Chapter 18

 

. ~ .

 

“AVA, CAN YOU hear me?” Andre asked her. Ava had been sleeping for hours and he wanted to see her open those beautiful eyes again.

She opened them, looking at him, batting her lids.

“How do you feel?” he asked. “And don’t say tired.”

“Sleepy,” she responded with a lazy, unenthusiastic smile.

Andre smiled too. He held her hand between his strong hands and kissed it, inhaling the scent of her skin, closing his eyes like he’d gotten a high from her smell – the smell he missed so much.

“Sweetheart, you’re going to have surgery as soon as they find you a new heart.”

“Okay,” she responded.

It wasn’t the response Andre had expected, but then again, she probably wasn’t fully aware of anything that had transpired within the last few days.

“Whatever happens, just...promise me that you’ll take care of Drew.”

“You know I will, baby, but I don’t want you talking like this. We’ll get through this.”

“Okay,” she said. “We’ll...get...through...” She yawned and fell asleep again.

Andre kissed her forehead, then lips, leaving her room to give Maria a chance to sit with her for a while.

 

 

“WOULD YOU DIE for Mom,” Andre asked his father as they sat in the waiting room. Elena had taken baby Andrew for a walk, allowing him to expend some energy so he would fall asleep soon. “You know what...don’t even answer that because I know you would.”

“In a heartbeat,” William said.

“People say they’d die for the people they love, but when it comes down to it, that’s when you really know if you would or not. My wife needs a heart, and I would die this very instant for her...to give her mine...but so many factors go into these critical decisions that the doctors have to weigh...I’m probably not even a match for her, but if I were a match...”

“Son...”

“I need her to live, Father. I need her. I love her.”

“I know you do, son.”

Andre’s lips quivered when he saw Dr. Burke quickly approaching. He stood up, preparing himself for whatever it was the doctor had to say.

“Mr. Rockwell, we need to have the surgery right away. I’m going to need you to sign some consent forms for me.”

Andre frowned, confused. “Does this mean a heart has become available for her?”

“Yes, Mr. Rockwell,” Dr. Burke said, smiling. “We found a heart, and she’s the perfect candidate for it.”

Andre covered his eyes, overcome with emotion. There was hope for his wife yet.

William hugged his son, then ran off to find Elena, wanting to share the good news with her.

Andre went with the doctor to sign the appropriate forms.

At Ava’s room now, Andre threw his arms around Maria, celebrating the good news from Dr. Burke. Then he walked over to Ava, kissed her lips and said, “Baby, Dr. Burke is going to make you well.”

With her eyes still closed, Ava simply smiled.

“Mr. Rockwell, we have to get her prepped for surgery now,” Dr. Burke informed him.

Andre blew a breath of relief and worry. Ava was finally getting the transplant she needed and it was both exciting and nerve-racking. He hugged Ava as tightly as he could without disturbing her medical equipment, then took a long kiss from her lips. “I love you, Ava.”

Maria hugged her daughter next, kissed her warmly on the cheek, telling her how much she loved her and that she was strong – that she could pull through this.

The nurses then, as they did a couple of days prior, wheeled her bed away, to the operating room.