The Hook-Up (Part Two)

Chapter 277

"Here, Laur...let me have her..." Bruno said coming out from the hospital room holding out his hands for his daughter. "She just needs a little love..." he smiled at her watching her head hit his shoulder instantly as he started to hum the songs he heard in his mother's hospital room to his daughter.

"I wish I could do that with them." Lauren sighed leaning against the wall smiling at Cindia who was holding a sleeping Liam.

"I think it's genetic." Cindia answered with a laugh.

"I think we need to get them to bed." Lauren told everyone seeing the older children asleep on uncomfortable chairs. "And we need a bit of rest too. Those three hours really messed me up." she told everyone.

"You get crankier than they do when you don't sleep." Bruno said looking at his wife.

"So do you, little one." Lauren said sarcasticaly but in a loving tone referring to him as little one like his grandmother did.

"Hey!" he said pushing her a little as they started to walk down the hallway. "Wait, let me just say we're leaving." he turned around quickly still holding Everlee. "Two minutes."

Lauren rolled her eyes leaning against the wall as he walked away still with Everlee in is arms. "I'll stay here. We'll catch up." she told them holding Ezra near her chest hearing him breath heavily in a deep sleep.

"Mom..." Bruno walked in slowly to see her open her eyes just a little.

"Oh, Bruno. You need to go. And Evee is asleep." she said in a soft almost whisper.

"I know. We're leaving. I just wanted to say good night. We'll be back tomorrow before your surgery." he responded squeezing her hand moving the IV around a bit.

"Bruno. You're so nervous. It will be okay. Everything is going to be fine. Please stop worrying. It's only going to get you in more trouble." she told him.

"I will try." he said seeing Lauren in the corner of his eye at the same time his mother did.

"How is Lauren?" she asked him.

"She's fine. I think she's really tired, though." he answered.

"Go to sleep, Bruno. You forget she's pregnant. She needs to sleep. You all need to sleep." she replied.

"We will, mom. Good night." he said kissing her head walking slowly away.

"Quit worrying!" he heard his mother say a little louder than she did before.

"Listen to your mom." Lauren said taking his hand leaning her head on his shoulder as they walked out of the hospital to find the rest of his family.

**

"Aww, look. They're so cute!" Lauren exclaimed later in the morning moving Everlee's short curly hair out of her eyes putting it up in a small ponytail atop her head.

"Laur...look what I found..." Bruno came into the room carrying several different toys.

"Will they fit in the bag? We're going to be there like all day..." she asked not nearly as excited as he was with the newly found toys.

"I think so..." he said bending down putting the toys in the bag.

"Okay." Lauren clapped watching her almost 10 month old daughter mimic her by clapping her hands. Lauren clapped her hands again watching Everlee clap again. "Again?" she asked her daughter seeing her eyes light up the same way Bruno's did when he was singing. Lauren clapped her hand a random beat watching Everlee clap several seconds after. "Aww, you're perfect!" Lauren laughed at Everlee picknig her up hearing Everlee maintain the beat clapping as her mother carried her to the front of the room.

"Well, I think she got enough sleep last night..." Bruno said holding several bags in his hand with Ezra in a carseat next to him. "Let's go." he reached over to take Everlee snapping her into the carseat.

"Do you have both of them? Do you need help?" Lauren asked.

"I can do it." Bruno said handing her the bags. "Just take these."

They arrived at the hospital a few minutes later. Lauren sat down with the children and a few other less important family members as the siblings went to visit with their mother.

Everyone sat around the small bed with their mother talking to her about random things that were going on. It was just small talk that they hadn't had since the last time everyone was together for Bruno and Lauren's wedding. In the middle of one of Eric's stories about Liam they heard the anestiologist come in. "Okay, so now it's time to get serious." he told them. "The doctor will be completing an angioplasty. This is very routine, however, there are risks..." he paused seeing how all the children gasped. "The most common is a small bruise where they're going in." he said. "Others can be a bit more severe....." he went through a few others ending on the more serious side effects. "Some patients may have another heart attack. At that point we'll go in an complete an emergency bypass." he explained.. "Your mother has already signed all the necessary forms and your father has signed all the others." he referred to their stepfather.

"He has POA..." Jamie told all of them.

"Oh. Right." Tiara nodded her head.

"I guess that makes sense." Bruno said trying to calm down. "Okay..." he finished trying to calm down by tapping his feet seeing his father off to the side of the room holding Everlee on one side and Njah on the other.

"So, when you're ready we'll go ahead and get this in you to get you to sleep..." the doctor said.

"Alright." she answered closing her eyes saying something under her breath.

"The prayer." Presley said to herself closing her eyes looking down saying the same thing her mother was. The rest of the children closed their eyes quickly saying a small prayer that their mother mother would say whenever they traveled or were going through tough times. It was a prayer that Bruno had turned to so many times recently. A few seconds later they all looked up to see the doctor with a small needle near their mother's arm. Bruno and Tahiti turned as the needle went into her hand.

"Oh eww." Tahiti got out seeing that Tiara was excited to see the needle in their mother's hand.

"What? I was going to be a nurse." she answered with a smile helping everyone calm down a little.

"How do you feel, mom?" Bruno asked.

"Oh. A little light headed." she told them seeing her husband take her hand. "Well we'll be here when you wake up." he answered her hearing her start to sing one of the many songs they had sung as children. "Oh, a little light headed." she got out again.

"We'll be here too, mama." Bruno said kissing the top of her head. "We'll be here." he repeated hearing her song fade into her sleep.