Dylan’s Redemption(59)

She glanced at Greg, her eyes filling with tears. His image blurred. “She’s not here.”

“No, honey. I’m sorry. She’s gone. We lost her a long time ago.”

“But, I saw her, held her in my arms. I could smell her,” she sobbed.

“A dream, J.T.” Greg wiped away a tear from her face. “A wonderful dream, honey. I’m sorry. I don’t know what else to say. You’ve been through so much.”

It washed over her. His words brought it all back. This wasn’t the time she stayed in the hospital to give birth to Hope. Hope was gone and Dylan was back.

The car accident came back to her. She stared at him, but saw the little boy lying on her chest and calling for his daddy. Dylan’s son. His mother standing over her. The guilty, horrified look on her face when she realized she’d just saved her grandchild. Dylan had a son. Her head spun. The room tilted. She turned back to Greg, her anchor. He helped her get through losing Hope. He’d help her now. He wouldn’t leave her alone.

“Hope?”

Greg squeezed her hand. “He knows, J.T. I had to tell him after what happened. His mother came here and said some terrible things. I couldn’t let it go. He needed to know the truth.”

Pain and misery etched lines in Dylan’s face and turned his lips into a deep frown. He knew about their daughter. He knew, and he hated her.

“I’m sorry. I tried. I tried so hard to do it right.”

Her heart monitor kicked into top speed. Dylan listened to its steady beep for days and the sound of it stomping out this new rhythm worried him. She needed to calm down.

“Shh. You did everything you could, Jess. I’m so sorry you went through that alone. I should have been there for you and Hope.”

“She said you didn’t want me. She lied. Why would she lie?”

“Jess, calm down. You need to take a breath.”

Tears streamed down her face and she gasped for air that never filled her lungs. He held her hand all this time, but now hers gripped his so tightly her nails bit into his skin.

Dylan didn’t like this: the panic stealing her breath, making her skin pale, and her eyes wide with desperation. He leaned over the bed and pressed his palm to her cheek to make her look at him. “Jess, calm down, sweetheart. Please. Calm down.”

“You didn’t get to see her. She lied. You didn’t get to see her because she lied. I only had her for five days. She lied.” She gasped and the monitors started sounding piercing alarms. Two nurses and the doctor burst into her room. She desperately tried to suck in air, but never caught her breath.

Her eyes rolled back in her head.

The doctor ordered, “Get out. Let us take care of her.”

Dylan didn’t want to leave her. Not when she needed him.

Greg held him by the arm and tried to haul him outside so the nurses and doctors could tend to Jessie, but he struggled to stay.

“Come on. Let them help her.” Greg pulled, but Dylan’s hand still held Jessie’s. He held on until the last possible moment before he had no choice but to let her go or pull her out of the bed.

They sat in silence in the waiting room. Both held cups of coffee neither drank.

“Gentlemen,” the doctor said, bringing them out of their own thoughts and drawing their attention. “We’ve stabilized her. Can you tell me what happened before we came in?”

“She woke up confused and thought she had just given birth. She wanted to go and see her daughter. The baby died years ago,” Greg said, concerned. “Then, she realized this wasn’t the past.”

Nothing else to say, and yet that didn’t explain anything really. Leaning over, Greg braced his forearms on his knees and stared at his feet. “She came out of her confusion right away and realized this wasn’t the past. But that didn’t help her. It made things worse. Or better. Or the same.” Greg shook his head, struggling to figure out what happened.

“Some terrible circumstances surround the death of my daughter.” Dylan tried to clear up Greg’s explanation. “Jessie woke up confused between the past and the present.” He ran a hand through his hair. “It’s complicated. She’s had a rough couple of weeks and things are piling up on her. She couldn’t catch her breath and the heart monitor sounded the alarm.”

“That explains a lot,” the doctor replied. “She had a panic attack. Her blood pressure skyrocketed and she passed out. Part of the problem is the concussion,” the doctor told them. “There’s a bigger problem now. She’s got an infection. The antibiotics we’ve given her aren’t working as quickly as I’d like. We’ve changed to something else and upped the dose. The next few days are crucial.”