CHAPTER 19
Pete woke in his bed, afraid to move until he fully remembered what had happened. When the memories did come back it was in a rush of anguish and pain. He wondered where Marla was and what had happened to whoever had shot both of them. He hoped they were still alive, not because he cared about them but because he wanted to get a piece of them first. He felt the dull throb of pain in his back as he shifted slightly in his bed. He rang for the nurse and waited for a response.
“You’re awake. That’s good. How do you feel? Are you having any pain,” The nurse asked as she fussed with the tubing of his I.V.
“I’m fine. Where’s my wife?”
“I don’t know exactly. I know they admitted her but I’m not sure which room she’s in. From what I’ve heard around the nurse’s station she’s doing just fine. They’re just keeping her overnight to keep an eye on her and the baby, but everything looks very good.”
“I need to see her. Help me get up, will you?” When he started to swing his legs over the side of the bed the pain shot through his body with a vengeance, causing him to fall back onto the bed with a groan.
“Hold it! You need to stay right where you are. You’ve just come out of general anesthesia and we don’t want to rile-up that hole in your back and get it to bleeding again. The doctor would have my hide if that happened and your wife doesn’t need to see you woozy and shaky.” She lectured him with her hands firmly on her hips. “Besides, I think they said they gave her something to sleep so she could settle down enough for them to sew her up. She’ll be out for the rest of the night anyway. I promise I’ll find out where she is and check on her if you assure me you’ll behave while I do it,” She looked sternly into Pete’s eyes like a mother scolding her child.
“I promise.”
“Good. I’m also going to give you something more for your pain when I get back. Stay there, I’ll only be a minute.”
The nurse came back and let Pete know everything was going fine with Marla and the baby as she injected his pain medication into his I.V. tubing. Within five minutes he was sound asleep again.
The next time Pete opened his eyes he saw Marla, sound asleep in a wheelchair with her legs in the supports of the chair sticking straight out in front of her while she held his hand in hers, snoring loudly. He chuckled softly to himself as relief washed over him. God, he wished he had a tape recorder because she would never believe how loud she could snore. After a few minutes she jumped awake with a loud snort. Pete was sure it was the sound of her own snoring that had startled her.
“Hey there, beautiful. How are my girls?”
“Oh, Pete, I was so worried about you. How do you feel?”
“I’m just fine, baby. What are you doing in here? You should be in bed yourself, but I’m glad to see you. Do you have any idea what the hell happened to us or even who shot us?”
“All I know is somehow Phelps got a hold of someone’s gun and shot you. When they were taking me out of the squad room they were doing CPR on Phelps. I have no idea if he’s alive or dead.”
“Sounds like you’d prefer if he didn’t make it.”
“He’s not on my list of favorite people. The only reason I hope he’s alive is so he can suffer every day for the rest of his life for what he’s done to us.”
“Shit! I totally forgot. Do you know where the Chief is?”
“Why? What’s wrong?”
“Where are my clothes? Can you check the closet for me and see if my slacks are in there.”
“Tell me what’s wrong or I’ll hurt you, and you know I can do it too.”
“I found the diamonds. I stuck them in the pocket of my slacks while Phelps wasn’t looking. I forgot all about them and I need to turn them in to the evidence room, properly labeled this time of course. Can you see if they’re still in there for me, please?”
Marla rushed to the closet and found his clothes folded in a bag on the bottom of the closet, and fished around in his pockets for the diamonds. Her mouth gaped open in awe as she looked at them while they danced brilliantly in the sunlight from the window.
“Wow. Look at these babies. They’re huge. No wonder everyone was looking for these. I’ve never seen anything like it before in my life. There’s an officer outside your door, I’ll give them to him.”
“No. I only want the Chief to get them. They have a history of turning decent men and women into animals and I don’t want to take any chance of them getting ‘lost’ again. Once is enough for me.”
Marla poked her head out the door and asked the officer to get the Chief for them, explaining Pete needed to speak to him. She set the diamonds on the bedside table. She didn’t want to have anything else to do with them either. In her opinion they were cursed.
When the chief walked in he looked frazzled but relieved. Pete didn’t say anything as he held the bag of diamonds up with his thumb and first finger, as if they were dirty.
“Fill me in of the status of Phelps.”
“He’ll survive. He admitted that he got rid of Captain Perkins body for Dillon and told us where to find it. At least now her family can bury her properly. He’ll never see the light of day again, thank God. All this for a few bucks, how sad is that?” The Chief shook his head slowly trying to figure things out.
“Did I really bring those diamonds with me to Wynott when I was found here?”
“To be honest, I really don’t know for sure. If you did you had no knowledge of them. If you had known you would have just taken them when you woke up and skipped town. Instead you stuck around and made something of yourself without the use of the diamonds. You worked your ass off to save the money for the bakery and you made a success of the business. I really miss those baked goods.” Marla swore she saw a tear form in the Chief’s eye.
“Not for long you won’t. Betsy and I have been working together to open it back up. She’s my new partner now that the baby’s coming. We hope to open back up within the month.”
“Let me know your opening date and I’ll buy baked goods for the whole department.” Happily he rubbed his hands together in anticipation.
“I’ll hold you to that.” Marla laughed as she sat back into the wheelchair on shaky legs.
The chief took that as his cue to leave.
“My wife needs to get back to her room and get some rest, could someone help her with that?”
“I’ll be happy to help her.” The nurse grabbed the handles and started wheeling her towards the door before she could object.
“No arguments, Marla, and do as you’re told, you’ve got some very precious cargo you’re carrying there and I’m not taking any chances with you or peanut. I’ll see you later and I love you.” Pete waved goodbye as Marla blew him a kiss that ended with a large yawn. He chuckled when he heard her tell the nurse how bossy he was and the only reason she was letting him get away with it was that he’d been shot. He loved how feisty she was and hoped their daughter would be the same way. ********
One Month Later
Marla opened her eyes, dreading the fact that Pete had to return to work for the first time since the shooting. She had enjoyed their time together without the interruption of daily life intruding on their happiness. A whole month alone with him had spoiled her. Now she found that she didn’t want to share him with anyone, including the Wynott Police Department.
Betsy and the other girls had gotten the bakery up and running with minimal help from her. Because of her shoulder wound and huge belly the only thing she had been good for was issuing advice and ordering supplies, but at least it was something. During the past month she had managed to slip out of bed at her regular four thirty in the morning and be back from the bakery just as Pete was getting up. Then they had the rest of the day to do as they pleased within the limitations of their injuries. They had ended up hiring a handy man to paint the bedroom for th
e baby and Marla had found the cutest stencil’s of a forest scene on the internet that she intended to do herself after the baby was born. Everything was finally falling into place and settling down. Who knew what life would be like once the baby was born? For now it felt good to have the emotional and physical rest.
Marla had decided to go into the bakery late today so she could make Pete a healthy breakfast. She had made arrangements at the bakery to have four dozen baked goods delivered to the police department as a celebration of his return to work. After all, what was the good of a cop having a wife who owned a bakery if you couldn’t flaunt it once in a while? Cops and donuts. A match made in heaven.
Marla looked up from the stove when Pete came into the room and gasped. She had forgotten how handsome he looked in his dress clothes.
“What’s wrong? Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. You just look so damn sexy in your dress clothes that it took my breath away for a second. I’m really going to miss you today.” She held back the tears threatening the back of her eyes while he took her into his arms.
“I’m going to miss you too, baby. But on the bright side, look how much we’ll have to tell each other at the end of the day.”
“Promise me that if you get too tired you’ll come home early. Remember the doctor said he thought part-time for a week might be a good idea to start out with. By all rights you should still have two more weeks to recuperate.”
“I’ll be careful, I promise. Thanks for making me breakfast, it looks great. Is this going to be an everyday thing?” Smiling widely he wiggled his eyebrows vigorously.
“Not as long as I’m working at the bakery, but today is special so I took the morning off. I thought you could drop me off on the way into the office if it’s all right with you.” The spasm that overtook Marla’s stomach stunned her into silence as she clutched her belly. It only lasted for a short time but it took her breath away.
“What happened?”
“It was just a spasm. The book said it was common. They’re called Braxton-Hicks contractions. It’s my body’s way of getting ready for the baby’s delivery. I’m fine now, really. It just took me by surprise.” She turned back to the stove and continued cooking, feeling his eyes boring into her back as if waiting for her to explode or something.
“Finish your breakfast or you’ll be late on your first day back.”
As the morning went on Marla had a few less intense contractions. They certainly weren’t anything you could time or predict. When she ran out of things to do at the bakery the thought of going home to an empty house depressed her, so she decided to walk to the police department and see if Pete had time to have lunch with her.
When she walked into the squad room there were shouts of thanks for the baked goods and various greetings. Since they’d been shot she had gotten to know quite a few of the officer’s better. They had often stopped by the house to check and make sure they were both recovering and didn‘t need anything. They really were a great group of people and it was helping her with the struggle of trusting anyone in a uniform.
Halfway through the squad room Marla clutched her belly, falling to her knees as another contraction, very strong this time, griped her stomach. She tried to breathe but it was nearly impossible. Everyone ran to her, all of them asking questions at once.
Pete came out of his office after hearing a commotion, only to see Marla kneeling on the floor and clutching her stomach. He picked her up as if she weighed nothing at all and carried her into his office, placing her in the chair. When the spasm passed and she was breathing normally she smiled at him sheepishly.
“That one hurt a little.”
“I’m taking you to the hospital right now. I know you think this is normal but just humor me here.” He picked up the phone and called the doctor’s office. As he suspected, they advised him to take her to the hospital immediately.
“But I’m hungry. I came to see if you had time for lunch.”
“We’ll drive through someplace on the way. Come on my love, let’s get moving.” He hustled her out the door and explained to everyone in the squad room where they were going as he walked her to the door.
While they waited in the treatment room of the emergency department she had a few more contractions, and this time the baby monitor recorded them like an EKG. When her doctor came in and looked over the readings his face didn’t change expression at all.
“Well, Marla, it appears that your little angel in there is in a hurry to come out. These are not Braxton-Hicks, they’re the real thing. I’d like to delay the delivery as long as possible. Right now the baby needs to gain as much weight as possible before delivery. Right now we’re running about a month early. We have some medications to stop the labor so I’m going to keep you here, but I don’t want you to worry about the baby’s health. The heartbeat is strong and healthy and if we have to deliver early we will. The only problems I would anticipate with that is that the baby will need to be incubated and gain weight before she can go home. It wouldn’t be the ideal, but it’s certainly no tragedy either. Regardless of when she’s delivered I expect her to be healthy. I’m ordering an ultrasound to try and get an idea of her weight right now, but it’s only an estimate at this point. We’re going to keep a close eye on you, give you the medication and see what happens from there. I know this is hard, but try to stay positive. This isn’t the end of the world, just a little bump we have to deal with. Do you have any questions?” “When will we know if we have to go ahead with the delivery?” Marla asked. “If your water breaks then we’ll have no choice but to deliver. Up to that point we will keep trying everything we can to hold on a little longer.”