Page 55 of The Road Back to Us

“The good news is that you’re already thirty-four weeks, so if the babies come early, the survival rate is high,” the doctor said, standing beside my bed. “Of course, we would likely need to keep the twins in the NICU for a few weeks, but we won’t know any of that until we’re able to examine them. For now, we’ll continue to monitor the babies while you rest.”

“Thank you,” I replied, rubbing a hand over my belly but wincing when it hurt. I lowered my hand and let my head fall against the pillow behind me.

“Press the call button if you need anything,” he said, nodding to the remote attached to my bed that Cole had used when I woke up.

He smiled and walked to the door, stopping before he opened it.

“I don’t want to overstep,” he said cautiously, looking at me over his shoulder. “But in all my years of practicing medicine, I’ve never seen anything like I did today. You defied all odds and not only survived the accident, but so did your fetuses. I thought for sure we would be doing emergency surgery to deliver babies that wouldn’t have a mother to welcome them into the world. Thank you for proving me wrong.”

“You’re giving me far more credit than I deserve,” I said, my tone more teasing than serious. “I wasn’t even awake for most of it.”

“No, but that doesn’t mean you didn’t fight. We lost you several times on the table, Lyric, and each time we thought it was over, you came back. You fought to be here. Things will likely get harder before they get easier, but it’s important to remember that you can do this. You’ve survived things most people don’t. That’s not something to balk at. Celebrate these wins because you’re going to need your strength to keep those babies safe.”

He walked out of the room, leaving me to consider what he said.

I hadn’t done anything that I knew of and felt lucky to be alive.

But the longer I thought about it, the more I realized that none of this was just luck.

This was me fighting for what I wanted in life.

This was me fighting for the babies I had finally been given, and nothing was going to take them from me.

Fifty

Lyric

After two days, I was finally released from the hospital and allowed to go home, but I would be on bed rest for the duration of my pregnancy. The twins were doing well, and multiple ultrasounds showed that everything looked good and that they both had strong, steady heartbeats. If anything changed, or I suddenly didn’t feel well, I was to go back to the hospital immediately.

It was weird living in a small town because my OBGYN had come to visit me several times while I was in the hospital. She checked on the babies and me, making sure we had a plan for if the babies came early. It was nice to get the care I needed without worrying about getting to her clinic.

Cole’s parents had taken the kids out for breakfast this morning, leaving the two of us alone in the house while I tried to get settled. It was hard to get comfortable anywhere but in bed, which gave the term "bed rest" a literal meaning. But I worried I would go out of my mind being stuck in the same spot for weeks until the babies came. Our goal was for me to get to thirty-seven weeks so we could try to keep the babies out of the NICU if possible and give them the best start by allowing them to continue to grow and develop in utero.

We got home last night and went straight to bed, but it bothered me how upset Kara looked. I hadn’t had a chance to talk to her much because the kids were in school the few days I was in the hospital. I was relieved to know that Kara’s nose wasn’t broken and that she was cleared by the doctor when Sherry got her checked out. Things had been so chaotic lately that I wanted to take time to sit down and check in with everyone.

“Any thoughts on what you’d like for breakfast?” Cole asked as he walked into the bedroom and pulled the curtains open, allowing sunlight to bathe the room in a soft glow.

“Not really. I can eat yogurt or cereal, whatever we have is fine.”

“We have both, but I can also cook you breakfast if you’d like.”

“No, that’s okay,” I replied with a shake of my head.

Cole had done enough for me already. I didn’t want him to keep worrying about me, even though I technically wasn’t able to get up and do much myself. It was frustrating, but I kept reminding myself that this was the best way to keep the babies safe.

“Well, I was going to make myself an omelet and maybe some pancakes. Any chance you might want some as well?”

He grinned, instantly disarming me as I laughed.

“You’re impossible,” I teased, trying to avoid looking at him as he reached above his head and stretched his arms by gripping the top of the door frame.

His shirt rose, showing off his perfectly toned abs and the deep V that dipped into the gray joggers he shouldn’t be allowed to wear.

“Nope,” he said, shaking his head as my eyes slowly trailed back up to his face.

“No what?”

“I see the way you’re looking at me, and as much as I would love to take care of you right now, sex is off limits.”