It feels like an eternity before we find Isabella’s room. Between the Manhattan traffic and tracking down a damned parking spot, I’m certain it’s been more than an hour since we left Central Park. When we finally find the right door, I almost wish we stumbled into the wrong room.

On the bed, Isabella has tubes and wires running out of her. With the taped cut on her forehead and the oxygen mask on her face, she is breaking my heart with how rough she looks. As soon as she sees us, she begins to cry, and Shirley rushes to her side to sob along with her.

“What’s that, Colt?” Madison looks around the room in wonder and points to the monitor registering a heartbeat next to Isabella.

“That’s a machine for the doctors.” I carry her on my hip and try to hold her so she can’t grab at things as I look down at Isabella. Now that I’m closer, I can see the cut on her forehead is swollen and stitched up.

“Has the bleeding stopped?” I’m afraid of the answer. I know that by now she must be aware of the blood stain I watched spread over her pants.

The tears in her eyes spill over and hit the mask covering her nose. She shakes her head and despite my best efforts to stay calm, my own eyes sting as they mist up.

“We’re going to get through this.” I squeeze her hand as my voice wavers. “No matter what, we’re family. We will pull through this.” My voice trembles unconvincingly.

Isabella’s father sits on the couch against the wall and holds his hand out to his wife. “Shirley, now isn’t the time for your tears. Sit here and pray with me.”

She peels herself off of Isabella like a child ripping open the Velcro on their shoe and sits next to her husband. Wiping the trails of tears from her eyes, she bows her head over her folded hands and joins John in prayer.

“Is Isabella wearing a costume?” Madison points her chubby finger at the oxygen mask and then looks at me wide-eyed. She’s trying to make sense of all of this, but it’s impossible to explain to a two-year-old.

“No, honey. She needs that mask so she can breathe better. The doctors want her to wear it so she’ll get well quickly.” I do my best to explain in a way that won’t scare her. I’m sure the beeps and whirs of the machines are overwhelming for her. I know it’s overwhelming me.

“I love you.” Isabella’s voice is barely a whisper under her mask. But my heart heard her words even before my ears, swelling up in my chest as I look down on her. She is truly the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met, and nothing, not even a monster like Lisa, can take that away from her.

“I love you too. I love you so much.” I choke back my emotions, but the tears I’ve been struggling to hide finally break free and drip down my face.

“Knock, knock!” A stern-looking doctor enters the room carrying a chart. He barely glances at us as he reads his paperwork and glimpses at the monitors. We’re all watching him, collectively holding our breaths, as we wait to hear an update.

“Okay, so, Miss Franco, it looks like the oxygen and IV are working their magic. The baby is starting to move around again, and the heart rate is returning to normal.”

“Thank you, Lord!” John exclaims, and the doctor frowns at the interruption.

“As I was saying, you’re not quite out of the woods yet, so we’d like to keep you here for a few days under observation to make sure everything stabilizes and remains that way. Does that sound okay?”

He looks at me for confirmation instead of Isabella. “Of course, whatever needs to be done,” I answer, and Isabella nods in agreement.

“All right then, the nurses will be checking in with you regularly. And if you need some pain medication for your head, don’t be a hero, let them know. It won’t cross the blood stream and harm the baby, okay?” He glimpses at Isabella but doesn’t wait for her to respond. “Perfect. I’ll check up on you again tomorrow then.” He clicks his pen and thrusts it in his coat pocket and disappears from the room as quickly as he came in.

Talk about bedside manner.

“Colt, I hungry,” Madison whines at me.

“You should take her home,” Isabella whispers. “Everything is going to be fine.”

I can’t be sure, but I think she’s smiling from the doctor’s news under her mask.

“I’m not taking her home. We’re staying with you,” I tell her firmly.

“Oh, Colt, you can’t stay in this room. Where will you two sleep?” Shirley jumps in. “If you want, we can take Madison for the night…”

“No!” Madison clings her arms around my neck.

I have to say, I agree with her.

“Thank you, Shirley. That’s really nice of you. I think you’ll understand that I don’t want to be away from either of them right now. No. Madison stays with me, and I’m staying put. I’m going to get us upgraded to one of the suites here. They have pull-out beds and TV for Madison. We’re sticking together.”

Shirley looks uncertain, but John jumps in, “That makes a lot of sense. It’s good to see you taking care of everything. I can see our daughter is in good hands.”

Isabella looks exhausted, not that I can blame her. The best thing might be to see if I can upgrade this room now, so she’ll be more comfortable.

“Mr. Grant? Can we have a word, sir?” I turn to meet the familiar voice at the door. The officer from the park and his partner are waiting for me in the hallway.

“Certainly. Thank you for waiting. I appreciate it.” I smile, but in my exhausted state I can barely move my lips. The drama of the day has taken its toll on all of us.

“No problem, sir. We just need to get your statement, and we’ll be on our way.”

I give Isabella a quick kiss and carry Madison out of the room, following the officers down the hall. I hope they’re right about this being quick, because I meant what I said. This family is sticking together, and I don’t plan on letting them out of my sight again any time soon.