My Forever (Canary Series) (12 page)

"You, silly.
Did you not just hear what you said?" He looked at her confused. "You said you didn't know if you could still be with someone knowing that they love someone else. Yet, you never dated or saw that there was someone wanting to be with you because you were so blinded by your love for Liv."

             
Garrett laughed and went to Christine and wrapped his arms around her, "Then I got smart, opened my eyes and finally saw the truth."

She turned around and saw him smiling. She put her arms around his neck and smiled, "Better late than never." She kissed him quickly and pushed him away. "Now you need to leave so I can pack, you are just way to distracting."

He laughed and kissed her quickly again. "Fine, I will go check on Nate. See you downstairs in ten minutes." She nodded and he left her to pack. She went over to her dresser and switched her playlist to ‘Finally in Love’ and hit shuffle. Christine continued to dance while she packed Olivia's suitcase.

* * *

              Olivia was lying on the table, prepped for her port to be put in. The nurse was a bit worried that there might be a complication since she was still weak but the doctors all said that she would be fine. The nurse had no reason to doubt the doctors but her gut said something entirely different.

As the surgery started things were going smoothly. The nurse figured that her gut feeling had to be wrong. This was a simple procedure that the doctors had done plenty of times. Just as she relaxed the alarms started going off and the next thing she knew they were all yelling for blood.

"What's going on?" the nurse asked franticly.

"We must have punctured her vein," the doctor responded.

"Doctor, her oxygen levels are falling quickly and we can't get the bleeding to stop," the nurse in charge in the operating room said.

Everyone was rushing around as Olivia was getting worse. "We need to put a chest tube in. Her lung has collapsed, we won't lose her," the doctor said
, directing everyone on what to do and calling out for items that he needed.

"You'll be OK, stay strong and fight. Fight for you, fight for Nathaniel," the nurse whispered in Olivia's ear as she rubbed her forehead. She felt lost as to what she could
do to help so she just stayed where she was and continued to comfort Olivia.

They worked on her for a good
fifteen minutes before they were able to get her stable. Once she was stable everyone took a deep breath to calm themselves down and collect their thoughts before they finished up the procedure.

Another
thirty minutes had passed and they finally finished putting the port in and got her ready to return to her room. The doctor was getting cleaned up when the nurse came in and just stared at him with tears in her eyes. "What happened in there?" she yelled.

"I honestly have no idea. I've never had anything like that happen to me," the doctor said as he leaned back against the sink.

              "Could it be the fact that she was already weak to begin with?"

"Possibly, but I wouldn't have done the surgery if I didn't think that she could handle it. She may have been weak, but she was plenty strong enough to pull through easy."

"Well, obviously you were wrong. Now it's all on you to tell the headmaster and her friends what happened."

"Will you be there when I do?" he
asked, worried about how her friends were going to react when they heard about what had happened.

"Of course I will be there; I will be there for them. Just a warning though, Nathaniel is the one you are going to have to worry about. He loves that girl more than life itself and will protect her at all cost. Don't be surprised if you get kicked off her case. So just be prepared for that," she said
, with her arms crossed over her chest.

The doctor nodded and went back to cleaning up. She shook her head and wiped her eyes before she left the room and headed to check on Olivia. Once she got to the nurses
’ station she saw the headmaster standing outside of her room. The nurse looked over her chart before she approached him.

"Good afternoon Headmaster
Peterson," she said quiet enough for only him to hear.

"Good afternoon nurse. How is Olivia
doing?" he asked not taking his eyes off of her.

"She is
doing alright. She's a fighter that’s for sure. I have faith that she will pull through and beat this."

He finally turned to look at her and she could tell that he had been crying, "What happened?"
he asked. Confused about what went down in the operating room.

The nurse shook her head, "I honestly don't know and I wish I did. She was doing great and then, all of a sudden, things went downhill. But they worked fast and got everything under control."

"They better have, if any more complications happen I will have to get someone to look into it. It's unacceptable, we are supposed to have the best care and if things like this happen then it's not really the best care, is it?"

"I agree sir
and I promise you that there won't be any more complications."

"Good. Now have Mr. Bowen and Mr.
Hayes been notified yet?" He asked as he turned to look back at Olivia.

"No sir, I figured that I would give her a little bit more time before we called and let them know that she was out."

"Very well, I'm going to go talk to the doctor. Let me know when they get here. I want to be here when they get the update on her."

"Yes sir," the nurse said. She watched as he turned around and walked away. She took a deep breath and went into the room to make sure that Olivia was doing OK. She bent down to whisper into her ear, "I'm so proud of you. Just keep fighting." She didn't know why but Olivia pulled at her heartstrings and she felt some connection with her and wanted to protect her and take care of her. Even though she didn’t know her she felt like an older sister.

After making sure that Olivia was OK she left her room and returned to the nurse’s station, "How is she doing?" the head nurse asked.

"As good as to be expected, we just need to keep a close eye on her."

"Well, don't worry, we will for sure be keeping a close eye on her plus Nathaniel will be back so I know she will be well cared for."

The nurse laughed, "Yeah, he loves that girl."

"That's for sure. How about you go get some rest in the lounge; I will page you when they have their meeting."

"Thanks," the nurse collected her cup and walked to the nurse’s lounge where she sat on the couch and started to cry. She had been holding the tears in for a while and it felt good for her to just let them flow. She cried so much she fell asleep.

"What do you mean there was a complication?" Nate asked
, looking back and forth between the doctor, the nurse and Headmaster Peterson.

The nurse moved to sit beside him on the couch in the doctor’s office, "Her body was weaker th
an we thought. The risk of a complication was low so we were all shocked when it happened. Good thing was that we were prepared, we stabilized her quickly and were able to finish the procedure."

"I knew it
! I told you guys that she was too weak. But what do I know? I'm just some kid who doesn't know anything. You guys are the ones that went to school and got all this medical training. She could have died."

"But she didn't die and we were able to continue and get the port in."

"I don't care, once there was a complication you should have just stabilized her and then take her back to her room where should could have rested. You guys should have waited until she was stronger to do it. Now she is going to be weaker than she was before. What if she doesn't wake up ever again?"

"She will wake up," the doctor said.

Nate looked up at him with pain in his eyes. Through teeth gritted in anger he said, "I don't want you anywhere near her ever again. I want you off her case now."

"Nate, calm down," Christine said.

"No, I will not calm down Christine. What if this was Garrett we were talking about? You wouldn’t be calm, so don't you dare tell me to calm down," Nate spit out.

"You're right I wouldn't, but you're a much stronger person th
an I am," she said through tears.

Nate laughed, "You honestly don't get it do you? I love Olivia with my whole being. She is my world; I lost her once before
, I won't lose her again. You saw how I was when I lost her. Do you honestly want me to go back to that? Because if I lose her again; let’s just say, if I lose her again it's going to be worse than before. You can ask anyone who was around; I wasn’t the best guy to be around. I'm going to marry her one day."

Garrett walked over to where Nate was sitting and crouched down to look at him, "How about we go for a walk
?" Nate looked at him wanting to argue but knew he wouldn't win and just nodded in defeat. "Good, we will go see Olivia in a little bit. I promise."

Garrett stood up and took a few steps back to allow Nate room to stand. They got to the door when Nate turned around and looked at the doctor, "I meant what I said. I want you off her case and to stay away from her. I don't care what any of you guys say. I
will pay for someone else to come here and treat her." Before anyone could say anything he left and Garrett followed him.

No one talked for a few moments as they let what just happened sink it.

"I have the information for her doctor that she saw last time if you guys want it; which I would highly recommend you take. Nate doesn't joke around when it comes to Olivia. He wants nothing but the best for her. Doc, I would respect his wishes or else you will have a hard time finding work in the future," Christine said.

"Headmaster?"
The doctor said.

"You heard what Mr. Bowen said. You are to excuse yourself from Ms. McGuire’s case. Ms. McCormack please
give us the information for Ms. McGuire’s doctor. I will have the nurse call him and arrange for him to arrive." Headmaster Peterson said.

"You have got to be kidding me. You're going to let some kid tell us what to do?"

"Doctor, I would watch your tone. He was right, once things got complicated you should have just stabilized her and taken her back to her room so she could rest and get stronger. So, yes I will let him decide what to do about her care," he said as he stood up and headed towards the door.

The nurse and Christine followed him out and the nurse closed the door. "Headmaster, I really am sorry about what happened. I will make sure I keep a close eye on Olivia."

Headmaster Peterson nodded, "I know you will, but don't blame yourself. It wasn't your fault. He should have known better than to continue. All that matters now is that she gets the treatment she needs and gets better." He turned to look at Christine, "why don't you go in and see her and then you can go get the boys. I have a feeling that Mr. Bowen needs some time to calm down."

Christine nodded, "Thank you headmaster." She reached in her purse and
pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to him, "Here is the information for Olivia’s doctor." He nodded and she turned and walked away.

"I guess I will give this doctor a call and have him come in," he turned to walk away and turned back to look at the nurse. "One last thing, please make sure that there is a cot for Mr. Bowen to sleep on in Ms. McGuire’s room. I have a feeling that he will be staying by her side as much as he can." He then turned and walked away. The nurse rubbed her eyes and headed towards the closet where the cots, extra blankets, and pillows are.

Once she got the items from the closet she headed towards Olivia’s room and she heard Christine talking to her. She just stayed outside of the door and listened in.

"Liv, I know you're in there. You have to fight and get through this. Nate is worried sick about you, we all are. You have to just wake up and get better. Not just for you but for
Nate. He lost you once and barely survived, I know if he lost you again he wouldn't get through it. He loves you Liv, he loves you so much and I know that you love him. We all see it, so please fight hard. We are all here for you; you aren't going through this alone. I will make sure that Garrett is OK and we will both keep an eye on Nate for you. Just come back, please." Christine started to cry and jumped when the door opened.

"I'm sorry; I was just bringing these in for Nate. Are you OK?" The nurse asked concerned.

"Do you think she will wake up?" Christine asked never letting go of Olivia’s hand.

The nurse set the cot up and made it up then went and stood on the other side of Olivia’s bed, "yeah, I do. She is a fighter and she has people in her life who love and care about her."

"Do you think she hears us when we talk to her?"

"Yeah, and that will help her. Just keep talking to her, holding her hand, and let her know that she isn't alone. I believe when patients know that it helps them fight harder. She is lucky to have such amazing friends like you guys. And Nate, well, Nate is in a category of his own when it comes to her."

Christine laughed, "Yeah, you can say that again. I have never seen him like this with anyone before. And when Ian was alive he had an internal battle because Ian was his best friend and she was his best friend’s girl. But even then you could tell that something was going on between the two. The fought it to, boy did they fight it. But love conquers all in the end. I always knew that they would find their way to each other sometime."

"Do you think he meant it when he said he is going to marry her?"

"Yeah, he has been saying that since he first laid eyes on her. And if I only know one thing about Nate is that he always gets what he wants. If he could he would switch places with her and have him be the one sick."

The nurse looked at Olivia and ran her fingers through her hair, "Well I'm praying that she gets through this. And I will be here to help take care of her every day. She is my main patient."

"Thank you," Christine said. She looked at her watch and smiled, "I guess I better go find the boys and bring Nate here."

The nurse nodded, "I will make sure she is cleaned up and that everything is ready for him."

Christine just nodded and stood up. She kissed Olivia’s forehead, "I will be right back. I'm going to go get your man."

She walked out of the room leaving the nurse alone with her, "Don't worry Olivia, you will get better." She started cleaning her up and got the room ready for Nate.

***

Nate and Garrett walked out into the courtyard and sat down on a bench and just
stared at the fountain in silence. Nate was restless; he kept clinching and unclenching his fist while he bounced his right leg. Garrett wanted to say something but wasn't sure what to say. After they sat there for a few moments Nate shot up and walked over to a tree, picked up rocks, and started throwing them. Garrett buried his face in his hands and worked on controlling his breathing.

"I swear if Canary doesn't get better
I’m going to lose it. I told them they shouldn't perform the procedure on her that she was to weak but they didn't listen. And now she is lying in bed fighting even harder for her life. She just needed a little more time to get stronger, that way she would have pulled through without any problems. But know I’m just a love struck kid who knows absolutely nothing about the human body. This much I know, when its weak and beaten down and you try something like that it’s going to break down even more." Nate chunked a rock to the fountain and just grunted out in anger.

Garrett got up and walked over to Nate and placed his hands on Nate’s shoulders and looked him in his eyes, "She's strong Nate, but I would recommend getting all of this out now before we go back in there. She may be out of it but she can still hear us and sense us, if you go in there all tense with anger she is going to feel that and it won't be good. She will be too worried about you to fight for
herself and get better. We need to go in there thinking positive and just let her know that we love her and are here for her. You hear me?" He said sternly.

"Yeah, I hear you. It just hurts dude, she is the only one for me. It's always been her. I just regret not telling her sooner."

Garrett took a step back and looked at him, "What are you talking about?"

Nate took a deep breath, "I feel like I didn't try hard enough to look for her that first night I saw her. And when I did see her at other events I was a coward and didn't go talk to her. Instead I watched her, studied her,
and protected her."

"You can't think like that now. You're with her now, that’s all that matters. Weren't you the one that said timing is everything and that everything happens for a reason? Maybe deep down inside at that time you knew that it wasn't the right time to approach her. You had to let fate take its course."

"Yeah, well if this is where fate meant to lead us then I don't want to trust fate anymore."

"Come on Nate, Liv wouldn't want to hear you talking like this. Listen to me; it's because of you that she came back to us. It's because of you that she is happy. It's because of you that she has been working on her music again. You brought her back to life, no one else
did, it was all you. I know that it’s soon in this relationship of yours but you have to be strong for her. It's times like these that will show her how much you care about her and love her. You have to be there for her she isn't going to want anyone else but you." Garrett looked around and closed his eyes and took a deep breath then ran his hands through his hair. "I have something to tell you that I think you should know."

Nate leaned against the tree and just looked at Garrett, "OK, what is it?" He asked wary of what he was about to hear. So many things ran through his head that he was scared of what it might be.

"Last time Olivia was sick like this, she kept on asking for you."

"What?"

Garrett nodded, "Yeah, she kept on saying that she wanted you there and was asking where you were."

"Why didn't anyone try to contact me? I would have come."

"We didn't know how. Dude it was me and my parents taking care of her. Her own parents didn't care. Plus, how was I supposed to know that you would have come. I didn't know you that well and I sure didn't trust you. She was way too fragile."

Nate pushed off the tree, "Next time she asks for me you better
find a way to contact me if I’m not around, and no excuses you have my number now. I'm serious about that, and during the summer she will be coming with me. I’m not leaving her side ever again." He started walking towards the Medical Building because he couldn't stand being away from Olivia one second longer.

Garrett just stood there and watched him leave
. He figured that he should be alone with her now anyways.

"Hey, why aren't you going with Bowen?" Christine asked.

"Because he needs to be alone with her right now, she needs him more than anything anyways."

"How are you doing H
un?"

"Hanging in there, I just really hope that she wakes up and fights like hell. She doesn't deserve this at all. She has been through so much as it is. Why can't she have time to be able to be happy and enjoy life?"

Christine walks over and takes him into her arms, "She will, don't worry. She is going to get strong and beat this and we will all be here and help her through this. She isn't alone, just remember that. She is surrounded by people who love her and will do anything to make sure that she gets better. Especially Bowen, he will hurt anyone who tries to bring her down. Man I can't believe that he went off on that doctor. It was pretty awesome though."

Garrett laughed, "Yeah, well the doctor deserved it.
I’m just grateful that we aren't going through this alone again. My parents love her, but this is different. This is our own little family the four of us. We got this, she has this."