“Mike, what happened?” Austin asked.
“Mike, is she okay?” Marlena asked.
“Can I see her?” Roman asked.
“Is she still in labor?” Sami asked.
“Whoa!” Mike answered. “Okay, hold on! I will explain everything. She was in
labor. But, she’s barely dilated. So, Craig is giving her some medication to
stop the labor, and she needs to stay here overnight. She is being moved to
he own room.”
“Oh, thank God!” Marlena exclaimed. “Can we see her?”
“Yes, but can you wait for about 10 minutes? I would like to move her to her
room and get her settled in.”
“Sure,” Marlena replied. “I’ll go get some coffee.”
“We’ll come too,” Sami and Eric added.
“Me too,” Roman mentioned.
“Where’s everybody else?” Mike asked Alice once they left.
“They went home, dear. They figured Carrie would need to rest. But, they all
said goodbye and good luck."
“Oh. Well, grandma it’s getting late. Maybe you should go home too.”
“I’m pretty tired. Tell Carrie not to worry and I’ll see her tomorrow. I’ll
go home with Mickey and Maggie.”
“Okay grandma,” Mike added as he kissed her on the cheek. “Goodnight.”
“Goodnight, dear.”
Mike walked back into the triage section in the ER to see Carrie, and found
her sitting in the wheel chair collecting her things.
“Need some help?”
“No thanks, sweetie. I’m ready to go.”
“Okay. Let’s get going.”
Once they were in Carrie’s room, Mike helped her into the bed. The nurse
came in and started her iv and medication. Then, there was a knock at the
door.
“May we come in?” Marlena asked.
“Of course,” Carrie answered.
“How are you feeling Pumpkin,” Roman asked.
“Fine,” Carrie replied. “Just a little tired. But, I’m not having anymore
pain.”
“That’s good,” Sami said.
“Where’s everyone else?” Carrie asked.
“They all went home,” Austin said as he walked through the door. “They
wanted to let you rest.”
“Oh,” Carrie said.
“How are you doing?” he asked.
“I’m okay,” she responded.
“Craig gave her some medication to stop the contractions,” Mike added.
“That’s good,” Austin said.
There was a knock on the door.
“Who could that be?” Carrie asked.
“Well, let me see…” Mike said as he walked to the door. “Yep, that would be
my surprise!”
“Surprise!? What surprise?” Carrie asked.
“You’ll see!” Mike replied. He opened the door to reveal John standing in
the door with a huge bouquet of mixed flowers.
“I think the soon to be father ordered these,” John said as he handed the
flowers to Mike.
“Thank you very much,” Mike said as he walked towards Carrie.
“For you, my Princess,” he said as he handed her the flowers.
“Oh Mike! They’re beautiful!” she exclaimed.
“So, that’s what your errand was?” Marlena asked John as she kissed him.
“Yep. Mike asked me for a favor, and I’m a sucker for romance!” John said as
he kissed Marlena back.
“Well,” Austin interrupted, “I better get going. I just wanted to check and
make sure Carrie was alright.”
“Thanks Austin,” Carrie replied.
“Bye,” everyone answered.
“I’ll go with you,” Sami said. “Bye Carrie.”
“Bye Sami,” Carrie replied.
“So,” Roman started, “I am so glad you two decided to stay in town until
after the twins are born.”
“Well, we missed our family and decided that we would enjoy spending time
with everyone,” Mike replied.
“Yeah, and we need some vacation time!” Carrie added.
There was another knock on the door.
“Mike?” Carrie asked suspiciously.
“I swear I don’t know who that is!” Mike laughed.
“Sorry to interrupt,” Craig said as he walked through the door, “but I need
to examine Carrie.”
“That’s okay,” Marlena said. “We’re going to leave anyway and let her rest.
Goodnight sweetie.”
“Goodnight Marlena, and thank you for everything,” Carrie replied.
“Bye,” Mike added.
“Take care,” John mentioned.
“Bye Pumpkin,” Roman said as he bent down and kissed Carrie’s forehead.
“Goodnight dad,” Carrie said.
“See you Roman,” Mike added.
“Bye Mike.”
“Okay,” Craig started, “I need to lay back and just relax again, okay?”
Carrie shook her head yes and Mike walked over and held her hand. A couple
of minutes later Craig took off his gloves and placed a fetal monitor on
Carrie’s stomach. After another 5 minutes and an ultrasound, he finally
spoke.
“Well, I have some good news and some bad news,” he said.
Chapter 8
“What” Carrie asked?
“Craig, what’s wrong?” Mike asked.
“Well, the good news is that the medication is working, and Carrie hasn’t
dilated anymore.”
“Thank God!” Carrie exclaimed.
“Craig, what’s the bad news?” Mike asked.
“The bad news is that your son is now in a breach position, and if he
doesn’t turn around in the next couple of weeks before the birth, you’re
going to have deliver by a c-section.”
“But, he’s okay, right?” Carrie asked.
“Well, other than that, he’s perfectly fine. And so is your daughter.”
“Thanks, Craig,” Mike said.
“No problem, buddy. I’ll be back in the morning with all your paper work.
But for tonight, I want you to rest.”
“Okay, thank you.” Carrie said.
“Goodnight. And congratulations.”
“Thanks,” Mike said.
“Goodnight,” Carrie added.
“Well, I am so happy that everything’s okay.” Mike said.
“Me too,” added Carrie. “That was pretty scary.”
“Yeah, it was.”
“I love you.”
“I love you too,” Mike leaned over and gave her a kiss. They were
interrupted by another knock on the door.
“Come in!” Carrie yelled.
“Nancy!” Mike exclaimed.
“Hi Nancy!” Carrie added.
“Hi!” Nancy replied. “Craig told me everything! I just had to come and see
you two.”
“Well, come on in!” Carrie said.
“So, what have you two been up to?”
“Well,” Carrie answered, “as you can see we’re expecting! And, we got
married on Valentine’s Day!”
“And,” Mike added, “we opened a clinic in the village in Israel.”
“That’s wonderful! You two always did make a terrific pair.”
“Thanks,” Carrie said. “And what about you? What have you been doing?”
“You know, same as I’ve always done. Craig and I adopted a child. Her name’s
Chloe.”
“That’s wonderful.” Mike said.
“Maybe we’ll get to meet her,” Carrie mentioned.
“I’m sure you will. She volunteers here with Belle and Mimi.”
“That’s good,” Mike added.
“Oh my gosh!” Nancy exclaimed. “I just can’t believe this!”
“What?” Carrie asked.
“Well, it’s just that it’s so wonderful to see you two together and happy.”
“Well thanks,” Mike laughed.
“I mean, after everything the two of you went through last year. I’m so
happy the two of you are together.”
“Thanks,” Carrie added.
“Well, I better get going. I just wanted to stop by to see you two.”
“Thanks Nancy,” Carrie said.
“I’ll see both of you soon, I hope. I’d really like to get together before
you leave.”
“Okay, that’d be great!” Carrie added.
“Bye!” Nancy said.
“Bye!” Carrie and Mike both replied.
“Well,” Mike started, “You need to get some rest.”
“Yeah, I’m pretty tired. It’s been an exhausting day.”
“It sure has. Is there anything I can get you?”
“No. But, there is something you can do for me.”
“Anything Princess.”
“Stay here with me tonight.”
“Of course Princess. I wouldn’t be anywhere else. I love you, and everything
will be okay.”
“I love you, too. And I know everything will work out.”
“Are you sure I can’t get you anything?”
“Well – there is one thing.”
“Name it.”
“Well, Dr. Horton, I don’t plan on sharing this hospital pillow with you.
So, I think it may be to your advantage to find your own pillow!”
“Thanks for the warning!” Mike joked as he threw a pillow at Carrie.
“Hey!” she squealed. “Just doing you a favor!”
“Okay, well I’m going to go find myself a pillow.”
“Okay. Hurry back.”
“I will,” Mike said as he left the room.
Carrie rolled over to her other side and stared at the vase of flowers Mike
had given her.
“God,” she started, “thank you so much for putting Mike in my life. I love
him so much, and I don’t know what I’d do without him. And thank you for
blessing us with two wonderful children that were created from our love, and
you. Thank you for keeping all of us safe, and please let everything go okay
with the birth. And thank you for our wonderful families. Amen.”
A couple of minutes later, Carrie heard the door open.
“It’s about time Horton! I was getting ready to go to sleep without you!”
she joked as she turned back over to face Mike.
“Oh – Austin.”
to be continued...
Chapter 9
“Hey Carrie,” Austin replied.
“What are you doing here?” Carrie asked.
“I just wanted to come see how you were doing.”
“I’m fine, thanks.”
“And I wanted to talk to you.”
“About what?”
“Well,” he paused, making it obvious to Carrie that he was nervous, “Carrie
I’ve had some time to think.”
“Think about what, Austin?”
“About everything. Carrie, when I saw you earlier at Mrs. Horton’s, then
lying in that bed in the emergency room, I realized something. Something
that I’ve known deep down inside for a long time. I just couldn’t admit it.”
Carrie knew where this was heading. She knew what he was going to say. And
even though she didn’t want to hear it, she knew her and Austin needed to
have this talk. So, she decided to let him continue.
“Admit what?” she asked.
“Well, Carrie I-“
“I’m back Princess!” Mike exclaimed as he flew threw the door with two large
pillows, and a blanket. He looked over at Austin. “Oh, hey Austin.”
“Hey Mike,” he replied.
“What are you doing here?”
“Just checking to see how Carrie was doing.”
“Oh.”
“Well, since she’s fine, I’m sure you two would like to get some rest. So,
I’ll be going now.”
“Okay, bye,” Mike replied as Austin got up and headed towards the door.
“Thanks Austin,” Carrie said. “I'll talk to you soon.”
“Goodnight,” Austin said as he left.
“Carrie, I got the feeling that I was interrupting something.” Mike said.
“Well, I think Austin was going to tell me he still loves me when you walked
in.”
“Oh. So, is it a good thing or a bad thing that I interrupted you?”
“A good thing. I mean, I know Austin and I are going to have to talk about
this soon, but this gives me time to think about what I should say to him.”
“Okay.”
“So, I see you found some pillows!”
“Yes I did. I figured these would be more comfortable than those.”
“Thank you.”
Mike opened the blanket and laid it across the bed. Then, he climbed in and
wrapped his arms around Carrie.
“I love you Princess, and everything is going to be fine.”
“I love you too, and I know it will be okay.”
And with that, Carrie and Mike drifted off asleep together in each other’s
arms.
“Good morning you two!” Craig exclaimed as he rushed through the door.
“Hmmm,” Carrie mumbled.
“What?” Mike yelled as he jumped out of bed. “Oh.”
“What time is it?” Carrie asked as she yawned and stretched simultaneously.
“Really early,” Craig answered. “But, since you’re test results are good and
the medication worked, I figured it’s time to kick you two out!”
“Thanks,” Mike joked.
“So, I’m going to examine Carrie one last time before she leaves. Mike, you
can go to the admit desk and get all the necessary paper work.”
“Okay. Be right back.”
“Bye,” Carrie said as she leaned back.
Craig walked over and put some gloves on before starting the exam.
“So Carrie, how long are you and Mike planning to stay in Salem?”
“Not that long. We want our family to get a chance to see the twins, so we
probably won’t leave for another month or so.”
“Oh, that’s god. How’s everything in Israel?”
“Pretty good. We started a clinic with some other doctors, and it’s going
pretty well.”
“That’s wonderful. Okay, we’re done and everything is fine. You shouldn’t
have to come back here until you go into labor.”
“Okay, thanks Craig.”
“No problem.”
Mike walked back into the room with some papers in his hands.
“Okay, Princess. All you have to do is sign.”
“Great!”
“Well,” Craig interrupted, “I’ll be going now. Congratulations!”
“Thanks,” Mike replied.
“Bye,” Carrie added.
“No problem. See you in a couple of weeks!”
“Well, I guess I’ll get dressed,” Carrie mentioned.
“Oh yeah, gran brought you some clothes from home.”
“That’s terrific.”
“Yeah. So now, we can go out for breakfast at the Brady Pub.”
“Yum! Sounds delicious, and I’m starving!”
“Okay. Well, just sign these papers and we’ll be on our way.”
“Okay,” Carrie said as she signed the papers. “Here you go!”
“Alright, you finish getting dressed, and I’ll go give these back to the
desk clerk.”
“Okay.”
“Be right back.”
A couple of minutes later, Mike returned to the room.
“All ready to go?” he asked.
“Yep. One hundred perent ready!”
“Okay,” Mike said with a chuckle. “Let’s go. Everybody’s at the Pub waiting
for us.”
“Great!” Carrie added. Her and Mike headed to the Pub for breakfast with her
family.
to be continued...
Chapter 10
A couple of hours later at the Java Café…
Mike pulled out a chair for Carrie as she sat down at a table. They had been
shopping at Salem Place all morning. Since they decided to stay in Salem
longer than expected and all the twins’ stuff was back home in Israel, they
decided to do some shopping for clothes and other stuff.
“Thanks sweetie,” Carrie replied as she sat down.
“No problem. Are you sure you feel okay? You really should be home resting.”
“Mike, I’m fine. We really needed to get this shopping done. And I’m
starving! Besides, it’s not like Craig ordered me to stay in bed for 7
weeks!”
“I know. I’m sorry. I’m just being my overprotective self. I just want
everything to be perfect.”
“I know. And that’ why I love you so much.” She leaned over and gave him a
kiss.
“I love you too,” he replied.
“Now. Let’s order something to eat!”
“As you wish, my Princess,” Mike laughed. He called over to the waitress and
they ordered their lunch.
“Mmm, that was delicious,” Carrie said after the waitress had cleared their
table an hour later.
“Yes it was. Do you want anything else?”
“No thanks, sweetie. I am stuffed!”
“Well, that’s good. Is there anything else you would like to buy?”
“Um, let me think. We bought clothes, bottles, diapers, we have cribs…I
think we got everything. Oh, wait!! There is one thing I saw that I would
like to buy!”
“What is it?” Mike asked.
“It’s something for you.”
“For me?”
“Yes, it’s a gift for you. So, if you don’t mind, we can take the bags to
the car, and I’ll meet up with you at home in about an hour.”
“Actually, I have something to take care of myself. So, how about I meet you
here in an hour?”
“Okay, that sounds good.”
“Okay.”
They took the bags to the car.
“I’ll see you in an hour,” Carrie said.
“Okay. I love you.”
“I love you too,” Carrie said as she kissed Mike. “Bye”
“Bye Princess.”
They took off in separate directions.
Carrie walked over to the store and peeked through the window. It was still
there. She knew Mike would love it. It was a shiny, silver picture frame
with the words ‘World’s Greatest Dad’ engraved all around it. She smiled to
herself, then went in and bought it.
“I know he’ll love this!” she exclaimed as she walked out the doors. Staring
at the gift in the bag, she accidentally bumped into somebody. “Oh, I’m so
sorry.”
“It’s okay, Carrie.”
Started, she looked up. “Oh. Hi Austin. What are you doing here?”
“Actually, I was looking for you,” Austin replied.
“Why?”
“I wanted to talk to you.”
Carrie knew this was going to happen sooner or later. “Okay, let’s sit
down.” She replied as she walked over to a park bench.
“So, are you feeling better?” Austin asked.
“Yes, thank you.”
“And how are the twins?”
“The baby girl is doing fine, but the boy is in a breech position. And if he
doesn’t turn around before I go into labor, I’m going to have a c-section.”
“Oh. Any names yet?”
“A couple, but nothing concrete.”
“That’s great. Listen Carrie, I need to talk to you about something that’s
really important.”
“What is it Austin?”
“Well, there’s no easy way to say this. But, um, I still love you Carrie.”
Carrie sat there stunned. Even though she knew this, it still baffled her to
hear him say it.
“Austin-“
“I know this might be a surprise to you, but it’s true. I love you, Carrie.
I miss you. I think everything can be the way it used to be. Just give me a
chance.”
“Austin, I can’t do that.”
“Why not, Carrie? I know you still love me. We went through so much
together. We had something deep, something special. You don’t just forget
about those kinds of feelings, that kind of love.”
“No, you don’t just forget,” Carrie stated.
“So, you do still love me? I knew it!” Austin exclaimed.
“Austin, wait a minute! I didn’t say that!” she exclaimed, realizing she had
raised her voice.
“But-“
“Austin,” she interrupted. “A part of me will always love you because of
everything that we went through together. We spent years together. BUT, I’m
not in love with you. I’m in love with Mike. He makes me happy and
complete.”
“But Carrie, we could be happy together.”
“No, we couldn’t be. I wasn’t happy when we were married, Austin. You were
always with Sami and I was with Mike. I love Mike with all my heart.”
“But Carrie, that night we were on the rooftop, you wanted me back.”
“Austin, I was just lonely. I was so upset when Mike left, and Sami taunting
me that I needed someone. Since I was still mad at Sami, that someone was
you. I’m sorry, but you told me that we were only friends. You told me that
you wanted to move on without me. And that we couldn’t be together.”
“I know Carrie. But I’ve had time to think about this. All those months that
I was angry at you were only because I was mad at the thought of losing you
to another man, especially Mike. I still loved you during those months.”
“I know. And it wasn’t Mike’s fault. He was in love with me before you and I
even got married. He didn’t try to get me away from you. We just fell in
love.”
“So I guess there’s nothing left to say.”
“I guess not.”
“Carrie, I know you might not believe this, but I wish you the best. I just
want you to be happy. And if that’s with Mike, I’ll accept it. It won’t be
easy, but I will.”
“Thank you Austin. I want you to be happy, too. Listen, I’ve got to get
going. Mike and I are going to be in town for a while. Would you like to
come visit us when you have time?”
“I’d like that. I’d like to keep our friendship.”
“So would I. Okay then, I’ll talk to you soon. Bye.”
And with that, Carrie got up and walked off.
“Bye Carrie,” Austin replied as he got up and walked in the other direction.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Carrie walked over to where she was supposed to meet Mike. He wasn’t there
yet.
“I can’t believe that just happened,” she stated.
“What happened?” Mike asked as he put his arms around her and kissed her
neck.
“You scared me!” Carrie said as she turned around in his arms and kissed
him.
“I’m sorry,” Mike chuckled. “So, are you going to tell me what happened/”
“Yes. I ran into Austin and we started talking. Well, he told me he loved me
and that he wanted me back.”
“What did you say?”
“I told him exactly what I told Sami. That a part of me will love him
because of everything that we went through together. But, I’m in love with
you. And we could only be friends.”
“And he agreed?”
“Yes. He said that we would stay friends.”
“Wow. I’m glad all that is sorted out.”
“Me too. Listen sweetheart, I’m really tired. I would love to go home and
take a nap.”
“I think I’ll join you. Come on, let’s go.”
So Carrie and Mike went back home.
to be continued...
