“How are you holding up?” Richard walked into Carson’s hospital room, a gloomy look on his face.
“Hey, I’m okay.” Carson smiled. He sat on the bed shirtless, a nurse wrapping a bandage around his wounded arm. “It’s just a scratch, unlike the other guy.”
“It was a through and through Carson. It could have hit an artery and you could be dead like the other guy.”
“I know and it’s just one more bullet hole, no biggy, relax.” He knew how close he was to being dead, to never seeing his child and having one of his nightmares come true. He knew, but he didn’t want to think about it. If he was to keep doing this job, at work his state of mind needed to remain that of a care free bachelor.
“Girls love battle wounds,” the nurse said, smiling sweetly at Carson, “Nothing’s hotter.”
Carson laughed. Normally this was where he’d go for the kill, but he wasn’t the slightest bit interested. “Not mine, she’ll skin me alive. I’ll have to get a tat to cover up the scar. She can’t find out.”
“Speaking of girls, Ellie is here.” Richard said, with a lighter tone.
Dale’s eyebrows rose in fear. He always promised her he wouldn’t get shot. She was going to kill him. “Excuse me Miss, is there somewhere I can hide?” She laughed, thinking he was joking.
“Dale!” Ellsa cried out running into the room. She threw her hands around him and hugged him tight, “I’m so glad you are okay!”
“Ellsa, I’m sorry I interrupted the baby shower,” he winced, as he pulled at her arms gently, “So, where is Ellie and should I be hiding?”
She smiled tightly, letting go, “I called everyone and cancelled it when we had to come over. Ellie is over at maternity terrorizing the nurses. She went into labor when Audrey told her you got shot.”
“What!” He jumped off the bed and ran out of the room. It took him five minutes to get to the right floor. Ellie’s screaming voice led him to the right room.
“Please don’t lie to me, just tell me if he’s dead, because if he isn’t I’m going to kill him!” She screamed, crying.
“I’m right here, I’m okay.” he ran to her bedside and hugged her.
“Dale! You are okay!” She laughed, crying. She held him tight then pushed him away with a moan when another contraction hit.
“Just breathe.” Dale put on the shirt Audrey handed him, “Really Audrey.”
“I’m sorry, I thought she’d be okay.” she felt guilty but excited at the same time. Immediately Kris told her Ellie’s water broke, she jumped in her car and drove to the hospital. Her godchild was about to be born!
Ellie punched him in the chest, “It’s not her fault, it’s your fault! You promised you’d never get shot!” She punched him again in the arm, below his wound.
“Ouch! That hurt!” He whined, covering the bandage with his hand.
“Hurt! Hurt is,” another contraction stopped her, “Ow, it really hurts!” she cried.
Dale stood there panicked. He wasn’t sure what to do, to ease her pain. He wanted to get a nurse, but he didn’t want to leave her, so he settled for rubbing her back, “Why haven’t they given you an epidural?”
“I don’t want one! Natural child birth… is a beautiful… thing!”
“Babe, right now you’re not looking beautiful, you look like you’re being tortured for national secrets!”
“It will make our bond stronger!” She cried out, fisting Carson’s belly in her hand as a more painful contraction hit.
Carson bit his lips shut to keep from screaming in pain. “Who fed you all this bullshit?” Her lethal gaze made him go quiet, “Okay whatever you want, I’m right here.”
A doctor in blue scrubs walked into the room with a beaming smile on his face. He pointed at the hold Ellie had on Carson, “You must be Dale, the father? It’s good to finally meet you. I’m Roger, Ellie’s doctor.”
Carson felt a little guilty for having not met Ellie’s doctor before, but he didn’t have time to dwell on it, “Yes, I am.”
“Maybe.” Ellie said, shifting around the bed like she was sitting on hot coals.
“What?” Carson and Roger asked at the same time.
“You promise not to get shot again?”
Carson smoothed back the wet strands of hair pasted on her forehead. “Ellie, it’s the hazard of the job and anyway right now isn’t the time to argue about this.”
“Promise!” she yelled out, tightening her grip on him.
“Okay I promise!” He screamed, holding her torturous hand.
“You get shot again, and I swear I’ll kill you myself,” she threatened, then turned to the doctor, “Roger, get it out of me! Get it out of me now!”
The next few hours were like an uphill battle. Ellie fought to bring their child into the world and Carson fought anxiety, fear and regret for all the pain she was in. At one point he thought she would die and he wanted a c-section. It took both Richard’s and Paloma’s reassurance that all would be well, to deter him from his decision. Then finally, the ring of a baby’s cry filled the air signaling the end of the labor room war. Carson was relieved when Ellie wasn’t screaming bloody murder any more. But he felt his world shift, when it was replaced by a baby’s cry.
“It’s a girl!” Roger announced proudly, shaking more of Carson’s world. “Would you like to cut the cord?” Carson nodded, but he didn’t move.
“Hey, wake up,” Ellie laughed, as she pushed him forward, her eyes full of happy tears. “Cut the cord, and then bring our daughter to me.”
Carson relived those few minutes, as he stood in front of the bathroom mirror staring at the new father. The thought was ludicrous, and the fact was even more unbelievable. He had a family, the woman he loved and their daughter- although he wished she would have come into the world in a less dramatic way.
“Congratulations dad.” Ellsa spoke, pulling Carson back to reality.
“What are you doing in here? This is the men’s room.” He asked, looking at her through the mirror with a profiler’s eye. He was familiar with that face, that body language and it spelt out trouble. She’d been like that with him ever since the first day they met. Ellie was rounder which made Ellsa more secure in her advances, but one thing she didn’t count on, was Carson’s loyalty to her sister. They may share a face, but he saw exactly how different they were.
“I came to congratulate you.” she moved closer to him and ran her fingers lightly down his spine. She was attracted to him even more than she had been to any other man. He was strong, both in character and physic. He was gentle and loving towards her sister, but bold and assertive at work. She’d watched his televised interviews with the press over and over again, whatever state he was in. He had an imposing statue that drove her crazy and when she watched him consol her sister during her horrible labor with kisses and promises she fell in love with him even more.
Dale Carson was a protector, a lover, a friend, a support system and a partner to her sister. Everything Ellsa wanted for herself.
Carson turned around when Ellsa’s finger got to his belt, “Ellsa we talked about this!” He grabbed her hand when she went to lay it on his chest, “Ellsa you are trying my patience!” He hissed out the warning.
Ellsa felt her body tingle in response to his sternness, “Dale, you are not going to have another opportunity like this,” she spoke, below a whisper, her voice filled with honey. “After waiting, what, two months, you are going to have to wait another six weeks before she could try to satisfy you.” She leaned forward for a kiss, but Carson pushed her back. She was like a mermaid, trying to lure him with her siren to his death. “Are you really going to starve because you think you love her? So what, she gave you a kid, I can pop out one of those things too.”
Carson felt his body tighten with anger. How he wished Ellie wasn’t related to her. “Ellsa, I’m going to ask you one more time to stop this!”
Ellsa took a step back and stared at him lustfully, “Okay. I’ll wait for you at your apartment. One hour?”
He grabbed her purse and took out her rim of keys. He found his apartment key and took it out, then returned the rest in her purse and threw it at her. “You are Ellie’s sister so I can’t make you stay out of our lives. The only time you come to our home is by invitation. This crap about you stopping by unexpectedly is over!”
Ellsa just smiled at him. Without a word, she blew him a kiss and walked out. Carson took a few moments to calm himself before he stepped out, and when he did, he wished he hadn’t.
“What were you two doing in there alone?” Kris demanded, her arms crossed over her chest.
“It’s not what you think.” he said, walking past her.
“What am I thinking Dale?” She asked, going after him.
“She’s the one coming on to me.” he defended, half yelling.
“Then why don’t you put a stop to it!” She returned, in the same tone.
Carson stopped and faced her. “Don’t you think I’ve tried that!” he whispered, harshly. He didn’t want the air to carry this annoying situation to Ellie’s ears. “She’s like an itch in my back that I can’t get rid of.”
Kris exhaled. She understood. When Ellsa wanted something she went for it, she did it with more zeal if it belonged to Ellie. “Change your locks or move and don’t tell her where.”
“I took her key.” he said, as they walked back to Ellie’s room.
Kris hooted. “You think that will stop her? I’m sure she has a million copies in her apartment.”
“How did she get a copy in the first place?”
“She’s resourceful,” Kris said, planting a huge smile on her face before she stepped into the room. The smile faded fast when she saw Ellsa, “I found your man Ellie.”
Ellie cradled her daughter in her arms, studying the different expressions she made on her ivory brown face as she slept. She puckered her pink rose bud lips and her brows creased for a moment before they smoothed out with a sweet sigh. Ellie tried to imagine what her little angel could be dreaming of, or probably thinking about how different the safety of her mother’s womb was to the outside world. Ellie was thinking about it. But she wasn’t going to worry about that now. She was going to admire the tiny being she’d felt kick and move inside her for nine months.
“We only have her for twenty minutes before they take her away again.” Ellie cooed, her eyes still on her daughter.
“Why twenty minutes, I thought she was ours?” Carson asked, sitting next to her, reality hitting him hard in the chest again. He felt like he was going to sing, like in one of those corny musicals when the characters were happy. He put his finger on her soft cheek and felt his heart leap in joy when she turned her head into it.
“Something about her adjusting. She likes you,” she tittered, then reached up to kiss him. “Thank you.” She whispered, on his lips.
“I should be thanking you,” he said, looking down into her eyes. “You gave a lot, went through a lot,” his brow creased remembering the horrifying labor, “Just to give me this precious gift.”
“You want to hold her?” without waiting for his answer, she made a crook of his arms then gently laid the baby in it.
Carson laughed nervously. He was more afraid of handling her, than he was about handling a grenade. “She so tiny and fragile,” he fussed. He raised her high to his lips and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, taking in the heavenly sweet baby scent, “How is it, babies smell so good when they are born?”
“You are asking the wrong people.” Ellie answered, resting her head on his shoulder.