Cinders

~83~ Alone~2

It's around 9pm and they have taken the baby back for the night. There hasn't been much of an update. We know that she's still alive, but that's about it.

Suddenly I see Grandpa and Uncle Justin burst through the door. "Taylor! Alex! Jake! What's going on?" Grandpa asks with fear in his voice.

Taylor stands up and shakes his hand. Then he shakes Justin's hand, and tells them what he knows—It's not much.

They both give Jake a hug, and then turn to dad and me and hug us. It's ironic. They finally came to see us—It just takes mom on her death bed to get them here.

About half an hour later, the doctor finally comes out.

"We have gotten the bleeding stopped for now. We were able to get it stopped through the laparotomy, so for now she still has her uterus. We've been keeping her under for a while, to make sure there weren't any more surprises. If this continues, we will not have to do the hysterectomy. That's really the only good news I have right now, unfortunately. We had to do several transfusions. We are waiting to see how her body handles it. She isn't out of the woods, not by a long shot," she says soberly.

Grandpa comes forward to speak. "Can I see her?"

"No. She's had a very traumatic day, and her body is fighting hard. We are concerned about how her body is going to handle the amount of transfusions we had to do. The number of risks are great. We are monitoring her closely right now. Once we put her in a room, we will let you guys see her."

"When will she wake up?" Grandpa asks, fighting tears.

"That depends on her body. If it can handle the amount of iron that just got put in, and fights off infections, we're hopeful it won't be long. However, the brain needs to protect itself. If the trauma on her body is too great, her brain may not let her wake up for a while. It could be days, maybe weeks. We don't know yet. I'm sorry I don't have better news." She scans the room, and smiles sympathetically as she turns around to leave.

The atmosphere once she leaves is quiet and heavy. Nobody says anything—There isn't anything to say.

"How's the baby?" Grandpa finally asks Taylor. He's been here 45 minutes and he's just now thinking to ask about the baby?

Typical

"Perfect," is all he says, but his tone is clipped and annoyed.

"Can I meet it?" Grandpa asks.

"Her? Yeah, probably. I'll check," he says, not even trying to mask the fact that he's mad. He can't stand grandpa.

I see Taylor go up and talk to the nurses, and then he comes back with the baby. He hands her to him silently and goes to sit back down.

Grandpa immediately starts smiling, and rocking her back and forth. "She looks just like Eleanor, doesn't she?" He asks, smiling at Taylor.

"Yes she does," he says simply.

He holds her for a while. Then he hands her to Justin, who holds her for a bit. Justin starts to pass her off to Jake, but Jake just shakes his head.

"No thanks," he says simply—Sadly.

Taylor gives him a funny look, and so does Justin. "Have you already held her?" Justin asks in confusion.

Jake just silently shakes his head.

"Then what's the problem?" Justin asks.

"Ellie wouldn't want me holding her baby. So until she gives me the ok, I'm not going to."

Jake puts his head down and it's obvious that he's trying not to cry. The room is silent as we all stare at Jake.

Taylor is quiet, but I can hear him say, "She would let you hold her."