"Like I said before..." Dr. Henderson had elected to be the spokesperson. "She's lost a lot of blood, and her blood pressure is still a problem. The babies put a strain on her body and caused a placental abruption, placing the babies in distress."
"Will they live?" Mary-Ann asked tersely.
"The next twenty-four hours will tell."
"And my wife?" Christos asked tightly.
"We're monitoring her closely."
He gave the hapless doctor an icy gaze. "I need to be with her."
"She's unconscious..."
"I need to see her," he stated implacably. "Now."
He turned to his family. "You may as well go home. I'll keep you posted."
"We're staying." His mother spoke for all of them. "You go on ahead. Your father and I will go to the chapel to say prayers for Leanne and those babies."
Turning on his heels, he walked from the room.
They had taken out the long braid, and her hair was loose around her face. They had also changed her dress, and she had on a hospital gown. She looked so still, that for a minute, he thought she was dead.
Rushing to the side of the bed, he took her hand and frantically felt for a pulse. It was faint, but at least it was there.
Pulling up the chair, he sank into it weakly, heart pounding. Holding her hand between his, he brought it to his lips and closed his eyes when he felt the warmth of her skin. "I'm sorry," he told her huskily. "I did this. I put you through all of this. I should have left you alone. No." He shook his head.
"I couldn't. I have no willpower where you're concerned. The moment I laid eyes on you, I knew you were the one. I never meant for any of this to happen." His face was ashen, his lips strained. "You were right, this was too much. Three babies were too many.
"I cannot live without you, Leanne. If you're thinking about giving up, I would advise against it. If you leave me..." He pressed his lips together, tears burning his eyes. "I will give our babies away. Please, I cannot do this without you. Please don't make me have to do this without you. Come back to me, darling."
He was unaware and unconcerned that the tears were streaming down his face. "I love you so damn much, darling. Damn you, Leanne. Please don't leave me." He went from please to threats for an hour that left him so exhausted, he simply leaned back and closed his eyes.
In a few minutes, he shot to his feet as the machines started beeping.
Doctors and nurses started rushing in and asking him to step away.
"What's going on?"
"Her blood pressure is tanking and she's bleeding again," Dr. Henderson told him, nudging him away. "You're going to have to give us room."
*****
"I thought you'd left." He was so weary, he could hardly see straight.
"I sent the others home. Baby, you need something to eat."
"I'm not hungry. Did you contact her mother, like I asked?"
"I did."
"Let me guess, she wanted nothing to do with any of this." The bitterness in his tone was undeniable.
"She's here. She wanted to see you."
"I'm not in the mood to talk to her."
Mary-Ann wrapped her arm around him, resting her head on his shoulder. "They're so beautiful."
