Page 28 of Ours

Watching the door open, Lexi plastered a faux grin on her face as a friendly looking brunette entered her room. Judging by her pink scrubs, she guessed the young woman was a nurse, although not the nurse she remembered when she wasfirst admitted. She prayed that she hadn’t overheard her crude conversation with Kade.

“Hi, there! I hope you’ve had a good nap? My name’s Emma and I’ll be your nurse. There was a shift change while you were sleeping,” she said, walking towards the hospital bed carrying a large cup. “How are you feeling?”

Nodding her head, Lexi glanced from Emma to Kade, and back again. “I... I’m feeling much better now. Thank you.”

“Oh, good! I’m glad to hear that. Your husband was so worried about you,” Emma said, motioning to Kade with her free hand. “You've got a good one.”

Smiling at his love, Kade felt his ego skyrocket from the nurse’s compliment. Knowing that a complete stranger could see just how perfect he was for her warmed his black heart.

“Actually.I’mthe lucky one,” he said, laying it on thick.

Grinning warmly at the pair, Emma chose to ignore the slight tension she felt radiating from her patient. It was normal to feel on edge after experiencing something like she had. Although it was none of her business, she had no doubt that the two deeply loved one another.

“Aww, that’s so sweet!” Emma said enthusiastically. “Your baby is blessed to have parents that love one another so much.”

Letting out a nervous chuckle, Lexi gave the nurse a shaky smile.Oh yeah,she thought to herself. Their son was incredibly blessed to have a pair of loving, psychotic murderers as parents.

Mimicking her laugh, Emma brushed past Kade. Careful not to spill the contents of the cup she was carrying, she gently placed it on the bedside table. “Ok, so I’m going to take your vitals,then I’m going to check to see how the baby is doing...and then, if everything looks good, I’ll take that darn IV out of your hand and wheel you down to Ultrasound. How does that sound?” she asked.

“Perfect,” Kade responded.

Almost in unison, both women turned to look at him. Amusement danced over Emma’s face, while Lexi didn’t seem too thrilled by his interruption. If looks could kill, he knew for certain that he would be dead ten times over.

Clearing her throat in warning, Lexi moved her gaze from him to the nurse. She couldn’t believe his attitude. They would be having lengthy discussions about multiple things when they got back to the farm.

“Sounds good. I’m looking forward to getting this damn thing out,” she said, motioning to the needle in her hand. “Just curious, what’s in the cup? Do you need me to drink that?”

“Oh, I always like to bring in a big cup of juice to the moms before they go in for their ultrasound. Usually the sugar will wake the baby up! I brought you my favorite, apple juice. I hope that’s ok?” she asked, running a temporal thermometer across Lexi’s forehead.

“That sounds delicious, actually,” Lexi replied, her mouth watering at the thought. “It feels like I haven’t had anything to drink in ages. I can’t even remember what the last thing I had to drink was.”

“It definitely wasn’t juice,” Kade muttered bitterly under his breath.

Blinking at him, Lexi tried to remain still so the curse could take her remaining vitals as quickly as possible.What the hell was he talking about?What had Nikki done while she was locked away?

Oblivious to his comment, the nurse smiled sweetly at Lexi as she took her blood pressure. “Well, I’m almost done so you’ll be able to chug it down, soon. I promise you, it’ll be the best apple juice you’ve ever had!”

“Good, I’m so thirsty. So... does, uh...does everything look ok?” she asked, watching the nurse walk over to her computer monitor.

Stepping behind her keyboard, Emma gave a quick nod of her head. Considering how dehydrated she was when she was admitted, she was surprised at how well her body had bounced back in such a short length of time.

“You’re as healthy as can b—”

“Thank fucking God!” Kade interrupted, grabbing Lexi’s hand and giving it a tight squeeze. “But what about our boy?! Is he just as healthy?” he asked, his deep voice edged in panic.

Glancing at him from the corners of her eyes, Lexi’s anxiety spiked. She had never heard him sound so scared. That coupled with his whispered comment set off alarms in her head. Just what the fuck did her alter do?

Typing away, Emma hummed at his question. “Well, I’m almost done entering in her vitals. I’ll check on the baby in just a second, but none of the monitors have alarmed me so that’s a good sign. So, you’re having a boy, huh? Have you guys settled on a name?” she asked, locking up her computer.

Turning his head, Kade met Lexi’s. He was caught off guard by the question, they hadn’t had any time to discuss a name. He prayed she wouldn’t say‘Junior.’Nikki had ruined that nickname for him for all of eternity.

Shaking her head, Lexi looked at the nurse as she checked the fetal monitor. For a brief moment, she was pulled to the night of her second kidnapping. While she and Leo were having dinner, he told her he wanted to name her son‘Ace.’The memory was a dagger to her heart.

“We...uh, we haven’t discussed names, yet,” she replied, her voice cracking slightly.

Reviewing the monitor’s stats, Emma nonchalantly shrugged her shoulders. It wasn’t that unusual for parents to be overwhelmed with the naming process. Especially with their first child.

“Well, you guys still have around fourteen weeks to decide on one, try not to stress over it,” she said.

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