“There he is.” Dr. Knight smiles again, looking from the black and white screen to me. “There’s your little miracle.”
There he is…
The tears come faster and faster as I watch the small bean wobble happily inside me.
“His heart…turn on his heart sounds, please,” I plead, needing that last confirmation. Needing to hear that sweet sound of my son’s beating heart, and a second later it fills the small room, and the tears spill anew, my body shaking despite the piercing pain, aching and strain.
I cry, shaking with undiluted elation.
“Stella,” I whisper, tasting every salty tear. “He’s alive, Stella.” I tear my eyes off the small screen and look at my trainer, who is slumped in the seat next to my bed, her arms resting on the edge of it as the palm of one covers her trembling lips.
But nothing can hide the wet streaks over her cheeks.
“Did you expect anything else from my grandson?” she asks with finality.
“Oh, I’m so sorry. I wasn’t made aware Aurora was your daughter?”
“She’s not. She’s just mine. They both are.”
“Stella,” I rasp out, a new wave of tears washing over my soul, but she doesn’t look down. My stoic trainer is trying to hold it together.
Stella clears her throat. “Can you now do the same thing to this one, please?” she asks the doctor, who frowns, not understanding what she means.
Stella motions to my heart. “Hers, I need to hear hers now. Please.”
A moment later, the sound of my beating heart replaces my son’s.
A heart that doesn’t belong to me but one that saved me. The sound so familiar, yet the tune is different like a song you’ve heard before but can’t recall all the words.
“There it is. Your new chance at life. We’ll run a few more tests and then let you rest, okay?”
I nod and they get to work.
Not two minutes later, my father runs into the room, his eyes red and swollen and so tired. He wants to stay with me, but I make him go home and get some decent rest. He doesn’t need to worry about me on top of everything.
I’m not going anywhere, and he can come back tomorrow.
My body feels weak and spent after staying awake for an hour, and I can feel the sleep dragging me under once more. There are still a thousand questions I want to ask. Needing to know the answer to, but one seems more important than the others.
The warmth…
“Stella?”
“Hmm?”
“Did anyone else come to visit? Aside from you and dad?”
“You mean Electra? Sorry, I didn’t tell her yet.”
“No, no, please don’t. She has enough on her plate right now.” My tongue peeked out to wet my lips. “So…no one else?”
Stella shoots me a look before clearing her throat. “Joey came by while you were out of it.”
“Did he?” I ask incredulously.
“The whole Kloss clan showed up.”
“Why?”
