Page 36 of Baby for the Professor
I pulled out my phone to dial 911 but got a different idea when I saw Jackson's name on the call record.
Chapter 21
Jackson
I was about to turn in when my phone rang. When I saw Sabrina's number, I didn't hesitate to answer it.
"Hi Jackson, I'm sorry to call you so late." Her voice trembled as she spoke.
"Not a problem. Is everything okay?"
"No. Aiden is sick and my car won't start. My parents went on a trip."
"I'll be right there." I hung up, got my keys and dashed out of my house.
I had been miserable the whole day. I didn't even play tennis today, but stayed home all day to grade exams. I had missed them and wanted to call Sabrina, but I was afraid she would be mad. I didn't want to rush her and make things worse.
Sabrina was holding Aiden in front of her house when I got there, a car seat lay on the ground next to them. I went out and opened the car doors for them.
"Thank you so much for coming," Sabrina said, smiling despite her worried face.
"Anytime," I said.
Aiden looked tired and was leaning against Sabrina. "Hi, Daddy."
"Hi sweetie, are you okay?" I took him into my arms and kissed him while Sabrina took the car seat to the car.
"No, my tummy hurts."
"Don't worry. We'll see a doctor soon," I helped him into the car seat, and Sabrina buckled him up.
"Thank you so much, Jackson. I'll sit in the back with him," she said to me. "I need to feed him some water, so he doesn't get dehydrated."
"Okay," I said. "Did you give him any meds, like Pepto-Bismol?"
"I did. I gave him some Mylicon. It didn’t help. And I didn’t want to try anything else without the doctors’ instructions."
"Right." I squeezed her hand before she got into the car. “Don’t worry. He’ll be fine.”
She smiled gratefully and I curbed my urge to kiss her.
Not wasting another second, I went to the driver’s seat. Following Sabrina's direction, I drove toward the nearest hospital.
Fifteen minutes later, we were inside East LA Medical Center. While Sabrina filled out the paperwork with the nurse at the registration counter, I stayed with Aiden inside the cubicle.
"Daddy, I'm scared," Aiden said. He looked so pale and worried that it was almost impossible for me to force a smile.
"No need to be scared, sweetheart. You'll be fine." I held his little hand and squeezed it gently.
"Where's Mommy?"
"Mommy's talking to the nurse. She'll be here soon."
Sabrina looked distraught when she returned. "We'll wait for the doctor," she said as she went to the other side of the exam table.
I wanted to go to her and hold her. It pained me to see the worry on her face. I had known the child meant everything to her, but not until this moment had I truly felt her love for Aiden. I couldn't imagine what she had gone through over the past five years without my help. Although she had her parents, she must have still felt alone.
She probably wouldn't have called me if she hadn't had a problem with her car... I had to speak to her again. I had to be part of their lives.
