Monday, February 25, 2013

Chapter Six

“Sarah Sambora?”

They both looked up to where the sound came from, noticing a nurse waiting for them at the doors that led to the Emergency Room.

Richie stood up first, then helped Sarah and walked with her over to the nurse who immediately led them through to a cubicle where Sarah could sit down on a bed.

Sarah got comfortable on the bed, with some help from Richie she could lean back against the upright back of the bed and hold her arm across her body, if she held it like that and didn’t move it too much, it hurt the least. Richie stayed on her right side to hold her hand.

Once settled, the nurse started asking them question about what had happened and started taking Sarah’s vitals as soon as they answered all the questions.

She took Sarah’s blood pressure and wanted to start with the IV.

“Which arm?” The nurse asked.

Sarah looked up at Richie, her left hurt too much to have an IV but if she offered her right hand, she’s had to let go of Richie’s.

“I’m still here.” He tried to encourage as he let go of Sarah’s hand. Instead he sat down on the bed at Sarah’s waist, so they could still have eye contact and he could support her that way.

“Did you hurt your left while you passed out?” The nurse asked since they hadn’t mentioned it while she had been asking her questions.
“I think so.” Sarah said.
“She got a cut too.” Richie added.
“Why didn’t you say that earlier? I’ll do the IV and blood work first and check the cut afterwards.”

Richie had completely forgotten to tell the nurse about Sarah’s wrist, he was much more worried about her not being able to keep food down which probably lead to her fainting in the bathroom earlier.

The nurse got her tray ready and wheeled a chair closer to Sarah’s bed. She gently picked up Sarah’s wrist, looking up at her.

“Are you scared of needles?”
Sarah smiled. “Not really.”

Richie felt a little relieved, then she wouldn’t miss holding his hand for support too much.

In only a few minutes the nurse had filled 3 tubes of blood almost painlessly and placed Sarah’s IV at the same time.

“All done, now let’s take a look at your wrist.” The nurse said as she got up, and went to refill her tray.

Richie moved back to stand next to Sarah and carefully held her hand. “All good?” He asked.
Sarah smiled again. “Yeah, it didn’t hurt.”
“Lucky you, mine always hurt.”
Sarah chuckled. “Aw honey, I’ll be there next time.”

The nurse wheeled her chair to the other side of Sarah’s bed and sat down with her tray again.

“Do you remember if it was bleeding badly?” She asked.
Sarah looked up at Richie, still not remembering anything that had happened.
“Not really, just a bit.”

The nurse reached for Sarah’s wrist but as soon as her fingers touched it, it hurt too much for Sarah.

“We can wait for the doctor to look at it.” She decided instead. “It could be broken.”

The nurse finished up and promised to be back with the blood results in a little while. She left the cubicle and left the white curtain partly open.

Richie sat down next to Sarah on the bed, still carefully holding her hand.

“Are you feeling any better?” He asked hopeful.
“Yeah, I think so.” She didn’t feel as dizzy any more than when she woke up on the bathroom floor.

According to Richie she looked better too, not as pale anymore, her face was gaining color again and she didn’t look as shaky anymore. She started to look healthier again.

He reached for his phone and started typing another text to Noah, he had promised to keep him updated and especially after tonight, he had to pull through on his promise.

8.49pm Bloodwork done, waiting for results

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Chapter Five

Richie stayed kneeled down next to Sarah, he stroked her hair out of her face and waited for a reaction as he begged her to wake up and open her eyes.

Noah had put his books down and sat down on the tiled floor opposite of Richie, also hoping for Sarah to wake up again.

Quietly Richie kept encouraging her to open her eyes. He already had his mind made up now, as soon as she woke up they’d leave for the hospital.

To their relief Sarah finally reacted and opened her eyes, blinking a few times before focusing on Richie.

“What happened?” She asked confused.
“You fainted honey, how do you feel?” He asked gently.
“My wrist hurts.” She said, still confused.
Richie looked down at her wrist, it looked fine. “You probably sprained it again. Does your head hurt?”
“A little.”
“Okay.” Richie concluded, at least that gave him an idea of how she was doing. “Want to try and sit up?”
“Slowly.” Sarah agreed and tried to put her hands down to push herself into a sitting position but it hurt her wrist too much to do so.
“Careful.” Richie said urgently. “Let Noah and me help.” He said.

Along with her youngest son and husband’s help, Sarah finally managed to sit up. Richie made her sit so she was resting against his chest.

“How’s that?” Richie asked.
“Alright.”
“We’ll see in a minute if you can get up to go to the hospital.” Richie told her.
Sarah nodded, a year ago going to the hospital would have scared her and even though the ER wasn’t one of the places she regularly visited, it didn’t scare her anymore to go somewhere, especially if she had her husband with her.

Finally Sarah turned to Noah, remembering what had happened earlier.

“Noah, honey, are you okay?” She asked a worryingly.
Noah looked up at Richie, making eye contact for a brief second, then he nodded. “Yeah, all’s fine.”
A feeling of forgiveness made Richie smile.
“Are you sure?” Sarah asked.
“Yeah, we talked.”
Sarah nodded, understanding they had figured it out by themselves. “Okay.”

A few minutes later Noah and Richie helped Sarah to her feet and carefully walk to the car. Once Sarah was in the car, ready to go, Noah got nervous about what was going to happen. It couldn’t be that bad, his mom would be fine.

A little unsure, he stood by the car and watched Richie close Sarah’s door.

“I’ll just go inside.” Noah sighed, knowing he probably couldn’t go.

Richie looked at him, he didn’t want to leave Noah alone, he understood he wanted to make sure his mom was okay but what if Ava and Caleb came home to an empty house?

“I’ll phone you as soon as we know anything, okay?”
Noah nodded. “Okay.” He was still worried but he understood he couldn’t go, hospitals were busy enough, he’d just be in the way.

Richie continued looking at him, then pulled him in for a quick hug. “She’ll be fine.” He said as positive as he could, padded Noah’s shoulder and got in the car next to Sarah to drive her to the hospital where she worked.

The drive wasn’t very long, the roads were calm and they easily made it there within twenty minutes.


Once he parked, Richie got out of the car, and walked around to car to open Sarah’s door. He held his hand out to help Sarah out of the car more easily.

Richie held his arm around her waist and walked her into the emergency room.

Sarah was still feeling dizzy and was glad Richie was supporting her to walk.

Once the automatic doors opened for them and lead them into a long corridor, Richie looked for which way they had to go, while looking left and right he noticed a few wheelchairs in a row.

“Wanna sit?” He asked.
Sarah looked over at what he was looking at. “No, I’m not that bad.” She said and held on to him a little tighter.

They turned left and followed the way to a large room full of chairs, Richie helped Sarah to sit down in the nearest chair

“You just stay here and I’ll get you registered.”
Sarah nodded and looked through her purse to give Richie the cards he’d needed to register her. “Be quick?” She asked as she handed her things to him.
“I’ll be back in a minute.” He promised and walked up to the desk.

"How can I help you?" The lady behind the window asked him.

“My wife's been sick with some stomach bug or something” he started out, trying not to sound too worried, “but she passed out and we’re kinda worried it could be something worse 'cause she's still weak and dizzy too."
"What do you mean with weak?" He noticed she was trying to sound comforting but it didn’t help much. "Tired and shaky, she's been being sick for 3 days now.” He answered quickly.
“Do you have her ID and insurance card?”
“Yeah.”

The receptionist used a card reader to read the cards, and put in Sarah’s information while Richie nervously waited.

“Someone will be with you in a moment.” She handed the cards back and Richie returned to Sarah.

He took the seat next to Sarah and watched her, she still looked pale and shaky. She was holding her hurt arm with her other hand, carefully Richie put his arm around her waist and let her lean on him.

With his own free hand he took his phone from his jeans pocket and ignored the no cell phones signs.

8.23pm At the hospital, waiting for a doctor now

Friday, February 15, 2013

Chapter Four

Sarah sat alone in the living room, thinking about what Richie had said, she did need to take the day off work, maybe Friday would be a better day to go work, hopefully she would be back to perfect health by then.

Her contract with the hospital only made her work part time, three days a week. Because she worked so little she felt guilty when she had to take a day off, especially this week with having Wednesday off already. She needed to take a sick day.


You’re not sick.

Sarah shook her head, she had been trying to ignore her subconscious for the last few days. She was sick, it couldn’t be anything else. There was no way she was getting pregnant, they needed fertility tests and go from there. After trying for six months, she had lost hope, there just was no way she could be pregnant, she had a flu.

You could be.

“Don’t get your hopes up.”

“What? Who are you talking to?” Richie had just walked into the room.
Sarah looked up at him, a little alarmed about what to tell him. “Nobody, just talking to myself.”
“Oh, what shouldn’t you get your hopes up for then?”
A quick lie that would convince him… “Being better tomorrow.”
“You should just take tomorrow off, I’ll stay home with you.”
“You don’t need to take the day off for me, you’re working on your album.”
Richie waved it off. “My wife’s more important.”

He sat down on the couch with Sarah and Sarah cuddled to his side, putting her head on his shoulder as he wrapped his arm around her.

He too had his doubts about Sarah's illness, she had the symptoms of flu but he wasn't sure wether to hope for her to be pregnant or not, after all, she had been pregnant before and should know and remember what it felt like. If she was having morning sickness, she'd tell him.

“Kids gone?” Sarah asked.
“Yeah, except Noah.”
“Why not? He said he really wanted to watch that movie.”
“He said he had a history test tomorrow he hadn’t studied for so I told him he had to study.” Richie explained, feeling guilty.
“Oh.” She said a little surprised at Richie telling one of her kids to study.

She felt a little tinge of protectivity towards Noah but felt too exhausted to say anything. Richie was their stepfather, in a way they should listen to him too.

“I shouldn’t have, wasn’t my place.” He regretted making Noah feel bad.
“No you’re right, he does need to study.” Sarah tried to make up. She agreed Noah needed to study instead of going to a movie but still wasn't sure if she liked Richie telling him instead of her telling Noah what he needed to do.

“I yelled at him.” Richie said regretfully after a few minutes of silence.
“Why would you yell at him?” Confused, Sarah looked up at him from his side.
“Noah yelled that I wasn’t his dad and I yelled back that I was the best dad he’s had.”
“Oh Richie… Why would you say that?”

Now there was simply too much thinking going on in her mind, first Richie telling off her child and now yelling at him? If her headache and ill feeling hadn't been rising at the same time she would have said something to Richie about it. Even though he, in fact, had been a better father than Jonathan.

“I know, I shouldn’t have done it.” He sighed.
“What did Noah do?”
“He just went upstairs.” Richie sighed again, not sure what to do.

“I need to go apologize.” Richie said after another few quiet minutes and an inner battle with himself to go apologize. He knew he was wrong even though he was probably right, he shouldn’t have said that.

Sarah let him get off the couch and watched him leave the room. Instead of staying seated, she moved to lay down where Richie had just sat.

Richie knocked on Noah’s door, not really expecting an answer and fully understanding if Noah wouldn’t want to talk to him. He waited a little while and knocked again.

“What?” Noah asked from inside his room.
“It’s me.” Richie said and opened the door. “Can we talk?”
“I guess.” Noah shrugged, he was sitting on his bed in the corner of the room, his arms wrapped around his knees.

Richie walked over to the other side of the room and sat down on the end of the bed, then noticed Noah had been crying.

As soon as Noah noticed Richie had noticed, he started wiping his face. He knew well enough he wasn’t like Caleb who probably would have just shaken it off or yelled back. “You’re just sensitive, like me.” His mom always told him and usually that made him feel better, being like his mom, but sitting in front of his stepdad with tears rising in his eyes again made him feel really small.

Richie took an unnoticeable deep breath. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that, you’re right I’m not your dad but you do need study.”
Noah just shrugged.
“I really am sorry Noah. I know I’m not your dad, just your stepdad and that isn’t the same but I still care for you.”
Noah nodded.
“Honestly.” Richie tried again.
Noah simply nodded again, unsure to say anything.

After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, Richie decided he could better leave, Noah didn’t want to talk to him and maybe he could try again later. Slowly he got up from the bed.

“You were right”
“What?” Richie turned around to face Noah.
“You’re right. You are a better dad, you don’t hit my mom.”
“Noah…” Richie said, lost for more words as he watched tears starting to well up in Noah’s eyes. Instead of leaving he sat down next to Noah. “I’m sorry.”

Noah looked down as if he didn’t want Richie to notice he was crying and started wiping his tears away.

“You know I love your mom.”
Noah nodded, he did know and he knew his mom had been much happier for the last ten months.
“I probably made you think of stuff from back then, didn’t I?” Richie asked carefully, knowing he probably had. Hoping, he wasn't all to blame to upset him so.
Noah nodded again.
“Wanna talk about it?”
“Dunno.” He shrugged.
Richie took a breath and decided to even though Noah didn’t know. “Well, what are you thinking about?”
Noah wiped his face again and looked up at Richie but before long the tears were back.

Richie felt terrible, knowing he had brought this on. He didn’t know Noah remembered anything from Sarah’s first marriage.

But then Noah took a hopeful breath and started telling Richie about a particular night he thought he remembered. He was only three when it happened but he was sure that was how it had gone.

Richie listened and couldn’t believe what he heard. He was sure Sarah didn’t even know Noah knew about what happened to her. She said the boys were alright and her ex-husband didn’t get home until they had gone to bed.

She hadn’t thought of the possibility of one of her sons waking up because of the noise he could hear.

The noise of something going on in the house had woke him up. After a few minutes of laying in his bed, holding his stuffed tiger very tightly, listening to the sounds scaring him more and more, three year old Noah finally got the courage to go look for his mommy to make it go away.

Little Noah had walked up to his door, reaching up with his free hand as he was carrying his tiger with him to try and open it, then peeked out into the hallway to find his mommy being punched by the boogieman. Tears started to well up in his eyes as he watched his mommy helplessly being beaten, unable to defend herself as she got pushed up against the wall. He didn’t want this to happen to his mommy but he was too scared of the boogieman to do anything, he was too small. Even his tiger couldn’t help him.

Crying Noah ran back to his bed, holding his tiger even tighter than before, hoping the boogieman would go away again. An even smaller Noah cried himself to sleep that night.


Richie didn’t know what else to do but reach over and hug Noah.

He didn’t let go of Noah for a while, when he did, Noah was staring at his book shelves. Richie turned around to look at what he was staring and noticed a tiger sitting on top of a shelf. Then he turned back to Noah.

“I’m sorry you had to see that when you were so little but your mom’s safe now. That’s just a memory now. A bad one.”
“I know.” Noah said, wiping his face for the final time.
“I’m sorry I made you think about that.”
“Sometimes I just remember things like that.” Noah said, not feeling resentful towards Richie anymore.
“Your dad’s gone, he can’t hurt anyone anymore. You’re safe too.” He hoped he sounded as reassuring as he tried to be.
“Yeah, I know.”
“Just not as easy to tell your memories that, is it?”
“It isn’t.” Noah agreed.
“Take you books and come sit in the living room with your mom and me, okay?” Richie asked before getting up and leaving Noah on his own.

He didn’t say any more and went downstairs to Sarah.

“Alright?” She asked when Richie walked in, she was still laying on the couch.
“Yeah, he’ll come down in a few minutes.” Richie said. “Are you okay?”
Sarah nodded. “Just got a bit dizzy.” She said as she already started sitting up again. “Need the bathroom.”
“Are you gonna be okay on your own?” He asked concerned when Sarah seemed a little unsteady.
“Yeah, I’m alright.” She said sure of herself and walked out of the room.

Richie watched her until she was in the bathroom, when he was sure Sarah was okay he sat down on the couch and started contemplating what he had talked about with Noah.

Not until the commercial on TV started and with that the sound got louder did he notice how long Sarah had been gone.

He got up and went to the kitchen to find her but all the lights were still off in the kitchen and nobody was there. She couldn’t still be in the bathroom, even if she had been sick again.

He decided to check upstairs, maybe she had simply gone to talk to Noah but when he got to the staircase he changed his mind and turned around to the bathroom.

There was still light coming from under the door so somebody had to be in there. He walked up to the door and knocked.

When no answer came, he knocked again.

“Sarah?” He asked when he still didn’t get an answer.

His mind started racing, Sarah still had to be in there, what if something happened? She would answer if she’d only been sick, something bad had happened.

He forced the lock open and pushed the door wide open.

Sarah was laying on the floor next to the counter where the sink was, a few steps away from the toilet.

“Oh shit.” He hurried to Sarah’s side and kneeled down, noticing a thin line of blood on the floor.

He started muttering to himself and Sarah, trying to talk to her, hoping it wouldn’t be so bad, he tried to locate where the blood came from.

Finally he picked up her arm and noticed a long thin cut on the underside, she must have cut herself while she fell.

Carefully, he put her arm back down and got up to get washcloths to wet. He wringed them out and carefully placed one on her forehead and the other under her arm. He kept trying to talk to Sarah, trying to get a reaction. She needed to wake up so he could bring her to the hospital.

“What happened?”

Richie looked up to find Noah in the doorway with his books. “I don’t know.”

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Chapter Three

Richie woke with a start. The TV was still on, the movie they had been watching was still playing, Sarah was still snuggled against him. Her cheek on his chest, even through his shirt he could feel her hot skin. Maybe she really was sick and had a fever. He still didn’t know if he should phone a doctor, it could just pass.

He turned his attention back to the movie they had been watching and stroked Sarah’s back absentmindedly, he knew it relaxed her.

Sarah woke up when the movie ended, the screen had turned black and credits started rolling. Carefully she moved off of Richie and sat up against her pillows.

“Sleep well?” Richie asked.
Sarah simply nodded. “It’s hot in here.”
“I think you got a fever.” He carefully placed his hand on her forehead, feeling the heat. “You do.”
“Hmmm.” Was all Sarah said as she pulled the sheets up to her chin.
“Think you should try eating again?” It was afternoon and Sarah had already skipped lunch.
“No.” Sarah answered immediately, not interested in food at all.
“You have to eat something.”
“Later.”

Before Richie could answer there was a knock on the door.

“Yeah?” He asked instead.

The door opened and Noah walked in.

“Everything alright?” Noah asked them.
Sarah turned around in bed, towards her son. “Of course, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong, just thought I’d come say hi and apologize for giving you flu.” He walked over to Sarah’s side of the bed and sat on the bit of space next to Sarah.
Sarah smiled back at him, there were so many ways she could have caught her flu, he didn't need to apologize for that.

After a few minutes Richie got up and left the room. He knew Sarah’s sons by now, Noah always told Sarah everything that was going on in his life, just to get it off his mind or to ask for advice and Richie decided he should let them talk in private.

He found his way to his office, a few doors down the hall and sat down in his chair, starting his computer. He went on to check and answer the new emails he had gotten during the last few days. Lately his mailbox always had something that needed to be answered.

“Dad?”
He could hear his daughter’s voice come from the ground floor and got up from his chair.
“Dad!”
Making his way a little faster, he opened the door to his office and walked over to the stairs.
“Dad! Oh.” She said when she noticed him.
“Stop yelling.”
“I didn’t know where you were.”
“No need to yell, Sarah could be sleeping. What’s up?”
“Just wanted to ask if we can go out tomorrow.”
“Who’s we?” Richie asked.
“Me, Caleb and Noah.”
“Tomorrow? Tomorrow is Sunday, you have school Monday.”
“Yeah I know but we really want to watch this movie and it’s sold out for tonight but if we go tomorrow… It finishes at 9 pm.” Ava explained.
“Straight home?”
“Yeah.” She answered hopeful.
“Homework done?”
“Yes.” Ava answered even more hopeful.
“Alright.” He said.
“Thanks daddy!”
“Stop yelling.”

A few hours later Richie stood in the kitchen, preparing dinner. So far Sarah still hadn’t eaten, to his disappointment. He was determined to make her some dinner and make sure she ate at least a little bit of it.

He set the table on his own and called the kids before going upstairs to tell Sarah dinner was ready.

Sarah followed him to the kitchen and sat down in her seat, noticing a cup of chicken soup and a few slices of toast already there. She didn’t want to but picked up her spoon anyway and took a small bite of soup.

Richie watched her closely, making sure she was eating and kept eating. She needed it.

Only two hours later they were back in their bedroom, Sarah was walking back over to the bed after brushing her teeth in the bathroom. She still felt sick.

“Sorry.” Richie apologized, he made her eat after all.
“Not your fault.”
“Kinda is.” He said.
“Not your fault I’m sick.”

He guessed she was right about that but didn’t say anything and tucked her back into bed, hoping she would be better soon.

“You should take Monday off work.” Richie suggested.
“I don’t know.”
“If you’re still sick, you should.”
“But we don’t know if I’ll be sick Monday.” Sarah pointed out carefully. She knew she couldn’t go to work, especially since she worked at a hospital, if she was sick but she preferred going to work. She was only working two days this week after all.
“We’ll see tomorrow then.” Richie decided, already having a feeling she wouldn’t be better tomorrow either.

A few minutes later there was another knock at their door.

Again, Richie asked, “Yeah?”

This time Caleb opened the door and stayed in the doorway.

Richie watched him with a questioning look.

“Uh… Was just wondering… Since it’s Saturday…”
Richie immediately knew what he meant. “Oh yeah.” He sat up next to Sarah then turned to her. “You don’t mind?”
“I’d love to listen.” She gave a weak smile.
Richie smiled back. “Thanks” Then turned back to Caleb. “Got your stuff?”
“Yeah.” Caleb reached for something against the wall in the hall and walked in the room.

Richie gave Sarah a quick kiss, said “I love you.” And got off the bed to walk over to the two comfy chairs in the corner of the room where Caleb was already getting his guitar out of its case.

So far Richie had taught Caleb some guitar skills every Saturday, even though it was almost 9 pm, he still wanted to help him out. In fact, he couldn’t believe he had forgotten. He always played guitar with Caleb on Saturdays, even last week when Richie had suggested for Caleb to take it easy to prevent his cold to develop in a flu too. Winter illnesses had definitely made their way into the house.

Saturdays he spent a few hours playing guitar with his stepson, h
e had become accustomed to it. Either he taught him to play a song or helped him with something Caleb had trouble with. It helped them to create a bond together, with Noah he had to do that in a different way.

“The song goes faster than that…” Richie carefully pointed out.
“I know,” Caleb sighed irritated, “but when I play faster I mess up the chords.”
“Practice on your placing your fingers faster then.”
“It’s hard.”
“Everything worthwhile is.”
Caleb sighed and started the song over.

When their guitar lesson finished, they both noticed Sarah was already sleeping. Caleb quickly said good night and left, carrying his guitar.



The next day went much the same. Sarah hardly left the bed and slept almost the entire day, Richie tried to prepare food for her but whatever he tried, i t ended up in the trash can or the toilet.

After dinner he finally decided, Sarah had to take the day off tomorrow and see a doctor. She wasn’t getting better, even a simple glass of water didn’t stay down. He knew if she wouldn’t be able to keep anything down soon, she could end up in the hospital and that was something he wanted to avoid.

Sarah was already in the living room while Richie cleaned up the kitchen and the kids got ready. He listened to them talk. They were leaving in a few minutes and were talking excitedly about the movie they wanted to watch.

Then something Noah said caught his attention.

“What?” He asked Noah.
“What?” Noah asked back, confused.
“What did you just say about History class tomorrow?”
“Oh.”
“Well?” Richie pressed on.
Noah hesitated, he really didn’t want to tell.

Ava and Caleb were both staring at him, having perfectly heard what Noah had said.

“So?” Richie asked again.
“I… I still need to start studying for tomorrow’s history test.” He confessed quickly.
“You better go do that.”
“Dad, the movie…” Ava interrupted.
“Noah’s not going anymore, you and Caleb can.”
“But…” Noah tried but was ignored.
“Better get going and back by 9.30.” He told Ava and Caleb, pointing to the clock on the wall.

A little unsure they both left the kitchen.

Not until he heard the door close did Richie speak to Noah again. “Shouldn’t you be studying?”
“The movie…”
“You need to study.” Richie said strictly.
“That’s unfair!”
“You should have done your homework on Friday. Go study.” Richie ordered.
“You’re not my dad!” Noah shouted angrily.
“I’m the best dad you’ve had!”
Noah’s face turned blank.

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Chapter Two

Saturday, very early in the morning Sarah woke up freezing cold even though she was in Richie’s arms with the sheets over both of them. It confirmed her thoughts of flu even more.

Carefully she got out of Richie’s arms and got up from the bed, as soon as she stood straight everything around her started turning. She reached out a hand into midair, trying to take a hold of something to make her steady and stood still for a few seconds until the room stopped spinning. Finally she continued her way to the bathroom. She had only just opened the door and immediately felt incredibly hot. In just a matter of milliseconds she reached the toilet and threw up again. She hated this feeling, there went last night’s dinner, disgusting.

After a few minutes she was able to get up a little bit and sit on the edge of the bath as she waited to feel better to go back to bed, meanwhile she felt freezing cold again. She hated being sick too.

Sarah shivered and held on to the bath’s edge. Then she realized something and reached over for the tap and turned on the hot water. Carefully she got up and undressed while she waited for the bath to fill up, the hot water should warm her up again.

The hot water felt pleasant as she lowered herself into the bath, leaning all the way down until only her head was sticking out. She loved Richie’s house, everything was bigger here than it had been at her house. The bath was big enough for two, three if they really wanted to but they didn’t. The TV in the living room could be watched from the kitchen. The kitchen, a room Sarah loved, it was huge, the fridge enormous and she loved to cook in it.

Sarah closed her eyes and relaxed, lowering a little bit more into the water.

“There you are.” She heard muffled through the water and opened her eyes to see her husband, carefully she moved to sit up a little to at least be able to hear him decently.
“Morning.” She smiled weakly at him.
“Morning. Why are you taking a bath?” Richie asked confused.
“I was cold.”
“Just cold?” He asked suspicious.
Sarah sighed. “Sick.”
“Still? You probably do have a stomach bug or a flu.” He said caring, kneeling down next to the bath.
Sarah shrugged, she hoped it wasn’t but she knew Richie was probably right.
“So any space left in that bath of yours?”
“Really?” She asked, if she really was sick, would he really want to take a bath with her, he could get sick too.
“That, or you go back to bed with me.”

Sarah thought it over, the water was getting cold by now anyway. She pushed herself up to sit and reached a hand out for Richie to help her stand up, she didn’t entirely trust her own legs yet. Richie helped her up and got her a towel to wrap around her. While Sarah tried to dry off as best as she could, Richie got her bathrobe and helped her into it.

Once in their bedroom Richie noticed the trash can from the bathroom still on Sarah’s side of the bed, he decided to leave it there. Gently he helped her back in bed, pulling the sheets up to her chin and got in on the other side himself. He pulled Sarah close against him and held her, making sure she was warm enough.

A few hours later, Sarah woke up to the disgusting smell of bacon and coffee and a pounding headache to go with it. She hoped profusely that whoever was making it would keep it in the kitchen and not come any closer. With a sigh, she opened her eyes and saw Richie wasn’t next to her anymore.

A small kick against the door and the smell got even worse as Richie walked in with a tray of food.

“Oh God.” Sarah muttered under her breath. She didn’t want to be rude but there was no way she was able to stay near that smell, let alone eat what Richie had prepared for breakfast.
“Morning again, I got you breakfast.”
“I hope that disgusting bacon isn’t for me.”
Richie cocked an eyebrow. He hadn’t known Sarah to be sick before, did she get cranky when she was sick?
“Sorry.” Sarah apologized. “It just smells really bad, the coffee too, it’s making me sick.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know, I just made you toast though. Bacon was for me, didn’t think you’d feel up to it.” He walked over to the bed and put the tray down. He picked up one of the pieces of bacon and started eating it as he sat down on the bed.
“Don’t expect me to kiss you now.”
“No? I’ll make the bacon disappear.” He grabbed another piece and wolfed it down too.

She knew he was only trying to be nice but the smell of bacon and coffee held her back from eating anything. It just smelled too horrible to eat anything. In the end she hardly managed a single slice of toasted bread.

“That’s all you’re going to eat? You should drink more.” He picked up a small bottle of water off the tray, opened it and handed it to Sarah.
Sarah took the bottle and carefully sipped a few times. Her stomach really didn’t feel up to having any contents. She could hear it protesting already.
“Sorry honey but you didn’t eat anything yesterday either.” Richie gently pointed out.
Sarah carefully nodded and moved to lay back down, hoping the bacon smell would finally go away.

When Richie finished breakfast he got up to put the tray outside their room to take down later. He had to take care of his sick wife and didn’t want to leave her just yet.
Still dressed in a pair of boxers, he got back in bed next to Sarah.
“Want to watch TV or go back to sleep?” He asked.
Sarah cringed. “You need to brush your teeth.”
He gave her a confused look. “Really?”
“Yes, the bacon…”
With a sigh Richie got back up and went to the bathroom to brush his teeth.

A few minutes later he walked back out, immediately his eyes went towards the bed, making sure Sarah was still there. He was just in time to see her grab the trash can. Good thing he had left it there. Quietly he turned back around and went to get a glass of water before walking over to Sarah. He took the trash can she was just putting down and gave her the glass of water.
“Thanks.” She said weakly and took a few sips.

Back in bed with Sarah, he got a little worried. If she would continue to be unable to keep food down, they’d have a problem. Should he phone a doctor or wait to see how Sarah would feel after another nap?

Sarah tried to get back to sleep but realized something. “I hope you didn’t see me puke.” She said partly embarrassed and disgusted.
Richie decided to make her happy. “I didn’t.’
“Good, ‘cause that’s just disgusting.”
“What are you gonna do when you get pregnant and have morning sickness?”

Sarah pressed her eyes closed, she didn’t want to think about that. So far they weren’t pregnant and she hated the idea that it might not even happen. She couldn’t understand how he was still so positive after six months of trying.

Just thinking of it was making her headache return, she felt tired again and couldn't be bothered to think anymore. Maybe some more sleep would make all the aches go away for a little while.

Richie held her, noticing she was falling asleep again, what if she was going to have morning sickness, what if they would finally be successful. When?

Friday, February 1, 2013

Chapter One

Sarah woke up feeling sick, she rolled from her belly to her back, hoping to relieve some of the nauseating pressure. It must have been something she ate at the party last night or on the late flight back home. Even before Jon's birthday party she had started to feel unwell but it had passed by the time Richie came back from writing before they had to leave for the party so Sarah hadn't bothered to mention it to him.

For a little while she felt better until it got worse.

She threw the blankets off of her, not caring if she woke Richie up with her actions, she rushed to the bathroom, knelt in front of the toilet and threw up.

Richie woke up when the cold air hit him and heard Sarah going into the bathroom, slamming the door. The sounds that followed got him out of bed. Was she being sick? The first thought that came to him was if she was hung-over from the party last night but that was impossible because they both didn’t drink.


He softly knocked on the bathroom door before opening the door.

Sarah looked up at him from where she was sitting in front of the toilet.

“Are you sick?” He asked with concern even though it was obvious. He moved to sit on the edge of the bathtub next to the toilet, reaching over to flush before asking, “better now?”

Sarah nodded and moved off of her knees to sit on the floor, she didn’t feel like getting up yet.

After a few minutes of stroking her hair, Richie got up and got a glass of water from the bathroom sink for her.

Sarah took the glass of water from him, rinsed her mouth and spat the water in the toilet bowl.

Richie took it back and placed it next to the sink where it belonged.

When he turned around he grabbed Sarah’s hand that was reaching out for him and helped her up.

“Are you sure you’re okay now?” He asked again.
“Yeah,” Sarah said, nodding softly, “must have been something I ate.” She hadn't felt very well at the party last night either, now she just wanted to go back to bed.

On their way back to the room, Richie picked up the trash can, just in case.


He placed it next to the bedside table on Sarah’s side of the bed, helped her back in the bed and tucked her in.

As Richie rounded the bed, Sarah turned to her other side, watching him getting in the bed next to her so she could snuggle up to him. That always made her feel better.

Richie stroked her back, comforting her until she fell asleep again.


A few hours later, Sarah woke up in bed alone. A little disappointed she turned to read the clock, noticing the alarm had been turned off and it was almost noon.

Even though she was disappointed her husband wasn’t with her anymore, she felt better than she had the first time she got up that day.

In the kitchen by the coffee maker, she found a post-it note on top of the machine from Richie.

Phone me when you read this

She pressed the button to start the coffee maker and picked up the phone from the counter, while she waited for her cup to be filled.
“Hey.” She heard on the other end after one short ring.
“Hi, are you at the studio?” She asked, pretty much sure he was.
“Yeah, just a few things. I should be done in an hour. How are you feeling?” He asked still concerned.
“I’m okay, just something I ate last night.”

They had left Jon’s party early to catch the last flight home. At 3 am they got home and went straight to bed so Richie could get some work done the next day. There had been a lot of rushing to get to the airport on time, having lost time during the party. That couldn't have been beneficial since she already had been feeling unwell.

“Alright then, just relax and I’ll be home in a little bit."

Sarah poured her cup of coffee and went to the living room, turning on the TV.

She didn’t pay attention to the TV, as soon as she sat down, with her knees pulled up, her coffee cup held on her knees, she drifted off into thought.

She hoped it wouldn’t be a stomach flu even though there had been a lot of cases of flu at the hospital the last few weeks. It was probably because of her job at the hospital that the kids had all gone through the flu during the last month.

She couldn’t have caught it too, if she was sick she couldn’t go to work. She’d spread the flu even more around the hospital so she’d have to take sick days, the last thing she wanted to do.

By Wednesday she had to be better, they had their first visit to a fertility doctor. She didn’t look forward to it but she was more hopeful than she had been since January when they made the appointment.


As soon as their appointment for March 7th had been confirmed, Sarah had given up hope to conceive the natural way. She hadn’t 
told Richie so because he had been so hopeful, he’d be disappointed if he knew she had given up.

Even though she had given up she had felt much more relaxed the last few weeks, it made sex enjoyable again, her worrying of conceiving was gone and she could have fun again.

Now she hoped the tests wouldn’t show anything bad for either of them, she didn’t know what would happen then.


When Richie came home Sarah was nestled on the couch, wrapped in a blanket. He sat down next to her and wrapped his arms around her, pressing a kiss to her cheek.
“Are you cold?”


Maybe she was sick after all.


Sarah shook her head. “It’s more comfy with a blanket.”


They spent the rest of the afternoon on the couch in front of the TV. Sarah was still wrapped in her blanket and Richie’s arms, it was warm and peaceful until Sarah’s stomach growled.

“Did you eat anything today?” Richie asked concerned.
Sarah shook her head. “No, just in case, don’t want to do that again.”
“You have to eat something, the kids are having pizza tonight.”
Sarah shook her head again. “Definitely no pizza.”
Richie didn’t mean she had to have pizza, he understood she didn’t want anything like that today. “I’ll make you toast later.”

It wasn’t even 3 pm, he still had to pick up the kids too.

A few minutes past before Richie let Sarah go, he kissed the top of her head before straightening up. “I’ll be back in a bit.”


At the school Ava was the first to make it to the car.

“Missed you daddy, did you have fun at uncle Jon’s?” She asked as she got in the back of the car.
“Yeah, we wrote a new song. I missed you too, you’re all mine ‘til Tuesday now.” He said, happy to see his daughter for a few days before going back to New York for the weekend.



When they were about to pull up the driveway Richie told all three children Sarah wasn’t feeling well and they should keep it quiet, no friends coming over.

They all agreed to not invite any of their friends over for the night and watch a movie together.



After homework, when the kids came back to the living room, Richie phoned to order pizza while the others picked out a movie to watch.

Half an hour later the pizza arrived, on his way to the kitchen, Richie opened the door to accept the pizza boxes and went to make a few slices of toast for Sarah.

Back in the living room he put everything on the coffee table and gave Sarah the plate of toast.

As he opened one of the boxes of pizza, Noah turned on the movie they had picked out, without a fight for once. Sometimes it was as if they really were sister and brothers, with all the pointless fights and arguments they could have.


Richie took his slice of pizza, and leaned back in the couch, putting an arm around Sarah.

Sarah was happy enough with her toast, right now the smell of pizza was making her feel sick again, luckily her toast seemed to stay down. She hoped her flu wouldn’t last too long.


When she finished she put her plate on Richie’s lap,  Richie just moved the plate to the empty space on the couch next to him and held his arms around Sarah while she rearranged her blanket so it covered him too. As she cuddled into his side, Richie stroked her back, knowing it always made her relax, he hoped she wouldn’t be sick for too long.


Their movie ended two hours later, relieved, Richie hoped Sarah was right and she had only eaten something bad the night before and was better now.