Chapter 73

Liam finally gave up on sleep at about six in the morning. He went out to the little kitchenette area for some coffee after gently kissing his wife.

When the hot beverage was finally done, he poured in some creamer and stirred it as he went back to the room and sat back in the chair, watching the monitors.

She was still unconscious and now, in the light of day, he could see the colors more clearly on her pale skin, and it nearly broke his heart.

He took her hand again and cried for all the pain he knew she would be in.

The nurse came in for a check and said that the doctor would be by shortly. They would do another ultrasound to check the baby as well.

The nurse urged him to order some breakfast. Just as he finished up with the oatmeal and fruit, Brett and Nick showed up in the room.

“How’s she doing, Liam?” Nick asked gently.

“Not much change. The doctor should be in shortly to check her again,” Liam sighed.

Brett was carefully smoothing her hair back as he listened to Liam’s words. There was still tension between the two friends. The emotions were still too raw and fresh in their minds.

Nick didn’t know what to do except just be there for them both.

“Liam, I hate to bring this up, but Hannah reminded me about the team…what should we do with them? Hannah suggested I call Amanda and have her go help the girls,” Nick asked cautiously.

“Shit, I forgot about that. Damn!” Liam groaned.

“If Amanda will agree to help, I will go and coach until Maggie is up to it,” Brett said.

Liam turned to him. “Are you sure? Is Sheila okay with that?”

“Yeah, she will be okay with it, especially since it’s for Maggie.”

“Okay, then. Nick, call Amanda and see if she can let the school know. Thank you, Brett, I know Maggie will appreciate it.”

Nick went to the hallway, called Amanda, and told her the whole situation. Amanda was shocked and promised to call the principal and help Brett with the team.

He then called Hannah and gave her an update before going back in to see the men sitting in chairs on either side of the hospital bed. He sighed to himself and sat in the last chair in the room.

Like Liam, he was noticing her bruises and winced as he imagined what she would be feeling when she woke up.

Just as he was going to say something, the door opened and the doctor from last night came in with a nurse and an ultrasound tech behind him.

The men moved to the side and let the professionals do their work. They checked over Maggie from head to toe. The doctor tested pain response, reflexes, her stitches, and the cast. When he seemed satisfied, he called for the machine.

He moved the wand around and took pictures as the men kept looking for the little light flashes and beeps that showed the heartbeat.

The seconds dragged on, and Nick was starting to get a heavy feeling in his heart as he felt the tears starting to well in his eyes. He looked at Liam and could see how scared he was.

Brett looked no different, and Nick kept trying to swallow the lump that was forming in his throat.

“Ah, there it is!” the doctor exclaimed.

Nick looked up to see the little bean shape on the screen. A blinking light confirmed that the little heart was beating. He almost cried with happiness and could see Liam’s relief as he wiped his eyes, smiling.

“This little one likes to hide! He or she could be trouble! Everything is looking good. Maggie’s hormone levels are still rising from the blood the nurse took last night, and that’s very good.

“She is still unconscious but is coming out of it. Her pain response is getting sharper, but it could still be another twenty-four hours. It’s hard to predict these things.

“Just keep talking with her and being with her and I will have the doctor on call come in later tonight to see how she is progressing. Do you have any questions?”

Liam shook his head and thanked the doctor. They talked a few more minutes before he left, smiling at each of them.

Liam immediately went to Maggie and told her to keep fighting and how much he loved her and the baby. He kissed her again and went out to call his mom.

“Any news, sweetheart?” she said as she picked up the phone.

Liam smiled at hearing her soothing voice. He filled her in after putting it on speaker phone so his dad could hear.

“How is Patrick, Mom?”

“He was a little fussy before bed and was up a couple of times during the night, calling for Maggie. I gave him a bottle once and rocked him back to sleep both times.

“It’s his first time away from his mom, but he will be okay.”

“Thanks, Mom. You still have the codes for the house if he needs new clothes. He will probably do better if you get his bear.”

She agreed and told him to stay strong. His dad got on the phone next.

“Liam, Henry will take care of your diary and let the office know. We have Patrick, so just worry about Maggie, okay? One of us will be up later to bring you some clothes.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

After they hung up, Liam went back to the room and saw Brett whispering to her.

“...if you want out, just let me know. I will help you—”

“What the fuck, Mitchell?”

Brett turned around with a guilty look. “You weren’t supposed to hear that…”

“Move away from her or I will have you thrown out! How could you? You are supposed to be my best friend!”

“I warned you at your wedding that if you hurt her, I would hurt you just as bad!”

“You were supposed to be my best friend! I already told you that I made a mistake! You son of a bitch! I already had a plan on how to deal with Veronica! But you didn’t bother to ask!

“You just assumed the worst of me! I am a different person with Maggie, and you know that!” Liam took a breath and his voice wavered.

“And you have no idea what it’s like to see her lying in that fucking bed and know that it’s my fault! I love you like my brother, and this is how you repay me!”

They stood looking at each other, Liam’s chest heaving in pain and anger. Brett could see how this was affecting him and felt guilty.

“What are you talking about, Liam? Repaying him for what?” Sheila came into the room, having heard the very end of the fight.

Neither man said anything as Liam went to Maggie and took her hand in his, kissing her hand.

“Brett! What is Liam talking about?”

“I was talking to Maggie like the doctor said and told her that she could leave him if she wanted…”

“Why the hell did you do that? Brett, what the hell is the matter with you? This is none of our business! This is Maggie and Liam’s marriage! I am so disappointed in you right!” Sheila seethed.

Brett looked at his wife and saw the tears in her eyes. “He hurt her!”

“And have you heard what she has had to say about it? What her feelings are?”

“Well, no, but—”

“She will be so pissed at you for interfering when she wakes up! ~I~ am so pissed at you now!

“After everything that happened last year, she made it quite clear that she is a grown woman who can take care of herself! She doesn’t want or need you or anyone else cleaning up after her.

“She is a strong woman, and smart too, and will kick both of your asses for being stupid!”

“I’m sorry, honey…”

“Don’t say a word to me! You know what you need to do! I’m going to kiss my best friend, and then I am going to go to work. If you know what’s good for you, you will fix this!”

Sheila went up to Maggie, whispered something in her ear, kissed her cheek, and went to the door. She turned to her husband and growled, “Fix this, Brett! Or I will call your mother!”

Brett sucked in a sharp breath and nodded to her. She left with a smile to Liam and a glare at her husband. Brett looked at his friend and went out the door after his wife.

Liam was alone with Maggie and sat holding her hand, talking to her. He cried as he told her how sorry he was and what he was going to do to make it up to her.

He would spend the rest of his life, if he needed, doing whatever she asked to have her forgiven.

He laid his head on her pillow and closed his eyes, letting the exhaustion he was fighting overtake him

***

Elizabeth and Joan found him like that when they came in about one in the afternoon. They had some clothes for him as well as a toothbrush, shampoo, and an electric razor.

They both smiled sadly as they saw the sight before them. Elizabeth’s heart lurched when she saw her daughter-in-law lying in the bed, covered in bruises and bandages.

“It’s quite a sight, isn’t it? To see her like that when she’s usually so full of life,” Joan whispered to her best friend.

Elizabeth could only nod her head, afraid that her voice would betray her feelings and give away how scared she was. Joan squeezed her hand, and they went over to the sleeping man.

Joan touched his shoulder as Beth quietly called his name. Liam slowly opened his eyes and smiled at who he saw.

He got up and hugged them both fiercely. “Thank you for coming up. How is Patrick?”

“When we left, he was giving Niall and your father a run for their money trying to get him down for a nap. When we get back, I expect all three to be sleeping. How is she?”

Liam filled them in on the doctor’s checkup and said that the baby was still holding on with a good heartbeat.

“So, she could wake up anytime?” Joan asked hopefully.

“Yes, that’s what they are saying.”

“Here are some things to get cleaned up, I don’t want you to stink when she does see you!”

He kissed both of their cheeks and went to take a quick shower and clean up.

When he came out, the ladies were talking to Maggie, filling her in on Patrick’s night and morning. He pulled up another chair and sat with them, pouring his heart out to them about his mistake.

“Liam, I know Maggie, and she will forgive you. Yes, she will be hurt. She told me about her last boyfriend, but what you two have is special and she knows that.”

“How do I get her to see that I would do anything for her?”

“You are a smart and capable man. Use every resource you have,” Joan said confidently.

Liam nodded, thanking them for their support. Nick texted that Amanda was all set to help with the team and to be there for the girls.

With that covered, he sat back and waited with his mom and godmother. They left shortly before four, promising to be back the next day. He hugged them again and waved as they left.

Sitting on the edge of the bed again, Liam smoothed Maggie’s hair back, carefully pulling another shard of glass from her hair.

He leaned down and gently kissed her again as a nurse came in and checked vitals, encouraged by Maggie’s level of response to stimuli.

“Getting much closer, Mr. Olsen, shouldn’t be long now.”

He thanked her and sat down to eat the food that his mother had ordered for him.

He sat holding her hand after eating, humming the tune that they first danced to at the county fair when he first told her he loved her.

Suddenly, he felt her fingers move in his hand, and his heart almost stopped.

“Maggie, darling, can you hear me? I love you, Maggie, come back to me…come on, darling, Patrick loves you and needs you…”

He pushed the button for the nurse as he kept repeating himself to her.

The nurse came in and saw what he was doing and started checking vitals. They could see her heart rate speed up as she came to.

Maggie heard some voices around her, but everything sounded like she was underwater.

Nothing sounded right and her body felt too heavy to move. The darkness around her at first was starting to lighten and was turning into varying shades of gray until finally, it was white.

The voices were getting clearer, and she could hear Liam’s voice urging her to open her eyes. There was a pleading in his voice that she had never heard before. It puzzled her as to why he would be so insistent on her opening her eyes. He was being very rude about the whole thing!

Maggie was going to tell him that and tried opening her eyes, which turned out to be an exhausting process. She groaned at the energy it took to do that simple little task.