Authors: Elizabeth Kelly
“Daddy? What are you doing?” Hazel stuck
her head into his office and stared at him curiously.
“Just thinking, baby bug.”
He smiled at her as she stood on his feet
and grabbed his hands. He walked her down the hallway and into Lily’s room,
staring thoughtfully at the crib crammed into the corner, the boxes of clothes
and baby supplies piled at the foot of Lily’s bed and the change table jammed
under the window.
“Hazel?”
“What?” She was playing with some of the stuffed
toys in the basket next to the crib.
“What do you think about giving Rachel her
own room? Do you think Lily would like it if we turned my office into a
nursery?”
Hazel shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“I bet she would like it. We could paint
the room and decorate it before Lily and Rachel come home. We could make it a
surprise for them.”
“What colour?” Hazel asked as she left the
toys and stood next to him.
“What colour do you think we should paint
it?”
“Pink.” She said quickly. “Pink is for
girls.”
“Then we’ll paint it pink. Come on, I need
to call your Uncle Rob.”
“Why?”
“Because if we want to get this room done
before Lily comes home, we’re going to need some help.”
* * *
Lily held Rachel closer and stared down at
her sweet face. An overwhelming feeling of love swept through her and she
could feel tears starting in her eyes. She’d had no clue how deeply she would
fall in love with her from the moment she saw her and she was a little
overwhelmed by it.
She shifted the baby in her arms and Rachel
suckled harder at her nipple. The nurse popped her head around the curtain.
“Still eating?”
“Yes.” Lily smiled at her.
The nurse nodded. “She’s a good eater and
she’s latched on very well. That’s good.”
Lily smiled again. “I’m pretty happy about
that. I was worried about breastfeeding and how it would go.”
“It seems to be going just fine. I’ll
leave you for a bit longer. Just ring the bell if you need anything, okay?”
“I will, thanks.”
The nurse disappeared and Lily stared
blankly at the curtain. Despite her happiness, despite the fact that her baby
was healthy and she’d actually gotten a good night sleep, she couldn’t stop the
ball of worry in her stomach from growing.
She looked up when Janet slipped past the
curtain and grinned at her. “Hello, gorgeous.”
“Hi, Janet.”
The redhead plopped down in the chair.
“How’s she doing?”
“Good. She’s eating really well.”
“Excellent. Did you get any sleep last
night?”
“Quite a bit, actually. I couldn’t keep
her in my room because of the surgery so the nurses just brought her to me for
feedings.”
“Enjoy that while it lasts.” Janet winked
at her. “How do you feel?”
“Oh fine.”
Janet cocked her head. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Not weepy or worried or sad?”
Lily shrugged. “A little worried, maybe.”
“About what?”
She sighed. “The hospital bill for
starters. I don’t have insurance and I can only imagine how much the bill will
be. I have no idea how I’m going to pay it.”
Janet gave her a sympathetic look as Lily
blinked back the tears. “I told Logan when he hired me that I would come right
back to work after the pregnancy. That there would be no problems. Dr.
Stevenson told me I can’t lift anything heavier than Rachel for six weeks, and
I have to limit my bending and stretching. How am I supposed to look after
Hazel?”
“Honey, I wouldn’t worry – “
“And I told Logan that if he hired me I
would take the baby and stay somewhere else for the four days that he wasn’t
working so the noise didn’t bother them. I thought it would be simple enough
to just stay in a motel, you know? But again, I wasn’t expecting to have a C-section
and I never even thought about the stupid hospital bill. There’s no way in
hell I’ll have enough money for a motel.”
Lily was starting to cry and Janet reached
out and squeezed her hand before passing her a tissue.
“Thanks.” Lily sniffed. She stared down
at Rachel, still suckling hungrily at her breast, and stroked her dark hair.
“Honey, you don’t have to worry about
finding someplace else to live when Logan’s at home. Logan isn’t going to let
you or your baby live in a motel four days a week. I guarantee it.” Janet
said quietly.
Lily shook her head. “If I can’t even do
my job, look after Hazel, why would he even keep me on?”
Janet squeezed her hand again. “Hazel is
four and quite self-sufficient. She’ll learn quickly that you can’t pick her
up and that she’ll have to do some stuff for herself. It’ll be an adjustment
period but she’ll get used to it. And I really don’t think Logan will care if
you’re not cooking or cleaning for six weeks.”
“That’s my job.” Lily whispered
miserably. “If I’m not doing it, he won’t –“
“He won’t care.” Janet interrupted
firmly. “Just trust me on this.”
“I don’t want to take advantage of him.”
Lily gave her a timid look. “I don’t want to be like Erin where I use his
niceness against him. It’s not fair of me – “
“Honey, you are nothing like Erin.
Nothing. Don’t ever compare yourself to her. Do you understand me?” Janet
said sternly.
Lily nodded and wiped at her eyes with the
tissue.
“Has Logan been here today?”
Lily nodded again. “Yes, he and Hazel were
here as soon as visiting hours started. They stayed for a couple of hours but
they have some top secret project they’re working on. I have no idea what it
is, but Hazel was really excited about it.”
Janet grinned and said nothing as Lily
stroked Rachel’s soft hair again. “He said he would come back later today.”
“I sure did.” Logan said cheerfully as he
slipped past the curtain. “Hi, Janet.”
“Hi, Logan.”
She watched as Logan bent and kissed
Rachel’s head. “She was eating when I left this morning.” He grinned at
Lily. “Has she even stopped?”
Lily laughed. “Yes.”
Logan placed his finger in Rachel’s hand
and grinned like a little boy when her tiny fist closed around it. “Who’s my
good girl?”
The baby let go of Lily’s nipple and made a
short wail. Logan made a soothing noise before kissing her head again.
“Sorry, baby bee.”
“She just needs to be burped.” Lily lifted
her to her shoulder and patted her back gently as Logan sat at the end of the
bed and rubbed Lily’s leg through the blanket.
“How are you feeling?”
“Good. Dr. Stevenson was in earlier and
she thinks we can go home tomorrow afternoon.”
“That’s great!” Logan said delightedly.
“It really is.” Lily sighed.
Logan studied her for a moment. “Have you
been crying?”
She shook her head and handed Rachel to
him. “No. Could you hold her for a minute? I need to use the bathroom.”
“Yes.” Logan took Rachel eagerly and held
her against his shoulder. He patted her back as Lily eased out of the bed and
disappeared into the bathroom.
Logan glanced at Janet. “Was she crying?”
Janet nodded. “Yes. She’s worried because
she told you that she could go right back to work after having the baby. The
C-section has changed that, and she’s afraid you’re going to fire her because
she can’t look after Hazel properly.”
Logan sighed. “That’s ridiculous. Hazel’s
a big girl, and she understands that Lily won’t be able to pick her up or do
certain things with her for a little while.”
“She’s also scared that you’re going to
make her honour her promise to stay in a motel with Rachel when you’re not
working.”
“What?” Logan gave her a look of
disbelief. “There’s no way in hell I’m letting Lily stay in a motel with
Rachel.”
“I know.” Janet replied. “But Lily thinks
you might. You know how she is. She’s always so afraid she’ll be fired, or
that she’ll do something wrong and upset you.”
Logan sighed with frustration. “I don’t
know how to make her stop believing that.”
Janet gave him a sympathetic look. “She’s
a smart girl. She’ll figure it out eventually.”
The bathroom door opened and Lily carefully
walked back to the bed. She climbed in gingerly and smiled at Logan. “I can
take her back if you’re tired of holding her.”
He shook his head. “No, I like holding my
baby bee.”
Her smile widened and he grinned at her as
Janet stood and kissed Lily on the forehead. “I’m going to go, Lily. I’ll
come by later tonight, alright?”
“Alright. Thank you so much, Janet.” Lily
squeezed her hand as Janet kissed Rachel’s soft head and then Logan’s cheek
before leaving the room.
“Was work okay with you taking today off?”
She asked as Logan rubbed Rachel’s back.
He nodded. “Yeah, it was no problem.”
“Good, good.” She gave him a nervous
look. “Logan, I just want you to know that despite the C-section, I’ll still
take good care of Hazel. I already feel much better than yesterday and I think
the six week thing is more of a suggestion than a rule. I can – “
“Lily, stop.” He said gently. “The six
weeks is not a suggestion, it’s a requirement. You’re not to be lifting
anything heavier than Rachel, do you understand?”
She didn’t reply and he could see tears
starting in her eyes.
“Besides,” he continued cheerfully, “I’ve
taken the next two weeks off so I’ll be around to help with Hazel and Rachel,
as well as the cooking and housework, for the first little bit anyway.”
She gaped at him. “You what?”
“I’ve taken two weeks off.”
“But, but,” she sputtered, “how?”
“I’ve got vacation and I talked with Bill
this morning about taking it right now. He didn’t have a problem with it and
actually encouraged me to take some time off.”
“Logan, I – that’s so nice of you.” Lily
replied. She was beginning to weep and he reached out and brushed the tears
away with his thumb.
“Don’t cry, Lily. And, by the way, there’s
no way in hell I’m letting you and the baby bee stay in a motel so don’t bother
bringing it up. Alright?”
Her bottom lip trembling, she nodded.
“Alright. Thank you, Logan.”
“You’re welcome, sweetheart.”
A man, holding a massive, plush teddy bear,
strolled into the room. “Lily Castro?” He asked in a bored voice.
“Yes?” Lily replied.
“Delivery for you.” He propped the teddy
bear up in the chair beside the bed and handed her an envelope.
“Thank you.”
The man, he wore a shirt that had “Gifts by
Barb” embroidered across the left breast, nodded and left as Lily opened the
envelope.
She opened the card and read silently.
Logan frowned when fresh tears began to drip down her cheeks.
“Lily? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” She murmured. She set the card
aside and smiled at him.
“Who’s the bear from?” He prompted.
“Regina and Charles.”
“They know you had the baby?” He asked
guardedly.
“Yes. I called Regina yesterday and let
her know.”
“Have they seen her yet?” Logan
unconsciously held Rachel a little closer.
She shook her head and wiped the tears from
her face.
“Why are you crying, Lily?”
She sighed. “They’ve paid my hospital
bill.”
“They what?”
“They paid the hospital bill.”
“That’s nice of them.”
She gave him a dry look. “Just say what
you want to say, Logan.”
He shifted Rachel in his arms and stared at
her sweet face for a moment. “I’m worried that they’re trying to bribe you
into seeing Rachel.”
“They might be.” She acknowledged.
“Are you going to let them see her?” He
asked.
She sighed. “They’re her grandparents,
Logan.”
“I know that, Lily, but they don’t deserve
to see her. They tried to buy her for God’s sake.” He said angrily.
“They know that was wrong, Logan. They
just want the chance to be a part of her life.” She said softly.
“I don’t want them seeing her.” He said
stubbornly.
“I know. You’ve made that perfectly
clear.” She sighed.
“Lily, I – “
Rachel let out a lusty cry in his arms and
he patted her bottom gently. “It’s alright, baby bee.”