Tracy

068:

         

*****068:

Bridget, beautiful long red hair flowing nearly to her waist, slumped in a straight backed arm chair uncomfortably, one foot kicked out, touching the incubator with her bare toes, the jeans and tight top she'd worn for the concert slightly awry, as were the myriad beaded necklaces and bracelets. Her eyes teared up again as she sat and thought about the occurrences this night-- and she swiped at them angrily with the handkerchief someone had given her.

She was a patient person-- she was waiting for Julian to get back with a change of clothes. She was waiting for him to bring Tracy. She was waiting for the doctors to come in and declare Steven to be HIV positive or not.

Coral had fallen asleep on the teeny half sofa on the other side of the private space. They'd had to be wheeled to a private space in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit), due to the horrible masses of paparazzi and reporters. Casey's team of doctors had come and gone, and now a steady stream of hospital staff making arrangements snuck in to ask questions, but seeing as Coral had finally succumbed to her jet lag and the over stimulation, they left her alone.

Bridget closed her eyes. When she opened them, Julian softly stepped into the room. Her eyes widened, and she struggled to sit up, but before she could completely regain an upright position, a fair head slid to her knees and buried itself in her lap. Her hands rose, as her eyes slid to Julian's.

He shuddered as Tracy sobbed into Bridget's warm body, her back quaking with emotion, as both arms encircled Bridget tightly. Julian dropped to his knees and bent over his best friend, holding her as she held his wife, holding them both, feeling the weight of sudden responsibility. For all of them, Casey had been the glue, the connection, the visible decision maker. Now, he had left Julian to carry on, to absorb the impact of these two precious souls they had spent half their lives linked to.

As strange as it seemed.

They'd had their share of hardship-- and recovery.

Julian crumbled, his chin pressing hard against Tracy's shoulder blades. He shuddered again, closing his eyes against the trembling.

"Don't cry, Jules." Bridget said, leaning forward to press her forehead against his.

"I haven't yet---." He choked, looking up over Tracy's back, his eyes connecting with Bridget's tortured ones, as they both stroked Tracy's hair and arms. It was symbolic of how they felt about each other. "I haven't broken down, but God, Bridge, this is so hard! You-- shit-- oh God. I can't help it."

He sat back as Coral stirred on the sofa, and Bridget allowed Tracy to sit back on the ground, hanging her head in her hands.

Someone in the doorway cleared their throats. "Sorry to interrupt. I have some papers for Miss McCaffrey. And the nurse is here to talk about the baby's condition."

Tracy wiped her eyes on her shirt hem and then swiveled on the floor as Julian struggled to his feet, their eyes met briefly, in understanding. His bored into hers softly, full of sorrow and pain. She bit her lips and tried to offer him a small smile. It was enough. Bridget adjusted herself and Coral sat up stiffly, sniffling.

The nurse was competent and understanding, gentle and compassionate as she explained about Steven's condition. He had a low birth weight, due to his premature status, but he wasn't that bad off, and they detected no respiratory distress, his lungs were fine. They'd keep him until the tests came back determining if he was HIV positive, but the adoption could go through in any case. The birth mother had requested it go though as soon as possible, and she did not want to see the baby at all.