The next day,
Llanview General…
It was one in the afternoon and Todd and Téa walked into the hospital.
Todd was carrying Téa’s overnight bag. The kids were in school but Todd had
promised he would bring them by to visit after school let out. They walked
into Dr. Clayton’s office and approached the receptionist. She gave Téa
some paperwork to fill out. Todd watched a bit apprehensively, worried for
his wife and baby, and Dr. Clayton walked out into the reception room.
“Right on time Mrs. Manning,” said Dr. Clayton.
Téa nervously smiled at him.
“As soon as you fill out the paperwork I’ll escort you to the OB/GYN and
get you settled into your room. We’re going to take some blood and run some
tests. At five you’ll get a light meal. When we do the amnio, I want you
to have an empty stomach. We’ll do the procedure first thing tomorrow
morning at seven,” explained Dr. Clayton.
“How long will it take to get the results?” asked Todd nervously.
“About a week Todd. Usually it doesn’t take as long but we’re not testing
for everything then. Since we’ll be doing an extensive battery of tests, it
will take longer,” replied the doctor.
“Okay,” muttered Todd, rubbing Téa’s back in a gesture met to be
comforting.
Téa finished the paperwork and handed it back to the receptionist.
“One more thing,” said Dr. Clayton, “You’re both aware that an early
amniocentesis brings a higher risk of miscarriage. I know…you’ve suffered
the loss of a miscarriage before…I just want you to be prepared…” his voice
was gentle.
“Thanks Dr. Clayton. We’re aware of the risks,” said Téa.
“Good. Follow me,” he said.
Todd and Téa followed him down the hall. Téa had a private room to
herself. A nurse walked in and Dr. Clayton introduced Mary as Téa’s
attending nurse. Dr. Clayton then excused himself and promised to check up
on her later. While Nurse Mary helped Téa slip into her hospital garments,
Todd haphazardly threw the clothes from her suitcase into the room’s
dresser. As soon as Téa had changed, Nurse Mary took her to the lab to have
her blood drawn.
Todd anxiously paced Téa’s empty room waiting for her to come back. As
soon as she did, he’d go pick up Terri at school and bring her here. Trevor
was stopping by with the twins as soon let out.
Finally he acknowledged maybe it wasn’t such a great idea to have another
baby. Who was he kidding? That was his nerves talking. He hadn’t been
this shaken up in quite a long time.
It wasn’t easy keeping his family together but he had to admit, he had a
great bunch of kids. They meant a lot to him - his kids. Starr was a smart
girl, sharp as a tack, a fast learner. When he worked with her at the Sun,
he couldn’t help but admire her.
Trevor was the oldest boy. He was smart too but he felt everything. He
let things grow and fester inside of him until he exploded. And while he
was a good-looking kid, he was more sensitive than any kid Todd had ever
known since Trevor suffered from hemophilia. He didn’t doubt Trevor would
grow into being a bright, young man but he would always guard his heart -
much like how Todd guarded his. Trevor was heir to the Lord dynasty and in
his own way he displayed those characteristics so associated with his
legacy.
His other son, Tyler, also displayed characteristics associated with the
Lord legacy. Tyler, was aggressive, physical, raw, passionate, and often
didn’t think things through before he acted. Tyler resembled Todd in his
looks while Trevor took after his mother. Tyler was his biggest challenge
because he had to find some way to channel Tyler’s aggressions. Sure, Tyler
had sports. So did Todd in school but it wasn’t enough. He prayed Tyler’s
“Delgado” genes would offset any drive or craving that Tyler would have.
Taylor was his oldest daughter he had with Téa and quite honestly, Taylor
was a little mini-Téa. He grinned. Delgado Junior was a nickname that
suited Taylor perfectly. She was sensitive yet smart, outgoing, gutsy and
could totally frustrate him at times.
And Terri was his youngest, until the new baby came along. He adored
Terri. He loved everything about her. Her pictures, her drawings covered
his office at work. He loved how carefree and spontaneous she was. She
made him smile a lot - almost as much as his wife did.
He never thought…being a father…could be so rewarding. He
doubted himself at first…but Starr had taught him that fatherhood wasn’t
such a bad thing.
Téa walked in and smiled at him.
“Where’s the nurse?” asked Todd.
“In the lab,” said Téa sitting down on the bed.
“I gotta’ go soon,” said Todd standing in front of her.
“I know,” said Téa.
“You’ll be getting a bunch of visitors soon. Viki…Jesse…” started Todd.
“Sit beside me…” she said softly taping the bed.
He did so. She reached for his hand and took it.
“I’m scared Todd. I’m finally scared,” she whispered looking at him.
“I’ll stay with you tonight if you want. The kids will understand,” said
Todd.
“The kids need you tonight,” said Téa, “You should be with the kids.”
“But I wanna’ be here with you and the baby…” said Todd.
“Todd…”
“No, look, Starr can stay with the kids and Taylor’s good with Terri. Let
me stay here with you,” he insisted.
Téa said nothing as she nodded her head.
He stood up abruptly, “Well, I gotta’ go pick up Terri.”
“Okay,” she said.
They exchanged a brief kiss and Todd left.
*****
Later on that afternoon…
Starr lightly knocked and opened the door.
“Hey Téa,” she said.
“Hi Sweetie,” said Téa walking over to her step-daughter and giving her a
warm hug, “Todd will be here any minute with Terri.”
“He called me earlier. I’ll be going home with the kids and he’ll stay
here with you,” said Starr.
“I’m glad you’re able to do this,” said Téa.
“I’d do anything for you guys, you know what,” grinned Starr.
Just then the door opened and Trevor stuck his head inside, “Mom?”
“It’s okay to come in TD,” said Téa. Her teenage kids hesitantly walked
into the room.
“It smells too clean in here,” said Tyler.
“How are you doing Mom?” asked Taylor.
“My last meal is at five,” said Téa trying to make it sound worse than it
was.
“How come?” asked Trevor seriously.
“The doctor has to perform the procedure on an empty stomach,” explained
Téa.
“Stop it Mom! I had a bad dream about needles last night!” said Tyler.
“I know!!” fussed Taylor, grinning at her twin. He grinned back.
Just then Todd walked in with Terri in his arms.
“Mommy!” cried Terri.
Téa hugged her little girl and the family stayed with her until dinnertime.
Starr took her siblings to dinner at the palace while Todd stayed with
Téa.
TO BE CONTINUED…
