Tracy

070:

         

*****070:

She sat in the room, dimmed lights coming from the hallway outside her private space room. Coming through the NICU she'd seen more than two banks of incubators each holding their precious cargo. Usually only one parent if any was there, sitting haggardly in a chair beside the much taller baby bed, unable to see their child. There was another room like hers, just one other, and there was a baby in it, but just the mother, a woman in a hospital gown who looked like death warmed over, having given birth very recently. She herself was still hooked to an IV machine.

Tracy had stood in her doorway a little while ago, when she'd gone to the bathroom, and come back. She'd asked about the baby, and been told it was preemie, like Steven, a girl, with very low birth weight, and possible lung problems. The young woman's mother had been there, but had gone home to take care of three other children. The child's father worked nights.

Coral and Kirk had flown back to California commercially about an hour ago, having decided to plan Casey's funeral themselves. Tracy wanted to offer help, advice, or program thoughts, but something had restrained her. And she'd simply stayed put, thinking about Monday taking care of Danny in a hotel room.

She got up and went back to the phone, making an overseas call.

"Hey, Ray? It's Tracy."

"Dad--- I'm your pop remember? I heard about Casey, so sorry." His voice was clipped, quick, a daytime voice. It was five hours ahead anyway--- making it around eight in the morning.

She sniffed. "It's very sad. Thanks for your thoughts."

"Shawna and I are planning to attend the funeral, but we haven't yet heard any details. You'll be there, right?"

"I think--- probably."

"Um hm. Well, I need to be there for Jules. His pop would have wanted me to support him in this trying time. There has just been so much death surrounding you guys, and especially Jules."

Tracy sniffed, closing her eyes. "Dad--- that's all well and fine, and you guys do need to go to Casey's funeral, whatever happens, you're right, Jules needs you. But I need--- I need a place to stay. Can I use the New York house? It would be me and Danny and Monday and Jake--- maybe Richard."

There was a pause, while Ray tried to figure out what might be the cause for her to stay in New York. "Of course, you can stay there. Consider it your home. But, why aren't you heading back to California?"

"Jolie, Casey's girlfriend had her baby, and they wanted me to adopt him, seeing as how he is Danny's biological brother, and they want the boys to be raised together. Jolie is infected with HIV also. She's very sick--- she has the full-blown AIDS."

Ray's voice was sympathetic, rough and emotional. "That's a real shame."

"It is. So, will you have someone meet me over there, or at least meet Monday and Jake?"

"Is this so that you can stay in the hospital presumably with Jolie and the baby?" Now his voice had taken on that parental protectiveness she was becoming used to.

She sniffed tiredly. "Yeah. I'm not leaving the hospital."

"I see. And is the baby--- it's another boy?—is the baby going to survive?"

"They are waiting on tests, actually, they might be coming to tell me the test results right now. I've gotta go, Dad, thanks for the place, and let me know about your travel plans." She said goodbye rather hurriedly as the young pediatrician who'd been in there earlier came to find her. He was standing outside the room, his clip board in hand, alternately looking at it, and then back at her. Now he even looked tired. It was three in the morning.