It was three o'clock in the morning as Andrew
wearily bathed the sweat
from Colleen's fevered brow.  She'd been in a delirium
for about
forty-eight hours now.  Andrew wasn't far off from
hallucinations
himself.  It had been five days since Colleen had
collapsed outside the
clinic, therefore making it five days since Andrew had
gotten any sleep. 
He'd taken a few short naps, but he always found
himself listening for
the inhaling and exhaling of Colleen's lungs, as if
afraid that if they
hesitated for a second, he'd lose her.  Both Matthew
and Sully had tried
to relieve him of his patient and make him go into at
least the next
recovery room to have a decent sleep.  But Andrew
refused to obey.  He
could not bring himself to leave her.  She was his
love, his life, his
whole being.  Without her, he might as well die too. 
He was also worried
about the baby.  Colleen's illness was dangerous for
it.  He wanted to do
all he could to help keep both Colleen and the baby
safe.
   As Andrew pressed the cool cloth against Colleen's
forehead for about
the hundredth time, she began to stir slightly.  Then
she began to toss
her head back and forth against the pillow.
   "Colleen."  Andrew whispered gently.  "Its okay. 
I'm here. 
Everything is going to be alright."
   "Andrew."  She responded, turning to focus on him. 
Her beautiful
brown eyes were wide and feverishly bright.
   "Its okay, sweetheart.  I'm here."  He took her
small hand in his and
stroked back her damp hair from her hot forehead.
   "Oh Andrew, it hurts so."  She moaned, her face
twisting in pain.
   Andrew looked at her in alarm.  "What hurts?"  he
asked.
   "My stomach.  Oh, it hurts so much.  Andrew, make
it stop.  Please. 
Make my
stomach stop hurting."  Colleen pleaded desperately,
clutching her teeth
against the pain.
   Andrew pulled back the covers and examined her
stomach.  Colleen
whimpered in pain, eventually falling into a torturous
sleep.  Andrew
finally sank back into his chair and put his head in
his hands,
exhaustion and worry flooding over him.
	
   Dawn was just approaching when Andrew opened his
eyes.  The light from
the lantern was casting dim shadows across Colleen's
flushed face.  She
seemed to be having a bad dream, for she was tossing
and thrashing back
and forth.  
   "Colleen."  Andrew called, gently shaking her
shoulder.  She moaned in
reply, but her eyes didn't open.  He tried again. 
"Colleen."  This time
her eyes popped open in alarm.
   "Andrew!"  She exclaimed wildly.
   Andrew sat beside her on the bed.  "I'm here,
sweetheart.  I'm right
here."
   "Oh, Andrew, the pain.  Please, make the pain go
away."
   "What pain?  Where?"  Andrew asked wildly.
   "My stomach.  Oh, ah...."  she moaned deeply and
grasped her rounded
belly.  When she could speak, she raised her eyes to
Andrew and cried, "I
think its the baby!"
   "The baby!  What do you mean its the baby?"  Andrew
exclaimed.
   "I think its coming."  Colleen replied through
clenched teeth.
   "Its way too early.  Its only six months along." 
Andrew cried, then
pulled back the covers to examine his wife more
closely.  His heart sank
to the pit of his stomach when he realized Colleen was
right.
   Oh, no!  Please no!  his whole being moaned. 
Please, not yet.  Its
not ready.
   Andrew knew he had to prepare for the worst.  He
must be prepared for
the thought that their baby may not live, or worse
yet, may already be
dead.

   It was mid-morning when Andrew finally welcomed his
little daughter
into the world.  She had arrived small and cute, but
the poor thing was
stillborn.  The sunshine was flooding into the windows
of the recovery
room, landing softly on Colleen's sleeping form. 
Andrew had given her
something to make her sleep.  He didn't know if she
was fully aware yet
of what had just happened, she had been pretty
exhausted by the time the
little one arrived.  He leaned forward  and checked
her pulse and her
heart, both sounded strong.  Kissing her lightly on
the forehead, he then
turned his attention back to the small little bundle
that lay peacefully
on the cot behind him.  He had wrapped their little
girl in a small towel
and laid her on the makeshift bed while he attended to
Colleen.  Now, he
picked her up and sat down in the chair beside his
wife's bed. Carefully
he unwrapped the
towel from the wee form.  She was so small and fragile
looking, but she
was all there.  She had ten fingers and ten toes, two
eyes, two ears, a
nose and a wee mouth.  Andrew's heart began to pain at
the thought that
his little girl would never open her eyes and look at
him.  That she
would never hear them tell her they loved her.  That
she would never
laugh and play or smile at them.  The grief that he
had been fighting off
all morning finally flooded him.  Clutching the small
bit of humanity to
him he sank down on his knees beside Colleen's bed and
began to weep
heartbroken tears.

   "I have to check in with Miss Dorothy."  Brian
informed Matthew as
they pulled their horses to a stop before the clinic. 
"I'll be in to
check on Ma and Colleen in a few minutes."
   "Alright."  Matthew replied as he dismounted his
horse.  He flung the
reigns of the bridle over the hitching rail and tied
it securely.
   "Matthew!"  a voice called out.
   Matthew looked up to see Loren, Jake and Hank
coming from the
direction of the saloon.
   "Morning."  Matthew greeted the three men.  "What
can I do for you?"
   "We were just wondering how Dr. Mike and Colleen
were getting along." 
Loren
replied, hooking his fingers in his vest pocket.
   "Dr. Mike is feeling quite a bit better.  She sat
up and ate
yesterday.  She should be up and around in the next
week Andrew figures."
 Matthew replied.
   "How about Colleen?"  Jake asked, pushing his hat
back on his
forehead.
   Matthew's face looked a little more haggard, "She's
still hanging on. 
She took it a lot worse then Dr. Mike.  Andrew figures
its because of her
being pregnant and all."
   "How's the baby doing?"  Hank asked.
   "Hard to tell.  Andrew's been trying to keep a
check on it, but its
hard to tell.  Some days he finds a heart beat, then
the next there won't
seem to be one, then a few hours later he'll find one
again.  Guess we'll
just have to wait it out."  Matthew replied.
   "How's Andrew doing?"  Jake asked.
   "He's holding up.  He's hardly left her side since
she took sick.  I
think he's afraid to let her out of his sight after
the scare he got
before."  Matthew commented 
   "Well if there's anything we can do to help, please
let us know." 
Jake insisted.
   "Thanks.  I will."  Matthew nodded before he turned
and entered the
clinic.

   "Morning, Miss Dorothy."  Brian greeted as he
entered the Gazette. 
"How are you doing this morning."
   "Morning, Brian."  Miss Dorothy smiled in return. 
"I'm doing just
great.  How's your Ma and Colleen doing?"
   "I'm not sure yet."  Brian told her.  "I haven't
been by the clinic
yet.  I just left
Matthew there and came over here to see if you need a
hand with anything
this morning."
   "That's very thoughtful of you Brian.  But there
isn't anything I can
think of this
morning.  You might as well just head over to the
clinic and check on
your Ma and sister."  Dorothy told him.
   Brian nodded, somewhat relieved.  He hadn't wanted
to abandon Dorothy
if she
needed him, but he was rather anxious to see how his
family was doing.
   "Thank you, Miss Dorothy."  Brian stated, opening
the Gazette's front
door.  "If you do find something for me to do, just
let me know."
   "I will.  Thank you Brian."  And with that Brian
turned and left the
building.

   Matthew first stopped and poked his head into Dr.
Mike's room.  Sully
was sitting on the edge of her bed, talking with her
as she ate her
breakfast.
   "Morning, Dr. Mike.  Sully."  Matthew greeted as he
entered the room.
   "Morning Matthew."  Sully returned the greeting.
   "How are you feeling this morning, Dr. Mike?"  the
young man inquired
as he walked closer to his mother's bed.
   "Much better, thank you."  Michaela smiled.  "I
think I may even try
getting up and moving around.  I'm getting so sick of
these four walls. 
I think I'm going to have to redecorate this room.  I
don't know if I
could stand coming in here again otherwise."
   Sully and Matthew chuckled.
   "Well, if you're a good girl and eat all your
breakfast, then maybe
Dr. Cook will let you get up and around."  Sully
teased.
   Michaela then made a big show of eating her
breakfast.
   Matthew watched her for a few moments then said,
"I'm going to go
check on Colleen and Andrew."
   "Let us know how they're doing."  Dr. Mike
requested between mouthfuls
of food.
   Matthew nodded then opened the door and left..
Previous
Next
Back to Colleen and Andrew Stories