Dying
by: Lisa

Taylor took a drink of water from the torn cup sitting beside him. She had been in there too long. Something had to be wrong.

He looked at Isaac sitting across the room. Natalie, his daughter, was sitting in his lap. Mary was sitting beside him holding their newest addition Greg. Looking at Greg made tears come to his eyes and reminded him that it was taking too long.

His mother squeezed his hand and her looked over to her. Although her once long blonde hair was now only chin length and her face had acquired a wrinkle here and there, she still looked like the some mother he had known all his life. He was glad she was there.

He had called her first when Trisha said something was wrong. They had driven to the emergency room. She had been whisked away before Taylor could even say anything to her. The doctor had come and explained to him that there were some complications in her pregnancy and that they would have to perform a c-section to get the baby out. They didn't explain what was wrong which was driving him crazy.

Taylor saw the doctor emerge from the door that they had taken Trisha into.

"You have a baby girl," he said none to excitedly.

"How's Trisha?" Taylor asked nervously.

"You should go see her," the doctor said giving Taylor a sympathetic glance.

Taylor walked into the room where Trisha was. She looked horrible. He sat down beside her and held her hand. She turned her head and looked at him, not saying a word only giving a faint smile. A tear slid down her face as she reached her hand to Taylor's face with all the strength she had left. Her fingertips rested a moment on his lips before her hand fell back to her side.

"Mr. Hanson. I need to speak with you," the doctor said from the door.

Taylor joined the doctor outside.

"What is it?" Taylor asked nervously.

"Well, the good news is your baby is fine. The bad news is your wife is dying. We've done everything we can to help her. I'm sorry," the doctor said in a soft voice.

Taylor turned and looked through the glass panel on the door. He heard a beeping followed by nurses and doctors rushing in Trisha's room. Ten minutes later the doctor walked up to Taylor who was sitting on the floor beside Trisha's door.

"Mr. Hanson, we lost her," the doctor said before walking away.

Hot tears stung his eyes and then his face. He stood up to see them pulling the sheets over her head. He banged on the door before falling to the ground due to the fits of tears that racked his body.

"No! Trisha I can't do this alone. I can't do this alone Trisha. I can't do this alone," he screamed between sobs.

When Diana found him he was on his knees still banging on her door and screaming hystericaly. She sat down beside him and hugged him in an attempt to calm him down. He finally settled and cried on her shoulder.

"Mama, I can't do this alone. I can't do this alone," Taylor said releasing another wave of tears.

"Baby, you need to be there for your daughter," Diana said, tears now forming in her own eyes.

"How do I tell her about her mother?" Taylor said still not looking up.

"Tell her she loved you two so much that she would die for you, that she was a magnificent person, and that you loved her," Diana said the tears now freely falling from her eyes.

They sat there, in the middle of the hospital hall, crying.