Catch 'n' Kiss (Are You Game?) (25 page)

“Phone.” Her eyes closed as fatigue threatened to take her under again. She seemed to spend all her time sleeping. “In. My bag.”

The bed rose as Dan left her to go in search of her bag. She couldn’t tell him where it was because she couldn’t remember what she’d done with it. Turning on her side, she curled into herself and hoped her stomach didn’t repel the fluid churning in her belly.

“Jody?” Dan’s hand smoothed over her cheek. “Jody, you have to wake up, baby. I spoke to your doctor. She said to take you straight to casualty. She’s ringing ahead so they’ll take you right in.”

“Girls?”

“I’ll take care of them, but let’s get you sorted first.” He wrapped the quilt around her and picked her up once more. She snuggled close and let his warmth and comfort surround her.

Dan was going out of his mind. He’d lied to the nurse so they’d let him behind the security doors, but that hadn’t done him any good because they’d whisked Jody away on a bed and hadn’t brought her back yet. It had been an hour. He ran his fingers through his hair again. At this rate he’d be bald by the end of the day. Glancing at his watch, he noticed the time and pulled out his phone to call Luc. Someone had to be there for the girls and he didn’t want to leave Jody yet. Not until he knew how she was.

He thumbed through his phonebook until he came to Luc’s number and hit call. It rang twice when Jody’s brother answered.

“Dan? What’s up?”

“Someone needs to go to Jody’s and get the girls. I’d go but I don’t want to leave Jody.”

“What do you mean leave her? Where the fuck are you?”

“We’re at the hospital.” Dan sighed. He’d have to talk fast or Luc would put him six feet under before his next heartbeat. “She’s sick. I think it’s the baby but the doctor hasn’t come back yet and they’re still running tests.”

“Baby! What baby?” Dan pulled the phone away from his ear but didn’t have any trouble hearing Luc yelling at him. “Did you get my sister pregnant? Jesus H. Christ, O’Conner, what the hell were you thinking?”

“Let’s not do this now. Can you get the girls or not?”

“Yes. Shit, of course I can. Which hospital are you at?”

“North Shore.” Dan turned at the clatter of metal behind him to see two nurses pushing Jody back into the room. “Gotta go, I’ll call you back.”

Dan hung up to Luc screaming at him not to. He stepped out of the way so they could wheel the bed into the correct position. “Is she okay?”

The nurse who’d greeted him at reception smiled. “She will be. We’ve started an IV and the doctor is going over her results now. He should be in with you shortly.”

He wanted to ask more—know more—but the nurses left before he could get another word out. Dan looked at Jody. She looked so small curled on her side, the IV tube running into the back of one hand. Her hair was matted and the black circles beneath her eyes were so dark—so deep—he wondered how her eyes remained in her head. Gently, he ran his fingertips down her cheek, along her jaw. His phone rang and he quickly hit reject and turned it to silent so it wouldn’t disturb her.

She stirred, her eyes fluttering open and the ghost of a smile tipped the corner of her mouth. “Dan.”

“Hey, baby.” He leaned down and dropped a kiss on her forehead. “You’ll feel better soon.”

“Girls?”

“Luc is going to pick them up. Do you want them to come here?”

She licked her lips and he looked around for some water. “No. Scare them.”

“All right, I’ll ring Luc back and tell him to take them home with him or to your mum and dad’s.”

“Please.” Her eyelids lowered and he wanted to let her rest but he wanted answers too.

“Why didn’t you ring me, Jody? You’re far too sick for this to be normal.”

“Too tired.” Her mouth went lax as exhaustion took her under again.

A throat cleared behind him and he turned to find an older stout man in a white coat in the doorway. “Daniel O’Conner?”

“Yes?”

The man held out his hand as he came into the room. “Doctor Moore, I’m in charge of Jody’s care. I’ve spoken with her GP, Doctor Simmons, and we believe the best thing is to admit her. She’s suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum, or in layman’s terms, severe morning sickness. She is very dehydrated so I’d like to administer fluids intravenously for at least twenty-four hours. I’ve also started her on some medication to counteract the nausea, though it won’t stop it altogether. But she should at least begin to eat and drink normally before we send her home tomorrow if she responds to the treatment well.”

“Will that affect the baby?”

“No, no, it’s fine, and she’s not the first woman to experience such extreme morning sickness. Doctor Simmons did mention that she wasn’t this ill with either of her other two pregnancies though, and as she’s a good deal older now I’d like to run some other tests. I’ll get a nurse to bring in some pamphlets about Jody’s condition and also some information on the tests I’d like her to have in the next few weeks.”

“Okay.”

“We’ll get her up and going again before we do anything more though. I can tell you the ultrasound showed everything is otherwise progressing normally for a three week foetus.”

“Thank God,” Dan breathed the words out in a rush of air.

“This extreme form of morning sickness can be very frightening, but I assure you she and the baby will be fine as long as we control the nausea and make sure she keeps up her fluids and nourishment.”

Dan held out his hand. “Thank you.”

Doctor Moore shook Dan’s hand. “I take it this is your first?”

“Yes.” Dan smiled. “Does it show?”

“A little.” The doctor smiled and stepped around Dan to check Jody’s IV. “All looks good. I’ll come by once they move her up to her room to make sure she’s settled in.”

“Do I need to fill in any paperwork?”

“Not now. I’ll get the nurse to bring it to her room later.”

“Thanks.” Dan turned back to Jody. She’d slept through the whole exchange, and even though they hadn’t been here long, he swore some colour was returning to her face. It was the most welcome thing he’d ever seen.

Chapter Nineteen

Something tugged at the back of Jody’s hand when she tried to roll over.

“Hey, hey, careful now.”

Dan’s soothing voice filled her ears and she turned her head in his direction. Her eyelids felt heavy but she forced them open to see him standing beside her. “Where…?” She scanned the room around her.

“The hospital. You don’t remember?”

“No.” She licked her lips. “How did I get here?”

“You don’t recall me finding you on the floor at your house?”

Jody shook her head, but the action brought on a wave of dizziness that made her moan and her stomach roll. “N-no.”

“Well, that might be for the best. What’s the last thing you do remember?”

She thought about it for a moment. “Sending the girls to school?” Was that this morning? What day was it? Jody could see through the window that it was dark outside.

“Today, yesterday or Wednesday?”

“It’s Friday?” Jody tried to sit up only to be forced back by her spinning head and her pitching stomach.

“Take it easy.” Dan stroked her hair back from her face with the fingertips of one hand while he held her hand—the one with the tube snaking out from under a bandage—with the other. “Yes, it’s Friday, and from what I can gather you’ve been sick since I left Tuesday night.”

A horrible thought occurred. “The baby?”

“Is fine. You have hyper-something or other. Severe morning sickness. It has a fancy name but I don’t remember it, and even if I did I probably couldn’t pronounce it correctly. The doctor said he was going to give us some leaflets that explain what’s going on and how to help make it more bearable.”

“So I am pregnant?”

“Yep. Three weeks according to the ultrasound they did when I brought you in earlier.”

“I guess there’s no denying it now.”

“Nope. We’re going to have a baby.”

Dan grinned at her like it was the best thing in the world, and she supposed for some it would seem that way. But right now all she could think was she hadn’t planned for this—hadn’t wanted to find herself in the same situation a second time in her life. But she’d learned a valuable lesson the first time. Forcing two people together for the sake of a baby was the worst possible way to begin a relationship of any sort, especially marriage, and Dan had been adamant that they get married if she was pregnant.

“I won’t marry you,” Jody blurted out.

He jerked back, his eyes widening, his eyebrows shooting up into his hairline. “Wow. Okay. How about we leave that discussion for later, when you’re better and home.”

Why was he being so accommodating? What happened to giving their child security and family? “I won’t change my mind. I’m not going through that again.”

“Jody.” Dan sighed. “I understand you’re frightened by what’s happening, but I swear I’m not going to treat you the way your ex has.”

“He was fine in the beginning too. Then when reality set in it all changed.” She folded her arms around her waist, hugging herself tightly. “I can’t do it again. I
won’t
go through that again.”

“Stop.” He stepped closer and leaned over the bed until their faces were inches apart. “I don’t want you to work yourself up. It’s not good for you or the baby. We’ll talk about this more later, when you’re back on your feet and not lying in that bed looking like you’re at death’s door, because I have to tell you I feel partly responsible for that look and it’s killing me to know that carrying my baby—our baby—has put you through this.”

“But—”

“No buts. Just rest. Get better so we can argue later when it won’t feel like I’m kicking a sick puppy.” He stroked her face with a fingertip, back and forth across her cheek. “I don’t like this Jody. I like the one who fights with me. The Jody who doesn’t look like she’ll fall over if I breathe on her.”

Jody didn’t want to talk about the baby or the future or them any more than he did, so she changed the subject and felt a slam of guilt for not thinking to ask before now. “Where are Leigh and Amy?”

“Luc has them with him. He and Cassie will keep them overnight, and if they let you go home tomorrow then you can all stay with me or I’ll stay with you.” He held up a hand. “And don’t even think about arguing with me on that one. It’s not negotiable. You’re going to need someone to take care of you until you get better.”

She wasn’t stupid enough to open her mouth this time. She’d wait until he went then she’d ring her brother and organise for their mum and dad to have her and the girls at their place until she got her strength back. They’d happily taken them in when she’d separated from Colin and they’d been sad to see them move out into their own place, so Jody was sure her parents would be more than pleased for the three of them to move back in indefinitely.

“What are you smiling about?” Dan asked.

“Was I smiling?”

“Yes. And I know that smile. It’s the one you get when you’re planning something.”

“I have no idea what you mean.”

“And why do I not believe that?”

Jody really did smile then. “You’ve got a suspicious mind?”

“Me?
Ha.
I’m not the one thinking the worst of the other every step of the way.” He stood back and crossed his arms over his chest.

Her smile faded. He was right. She thought the worst of him a lot. And if they were having a baby together that had to change. It wasn’t fair to him or their baby if she continued to expect him to let her down or turn away. But the lessons of a lifetime were hard to unlearn, and Jody knew there was no way she’d be able to open herself to him. She’d locked a part of her heart away when Colin had sliced into it with his indifference, and she wasn’t about to let any other man have the same opportunity to hurt her.

Dan met Luc on the street in front of the hospital. He’d asked him to bring some of Jody’s clothes over so she’d have something clean to change into after her shower. They’d seen the doctor this morning and he’d told them Jody could go home this afternoon as long as she kept her breakfast and lunch down. Doctor Moore was more than happy with her progress, which pleased Dan because even though he could see a marked physical difference, having the doctor’s reassurance made him breathe easier.

“How is she?” Luc asked as he handed over a backpack.

“Tired still. Grumpy about being here even if it is for just a few more hours and pissed at me for not fighting with her when she’s clearly spoiling for one.” Dan ran his fingers though his hair.

“And what does she want to fight about other than the fact you got her pregnant?” Luc asked.

“First,
we
got her pregnant. It takes two. And second, she’s feeling trapped.” Dan shrugged. “Nothing I can do about that. I want to get married, she doesn’t. We’re at a stalemate.”

“You asked her to marry you?”

“Ah, not in so many words…”

“Oh my God. You didn’t?” Luc laughed. “You did.” His laughter got louder.