered a simultaneous, "Baby?"

Mimi sunk lower and cringed. "Whoops... I kind of forgot that not everybody was in on that secret."

Belle sighed and brushed a piece of hair behind her ear. "I didn't want to tell you guys until we knew that she was safe. But, it's true. She did the tests a couple of days before the wedding. She's not very far along, but she's definitely pregnant."

John broke into a smile and shook his head in disbelief. "I can't believe it... My little boy is going to be a father."

Belle smiled and nodded happily. "And, I get to be an aunt again. Which is good, because all of the other kids in the family are growing up too fast. I want to be around and enjoy this one."

Shawn smiled shyly at Belle and interjected. "And that's why you're moving back home."

"One reason... but not the only reason."

Mimi yawned loudly and decided to change the subject suddenly. "So, now that we've swooped in and saved the day like Indiana Jones, what do we do now?"

Phillip sat up straight and looked Mimi in the eyes. "Well, YOU are going to see a doctor as soon as there is one available."

Belle nodded in agreement and continued, "And I'm going to wait until Chloe's been checked out and I know something about Brady's condition before I make any decisions."

Marlena clasped her daughter's hand tightly and nodded. "Then we'll wait together."

Belle smiled weakly and laid her head on her mother's shoulder. Phillip stood and escorted Mimi to the admissions desk so she could fill out paperwork and be seen by a doctor, as Shawn got comfortable with a magazine and John left to get a cup of coffee. Belle let her eyes close slightly as she felt her exhaustion from the past few days finally hit her.

***

(About 2 hours later, which is pretty good service at a hospital, really.)

Belle felt her mother nudge her slightly, and she awoke with a start. Mimi and Phillip were still gone, and Shawn had now moved to her other side and her father was in the chair across from them. She stifled a yawn as she saw Nancy Wesley sit down next to John.

"Nancy... Is Chloe okay?"

Nancy smiled and nodded affirmatively. "She's going to be fine. And the baby is fine too. Although, the shock of that news was almost enough to give ME a heart attack. They do want to admit her though, just as a precaution. They ran all kinds of tests already. She's a little dehydrated, but mostly tired and scared."

Shawn had already closed his magazine and leaned forward in his chair. "Can we see her?"

"Absolutely... She needs rest, but I think right now she'd appreciate a visit from her friends first."

Nancy stood and motioned for the others to join her. "Come on, I'll show you to her room."

The rest of the group stood and followed Nancy toward Chloe's hospital room. When they reached Chloe's room, she was sitting up in her hospital bed with an IV attached to her arm. She smiled weakly at them as they came in and surrounded her bed.

"Hey guys... Where's Mimi and Phillip?"

Belle motioned towards the emergency room and answered. "Mimi hit her head this morning, so we made her get checked out. Phillip is keeping her company."

Chloe's brow wrinkled in concern. "Is she okay?"

Belle grabbed her hand and nodded confidently. "Yeah, she'll be fine. I mean, she's always had a pretty hard head... This is no exception."

Chloe half-grinned and nodded in agreement. "That's true."

Shawn motioned towards the IV beside Chloe's bed. "What's the IV for?"

"Fluids, nutrients, all that. I haven't exactly been eating my three square meals lately, so they want to make sure I don't get too dehydrated or malnutritioned."

John interjected his own comments, "Well, now that you're eating for two... my grandson or granddaughter, it's important."

Chloe looked downward, with a hint of sadness on her face. "Yeah... I just..." Chloe took a deep breath and attempted to regain her composure. "I have to be strong. For Brady, and for the baby."

Belle squeezed her hand reassuringly. "You will be. You already are. And if you ever have a moment of weakness, that's what you have us for."

Belle was trying her hardest to be the voice of comfort and reason amongst her friends and family, but deep down she had the same fears and worries gnawing away at her. Brady was not just her brother, he was one of her best friends and she couldn't imagine what her life would be like without him.

There was a long quiet moment of shared worry between the occupants of Chloe's hospital room. Shawn was about to speak again, when the door opened allowing Mimi and Phillip to enter.

Chloe lifted her head and smiled at them. "Hey, Mimi... how's your head?"

Mimi tapped on it with one finger and smiled. "Hard as a rock. Nothing to worry about."

"Good... I'm glad to hear it."

Phillip looked around at the solemn faces of the others and spoke up. "Any word on Brady yet?"

Chloe shook her head and sighed. "Not yet... Craig said it might be awhile, but all this waiting... I can't stand it. I just wish I could be there, holding his hand during whatever he's going through."

Belle nodded in agreement. "Me too... but, you know that Craig is in there making sure he gets the best care possible."

"I know... it's just, at the wedding, when the priest said 'For better or worse, in sickness and in health', I didn't know he meant THIS week."

The group paused, unsure whether they should laugh or cry at Chloe's comment. Chloe broke into a small smile and waved a hand at them. "You guys can laugh. I meant it as a joke."

Shawn chuckled and moved closer to her bedside. "You know, my mom has always said that sometimes, even when you're in your darkest hour, you have to laugh or you'll go crazy."

"Your mom is right, Shawn. I mean, what else are we going to do right now? If I think too hard about what's going on, I'm gonna lose my mind."

Belle paused and tried to think of something entertaining or amusing to say but was drawing a blank. "Uhm... well, what the heck do we have to talk about?"

Nancy interjected a question and directed it towards Belle. "Your parents told me you're moving back to Salem. When did you plan on doing that?"

Belle sighed and shrugged in confusion. "To be honest, I haven't even thought out what I'm going to be doing for the next 5 minutes. I have to go to London when all this is over and straighten out my affairs there. Hopefully, I can find a teaching position in Salem before the school year starts. And, I'm going to be moving into Mimi's place... That is, if she'll still have me."

Mimi raised her eyebrows in confusion. "Huh? Why wouldn't I want you to?"

"Well, I don't know... Now that you and Phillip are in love, I wasn't sure."

Now it was Chloe's turn to look confused. "What? Mimi and Phillip? In love?"

Shawn nodded and grinned at her. "Yeah, sometimes when you're on an island with someone, certain secrets get revealed..."

As Shawn's words trailed off, Belle caught him glance in her direction. She felt a knot in her stomach wondering if the moment that had passed between them on the island, was just that, only a "moment".

Chloe winked at Phillip and Mimi and grinned proudly. "Well, I knew that Phillip was in love with Mimi, and vice versa, but I didn't know that they knew it too."

Mimi's jaw dropped in shock. "You what? You knew that Phillip was in love with me and you didn't tell me?"

Before Chloe could answer, Phillip interrupted. "How did you know? I never told you that I liked Mimi like that..."

Chloe shrugged it off innocently. "Phillip... You and I share a past together, and I happen to know you better than you think. I also happen to be able to recognize that goofy starry-eyed puppy dog look you get on your face when you're in love. It's been obvious that you've had a thing for Mimi for awhile."

"And you never said anything to either of us?"

"Nah... It's more fun to nudge you a little until you finally break down and admit it."

Mimi frowned slightly. "Well, it took me falling on my head to get him to finally admit it."

Phillip winked at her and slipped his hand around hers. "You admitted it first, remember?"

"Only because I was delirious with a head injury... And, I didn't think you were listening."

Chloe interjected her own thoughts, "Hey... sometimes it takes great peril to get people to admit those sort of things. You would have said it eventually, but the sooner the better, right?"

Belle exchanged another meaningful glance with Shawn, as the knot in her stomach grew even larger. She wondered if her and Shawn could be together like Phillip and Mimi, or if all the years of pain they had caused each other would prevent their chance at happiness.

Shawn nodded in agreement and continued Chloe's thought for her. "No sense in wasting any more time being apart, when you can be happy together."

Belle looked downward at her scuffed hiking boots and sighed softly. The uncertainty growing between her and Shawn had left her dumbstruck. She couldn't read his emotions like she used to be able to when they were younger, and she was unsure of where she stood with him now. Especially, after how quickly she had trampled his attempt to talk with her this morning.

Belle's reverie was broken by the sound of the door opening again. As Craig entered, all eyes turned his way and eight pairs of lungs held their breath in nervously.

"He's still in the operating room. But, so far, it's going well. They've got the bullet out, and no major organs were struck. He's lost a lot of blood, but they've been giving him transfusions this entire time."

Chloe looked at him with fear in her eyes and interrupted him. "There's something else, isn't there?"

Craig nodded solemnly. "He has a viral infection, probably something routine that he caught on the island. But, since his system had been weakened, it's spread pretty fast. He has a high fever, and fluid in his lungs. We've already put him on heavy antibiotics... It should stop it from spreading further, but if it doesn't... Well, with a wound like that, it can be very dangerous. He's not out of the woods until we can stop this infection."

Tears began to fall from Chloe's eyes and she bowed her head solemnly. "I tried... I tried to keep him healthy, to get him to heal. I tried so hard."

Craig came forward and Shawn slid out of his way so that Craig could wrap and arm around his stepdaughter's shoulder. "Chloe, I know you did. You did an amazing thing out there. If it weren't for you, he'd be a lot worse now. You saved his life on that island, and these doctors are going to save his life again. Okay?"

Chloe wiped her tears with the back of her hand and attempted a half-smile. "Okay. Thank you..."

Craig looked towards the rest of the group and spoke to them. "He's going to be in surgery for a couple more hours, then the recovery room. And, he'll be unconscious for a while when he gets into a room. I think you all should go back to the hotel, get cleaned up, get some rest and something to eat. Come back in the morning."

Belle shook her head defiantly. "No way. I mean, I'll go shower and change my clothes, but I'm coming back as soon as I can. I want to... No, I NEED to be here when he wakes up."

Belle looked towards her parents who nodded in agreement. John looked at Craig and spoke to him. "She's right. I think we all want to be here for Brady and Chloe."

Craig nodded in understandingly. "Alright. I'm just worried that you're all going to make yourselves sick. You need food and rest, and so does Chloe."

Craig kissed Chloe on the forehead and smiled at her. "Please get some rest. I've got to go back upstairs, but I'll be down as soon as I've got more news."

Chloe smiled weakly and hugged him before he left. "I will. Thank you."

Craig smiled at her and then quickly hugged and kissed his wife. On his way out, John stopped him with a firm handshake. "Thank you, Craig... For taking care of my son."

"Thank you, John." Craig averted his eyes to glance at Marlena as well. "Thank both of you. I don't know if Nancy and I have told you enough, but thank you for arranging all of this. And thank you for raising your daughter to be so strong and brave. Belle's a hero and you should be proud of what she's done."

Marlena smiled proudly at him and nodded. "We've always been proud of her, this only proves to everyone that we have a reason to be."

Craig exited the room and left them in silence. Nancy moved to hug Belle tightly in appreciation. "Craig is right, you are a hero, Belle. All of you kids are heroes today."

Belle broke free of the hug and smiled bashfully. "I'm not really a hero. Brady's always been MY hero, so I just did exactly what Brady would do for me."

"Well, either way... The four of you brought my daughter back to me, and I don't know how I'll ever be able to thank you enough."

Phillip smiled proudly and put an arm around Mimi who was smiling as well. "You don't have to thank us. Chloe means a lot to all of us. We're kinda glad to have her back too."

Chloe smiled and interjected, "I'm kinda glad to be back, that's for sure. Now... would you guys PLEASE go shower and get yourselves something to eat?"

Shawn grinned as he hugged Chloe goodbye. "I think you have a point. We're all starting to get a bit ripe."

Mimi and Phillip took their turns hugging her and saying goodbye. Belle embraced her friend tightly and gave her some words of advice. "Please, get some rest, Chloe."

"Okay, I will."

"And if you need anything, call us at the hotel."

"I will."

"And... If there's any news about Brady, call us."

"Alright, Alright..."

Belle broke from the embrace and continued, "And if..."

Chloe put up one hand to silence her. "And if you don't leave now and get to that hotel, I will get out of this bed and drive you there myself."

Belle laughed softly and nodded as she moved away. "Yes, ma'am. I'm leaving, but I will be back."

Chloe nodded and waved them off. The group left the sterile white hospital room to head back to their hotel, leaving Nancy behind to watch over her only daughter.

Previous Chapter - Back to My Stories - Home - Next Chapter