Personal Soldier

Chapter 25

Sebastian rushed to the hospital and before he could ask where Delilah's room was, Sonia ran up to him and hugged him tightly.

He returned her hug and asked, "Are you okay, kiddo?"

Sonia nodded. "The doctor said my bruises will go away soon. Kati's okay, but she won't stop crying. Aunt Lilah has lots of wires and it's scary."

"Can you take me to her?"

"Yeah. Is she gonna be okay? It's my fault she's hurt. If I didn't want to go to the zoo, she'd be okay."

Sebastian stopped and knelt to her level. "Sonia, this isn't your fault. It's the fault of whoever hit you guys. They weren't being careful and they should take the blame. Not you."

"But if I didn't want to go to the zoo-" She began crying.

He hugged his niece. "Accidents happen all the time. This isn't your fault, Sonia, and when Delilah gets better, she'll tell you the same thing."

"But what if she's mad at me?"

"She won't be mad. She'll be relieved you're okay. And I guarantee she'll be proud that you made sure Katia was okay too."

Sonia wiped her tears and led Sebastian to Delilah's room.

As though by some miracle, Delilah's eyes opened and when she saw her husband, she smiled and began tearing up.

Sebastian walked over to her and dried her tears with his thumb. "I thought I might lose you, Del."

Delilah's voice was hoarse as she said, "You're not losing me for a long time. Are the girls okay?"

"Sonia tells me Katia is okay. Sonia's walking and talking, but she's blaming herself for the accident."

Delilah's smile fell and she called her niece over. "Sonia, come here, sweetheart."

Sonia walked up and rested her head on her aunt's stomach. "I'm sorry, Aunt Lilah."

"For what? The accident wasn't your fault. Sometimes people make poor decisions on the road and this unfortunately was one of those times."

"Uncle Sebby kind of told me the same thing."

"Your uncle is a very wise man."

A doctor came in and said, "We'd like to do some tests to make sure there are no further complications from your accident."

Delilah nodded. "Okay. Uh what tests?"

"We'd like to do a CT scan, an MRI and an ultrasound."

Sonia frowned. "Ultrasound? But that's for a baby. Is she gonna have another baby?"

The doctor chuckled. "An ultrasound can also be used to show if there's a problem in the abdominal area."

"Oh. Okay. I'm gonna find Mommy and Daddy and Katia."

"I'll join you," Sebastian said, kissing Delilah's forehead. "See you soon, darling."

Several hours later, Delilah returned to her room and was giddy but nervous.

Devin entered and hugged her tightly before saying, "Never do that again."

"What, almost die?" Delilah said in a joking manner.

"Yes. You scared the shit out of us."

"Well I'm okay. But I really need to talk to my husband, so if you could fetch him-"

"I'm right here, Del," Sebastian said as he handed her Katia. "Someone I think would love to see you. What did you want to talk to me about?"

Delilah held her daughter, who started playing with her hair and the hospital gown, and replied, "So, as you know, they did an ultrasound. It was to check for internal bleeding. Thankfully they found none. But what they did find surprised me."

Sebastian tilted his head and realization dawned on him. "Del, are we gonna have another baby?"

She nodded. "We are. Believe me, I'm just as shocked as you. Two kids under two will be a huge challenge, but we'll manage."

Sebastian smiled and kissed her. "We will."

"Congratulations, guys," Devin said.

The couple turned to him, forgetting he was there and Delilah chuckled awkwardly. "Right. You're still here. Hey, we should celebrate with Dad and all of us. I mean, if you're able to, Seb."

"I can manage," Sebastian replied. "The director was very understanding when I told him I had to go because my wife, niece and daughter had been in an accident."

"Then I guess we have a celebration to plan."

He kissed her temple and said softly, "You being alive and well is celebration enough, printesa."

Delilah rested her cheek on Sebastian's hand and closed her eyes while Katia touched her parents' faces and smiled.