Unbreakable (39 page)

I did okay though, and she was happy with my performance. They took my catheter out but I still had to use a bed pan until I was mobile. I hated it and couldn’t wait to be able to get up and walk to the small bathroom. It would mean I could go and see Sophia and start to nurse her so I was determined to do as much as I could.

“When can I get up and go to the bathroom?”

“Maybe later tonight,” the nurse said and gave me a stern look. “Not too fast. One step at a time.”

I sighed and gave in to my fate as a patient, but I wanted to be sure to recover as fast as possible.

When I was waiting for Drake to arrive back, two men in dark suits and weary expressions arrived in my doorway.

“Mrs. Morgan?” the one bald man asked.

“Yes,” I said. “Kate Morgan.”

“May we come in and ask you a few questions?” He handed me a card with the NYPD insignia and a name. Len McDonald. A detective there to ask me questions about the accident. “I’m Detective McDonald and this is my partner, Detective St. James.”

I nodded to them both. “I’m sorry but I don’t remember anything about the accident.”

McDonald came closer and took out a notebook. “Can you tell us what you know about your husband’s relationship with Dr. Lisa Monroe?” he asked.

“Why are you asking about her?” Alarm grew in me. Did they think Lisa had done this? “Should I have a lawyer present? Isn’t there some rule about wives testifying about their husbands?”

“This is just a friendly visit to find out what you remember about the accident,” St. James said. “We understand you had a bodyguard and that your husband was concerned about your safety.”

“Yes,” I said, not wanting to say anything more.

“We’re just checking everything out,” McDonald said, his voice reassuring. “Did your husband tell you why he wanted protection for you?”

Just then, Drake walked in and the two detectives turned to face him. “Did I tell her what?” he asked, coming over to my bedside and kissing me. He turned to the detectives. “You should have waited until I was back.”

“We were asking her if she knew why you hired a bodyguard for her.”

“She knew,” Drake said, holding my hand. “I told her everything. Do you have any more information about the car involved in the accident?”

“We do,” McDonald said. “We believe it wasn’t an accident and that Dr. Monroe was the driver of the car that struck your wife.”

I covered my mouth with a hand, horrified that they thought Lisa had done it. “Why would you think that?” I asked.

“The car had been rented by Dr. Monroe.”

Drake was rubbing his forehead, grimacing. “I can’t believe it.”

“You wanted security for your wife,” St. James said. “You must have felt concerned about her safety.”

“I was, but I thought I was being overly cautious. I really didn’t think she’d do anything like this…” Drake heaved a heavy sigh. “Have you spoken with her?”

“We’ve been unable to locate Dr. Monroe. We’ll keep you informed about the case when we have any more information. In the meantime, if you think of anything else, or if she contacts you, please call us right away.”

Drake nodded and we watched as they left the room. He turned to me, his face ashen.

“Kate, I’m
so
sorry. I had no idea she’d do something like this…”

“She’s insane,” I said and shook my head in wonder. “Did she think you’d be hers with me out of the way?”

He sat on the chair by my bed and took my hand, kissing my knuckles. “I can’t imagine what she was thinking, but she clearly wasn’t rational. I thought the most she’d do was try to hurt me, expose me by telling the administration about my past. I never thought she’d really hurt
you
…”

“It’s not your fault, Drake,” I said, squeezing his hand. “You can’t help it that you’re so desirable that you drive women crazy…” I smiled and finally, Drake smiled as well, but then he bent down and held my hand to his forehead.

“If you hadn’t pulled through…” he said, his voice breaking.

“I did,” I said and rubbed the back of his hand with my thumb. “I’m alive and so is Sophia. The nurse said if I can get up and use the washroom tonight, I can see her tomorrow and maybe feed her if she’s up to it.”

Drake looked up and then he smiled at me, wiping his eyes. “She’s drinking from a bottle,” he said excitedly. “When I was there, they let me feed her a tiny amount of breast milk from the bank.”

That made me extremely happy. “Did you take a picture of her?”

“I did,” he said and pulled out his cell. He scrolled through some images and then held the cell out for me. “There she is.”

I took the cell and examined the photo. Sophia was tiny, with red skin and a tiny pink knitted cap on her head. Her eyes were closed and a thin tube led into her nose.

“She looks so delicate,” I said, awe filling me that she was so premature but was doing well.

“She is, but she’s also strong,” Drake said, his eyes bright. “She’s breathing well on her own, and her vitals are all stable. We may be able to take her home in a couple of weeks, depending on how well she is and what supports we have at home. I was thinking of hiring a nurse for the first few weeks to help us. You’ll need care and so will Sophia.”

“I want to go home as soon as possible,” I said and tried to change position. When I did, my wound hurt and I grimaced.

“You can use your pump, if you’re in pain.”

I shook my head. “I’m fine. I have to get up eventually or I won’t get to see her.”

Drake stood and leaned over me, stroking my cheek. “Now, Mrs. Morgan, I’m going to have to put on my stern doctor persona and tell you to take it easy. You need to rest and recuperate from your surgery. Do you understand?”

I smiled as he kissed my forehead. “Yes, Doctor Morgan,” I said, pretending to be chastised. “I understand.”

“Good,” he said and tucked my blanket in. “Now, I have to go and get something to eat or I’ll pass out. Rest for a while.”

“I will.”

He kissed me and then kissed me again, then left me alone.

After a while, the sounds of the ward lulled me into a pleasant state and I dozed.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Drake

Kate and Sophia were both strong and improving every day.

The next day, after she’d successfully gone to the small washroom in her room with the help of the nurse, she was given the all-clear to go in a wheelchair to the NICU so she could finally see Sophia.

The NICU can be quite alarming to new parents who are still recovering from labor and delivery, with the monitors, telemetry and constant activity. Kate was determined to be calm and fearless. She sat still while the nurses brought Sophia over, gingerly working around the leads and tubes, before placing Sophia on a pillow in Kate’s lap. Kate did her best to cradle Sophia using her arm, but could bear very little weight, and wouldn’t be able to pick Sophia up for six weeks.

“Oh, my God, she’s so tiny…” Kate said and touched her head.

The nurse was excellent, showing Kate how to hold her without actually lifting her.

“Can I nurse her?” she asked, glancing up and her expression of hope was so blatant, that I felt bad for the nurse.

“You can express milk and we can give it to her, but you’ll probably wait a week or so to nurse for the first time. Before they’re thirty weeks, they’re sometimes too small. We’ll get a pump for you and you can start expressing.”

“Won’t it be good for my uterus to nurse?” she said and took Sophia’s tiny hand in hers. It was then I realized that we hadn’t told Kate yet that she’d had a hysterectomy. I glanced quickly at the nurse, who I was sure knew Kate’s history. I gave my head the slightest shake to indicate Kate didn’t know yet about her surgery.

“We always encourage mothers to breastfeed if possible,” the nurse said, quick to change the subject. “It’s best for both mother and baby. You should be well enough to breastfeed her once she’s ready.” The nurse smiled at Kate and that seemed to please her. She turned back to Sophia and touched the hair on her head, which had dried and was now fluffy and light brown.

I let Kate stay with Sophia as long as she wanted, but she soon tired and so I wheeled her back to her room on the ward and helped her back into bed. I checked her stitches and got her settled. She had to use her morphine drip for the pain and so I let her drift for a while. The exertion and the morphine combined to make her drowsy, so I tucked the blanket in around her and then went to get a cup of coffee, trying to work out how I would break the news to her that she’d had an emergency hysterectomy and would never get pregnant again.

 On my way back from the cafeteria, I saw Detectives McDonald and St. James in the hallway waiting outside Kate’s room. Thankfully, they didn’t go inside and wake her. The nurse must have told them I was getting a coffee and would be right back.

I walked up to them, irritated that they were already back already to try to bother Kate some more, despite how sick she still was.

“Detectives,” I said and stood between them and the door to Kate’s room. “What can I help you with? My wife’s sleeping. She’s still recovering and needs her rest.”

“That’s fine, Dr. Morgan,” McDonald said, slipping his hands in his pockets. “We’re here to talk to you. Is there somewhere we can talk in private?”

I glanced around the ward and saw a family conference room down the hall. “We can go in there.”

They followed me inside and we sat at the table, the two of them on one side and me on the other.

“Dr. Monroe is in police custody,” McDonald said.

“So you’re sure it was her,” I said, adrenaline coursing through me at the confirmation.

“She’s been charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault and hit and run, among other charges.”

I leaned back and shook my head, still unable to believe that Lisa could do something like that to Kate.

“How likely is it that you’ll get a conviction?”

“That’s for the courts to decide.”

I exhaled and rubbed my forehead. “She needs to be put in jail. She could have killed my wife and my baby. We’re lucky that Kate’s bodyguard had first responder training in the Marines.”

“We’re going to want you to come into the station and give a statement,” McDonald said.

“I can come down later today, if you want,” I said, nodding.

“That’s fine,” McDonald said. Then he stood and fastened the button to his suit jacket. “That’s all we need for now so you can get back to your wife.”

He smiled at me, finally, and the two left me sitting in the conference room. I sipped my coffee, still feeling strange about the whole thing. Frankly, I’d been too shocked and in fear for Kate and Sophia to think very much about Lisa and the attack. I was glad they had her in custody and that all this would soon be over.

I checked my watch. Kate had been sleeping for a while and so I went to her room and quietly slipped inside. I took the chair by her bed and removed my cell to check my email.

There was a text from Fred Parker.

Drake, I’m so very sorry to hear about the attack. Honestly, I had no idea that Lisa would do something like this. We’re all in shock. We want you to know that if you need to, you can finish the fellowship on your own time. The department understands that you will need time to adjust and care for your wife. Let me know when you want to continue with your fellowship. We’ll do what we can to accommodate you.

I sent him a text in reply, thanking him for his understanding and that I would probably wait a year before I finished. I wanted to spend that time with Kate and Sophia. Almost losing them both drove home to me how fragile life was and how in a brief second, my perfect life could turn on a dime.

Kate shifted on the bed and I watched her eyelids flutter. She looked at me and smiled, snuggling down into the bed.

“I slept for a quite a while,” she said. “Even just a trip to the nursery exhausted me.”

“It’ll take some time for you to get your strength back.” Then I sat beside her on the bed and took her hand in mine. “I have to tell you something,” I said, and it choked me up to have to tell her but I wanted her to know about her hysterectomy from me instead of from one of the staff.

“What?” she said and my tone must have alarmed her for she frowned, her face blanching. “Is something wrong with Sophia?”

“No,” I said quickly, feeling bad to alarm her needlessly. “No, Sophia is doing wonderfully.” I leaned over her and looked in her eyes, stroking her cheek. I kissed her tenderly. “Unfortunately, when they brought you into surgery, you were bleeding profusely from a small uterine tear. They tried everything they could but in the end, given the C-section and your other injuries, they had to do an emergency hysterectomy to save your life.”

I watched her face and it changed only slightly. “You mean C-section?”

I shook my head. “No,” I said softly. “They had to take out your uterus. They couldn’t stop the bleeding and you’d already had several units of blood. They couldn’t save it. I’m so sorry.”

She frowned and looked away. I stroked her hand with the back of my thumb and then kissed her palm, wanting to touch her, to reassure her. Then she turned back and there were tears in her eyes.

“So I’ll never have another baby?”

I shook my head. “I’m sorry, but they had to do it to save your life.”

She exhaled, her breath ragged and I knew she was overwhelmed. It was too much to take in – waking up in a hospital ICU with no memory of what happened to get there, learning Lisa tried to kill her, being rushed to the hospital for an emergency C-section and then hysterectomy. Her baby premature by ten weeks and in the NICU. Breaking down was understandable.

She looked at me, tears overflowing and running down her cheeks. “I guess we won’t be having any more children,” she said, her voice breaking. “I hope you didn’t want more.”

“I want
you
,” I said and leaned down, kissing her, stroking her cheek. “You’re alive. Sophia’s alive. That’s all I care about. We’ll be a family, the three of us.”

 Then I lay down on the bed beside her and cradled her in my arms, holding her while she wept.