FIC: Six Months, Six Hours-2/3 (Nick/Gil)
TITLE: Six Months, Six Hours-2/3
AUTHOR: ic789
PAIRING: Gil Grissom / Nick Stokes
RATING: PG
WARNING: M-Preg
SPOILERS: Set mid-season 7; explains Gil's sabbatical.
ICON: Made by lady529
DISCLAIMER: Wouldn't baby unicorns be so cute in the season finale? :)
SUMMARY: The doctors determine the problem.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: It's spring, time for all of the new babies to come outside... All comments welcome! :)
As Gil was getting up on the examination table, Dr. Rotsac burst in with an ultrasound technician, another obstetrician, and a nurse. They hurriedly got Gil’s belly exposed, not bothering to warm the gel up. Dr. Rotsac asked Gil what happened. The other doctor told the nurse to take blood from his arm, and he listened to Gil’s heart as the tech rubbed the wand over him. Both were looking at the machine’s screen intently, when Dr. Rotsac told the tech to go get neonatal doctor immediately.
Eight people were in the room working on Gil as Nick appeared in the doorway. He walked into chaos, Jami agitated in his arms. “What’s wrong?” he demanded loudly going to Gil’s side. “We have a significant problem here,” Dr. Rotsac began. “Somehow you’ve gotten a hernia, Gil. It’s pressing up on the bottom part of your uterus, and could push through the membrane. You need surgery immediately.”
Gil and Nick exchanged astounded looks, reaching for the other’s hand. “What? What about my baby?” Gil tried to sit up. The cardiologist held him down, “You need to remain as calm as possible Mr. Grissom.”
“I don’t understand. What are you telling me?” Gil tried again.
“You’re six months pregnant, with a hernia that may burst through the uterine wall. You need to have it pushed back away from the baby. If you don’t have the surgery, you could terminate your pregnancy. Your baby is very active, and added to your own activity might result in the same outcome. It’s very serious, and we’ll know more when we get the results of the blood work. We need to find out how much of your muscle has herniated with an MRI. Depending where it lays, you may have to have a Cesarean section now to save the baby.
“Whoa, whoa. You’re saying that we may have the baby now? It’s too early.” Nick blurted out, bouncing Jami slightly on his hip.
“We need to find out exactly where the hernia is, and how close it is to the uterine wall. I can’t give you any more answers until we see the MRI.” Dr. Rotsac calmly answered. “They’re prepping that room now. Gil, do you need to use the bathroom?”
“Wait. You’re saying that we may have to make a decision about the baby being born, aren’t you?” Nick got into the doctor’s personal space. “We could have a baby that is extremely premature. That’s what you mean, don’t you?”
“Nick, don’t assume the worst until we know more.” Dr. Rotsac answered.
“What’s happened in cases like this?” Gil asked solemnly.
“It all hinges on the placement and size of the hernia. The baby is fine now, not in distress. The pain you were having at home may have been an indication that the baby was pushing against it. Your body cannot deal with both of these things simultaneously, and could cause the baby to go into distress.” A different obstetrician answered.
Scowling, Gil asked again, “The outcome?”
Looking around the room, Dr. Rotsac knew he would be unable to continue treatment until Gil and Nick got this answer. “Ninety-five percent of the hernias are corrected. That being said, seventy percent of these cases end up in live birth. Twenty percent end up with the pregnancy being terminated. Ten percent end up with the baby still in vitro.” All of the medical personnel looked grim.
Jami began to cry from hunger and exhaustion. If they were still home she would’ve finished her lunch and been napping. Nick rocked her unsuccessfully.
“Gil, do you have to use the bathroom?” Dr. Rotsac asked again. Nick and Gil were still digesting the information.
“No.” Gil shook his head, and finally looked at his husband.
“Let’s get that MRI.” Nick said trying to comfort both his distraught daughter and Gil.
“It’s alright Jami, we have to do a test for your brother,” Gil signed to his daughter as she reached for him. “Stay with Daddy.” He tried to smile for her, but struggled to get into the wheelchair. The pain intensified when he sat up, and his expression caused his daughter to wail.
“Honey, I’ll meet you there. I’m going to get a quick snack for her and make some phone calls. She needs to go home.” Kissing Gil’s lips lightly, Nick followed them into the hallway, but went in the opposite direction, their toddler seconds away from a full-blown tantrum.
Jami’s wriggling and loud crying made the elevator ride down to the hospital’s coffee shop nightmarish. When she began shrieking for Gil, Nick got off at the next floor and found the stairs. “Sweetie, I’m worried too. We need to get something to eat.” He spoke to her wiping the big tears falling from her eyes, he felt like crying himself. Alternately hugging and kissing her, he tried not to think too much about their unborn baby.
She’d calmed down to silent body wracking sobs when they finally got to the cashier with a tray of two bowls of soup, a few sandwiches, and some beverages. Sitting down with her in his lap, they both ate ravenously.
Gil was lying on a hospital bed in a flimsy gown trying to self regulate his heart rate and breathing. He was alternately glad and angry that Nick had forced him to come to the hospital. They had visited NICU once when Gil had been pregnant with Jami to educate them. It was such a hopeful, yet heartbreaking section of the OB/GYN floor. Watching the parents of those tiny babies struggling to survive caused them to hold hands and hug each other unconsciously. They went home and had a very somber discussion about the consequences of having a baby so premature.
Nick hugged his daughter close to him and called the first person he thought could break away to help. Jami wasn’t having any of it, and wriggled so much that Nick had to put her on the ground. “Hey Jim, Gil and I are at the hospital.” Nick said worriedly as he held his daughter by the back of her little dress; she was determined to find her Daddy-O. “Yeah. It’s pretty serious. Can you come and get Jami?” Nick took a few deep breaths listening as Jami finally crawled back into his lap, thumb in mouth. “Okay. Thanks.” He explained the emergency further with Jami hugging his neck.
They made their way with some food for Gil to the tenth floor MRI unit. Entering the waiting area, Jami was asleep on her dad’s shoulder. Nick carefully laid her on his lap, and put his head back waiting in a plastic chair.
“Nick, you can come see Gil,” Dr. Rotsac shook him awake. Walking with the still sleeping baby on his shoulder, Nick was relieved to see Gil lying on an incline comfortably in the hospital bed. He placed the bag of food on the bedside table as Gil made space on the bed for their napping daughter. “How long has she been out?” He stroked her soft curls.
“Probably twenty minutes or so. How’re you doin’ Peanut?” Nick hugged Gil tightly while kissing him.
“It’s much better lying flat, although it hurts my back. This is the happy medium. I had to wait about a half hour for the MRI. Dr. Rotsac said he’d be back in about fifteen minutes.” Gil opened the bag and began eating his sandwich in earnest.
“Jim said he could be here in about forty-five minutes to take Jami home. He was on swing shift, so I called him first.” Jim was Jami’s honorary local godfather, and always helped them out in a pinch. “He’s concerned about you and the baby.”
Dr. Rotsac entered with another nurse and smiled at waiting the family. “The tech is bringing a monitor down so you can see what I’m about to tell you. The good news is that the baby seems to be doing very well under these conditions.”
A technician rolled in a monitor and inserted a DVD. Nick went to Gil’s side so he had a better view, and they clasped hands.
“This picture shows us your uterus and baby.” They could see their baby sleeping with thumb in mouth. “See this bulge?” He pointed with a pen to a large almost gambling ship sized indentation to the uterus, and the baby’s leg couldn’t stretch out because of it. “This is the herniated muscle located right above your bladder. I don’t know how or why this happened, but you’re very lucky that it hasn’t broken through. We’d like to take you to surgery tomorrow morning, first thing.”
“What about the baby?” Gil asked.
“The surgery is very delicate because it’s pushing the uterine wall in, right there. See how the membrane is much thinner compared to the rest of your uterus? It’s stretched almost to capacity. I honestly can’t believe you weren’t in more pain.” Dr. Rotsac continued pointing to the screen. “The surgeon will try to alleviate the muscle so that it doesn’t push in, but the membrane will remain thin. If it’s too thin, we’ll have to deliver the baby.”
“Is there any way to see the membrane’s thickness before you operate?” Nick asked with his arms crossed.
“No. We won’t be able to confirm anything until you’re open on the table.”
“I’m only twenty-six weeks along, I don’t want a premature baby,” Gil replied flatly.
“We don’t either, but you should prepare yourselves for that possibility. We’ll do anything possible to deliver your baby when fully developed. You’ve taken very good care of yourself, and he’s healthy. A neo-natal specialist will be in the operating room with us, and a delivery team, just in case.” Nick’s eyebrows shot up at the mention of the baby’s sex. “I’m just using ‘he’ to give you an example,” Dr. Rotsac added knowing that Nick didn’t want to know the baby’s sex.
“What if I don’t have it fixed?” Gil asked.
“Gil, it will probably rupture the uterus and you’ll be forced to deliver. Or the baby’s kicking will rupture it. We want him to have the best chance at life possible. If it happens and you’re home, you both could die from your internal bleeding.”
“This means that we have to decide whether Gil has a hysterectomy, right?” Nick asked.
“Fixing the hernia, and giving birth will be a major jolt to your system. It would not be prudent to do that procedure, even though I recommended it earlier.”
“The best scenario is that you’ll be able to fix the hernia, and keep the baby in vitro until he’s ready to come out?” Nick asked. “And the worst is that you can’t fix the hernia, and the baby dies?”
“Yes.” Dr. Rotsac let the information sink in. “The nurse will leave some forms for you to fill out. You’re going back up to obstetrics. Do you have any other questions?”
“No. Thank you Doctor. Can Jami stay in bed with me?” Gil asked dejectedly.
“Sure, just don’t lift her. I’ll check on you in an hour or so. The surgeon and anesthesiologist will be in to talk you through the procedure.”
Gil rubbed his sleeping daughter’s back and sighed heavily. Jami was wrapped around Gil’s thigh, head nestled on the mattress, thumb in mouth. “Jim should be here, I’m going to give him a call.” Nick stepped outside the room quickly. Gil saw him slyly wiping at his eyes, and knew that Nick wasn’t taking the news very well.
As the orderly wheeled Gil out of the room, Jami began to stir. She tended to “talk” to herself when she awoke, and Gil answered her sleepy sounds. Nick met them at the elevator, and reached for Gil’s hand. They kissed as the doors closed, trying to give each other some comfort and assurance. Jami watched them quietly.
Jim found them just as Gil was finishing up with the anesthesiologist. Nick was playing a hand clapping game with Jami on his lap, both giggling. “Well, well, well. How are you feeling, Gil?” Jim poked his head in the doorway.
“Come in Jim, Dr. Ephon is just leaving.” Gil unconsciously smoothed the sheet over his body.
“Where’s my favorite Baby?” Jim walked towards Jami and Nick, suddenly grabbing her and swinging her in the air. She loved Jim, giggling and squealing in delight as he rubbed his stubble on her little face. Once he had her on his hip, the men explained what happened. Jami began signing to Jim about her lunch, much to all of their surprise. “Already she thinks she’s smarter than me, huh?” Jim replied.
“I really appreciate this Jim, are you sure you’ll be alright with her?” Nick asked.
“Yeah, my weekend starts tomorrow, and we’re gonna have a good time. Right Jami?”
“You know her routine, it hasn’t changed. Just try not to spoil her too much.” Gil’s smile was relaxed. Jim always indulged her, and they all knew it. The last time he watched her, she wouldn’t sleep without someone holding her. Jim couldn’t stand watching her stand up in her crib when he turned out the light, picking her up and taking her to the rocking chair until she fell asleep.
“Give me a kiss Baby. I love you.” Nick leaned in and kissed his daughter. She sensed something was wrong, but didn’t cry. Gil explained the best he could to her with his fingers, and she gave them all a quizzical look. Kissing her, she furiously signed back that she loved him. Jim gathered her little belongings and Nick left to put Jami’s car seat into his vehicle.
When he returned, the cardiologist was giving Gil the final approval for surgery. When she left, Nick got into the bed as Gil explained everything he’d missed. They lay quietly, listening to the other’s heartbeats until Gil fell asleep. They awoke when Gil’s dinner tray arrived, and the nurse came to take his vitals and adjust the IV. “Hey, why don’t you go and get us some proper dinner?” Gil yawned.
“Are ya’ sure?”
“Get me something too. Let’s splurge on Thai.” Gil played with the entrée in front of him, one hand rubbing his baby.
“Okay. Don’t ya’ think that’s going to make the baby too active?” Nick’s face was etched in concern.
“I’m in the hospital, the baby’s already agitated. I think it will calm her down.”
“Gil.” Nick was not in the mood for teasing.
“What’s wrong with another daughter?” Gil gave him that little smile.
“Alright. But, I still want to be surprised, whatever happens, okay?” He sighed.
“You will be. I’ll be fine. Go get the food.” Gil leaned up to kiss Nick. They looked deeply into the other’s eyes, with unspoken words of concern.
Gil didn’t have too much time to consider the enormity of the situation as Catherine, Warrick, and Greg descended on him at the beginning of visiting hours. Nick arrived with their food just as the entire room was in laughter at Warrick’s latest Hodges experience. It involved men’s underwear and glue stick.
Dr. Al Robins and David B. arrived as the other three left for the beginning of their shift. “Gil, you always have to be in the spotlight, don’t you?” Al said, taking out his stethoscope and examining his good friend for himself. He looked at the monitor and confirmed Dr. Rotsac’s analysis. “You did the right thing bringing him here so quickly, Nick. This surgery is going to be very invasive and painful. I hope the baby will make it the full thirty-six weeks.”
“Thanks, Doc.” Gil played unconsciously with the sheet again.
Nick got a blanket for him from the shelf. “Thanks for coming, you guys are going to be late for your shift.”
They talked for a few more minutes about work, and then left.
Their last visitor was Conrad Ecklie. He was very concerned and it showed. “I’ll say some prayers for you,” he said as he left.
An orderly rolled another bed in the already small room, and they assumed it was for another patient. When the nurse entered to check Gil’s IV, Nick asked about it. “That’s for the partner to stay overnight in.” She seemed disturbed about a pregnant man in her care.
“Who ordered it?” Gil asked.
“Dr. Rotsac, Sir.” I’ll be in again in a few hours. If you need anything, buzz the nurse’s station.”
“Did you know about this?” Nick asked getting back into bed with Gil.
“No, but I’m glad. We need to talk Nick.”
AUTHOR: ic789
PAIRING: Gil Grissom / Nick Stokes
RATING: PG
WARNING: M-Preg
SPOILERS: Set mid-season 7; explains Gil's sabbatical.
ICON: Made by lady529
DISCLAIMER: Wouldn't baby unicorns be so cute in the season finale? :)
SUMMARY: The doctors determine the problem.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: It's spring, time for all of the new babies to come outside... All comments welcome! :)
As Gil was getting up on the examination table, Dr. Rotsac burst in with an ultrasound technician, another obstetrician, and a nurse. They hurriedly got Gil’s belly exposed, not bothering to warm the gel up. Dr. Rotsac asked Gil what happened. The other doctor told the nurse to take blood from his arm, and he listened to Gil’s heart as the tech rubbed the wand over him. Both were looking at the machine’s screen intently, when Dr. Rotsac told the tech to go get neonatal doctor immediately.
Eight people were in the room working on Gil as Nick appeared in the doorway. He walked into chaos, Jami agitated in his arms. “What’s wrong?” he demanded loudly going to Gil’s side. “We have a significant problem here,” Dr. Rotsac began. “Somehow you’ve gotten a hernia, Gil. It’s pressing up on the bottom part of your uterus, and could push through the membrane. You need surgery immediately.”
Gil and Nick exchanged astounded looks, reaching for the other’s hand. “What? What about my baby?” Gil tried to sit up. The cardiologist held him down, “You need to remain as calm as possible Mr. Grissom.”
“I don’t understand. What are you telling me?” Gil tried again.
“You’re six months pregnant, with a hernia that may burst through the uterine wall. You need to have it pushed back away from the baby. If you don’t have the surgery, you could terminate your pregnancy. Your baby is very active, and added to your own activity might result in the same outcome. It’s very serious, and we’ll know more when we get the results of the blood work. We need to find out how much of your muscle has herniated with an MRI. Depending where it lays, you may have to have a Cesarean section now to save the baby.
“Whoa, whoa. You’re saying that we may have the baby now? It’s too early.” Nick blurted out, bouncing Jami slightly on his hip.
“We need to find out exactly where the hernia is, and how close it is to the uterine wall. I can’t give you any more answers until we see the MRI.” Dr. Rotsac calmly answered. “They’re prepping that room now. Gil, do you need to use the bathroom?”
“Wait. You’re saying that we may have to make a decision about the baby being born, aren’t you?” Nick got into the doctor’s personal space. “We could have a baby that is extremely premature. That’s what you mean, don’t you?”
“Nick, don’t assume the worst until we know more.” Dr. Rotsac answered.
“What’s happened in cases like this?” Gil asked solemnly.
“It all hinges on the placement and size of the hernia. The baby is fine now, not in distress. The pain you were having at home may have been an indication that the baby was pushing against it. Your body cannot deal with both of these things simultaneously, and could cause the baby to go into distress.” A different obstetrician answered.
Scowling, Gil asked again, “The outcome?”
Looking around the room, Dr. Rotsac knew he would be unable to continue treatment until Gil and Nick got this answer. “Ninety-five percent of the hernias are corrected. That being said, seventy percent of these cases end up in live birth. Twenty percent end up with the pregnancy being terminated. Ten percent end up with the baby still in vitro.” All of the medical personnel looked grim.
Jami began to cry from hunger and exhaustion. If they were still home she would’ve finished her lunch and been napping. Nick rocked her unsuccessfully.
“Gil, do you have to use the bathroom?” Dr. Rotsac asked again. Nick and Gil were still digesting the information.
“No.” Gil shook his head, and finally looked at his husband.
“Let’s get that MRI.” Nick said trying to comfort both his distraught daughter and Gil.
“It’s alright Jami, we have to do a test for your brother,” Gil signed to his daughter as she reached for him. “Stay with Daddy.” He tried to smile for her, but struggled to get into the wheelchair. The pain intensified when he sat up, and his expression caused his daughter to wail.
“Honey, I’ll meet you there. I’m going to get a quick snack for her and make some phone calls. She needs to go home.” Kissing Gil’s lips lightly, Nick followed them into the hallway, but went in the opposite direction, their toddler seconds away from a full-blown tantrum.
Jami’s wriggling and loud crying made the elevator ride down to the hospital’s coffee shop nightmarish. When she began shrieking for Gil, Nick got off at the next floor and found the stairs. “Sweetie, I’m worried too. We need to get something to eat.” He spoke to her wiping the big tears falling from her eyes, he felt like crying himself. Alternately hugging and kissing her, he tried not to think too much about their unborn baby.
She’d calmed down to silent body wracking sobs when they finally got to the cashier with a tray of two bowls of soup, a few sandwiches, and some beverages. Sitting down with her in his lap, they both ate ravenously.
Gil was lying on a hospital bed in a flimsy gown trying to self regulate his heart rate and breathing. He was alternately glad and angry that Nick had forced him to come to the hospital. They had visited NICU once when Gil had been pregnant with Jami to educate them. It was such a hopeful, yet heartbreaking section of the OB/GYN floor. Watching the parents of those tiny babies struggling to survive caused them to hold hands and hug each other unconsciously. They went home and had a very somber discussion about the consequences of having a baby so premature.
Nick hugged his daughter close to him and called the first person he thought could break away to help. Jami wasn’t having any of it, and wriggled so much that Nick had to put her on the ground. “Hey Jim, Gil and I are at the hospital.” Nick said worriedly as he held his daughter by the back of her little dress; she was determined to find her Daddy-O. “Yeah. It’s pretty serious. Can you come and get Jami?” Nick took a few deep breaths listening as Jami finally crawled back into his lap, thumb in mouth. “Okay. Thanks.” He explained the emergency further with Jami hugging his neck.
They made their way with some food for Gil to the tenth floor MRI unit. Entering the waiting area, Jami was asleep on her dad’s shoulder. Nick carefully laid her on his lap, and put his head back waiting in a plastic chair.
“Nick, you can come see Gil,” Dr. Rotsac shook him awake. Walking with the still sleeping baby on his shoulder, Nick was relieved to see Gil lying on an incline comfortably in the hospital bed. He placed the bag of food on the bedside table as Gil made space on the bed for their napping daughter. “How long has she been out?” He stroked her soft curls.
“Probably twenty minutes or so. How’re you doin’ Peanut?” Nick hugged Gil tightly while kissing him.
“It’s much better lying flat, although it hurts my back. This is the happy medium. I had to wait about a half hour for the MRI. Dr. Rotsac said he’d be back in about fifteen minutes.” Gil opened the bag and began eating his sandwich in earnest.
“Jim said he could be here in about forty-five minutes to take Jami home. He was on swing shift, so I called him first.” Jim was Jami’s honorary local godfather, and always helped them out in a pinch. “He’s concerned about you and the baby.”
Dr. Rotsac entered with another nurse and smiled at waiting the family. “The tech is bringing a monitor down so you can see what I’m about to tell you. The good news is that the baby seems to be doing very well under these conditions.”
A technician rolled in a monitor and inserted a DVD. Nick went to Gil’s side so he had a better view, and they clasped hands.
“This picture shows us your uterus and baby.” They could see their baby sleeping with thumb in mouth. “See this bulge?” He pointed with a pen to a large almost gambling ship sized indentation to the uterus, and the baby’s leg couldn’t stretch out because of it. “This is the herniated muscle located right above your bladder. I don’t know how or why this happened, but you’re very lucky that it hasn’t broken through. We’d like to take you to surgery tomorrow morning, first thing.”
“What about the baby?” Gil asked.
“The surgery is very delicate because it’s pushing the uterine wall in, right there. See how the membrane is much thinner compared to the rest of your uterus? It’s stretched almost to capacity. I honestly can’t believe you weren’t in more pain.” Dr. Rotsac continued pointing to the screen. “The surgeon will try to alleviate the muscle so that it doesn’t push in, but the membrane will remain thin. If it’s too thin, we’ll have to deliver the baby.”
“Is there any way to see the membrane’s thickness before you operate?” Nick asked with his arms crossed.
“No. We won’t be able to confirm anything until you’re open on the table.”
“I’m only twenty-six weeks along, I don’t want a premature baby,” Gil replied flatly.
“We don’t either, but you should prepare yourselves for that possibility. We’ll do anything possible to deliver your baby when fully developed. You’ve taken very good care of yourself, and he’s healthy. A neo-natal specialist will be in the operating room with us, and a delivery team, just in case.” Nick’s eyebrows shot up at the mention of the baby’s sex. “I’m just using ‘he’ to give you an example,” Dr. Rotsac added knowing that Nick didn’t want to know the baby’s sex.
“What if I don’t have it fixed?” Gil asked.
“Gil, it will probably rupture the uterus and you’ll be forced to deliver. Or the baby’s kicking will rupture it. We want him to have the best chance at life possible. If it happens and you’re home, you both could die from your internal bleeding.”
“This means that we have to decide whether Gil has a hysterectomy, right?” Nick asked.
“Fixing the hernia, and giving birth will be a major jolt to your system. It would not be prudent to do that procedure, even though I recommended it earlier.”
“The best scenario is that you’ll be able to fix the hernia, and keep the baby in vitro until he’s ready to come out?” Nick asked. “And the worst is that you can’t fix the hernia, and the baby dies?”
“Yes.” Dr. Rotsac let the information sink in. “The nurse will leave some forms for you to fill out. You’re going back up to obstetrics. Do you have any other questions?”
“No. Thank you Doctor. Can Jami stay in bed with me?” Gil asked dejectedly.
“Sure, just don’t lift her. I’ll check on you in an hour or so. The surgeon and anesthesiologist will be in to talk you through the procedure.”
Gil rubbed his sleeping daughter’s back and sighed heavily. Jami was wrapped around Gil’s thigh, head nestled on the mattress, thumb in mouth. “Jim should be here, I’m going to give him a call.” Nick stepped outside the room quickly. Gil saw him slyly wiping at his eyes, and knew that Nick wasn’t taking the news very well.
As the orderly wheeled Gil out of the room, Jami began to stir. She tended to “talk” to herself when she awoke, and Gil answered her sleepy sounds. Nick met them at the elevator, and reached for Gil’s hand. They kissed as the doors closed, trying to give each other some comfort and assurance. Jami watched them quietly.
Jim found them just as Gil was finishing up with the anesthesiologist. Nick was playing a hand clapping game with Jami on his lap, both giggling. “Well, well, well. How are you feeling, Gil?” Jim poked his head in the doorway.
“Come in Jim, Dr. Ephon is just leaving.” Gil unconsciously smoothed the sheet over his body.
“Where’s my favorite Baby?” Jim walked towards Jami and Nick, suddenly grabbing her and swinging her in the air. She loved Jim, giggling and squealing in delight as he rubbed his stubble on her little face. Once he had her on his hip, the men explained what happened. Jami began signing to Jim about her lunch, much to all of their surprise. “Already she thinks she’s smarter than me, huh?” Jim replied.
“I really appreciate this Jim, are you sure you’ll be alright with her?” Nick asked.
“Yeah, my weekend starts tomorrow, and we’re gonna have a good time. Right Jami?”
“You know her routine, it hasn’t changed. Just try not to spoil her too much.” Gil’s smile was relaxed. Jim always indulged her, and they all knew it. The last time he watched her, she wouldn’t sleep without someone holding her. Jim couldn’t stand watching her stand up in her crib when he turned out the light, picking her up and taking her to the rocking chair until she fell asleep.
“Give me a kiss Baby. I love you.” Nick leaned in and kissed his daughter. She sensed something was wrong, but didn’t cry. Gil explained the best he could to her with his fingers, and she gave them all a quizzical look. Kissing her, she furiously signed back that she loved him. Jim gathered her little belongings and Nick left to put Jami’s car seat into his vehicle.
When he returned, the cardiologist was giving Gil the final approval for surgery. When she left, Nick got into the bed as Gil explained everything he’d missed. They lay quietly, listening to the other’s heartbeats until Gil fell asleep. They awoke when Gil’s dinner tray arrived, and the nurse came to take his vitals and adjust the IV. “Hey, why don’t you go and get us some proper dinner?” Gil yawned.
“Are ya’ sure?”
“Get me something too. Let’s splurge on Thai.” Gil played with the entrée in front of him, one hand rubbing his baby.
“Okay. Don’t ya’ think that’s going to make the baby too active?” Nick’s face was etched in concern.
“I’m in the hospital, the baby’s already agitated. I think it will calm her down.”
“Gil.” Nick was not in the mood for teasing.
“What’s wrong with another daughter?” Gil gave him that little smile.
“Alright. But, I still want to be surprised, whatever happens, okay?” He sighed.
“You will be. I’ll be fine. Go get the food.” Gil leaned up to kiss Nick. They looked deeply into the other’s eyes, with unspoken words of concern.
Gil didn’t have too much time to consider the enormity of the situation as Catherine, Warrick, and Greg descended on him at the beginning of visiting hours. Nick arrived with their food just as the entire room was in laughter at Warrick’s latest Hodges experience. It involved men’s underwear and glue stick.
Dr. Al Robins and David B. arrived as the other three left for the beginning of their shift. “Gil, you always have to be in the spotlight, don’t you?” Al said, taking out his stethoscope and examining his good friend for himself. He looked at the monitor and confirmed Dr. Rotsac’s analysis. “You did the right thing bringing him here so quickly, Nick. This surgery is going to be very invasive and painful. I hope the baby will make it the full thirty-six weeks.”
“Thanks, Doc.” Gil played unconsciously with the sheet again.
Nick got a blanket for him from the shelf. “Thanks for coming, you guys are going to be late for your shift.”
They talked for a few more minutes about work, and then left.
Their last visitor was Conrad Ecklie. He was very concerned and it showed. “I’ll say some prayers for you,” he said as he left.
An orderly rolled another bed in the already small room, and they assumed it was for another patient. When the nurse entered to check Gil’s IV, Nick asked about it. “That’s for the partner to stay overnight in.” She seemed disturbed about a pregnant man in her care.
“Who ordered it?” Gil asked.
“Dr. Rotsac, Sir.” I’ll be in again in a few hours. If you need anything, buzz the nurse’s station.”
“Did you know about this?” Nick asked getting back into bed with Gil.
“No, but I’m glad. We need to talk Nick.”