“Why isn’t she waking up?” The sound of Ivo’s distressed plea penetrates the fog in my brain. “It’s been over twenty-four hours.”
“Mr. Avante, we gave a shot for the pain and to keep her calm, and her body needs the rest. We’ve kept her sedated for her to be pain-free. We’ve eased up on the medication, and she’ll be coming around soon. You need to be patient.” It must be the doc. I remember him from the time he came over to take care of Evangeline.
I hear Evangeline’s soothing tone. “Come on downstairs and eat something. You’ll be no use to Elisa if you make yourself sick.”
“I’m not leaving her,” Ivo replies, and then I feel him take my hand in his. He needs to eat. I find it a Herculean effort, but I open my eyes. I see the top of Ivo’s head bowed down as he presses his lips to the back of my hand.
“Baby.” My voice is raw and hoarse. I need water.
Ivo lifts his head to meet my eyes. “Hey, beautiful.” His fingers caress my cheek. “You came back to me. You scared the life out of me.”
I want to tell him I’m sorry, but all I can get out is “Water.” He puts a straw to my lips so I can suck in the cool liquid. I let it slide down my throat. Ah, much better!
“A little at a time,” the doc orders.
I glance up at him. “I hurt.”
“Give her something,” Ivo demands, his eyes filled with concern.
“I’d rather not. In Elisa’s condition, we should pace the medication and try to wean her off the meds as quickly as possible. There was no choice at first. I needed to get the bullet out and set her ribs, but it won’t be good for the baby,” the doctor says.
Did I just hear him say baby?
“Baby?” Ivo repeats, stunned.
“I didn’t want to say anything until I was sure, but Elisa’s pregnant. Blood work came back positive. From what I can see, the baby is doing well, but she’ll need to see an obstetrician as soon as we can get her mobile. I’ll make an appointment with the same one I referred Evangeline to,” the doctor confirms.
My head is pounding, and I can’t even be sure if I’m dreaming this all. I lay my hand on my head to stop the throbbing.
“She’s in pain. Can you give her anything?” Raffaele asks. He’s standing next to Evangeline with an arm around her waist.
The doctor shakes his head and sighs, “I can, but—”
“No pills,” I say.
“Elisa—” Ivo’s face comes into view.
“No. Our baby. I want our baby to be safe,” I tell him.
“Keep the light away from her eyes. A compress on her forehead will help, and let her sleep. She’ll need the rest of the antibiotic to fight infection, but after that, she should only take the pain meds if absolutely necessary. It’s a shitty situation, but it’s the best I can suggest. Elisa isn’t in any immediate danger. She’ll heal nicely over time,” the doctor confirms.
Raffaele draws the drapes. Evangeline murmurs that she’s going to grab a compress, and the doctor takes his leave, promising to come back in the morning.
Ivo lies beside me, carefully cradling me in his arms. “I thought I lost you.”
“Adriana?”
“She’s been itching to see you, but you needed to rest.”
“Bring me my daughter,” I tell him.
He smiles. “She won’t want to leave.”
“It’s a king-sized bed,” I reply.
He leaves and returns a few minutes later with a sleepy girl in his arms and settles her next to me, then aligns himself where he can still snuggle both of us and hold my hand.
I let out a sigh and close my eyes.
“Elisa.”
“This is our family,” I whisper.
“Yeah, baby. Now sleep, and let me watch over my two girls.”