Trigger warning: hospitals, needles various, and medical procedures.
Apple Doesn't Fall Far - Part 13
Jake's P.O.V.
Little Dan runs up to us and says that Gracie is sick. I look up just in time to see her collapse.
"Gracie!" Mara and I both scream as we rush over to her.
"Gracie, wake up." I scream and start to shake her.
"Gracie, baby, please wake up," Mara says, trying but slowly failing to hold herself together.
"I've called for help!" Lily says as she runs over to us.
After a few moments, Gracie's eyes flutter open, and she looks at us just as the paramedics rush to her. They start checking all of her vitals. One of the paramedics starts asking questions about medical history and medications, and Mara tries her best to answer them, panic evident in her voice. The other paramedics get Gracie on the gurney.
"Can I ride with her?" Mara asks.
"For safety reasons, we can't have anyone in the back except the patient and medic." The paramedic says before turning to me. "We're going to start an IV, and it's going to take a few minutes before we leave. If you want to run get your car, you can follow behind us." He says as they start wheeling Gracie towards the ambulance. Marabella walks beside them, holding Gracie's hand, and I run to get the car.
I get my car and pull behind the ambulance. Mara steps away from the ambulance, and they close the doors. She gets into the car and immediately loses it. The ambulance pulls out, and I follow behind it. I look over and see her crying. I reach over, put my hand on her leg, and squeeze it gently.
"She's going to be alright," I say, not sure if I'm trying to convince her or myself.
"Stop. Don't give me that shit." She snaps at me. "You don't know that. You have no clue if she's going to be okay. That's my baby, my whole world. I don't know what I would do without her."
I want so desperately to argue with her and assure her that she's going to be okay. The truth is Marabella is right; we don't know that for a fact. What if she's not ok? She has to be. I refuse to lose her.
The ambulance pulls into the ambulance bay, and we see them unload Gracie and take her in. I quickly find a spot to park. and Marabella jumps out of the car before it's even completely stopped and starts rushing towards the door. I jog to catch up to her and follow her into the hospital, where we are ushered into a surprisingly empty waiting room. I sit down, trying to calm myself while she paces back and forth across the room with tears streaming down her face. I get up and walk over to her. Without saying a word, I grab her, pull her close, and wrap my arms around her, causing her to cry even harder. I struggle to maintain my composure, but I know I have to be strong for her; I can't break.
I see the doctor walk in. I release Marabella from my embrace and turn to face him as he walks up to us.
"Are you Hannah Carter's parents?" He asks.
"We are." I manage to say.
"How is our Gracie? Can we see her?" Mara asks.
"She is responsive, though she is showing signs of a stroke." He says, shocking me.
"A stroke? She's only 12! This has to be a mistake!" She screams at him.
"Although it is extremely rare, it's not completely unheard of for someone her age to have a stroke. They had to sedate her to keep her calm. They have taken her for a CT scan, and you can see her when she gets back to her room. I will have one of the nurses come get you when it's time."
Marabella leans up against the wall before sliding down it into the floor and sobbing. I sit down beside her and put my arm around her, pulling her to me so she is leaning on me for support. We sit there like that for a few minutes.
"My baby, our baby, had a stroke, Jay. Do you know how serious that can be?" She says.
"Listen, we don't know anything for sure yet. There could be some other explanation, so let's not go jumping to the worst-case yet. Look at me." I say, touching her chin and lifting her head to look at me. "Whatever happens, Gracie is going to get through this, and we are going to get through it together. I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to be right here to face whatever this is with you both."
"Thank you." She whispers.
The nurse walks in "follow me." She says. Mara stands up and uses me for support as we wall down the hall behind the nurse.
"She takes us to a small room on the other side of the hospital, and I brace myself before walking in. Little Gracie is laying there hooked up to monitors with needles and tubes coming out of her arms, and it's a heart-wrenching sight to see. I would trade places with her in a heartbeat if that were an option, and I know Mara feels the same way. It's awful to see anyone you care about in such a state, but seeing your own kid this way is something I wouldn't wish on anyone. Mara walks over to one side of the bed and gently pushes the hair out of Gracie's face. I walk to the other side of the bed and gently take Gracie's hand in mine to let her know I'm here.
"It's okay, baby girl, mom, and dad are here," Mara whispers to her even though she's sedated. The doctor walks in with her chart in his hands.
"Well, the CT didn't show any brain bleeds or signs of stroke. We need to do an MRI so we have a better idea of what is going on in her brain. Someone will also be by in a few minutes for more blood work. If the MRI doesn't show anything, we will do a spinal tap to check for meningitis. "
"Why is she sedated?" I ask him.
"When she got here, her speech was impaired, and she was experiencing weakness on her right side. She started to panic when she realized she couldn't speak properly, so we had to sedate her. All of those tests can be done while she is sedated, so there's no need to worry. She will be out for several hours, and it will take some time for the tests. I want to make sure you know what to expect." He says before leaving.
Soon after, a lady comes in to tell us she'll be taking Gracie to get MRI, and she lets us know it's going to take about an hour. Once Gracie is out of the room, Marabella starts pacing again, which is not helping with my nerves. My phone starts ringing, starling us both. I look down and see Lily's number.
"Hello," I answer, putting it on speaker so Mara can hear.
"Hey, I just wanted to check on Gracie. How is she doing?" She asks.
"They think she may have had a stroke," I tell her.
"A stroke? I didn't even know something like that was possible at that age. Did they say what would have caused it?"
"No, they're doing a bunch of tests. I'll let you know when we know more. They're doing an MRI right now."
"Please let me know what they say. Do you guys need anything? Can I bring you something to eat? I'm sure it's going to be awhile." She asks.
"No, right now we're fine, but I'll let you know."
"Thank you, Lily," Marabella says, and I end the call.
I look over at Marabella, and for the first time, I see her for who she truly is. She's no longer the reckless 20-year-old kid that went chasing after a legend turned reality or the heartbroken girl that watched as that monster revealed himself to be one of the people she cared for the most and then was forced to watch as he took his own life. No, she's grown into an amazingly strong woman and an incredible mother. She's done an amazing job raising Gracie and playing the role of both parents. At this realization, any anger I have left for her vanishes and is replaced with admiration. I can't think of anyone who I would rather have as the mother to my little girl.
"Shit!" She yells tossing her phone on the table.
"You ok?" I ask.
"No, I was trying to update my mom, and Anna and my phone died."
"Here, use mine." I hold my phone out to her. She looks down at it, then backs up and me, and just stares. "What?" I ask.
"Seriously, Jay, do you think people still memorize phone numbers?
"Hey, I just wanted to let you know the MRI we had before her is taking a little longer than expected, so we haven't started yet. I didn't want you to be worried because it was taking longer." The doctor says poking his head in the door.
"Thank you." We both say.
"I'll run to the house and grab chargers for both of us and some coffee since it's apparently going to be a long night. You ok here by yourself, or do I need to ask Lily to make the run for us?"
"No, I'm good; go ahead."
I get in the car and make my way to my house. Finally, having a moment to myself, I let my mind wander to all of the worst-case scenarios. A few weeks ago, I didn't even know I had a kid, and now I can't imagine life without her. I finally get to the house, and I go to grab her charger when I'm overcome with emotions. I sit on the bed and break down. I start sobbing, thinking of all the moments I'm not going to get with her if she doesn't make it through this. I think of her graduating high school and going off to college. I think of walking her down the aisle and her having kids of her own. Who am I kidding? She's never going to be allowed to date. I chuckle to myself at that thought. She has to pull through this. I want to be able to have those moments with her. Fuck, I want to have those moments with both of them. I need them both in my life. I grab her charger and quickly run to the other room to get mine. I rush out of the house and make my way back to the hospital, but not before stopping for coffee and food.
I walk into the hospital room, instantly noticing Gracie is still gone for her test. I hand Mara her charger and coffee and sit the food on the table.
"Any news?" I ask.
"No, not yet. Hopefully, they will be done with the MRI soon."
After a few minutes of silence, the door opens, and they roll Gracie's bed back into the room, and to our surprise, she's awake. "Mom, I'm scared." She says her words slurring as if she's had too much to drink.
"It's okay, baby. Momma's here. You're going to be okay." Mara says, trying to comfort her.
"We were able to do the spinal tap while we were waiting on the MRI, so now we are just waiting on the lab, and the doctor to review the imaging." The nurse says before leaving.
After another hour or so, the doctor comes in and examines her by having her squeeze his fingers, kick her feet, and move her eyes around. Her right side is clearly weaker, but she does everything she's asked.
"My head hurts." She says, clutching the left side of her head.
"We will get you something for the pain." He says before turning his attention to us. "She tested negative for meningitis, and the MRI did not show any signs of a stroke or any other brain injuries." He says, and I breathe a sigh of relief.
"Then what is causing this? Clearly, something is wrong." Mara says.
"We haven't quite figured that out yet. We have one of the best neurologists in the world, and she will be here tomorrow. I recommend getting some rest. Do you both plan on staying tonight?" He says.
"Yes, if that's okay," I say.
"I will have one of the aids bring in a roll away bed. It's rather small, so I'm not sure you will both fit, but that bench you're sitting on pulls out into a half bed. It's not exactly comfortable, but it'll do the job." He says.
After a few hours, Gracie falls back asleep, and one of the aids brings in the bed and extra blankets and pillows for me. I insist Mara take the bed while I fix the bench into a bed. I can hear her crying from across the room, so without thinking, I get up and walk over to her. I slide into the bed right behind her and hold her close to me.
"Shh, everything is fine. I got you. Close your eyes and go to sleep." I tell her before we both drift off