Chapter 13

We had been waiting for over three hours when Mom finally came out. Erin and I both wanted to know how Jenny was going, but Mom wasn't talking.

"Let's go. You two need to get home."

"No Mom. I want to stay with Jenny."

"Sorry Mark, I will explain it on the way."

We walked out to the car and started to head home. I was not going to let her off with silence.

"What's going on Mom? Why all of the secrecy?"

"Jenny is going to be fine. She came to very soon after arriving. She does have a grade 2 concussion. I don't know how she didn't have a cracked skull."

"What about the baby?"

Mom suddenly was quiet. She also avoided looking in my direction totally. I knew something wasn't right.

"I'm sorry Mark. She lost the baby."

Now it was my turn to be silent. I don't know why, but I suddenly wanted to break down and cry. I stayed silent for the rest of the trip home. After Mom shut the car off, Erin left the car and went inside.

"Are you ok Mark?"

"No. I want to be with Jenny. She's going to need me to be there for her. I need her too."

"Mark, you sound like you're upset. The baby is not even yours."

"Mom, Jenny had finally started to look forward to the baby. She has even gotten me looking forward to it as well."

"Oh, I didn't realize that. Last I knew she was still upset about it."

"Being around Sarah has gotten both of us looking forward to the baby."

"That makes sense. I'm sorry Mark." She reached over and gave me a hug.

"Does Jenny know yet?"

"Yeah, she was awake when they were doing the tests. The reason we left when we did is because they're doing a DNC on her. She is sedated and will be out for a few hours. That's the other reason for her staying in the ICU tonight. I can stay the night with her, but I have to be dressed for work. I won't be on duty, but nobody will question me about it. I really tried to see if you could. I couldn't get them to bend the rules for you though. There were just too many rules to bend."

"What's a DNC?"

"The only thing you need to know about it right now is that it will remove the remnants of the dead fetus. It gets rather complicated from there."

"Let her know that I wanted to be there for her."

"I will. I need to get changed if I'm going to spend the night with her. Will you have a problem taking care of Erin?"

"No. Where's Dad?"

"He had to work today. He'll be home by dinner time."

"Ok."

We got out of the car and headed inside. I started to work on something to eat while Mom went to get changed. I only made a few sandwiches since dinner was going to be a few hours later. Once Mom had eaten what she wanted, she was going to leave.

"Mom, give Jenny a hug for me. I will be there sometime tomorrow morning. I hope I will be able to see her. I will show up either way."

"Ok. Be strong Mark. She will need it."

"I will Mom. Take care of her."

Mom left for the hospital. I was nothing but a bundle of nervous energy. I needed to talk to someone or I was going to be a basket case. Erin had volunteered, but since she was in the same boat I was, she understood my refusal.

"Hey, I know who I can talk to."

"Who?"

"Let's go visit Donna."

"Yeah, she should be able to help us."

Erin and I headed over to Donna's house. Upon arriving, I knocked on the front door. Donna's Mom answered the door.

"Hi Mrs. Taylor. Is Donna home?"

"Yeah. She's in the back yard with Sarah. Are you two all right? It looks like you have been crying."

"It's a long story. Jenny was injured in an accident at the mall."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Why don't go out back with Donna."

We went out back to find Sarah and Donna playing together. When Sarah saw me, she reacted like she always does.

"Mark!"

"Hi Sarah. How are you today."

"I'm great now that you're here."

"What are you doing here," Donna asked.

I explained what happened with Jenny. By the time I was done, I was in tears.

"Now I know Jenny is a lucky girl."

"Why do you say that?"

"Most guys could care less if their girlfriend lost his baby. You are crying over someone else's baby. That speaks volumes about you. I will admit that I am jealous."

That had me laughing. Donna jealous because of me just didn't seem plausible to me.

"Mark, you think I'm kidding. In case you haven't noticed, I still don't have anyone in my life. Most guys don't want any part of someone else's kid. Hell, many our ages don't even want to admit to his own kids."

"Thanks Donna. I guess I needed to hear that. We need to head home. I have to cook dinner tonight. Jenny and Mom are at the hospital leaving me as the chef."

"Ok. If you need anything, let me know."

"I will, thanks. See you later Sarah."

"Bye Mark."

Erin and I headed home. I still felt like I had been punched in the stomach, but I knew I would survive. I went home and cooked dinner. After dinner, I went to bed. All I could think about was Jenny. I missed having her in bed with me.

I woke up the next morning feeling like I had barely slept at all. I missed Jenny. I knew she was going to be ok, but that wasn't making me feel any better. I just wanted to hold her. I knew that I couldn't sleep anymore so I just crawled out of bed. I got dressed and went downstairs. I started working on breakfast. I had just finished when Erin and Dad joined me in the kitchen.

"Mark, you're up early. Are you ok?"

"I'm fine Erin. I just missed waking up with Jenny."

"I know that feeling all to well Mark. Your mother says she'll be fine. Just relax."

"That's easy for you Dad. I've not quite been through this before."

"I thought you dealt with this when she was in the hospital the first time?"

"That was different. We are boyfriend/girlfriend now. We are used to being together. Then we were just good friends. I can't sleep without her anymore."

"I remember how that was. It took me 2 years of going on the road to get used to that. Every time I would just get used to it, I would come home for a few weeks. Just long enough to get used to cuddling your mother again."

"I don't want to get used to being apart from her anymore."

"Relax Mark. She'll be home in a day or two then everything will get back to normal."

"I hope so."

We finished breakfast in silence. I cleaned the dishes after we finished and just sat down for a few minutes. I wanted to cry, but I felt that Jenny was going to need me to be strong for her.

I got up, changed and hopped on my bike and rode up to the hospital. I knew Mom didn't want me to go until I heard from her, but I couldn't just sit around any longer. I wanted; no I needed to be with Jenny. I arrived around 9:30. I was walking toward the ICU, not knowing what I was going to do, hoping to at least see Mom. I was almost there when I ran into her.

"Mom. How is Jenny?"

"They will be moving her into her own room here shortly. What are you doing here? I thought I told you to wait until I called."

"Easy to say, not easy to do."

"Understandable. You will be able to see her once she's in the other room."

"Ok. I'll go sit in the waiting room. Come get me when I can see her."

"I will. I better get back, they will be moving her shortly."

Mom disappeared back into ICU. I went down to the waiting room to just sit and wait. I knew I could have done this at home, but at least I was closer to Jenny. I was there for about 45 minutes when Mom came to get me. She led me to a room in the normal hospital wing.

"Mark! I'm so glad to see you." I walked up to her and gave her a small hug and kiss.

"I'm glad to see you too Sweetie. How are you feeling?"

"I have a headache that just won't quit. I also feel like someone jumped up and down on my belly button." I noticed that she suddenly got rather sullen. "I also lost the baby," she said as she started crying.

"It's ok honey." I put my arms around her as much as I could. With her in the bed, it was not easy.

"Why did this have to happen to me?"

"I don't know Jenny. I wish I could answer that. I wanted to be here with you last night, but they wouldn't let me in even to see you, let alone spend the night like I did before."

"I know. Mom told me when I woke up asking for you. I just wanted you here." She started crying.

"It's going to be fine Honey, I'm here now."

"I lost my baby. My baby is gone."

I just held her close and let her cry. Mom and Donna both had told me that this would be needed.

I spent most of the weekend at the hospital with Jenny. I could tell that she was down. I knew she had finally come to terms with becoming a mommy and was starting to look forward to it. Now that was not going to happen soon.

I had been there on Sunday morning when the doctor came in to examine her. He broke the bad news to the two of us.

"Well, you should be good to go home tomorrow. You will need to abstain from sex for about 6 weeks. How are your headaches doing?"

"They're not bothering me anymore. It's just my abdomen that hurts now."

"Well, once your body gets the time it needs to heal, you should be good to go."

She looked at me with those sad puppy-dog eyes. I knew she wanted to cry again. I just put my arms around her and gave her another hug.

"It will all be fine. I'm going to get the opportunity to nurse you back to health. It really sounds like something I am going to enjoy."

She still looked down. There wasn't much that I was going to do to help here right now. We sat there talking and just holding hands for a few hours before we got an unexpected shock.

"You are in here. So when are you coming home?"

"Mom. What are you doing here?"

"I heard from Jan that you were in the hospital. I also heard that you lost the baby. I want to know when you're coming home."

I knew that Mrs. Parks was not supposed to be here. I hit the nurse pager. Mom was back on duty, I knew she would be the one to answer the page.

"I get out of here tomorrow. Not that it's any of your business."

"It is my business when my daughter is in the hospital."

"You threw me out like yesterday's garbage. Why would I want to go back to your house?"

"Because that's where you belong."

"No. I belong with the Andrews family."

"You belong at home with..."

"Lynn, what are you doing here?" Mom yelled.

"I'm here to get my daughter."

"You are not supposed to be here and you know it."

"She lost the baby, she can come home now!"

I noticed 3 people come up behind my mother. Once I moved, I noticed that Mom must have called security before she came in the room.

"Her home is with us now." She turned to the security personnel, "Remove her from the premises. She is not to be in this room for any reason. If she gives you any trouble, call the police. There is a restraining order in place."

"Sure thing Natalie. Miss, you need to come with us."

"This is my daughter. You have no right."

"Miss, if there is a restraining order, you are not supposed to be here. Do we need to do this the hard way?"

"Ok, I'll go." Mrs. Parks turned and just glared at Mom, Jenny and me. She then left.

The whole time that this was going on, Jenny had a hold of my hand. She had been squeezing it the whole time that her mom was there. Once she left, Jenny broke down into tears. I put my arms around her and held her tightly.

"Why can't she just leave me alone? Why does she have to be such a bitch to me at every chance she gets?"

"I don't know Honey. Don't worry, I will always be there for you."

"Thank you Mark."

She cried on my shoulder for the rest of my time there. When visitation time was over, I had to say my goodnights.

"I have to go Jenny, they won't let me spend the night."

"Will you be here in the morning?"

"No, I can't. I have to watch Sarah tomorrow. Mom will be bringing you home tomorrow morning, so I will still see you. I will have our room ready for you. "

"You're not coming here to see me?"

"You'll be home early enough. I will be able to spend more time with you then."

"I guess I can wait to see you until then."

"I'll be waiting for you. You can count on it."

"I'm going to."

"I'm counting on that my love." I gave her a hug and kiss before leaving.

When I got home, I took a moment to eat dinner. Dad and Erin had ordered out and left enough for me to enjoy. I was enjoying the meal when the phone rang.

"Mark, it's for you."

"Ok Dad. Hello."

"Hi Mark. It's Donna. You're still on for tomorrow right?"

"Yes I am. Jenny is a bit bummed, but she should be home before lunch."

"I'm glad to hear that. I'll have to visit for a while when I pick Sarah up. What time should I bring her over?"

"Any time is good."

"I'll be there in about a half hour then."

"Oh yeah, spending the night. I did forget about that."

"Is that a problem?"

"No, my mind was just preoccupied is all. The guest bedroom is ready for use at a moments notice."

"Ok, I'll see you in a little while."

"Ok. Bye."

I hung up the phone and started eating again when the doorbell rang. I got up and answered the door finding an older woman.

"Hello?"

"Hi, I'm looking for that young girl hurt at the mall on Friday."

"Whom may I tell her is calling?"

"Mrs. Watson. My son Jeremy was the one who ran into her."

"I'm sorry Mrs. Watson, she won't be here until tomorrow. She's still in the hospital."

"Is she going to be all right?"

"She had a concussion and the crash caused her to have a miscarriage."

She put her hands over her mouth in shock. "I didn't know that she was pregnant."

"Not many people did. She was only about 15 weeks along."

"I guess I will have to come back tomorrow."

"Did you need something?"

"I wanted to apologize for my son's actions."

"I'm Mark by the way, Jenny's boyfriend. I'll be honest with you I think Jeremy should be the one to apologize. It was his actions that caused the problem, not yours"

I noticed that she just looked down when I said that.

"Is there something wrong?"

"No, not with you. Jeremy won't admit he did anything wrong."

"Didn't he get in trouble with the security?"

"Yes he did, but he still thinks that he did nothing wrong. I know what he did was wrong and someone else got hurt because of it."

"Let the legal system deal with him. Don't try to help him this time. Sometimes people just need to actually deal with the problems they create before they will admit they created the problem."

"Maybe. Listen, I'll be back tomorrow to talk with Jenny. Thanks Mark. I hope she gets feeling better."

"Thanks Mrs. Watson. Believe me, I hope so too. See you tomorrow."