‹ Prequel: A Blend of Fear & Passion
I Won't Give Up
Greg
I wasn't down for surgery on Ameila, but I'd rather her not be deaf. Arriving at the Patel's, I parked the car and got out immediately, Dawson already having got Ameila out. Going up the steps to the front door, it came open and the three of us went in. "What's going on?" Mrs. Patel asked, looking worriedly over at our crying little girl.
"She's got a horrid ear infection, one that runs on my side of the family and could leave her deaf without tubes," Dawson said, pressing a comforting kiss to her forehead.
"Have you both discussed this? This is no small thing, especially in a child as young as she," Dr. Patel said, looking at both of us.
"I'm not too fond of the idea, but I'm willing to allow her to get tubes to keep her from going deaf. I'd rather her not be in pain or unable to hear," I said, scratching the back of my neck. "Can you take care of it?" I asked, looking at Dr. Patel hopefully.
"Of course I can," he said, opening his arms. Ameila was iffy at first, but she seemed to know that he wouldn't harm her and went to him. "She'll have to stay here for a few days after the surgery, just to make sure that everything is going well."
"That's fine, I trust you to take care of our little girl," I said, looking at Dawson who seemed to be so heartbroken. "Excuse us," I said, pulling Dawson away to a secluded area. "Are you able to continue with school while she is here, or am I just asking an already answered question?"
"The latter," Dawson said, causing me to nod.
"I figured," I said, wrapping my arms around him. When I felt his arms around my waist, I could tell he was scared. Without breaking away from Dawson, I looked at Mrs. Patel and asked, "Is it alright if Dawson and I stay here while she undergoes everything? It would keep us both at ease."
"That would be fine," Dr. Patel said, smiling warmly. I broke away from Dawson and looked at him for a long moment.
"I'm going to go grab the spare bag from the trunk," I said, causing him to look at me with a look of confusion. Letting out a small chuckle, I said, "I always keep a spare bag of clothes in my trunk. A few days ago, I added a few outfits of yours and Ameila's just in case we ended up having to leave the house for any reason. You never know what will come up." I then glanced over at Ameila who, thanks to the anesthetics, was slowly falling into an induced slumber. I kissed Dawson's forehead before walking out of the front door.
I had a feeling it was going to be a long night for all of us.
Time Elapse
The sun was rising, Dawson and I still wide awake. We were told that we couldn't watch the surgery, again because of the possible distraction we would cause. I had to keep a firm grip on Dawson, otherwise he would have found a way to go check on Ameila.
"Come on, Greg. She's our daughter. We should be able to see her!" he said, struggling against me. "How the hell are you this strong?" he said, trying so hard to unhook my arms.
"Years of training and patience," I replied, meeting his gaze. "Listen to me, Dawson. She will be fine."
"I know, but maternal instinct is kicking in and I need to see my baby!" he said, finally breaking free. He stood up just as Dr. and Mrs. Patel walked through the doorway.
"There's good and bad news," Dr. Patel said, causing both of us to look at him. "Bad news, she is partially deaf in her right ear, but can still somewhat hear out of it. Good news is that, aside from the partial deafness, the surgery went fine. Before you place blame, I did nothing to her that caused the deafness, the infection was worse than any of us could have imagined, but you got her here in time that I could save it a little."
Dawson fell to his knees and looked down at his hands. "This isn't fair." I knelt down beside him, causing him to look up at me. "Why does this kind of shit happen to us?"
"We both knew there was the possibility that something bad could have happened. We should be glad she didn't completely lose all of her hearing," I said, wiping the tears from his eyes. Looking up at the Patel's, I asked, "May we please see our daughter?"
Nodding, Dr. Patel motioned for us to follow him. Helping Dawson up, we walked with him to our daughter, hoping that she would be back to her old self soon.
"She's got a horrid ear infection, one that runs on my side of the family and could leave her deaf without tubes," Dawson said, pressing a comforting kiss to her forehead.
"Have you both discussed this? This is no small thing, especially in a child as young as she," Dr. Patel said, looking at both of us.
"I'm not too fond of the idea, but I'm willing to allow her to get tubes to keep her from going deaf. I'd rather her not be in pain or unable to hear," I said, scratching the back of my neck. "Can you take care of it?" I asked, looking at Dr. Patel hopefully.
"Of course I can," he said, opening his arms. Ameila was iffy at first, but she seemed to know that he wouldn't harm her and went to him. "She'll have to stay here for a few days after the surgery, just to make sure that everything is going well."
"That's fine, I trust you to take care of our little girl," I said, looking at Dawson who seemed to be so heartbroken. "Excuse us," I said, pulling Dawson away to a secluded area. "Are you able to continue with school while she is here, or am I just asking an already answered question?"
"The latter," Dawson said, causing me to nod.
"I figured," I said, wrapping my arms around him. When I felt his arms around my waist, I could tell he was scared. Without breaking away from Dawson, I looked at Mrs. Patel and asked, "Is it alright if Dawson and I stay here while she undergoes everything? It would keep us both at ease."
"That would be fine," Dr. Patel said, smiling warmly. I broke away from Dawson and looked at him for a long moment.
"I'm going to go grab the spare bag from the trunk," I said, causing him to look at me with a look of confusion. Letting out a small chuckle, I said, "I always keep a spare bag of clothes in my trunk. A few days ago, I added a few outfits of yours and Ameila's just in case we ended up having to leave the house for any reason. You never know what will come up." I then glanced over at Ameila who, thanks to the anesthetics, was slowly falling into an induced slumber. I kissed Dawson's forehead before walking out of the front door.
I had a feeling it was going to be a long night for all of us.
Time Elapse
The sun was rising, Dawson and I still wide awake. We were told that we couldn't watch the surgery, again because of the possible distraction we would cause. I had to keep a firm grip on Dawson, otherwise he would have found a way to go check on Ameila.
"Come on, Greg. She's our daughter. We should be able to see her!" he said, struggling against me. "How the hell are you this strong?" he said, trying so hard to unhook my arms.
"Years of training and patience," I replied, meeting his gaze. "Listen to me, Dawson. She will be fine."
"I know, but maternal instinct is kicking in and I need to see my baby!" he said, finally breaking free. He stood up just as Dr. and Mrs. Patel walked through the doorway.
"There's good and bad news," Dr. Patel said, causing both of us to look at him. "Bad news, she is partially deaf in her right ear, but can still somewhat hear out of it. Good news is that, aside from the partial deafness, the surgery went fine. Before you place blame, I did nothing to her that caused the deafness, the infection was worse than any of us could have imagined, but you got her here in time that I could save it a little."
Dawson fell to his knees and looked down at his hands. "This isn't fair." I knelt down beside him, causing him to look up at me. "Why does this kind of shit happen to us?"
"We both knew there was the possibility that something bad could have happened. We should be glad she didn't completely lose all of her hearing," I said, wiping the tears from his eyes. Looking up at the Patel's, I asked, "May we please see our daughter?"
Nodding, Dr. Patel motioned for us to follow him. Helping Dawson up, we walked with him to our daughter, hoping that she would be back to her old self soon.