Winter backed up, and his back hit the wall with a thud, he slid down to the floor as tears ran down his cheeks. He brought his knees to his chest dropping his head down on his thighs and letting out all of his hurt and anger that the world was taking away someone he knew he couldn’t live without.
Winter didn’t know how long he’d sat on the floor crying, but he knew he had to see Caroline, he would regret it for the rest of his life if he didn’t take the chance to say goodbye to his friend. He stood and cleaned up his face the best he could and without hesitating, he walked into her room but stopped when he saw her laying on the bed.
The sounds of the machines echoed in the back of his mind as he stared at his friend, he acknowledged that he was afraid to get closer to the bed. Caroline opened her eyes and gave him a weak smile. Winter slowly walked over to her and sat in the chair by the bed.
Lifting her hand he brought it to his lips, kissing the back of it. “Hey, beautiful.”
“Did…you…see…the…baby?” she asked, her breathing labored with every word she spoke.
“Not yet,” he told her, as he reached up and brushed her red locks from her face. “I wanted to see you first.”
“Listen to me.”
"Don’t force yourself to talk. Save your strength,” he told Caroline, but she ignored his suggestions.
“He’s…yours…” she told him, and Winter looked at her confused. “Yours…Richard…Creed…”
“Please, baby girl, don’t talk, please.“
The more he begged her, the more she tried to speak. “Promise…me…baby…yours…and…Cre…”
Her head listed to the side as her eyes closed just as the doors burst open and the doctors rushed in. Winter stood to the side and allowed them to work on keeping her alive, but he knew she wasn’t coming back and felt his heart shatter into a million pieces.
Slowly, he backed out of the room and ran out of the hospital not stopping when the blast of cold air hit him in the face. What was he going to do now that he’d lost a part of him, his world felt cold and his body numb, the only thing that seemed to break through the numbness was heartache. He stopped in the middle of the parking lot and screamed out his anger and pain.
Why would the gods do this to him? Why would they take away someone that meant the world to him? If they’d given him an answer that second, Winter didn’t hear because he continued to scream until he was hoarse.
If he was causing a commotion and had people staring at him, he didn’t care, all he wanted was to have Caroline back. To hear her throaty laughter and see her green eyes sparkle with delight and mischief. He just wanted her to come back to him.
He registered arms wrapping around him, cocooning him from the cold. Whoever it was didn’t try to soothe him or tell him that everything was going to be okay. He didn’t need to be lied to, not now,not ever.
“It’s okay, Win, let it out.”
Winter raised his head and through his tears, recognizing it was Jarrod O’Malley, Richard’s business partner. He’d called Jarrod when he was on his way to hospital after he’d got the message about Caroline and Richard. He rested his head back on Jarrod’s chest and let his tears fall. He’d just lost his family.
“What am I going to do without her, Jarrod?”
Jarrod sighed and cupped the back of his head and pulled it back. “You are going to mourn her and Richard, and then you’re going to focus on taking care of their little boy.”
At hearing that, Winter stood up quickly and swayed a bit and stumbled back into the hospital.
How could I be so damn stupid? I forgot all about the baby.
He hurried over to the nursery and burst through the door looking around for the baby. He checked the nameplates on the hospital bassinets until he spotted the name, Makami. He reached in to pick up the baby when he was stopped.
“Sir, you are not authorized in here.”
He looked up at the nurse that was staring at him. “He’s mine,” he told her. They stared at each other for a few seconds before she sighed and walked over to him.
“Then you’re going to need these,” he told him putting a cloth over his shoulder. “Do you know how to hold a baby?”
“Yes,” he answered.
“Good, I was about to feed him, so why don’t you get him…”
“Connor,” Winter said.
“Excuse me?”
“His name,” he said looking down at the baby. When Caroline found out she was having a boy, she settled on the name Connor. “It’s Connor.”
"Ok,” she said with a smile. “Why don’t you take Connor over there.” She pointed to the rocking chair sitting off to the side. “And I will bring his bottle to you.”
“Thank you,” Winter told her.
“No problem, hun.”
Carefully, Winter picked up baby Connor and brought him to his chest. He held back the tears that were threatening to escape. Winter needed to be strong, breaking down was not an option. Not when the little person he was holding in his arms needed him after losing his parents.
Connor will never get to meet the mother who couldn’t wait to meet him. The mother who would have given, and probably gave her life to save him. Connor would never get to meet Caroline, but Winter would never let him forget her.
