Friends With Extra Benefits (34 page)

An awkward silence fell over the room as
Caroline's blood began to boil. After taking a deep breath, she
said with an edge to her voice, "Is anyone else thirsty? I'm
thirsty."

Brian, Jillian, and Victoria shook their heads
no.

Caroline shot a deadly look at
Jim. "Are
you
thirsty?"

He quickly nodded yes. Turning, Caroline rushed
from the room.

Jim watched the door close as he remained
perfectly still. He slowly turned back to everyone and announced
softly, "If I don't come back in ten minutes, call 911."

Brian held back a laugh as Jim slumped from the
room.

Jim found Caroline next to the nurses' station,
red-faced and about to burst. She took one look at him and headed
down the hall. Rushing after her, he caught up then followed as she
walked ahead of him, looking down each corridor until she found one
that was empty. Turning the corner, she quickened her pace and
motioned from him to walk faster. Finally, she stopped at the end
of a hallway. Turning slowly, she stared right through him,
waiting.

Jim opened his mouth to speak, made a face as he
changed his mind, then groaned softly before he began, "I just
wanted to get her something."

"That's fine, Jim, but hiding it from me...
that's not fine."

"We weren't."

"Oh, so she always keeps her jewelry under the
sheets."

"Okay, so I didn’t want you to know about it. I
wasn't sure how you'd react."

Caroline shook her head. "I can tell you that I
would have been much better about it if you had actually told me. I
would have helped you pick it out. When did you get it?"

"This morning," he admitted sheepishly. "Sorry,
I'm not thinking clearly. I'm worried about Kaylie and just wanted
to do something nice for Victoria since she was so concerned about
the breathing tube and everything. You know, this is—"

"I feel like you are sneaking around behind my
back," Caroline interrupted.

"I'm not."

Turning toward the wall, she said, "I know
you’re not, and I'm hoping it's not, because she just gave birth. I
mean, I suppose you guys couldn't be having sex already, I believe
you need to wait for a while after... Jesus, what am I saying?"

Jim placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Look,
I love you. I told you it's over between Victoria and me."

Turing to look deeply into his sincere eyes,
Caroline shook her head. "I know. I know... I'm just acting
crazy."

She moved into his arms. He pressed his lips to
the side of her head and kissed her, drinking in the scent of her
hair. He held her for a long time before he pulled back, and they
shared a passionate kiss.

"Are we okay?" he asked.

She nodded. "Just tell me before you buy another
woman an expensive piece of jewelry." Smiling, they both pondered
that for a moment, realizing how odd it sounded.

"I probably won't be buying a lot of jewelry for
other women," he said with a completely straight face.

"I should hope not," she replied, playing
along.

After sharing a chuckle, Jim said, "We should
probably get back. Do you want to hold Kaylie?"

"Yes." Caroline returned a genuine smile,
pausing before giving him a serious look. "But let's not keep
anything from each other anymore. I want to know everything you're
thinking."

Jim thought, Everything? Wow, you really don't
trust me... Shit, I'm not sure I trust me.

"Okay," He replied. "You also... we should be
completely honest with each other."

"We should be," she replied.

They stood together for a moment not looking
each other directly in the eye.

Jim took a deep breath and shrugged. "Good."

Turning, he opened his hand to her. She put her
hand in his and they headed down the hall with their fingers
intertwined.

As they turned down the main hall, Jim felt her
engagement ring against his fingers and asked, "So, what's with
wearing the ring?"

She didn’t look at him. "Really, I forgot."

Jim wasn't so sure the complete honesty had
kicked in quite yet.

Jim and Caroline returned to
Victoria's room to find Adam Rawlings sitting next to Victoria and
gently caressing her hand. They were alone. Jim gave him a
"Who the hell is this guy"
look. Caroline's face lit up when she laid her eyes on the
handsome, brawny older gentleman who seemed to be getting pretty
cozy with the one big problem in her world.

Victoria said, "Adam, this is Jim and Caroline.
Jim's Kaylie's father."

Wearing a big smile, Adam got up and met Jim in
the center of the room. As they shook hands, Jim stood tall, trying
to match Adam's more-than-six-foot stature. Jim glanced down to see
his tiny hand get swallowed up by the giant paw of the apparent
ex-college football linebacker whose face probably graced the cover
of GQ at least twice.

Jim gave Adam an uneasy smile and murmured,
"Hi."

"Congratulations," said Adam.

Jim nodded as he replied softly, "Thanks."

Victoria added, "And Caroline is his fiancée; we
just found out they're engaged."

Adam smiled at her. "Well, then, congratulations
are in order for you, as well." They shook hands as she beamed up
at him. Turning her ecstatic eyes to Victoria, Caroline said,
"Victoria, you didn't tell me you had such a gorgeous
boyfriend."

Jim watched closely as Adam and Victoria looked
at one another, both unsure what to say. Adam began, "Well,
we—"

Victoria interrupted, "He's my friend, but we're
planning a date really soon, aren't we?"

"As soon as possible." Adam nodded.

Victoria smiled. "Definitely... Adam owns a few
restaurants in the area."

Caroline's smile widened, if that were even
possible, as she nodded, impressed. "Wow. Fantastic. We're going to
go see the baby and let you guys visit."

Jim appeared to be in a trance as Caroline
grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the door. He snapped out of
it. "Yeah, um, nice to meet you."

"Great meeting you," Adam replied

Jim nodded with a slight frown as Caroline
dragged him out of the room.

In the hall, Caroline glanced up at him, her
mood now a complete shift from ten minutes earlier. She smiled.
"Let's go see the baby."

"Okay," Jim replied weakly as he followed her
down the hall.

A few hours later, Victoria visited Kaylie in
the NICU, pumped out an ample supply of breast milk, and returned
to her room for an examination before being released from the
hospital. She was going stir crazy being trapped in her room, and
as much as she wanted to be with Kaylie every second, she
desperately needed a good meal and wanted just two hours away to
recharge her batteries. Kaylie was in more than capable hands with
the hospital's expert caring staff. After receiving discharge
instructions, Victoria changed into clothes that Jillian brought
for her.

Jim and Caroline were booked on a flight for
later that night, and the group planned to go to dinner before
Brian dropped them off at the airport. After dinner, Victoria
intended to return to the hospital, staying as late as she could
before checking in to a nearby hotel for the night.

As the group was heading through the lobby,
Victoria's cell phone rang. She answered and her jaw dropped.
Stopping in her tracks, she stammered, "They... want us back up
there. The nurse wouldn't tell me what it is, but the doctor... He,
um, needs to meet with us right now."

Jim and Caroline sat in Doctor Smyth's office as
he began, "We noticed Kaylie breathing irregularly, and we were
able to detect a slight heart murmur."

"Oh, my God," Victoria said.

Jim took hold of her hand as the doctor
continued, "Kaylie has what we call patent ductus arteriosus. I
realize that it probably sounds serious, but it is quite common and
easily correctible. Let me explain... When a baby is first born the
umbilical cord is cut, and the lungs take over to supply oxygen to
the body. The lungs expand, their blood vessels relax to accept
more flow, and the ductus arteriosus usually closes within the
first hours of life. Sometimes and more likely with a premature
baby, the ductus arteriosus does not close on its own, and this is
referred to as a patent—meaning, open—ductus arteriosus. Are you
with me so far?"

Victoria and Jim both nodded while wearing
solemn looks. They barely comprehended any of that.

"There are several options available to correct
this condition. A medication such as indomethacin can be given. The
medications can constrict the muscle in the wall of the patent
ductus arteriosus and promote closure. These drugs can have side
effects, such as kidney injury or bleeding. So we checked Kaylie's
lab values and found it would be too risky to attempt that course
of action."

"So what other options are available?" Jim
asked. With her lip quivering, Victoria glanced at Jim then back to
the doctor.

"Surgery can be performed to close the ductus
arteriosus."

Victoria said, "I don't understand. She seemed
to be doing so well and—"

Giving her a sympathetic nod, Doctor Smyth
explained, "Usually the symptoms of this condition do not present
themselves until a few days after birth. I will assure you that
this is very minor surgery, and the risk of complications is
extremely low, especially since Kaylie is otherwise a very healthy
baby."

"And if she doesn't have the surgery?" Jim
asked.

"We could wait to see if it closes on its own,
but Kaylie's blood pressure is already too high and putting a
strain on her heart. I've consulted with Doctor Cardon who is one
of the finest pediatric cardiac surgeons in the state. We both
agree that the surgery should be performed as soon as possible. We
would like to do it tonight."

Victoria looked at Jim. "What do you think?"

He widened his eyes. "I think we have to do
it."

"Okay... okay," Victoria said as she gripped
Jim's hand firmly.

"Good. Please wait right here. There will be
some paperwork to sign."

The Doctor stepped out of the room.

Standing up, Jim walked over to the window and
stared out. Victoria stared up at Jim, on the verge of losing it.
Turning to her, Jim said, "It's going to be okay. She'll be
fine."

He opened his arms to her. Victoria got up and
moved to him. They held each other tight.

For the next three hours, Victoria, Jim,
Caroline, Brian, and Jillian sat in the waiting room, worrying and
struggling to cope with the weight off all that was going on. At
just after midnight, Doctor Cardon came out wearing a confident
smile.

"She did beautifully. The surgery went as
planned. She responded well to the anesthesia, and we were able to
close the ductus arteriosus. She has a tiny scar between the ribs
on her left side, but as she gets older, you probably won't even be
able to see that. That's a strong little girl you have there, and
she's going to be fine."

"Thank you, Doctor," Victoria said with her
voice cracking a bit. "When can we see her?"

"In about an hour. A nurse will come out to get
you."

The doctor stood. Jim did also and shook his
hand. "Thank you."

Handing Jim a card, Cardon said, "If you have
any questions, please call me."

After the doctor left, everyone exchanged hugs.
Caroline went from Jim to Brian and then even ended up embracing
Victoria as they both cried tears of joy. Pulling away from her,
Caroline said, "I knew she was going to be okay. I just knew
it."

"Thank you for being here," Victoria said.

Jim smiled as he watched Caroline and Victoria
finally getting along. Then his eyes widened as he said, "Don't you
have that exam tomorrow?" He glanced at the clock on the wall. "I
mean today?"

Caroline replied, "I do, but—"

"There's a 2:00 a.m. flight."

"I can't leave you. I'll just see if I can make
it up."

Jim frowned, "With Professor Black, I don’t
think so. You should go; I'll fly back in a day or two."

"Are you sure?"

Jim nodded as Brian said, "We'll drive you to
the airport."

"Okay, but call me after you see her," Caroline
said.

"I will."

There were hugs all around again before Jillian
and Brian left with Caroline. Jim and Victoria were brought in to
see Kaylie in the NICU at just after 1:30 a.m. She was sleeping
soundly, and they stayed by her side watching their baby girl for
more than an hour with their hearts melting with joy.

At 2:45 a.m., a nurse informed the new parents
that there was a room reserved for NICU parents, and it was
available. They were told they would be just steps away from the
baby and would be awakened if needed. Both were exhausted and they
gratefully accepted the offer.

The room featured two small twin beds and an
attached bathroom. Jim tried to call Caroline while Victoria was
washing her face. He left her a voicemail since she must have still
been in the air.

Victoria came out of the bathroom wearing only a
sleeveless shirt and panties, since neither had a change of
clothes. She slipped past him in the tiny room, and they shared an
awkward smile. Making her way to the bed, she slipped under the
covers.

Jim took his turn in the bathroom and came out
in only his boxer briefs. Victoria stole a glance of his firm,
muscular body and breathed out quietly. He moved to the open bed
and got under the covers.

They each turned on their sides to face one
another. Jim said, "She’s going to be fine."

"I know."

"Goodnight," Jim said.

"Goodnight."

Jim turned off the night on the table between
them, and the room was suddenly pitch black.