A neonatal team carried her to a warmer while Dr.
Kline turned back to Rachel.
Rachel was losing too much blood.
Her blood pressure remained unstable.
For another forty minutes, the babies were no longer the only patients everyone feared losing.
Thomas knew none of those details yet.
He only knew the doors remained closed.
When Dr.
Kline finally emerged, her surgical cap was still on and exhaustion showed around her eyes.
Thomas stood so quickly the black folder slid from his lap.
“Rachel?”
“Stable.”
He released a breath.
“And the babies?”
“Both alive.
Both premature.
The little girl needed respiratory support, and they’re going directly to the NICU, but they are alive.”
Thomas pressed one hand against his mouth.
Dr.
Kline watched him for a moment.
“You’re her father-in-law?”
“Yes.”
“Then when she wakes up, make sure the first thing she hears isn’t about money.”
Thomas looked at the folder on the floor.
“You’re right.”
Rachel woke several hours later with a dry throat, an aching body and one terrible question already forming before she fully opened her eyes.
“My babies?”
Thomas was in the chair beside the bed.
He leaned forward.
“Both alive.”
Rachel began crying before he finished the sentence.
“The boy is breathing mostly on his own.
Your daughter needs more help, but the doctors say she’s responding.”
Rachel covered her face.
For a full minute, the money, Bradley, Britney, the house and the humiliation disappeared.
There were only two babies upstairs who had survived the night.
When she could speak again, she whispered, “Did Bradley call?”
Thomas hesitated.
“Yes.”
“Is he coming?”
“I don’t know.”
That answer told her enough.
Rachel turned her face toward the window.
After a long silence, Thomas said, “I owe you an apology.”
She looked at him.
“Bradley told me you blamed me for everything,” Rachel said.
“He said you thought I married into the family for money.”
Thomas’s expression tightened.
“He told me you believed I was controlling and wanted me out of your marriage.
Every time I asked whether I could visit, he said you needed distance.”
Rachel stared at him.
“He told me you refused to come when we found out about the twins.”
“I sent a letter.”
“I never saw one.”
Thomas looked away.
“I should have called you directly.
