Chapter 13
It was a little crowded with the four adults in the small hut, but since they took turns sleeping they made it work, but Brooke was finding it increasingly hard to hide her condition. Morning sickness had hit her hard over the last few days. Mary had given her an herbal tea that seemed to help, but twice she’d had to leave the hut and empty her stomach before she felt better. Luckily, Mary had been the only one in the hut both times, but she knew the day was coming when Carter would figure it out, he was too good of a doctor not to notice the signs.
She’d caught him watching her several times, and when she’d met his eyes, hoping to read what he was thinking in them, she was disappointed to find she couldn’t. Carter had obviously perfected the perfect blank face, a necessary ability, if you were a doctor. As the days passed and Calvin began to get better, Carter began spending more and more time in the hut. It felt a bit like he was stalking her, just waiting for that one thing that would confirm his suspicions.
Carter had indeed been watching Brooke ever since one of the village men, worried about her, had asked Carter if she felt better. When he’d just looked at the man, he’d gone on to explain that he’d seen her throwing up in the woods the day before. He’d been suspicious that something was up with Brooke; she’d been behaving strangely, even under the circumstances. Once he’d started watching her more carefully, he became convinced that she was pregnant and had known that when they’d set out weeks ago.
All the signs were there when you knew what to look for. He wasn’t sure if he was angry or excited. One thing for sure, he needed to get her out of here as fast as he could. He treated Calvin a bit more aggressively than he normally would have, hoping that he’d get better faster, but his body was pretty badly damaged and it would take time to heal. There was nothing he could do to speed the healing of his ribs or the numerous bruises. That would just take time. He had just about decided that it was time to confront Brooke about her condition when life took care of it for him.
They’d just finished dinner, eating in the hut because the weather had turned rainy, when Brooke jumped up and ran out of the hut. Mary looked after her concerned, but didn’t dare follow her, but when they could hear Brooke retching out behind the hut, she got to her feet and put a pinch of herbs in a cup and then poured hot water into the cup. She took the cup and left the tent without ever looking at Carter and closed the door firmly behind her.
Carter waited patiently for her to return, debating with himself whether to yell at her or let Calvin do it when he woke up. When she came back in the hut looking squeamish and a bit pale, he took the empty cup she was carrying and set it down. He helped her sit down, unable to stop himself, and felt her forehead which was clammy but cool. When he sat down, she looked up at him, waiting for him to speak first.
“I’m not sure exactly what to say to you. My head spins when I think of all the things that could happen to you out here. What were you thinking?” Carter hissed at her through clenched teeth, trying to keep his voice low, but not succeeding.
“Shhh, I don’t want Calvin to find out from you,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest, the defiance clear in her body language. “It was my choice to come and it’s a good thing I did. Calvin probably wouldn’t have made it if I hadn’t been here. Don’t think I didn’t think consider the risks, but Calvin means everything to me, without him…well, I thought about it, okay? The baby is fine, nothing is going to happen to it, just trust me, okay?”
Carter couldn’t stay mad, between the fierce devotion in her voice, which he suddenly wished someone had for him, and his natural instinct to take care of people, his anger melted. “I’m going to keep my mouth shut, but you have to do a few things for me. If Cooper finds out, he’s not going to be so understanding. He’ll probably have you packed out of here, so you have to promise me that you’ll do what I ask.”
Brooke considered her options, then said, “Okay, fine, you win.”
“The first thing you’re going to do is stay in the hut as much as possible. You’re going to sleep more and eat at least five times a day. First thing tomorrow, we’re going to find someplace and I’m going to give you an exam.” Carter held up his hand when she started to protest. “It’s happening, you made a choice when you came with us. I won’t budge on this one, Brooke. I took care of you when you were sick and that wasn’t horrible.”
Brooke finally managed to meet Carter’s eyes and saw only concern and caring in them. “I’m sorry, I know I’m being silly, but you’re Calvin’s brother. Won’t it be strange or awkward or something?”
“No, I promise it won’t be weird, maybe we can have Mary be there with us. Would that help?” Carter knew that Brooke was feeling uncomfortable but was determined to have his way. He needed to know that she and the baby were fine just for his own piece of mind. “Have you seen a doctor?”
“Yes, before we left L.A.” Brooke answered, knowing that she’d just ratted Marissa and Paige out. “He said that everything looked good, did tons of blood work and said it all looked normal too.”
“Well, that’s good, but we’re still doing this tomorrow. Now go to bed, I’ll sit by Calvin tonight.”
The next day, Brooke emerged from her appointment with Carter, she’d started thinking of it that way the night before to calm her nerves, surprised at how easy it had been in the end. He’d been both professional and gentle with her, and she found that somewhere deep in her memory she remembered him taking care of her when she was sick.
He met her outside the hut they’d used, giving her time to get dressed, and gave her a big hug. “Congratulations, now that I know that you’re both okay, I can say it. My guess is we’re going to have a Christmas baby,” he said, a huge grin on his face, ridiculously happy for his brother all of a sudden.
“Thank you, Carter, and I’m sorry I was such a pain, you made that easy,” she said, not able to deny that she was happy to know that everything was fine.
But their joy was short lived. When they got back to the hut, Calvin had taken a turn for the worse, his fever soaring. He was thrashing restlessly on his pallet, the sweat beading on his forehead. Carter was in action immediately, injecting both antibiotics and a fever reducer into the line, then giving Calvin a quick once over, he shrugged his shoulders.
“I don’t know what’s causing this, but I used the most powerful antibiotic I brought. I’ve been saving it just in case this happened,” Carter said, putting away his supplies.
Brooke got a bowl of cold water and a cloth and began sponging Calvin’s overheated body, whispering to him as she worked. When it had only been her and Mary who had known about the baby, it’d been easy to ignore the true scope of the situation she was in. She’d been so sure that Calvin was going to recover, she’d let her guard down and begun to hope they’d all be going home together soon, but now she wasn’t so sure.
She never left Calvin’s side that night; no amount of persuasion from Carter could convince her to move. As the night wore on and she became more exhausted from the battle to keep Calvin cool, she set down the rag and laid her head on his chest. She’d been talking to him for hours, telling him stories about growing up on the farm and the city, anything to keep him grounded to her.
But now her hope was fading as the fever continued to ravish his body. “Calvin, you have to get better. I don’t know what I’ll do without you. We need you. Do you hear me, we need you.” Brooke was trying desperately not to cry, wanting to get the words out as clearly as possible. “Calvin, we’re going to have a baby and I don’t want to do it without you. Our baby needs you, I need you. Fight for us, Calvin, fight for us.” She let her words trail off, so exhausted she fell asleep with her head resting on his chest.
When she awoke hours later, Calvin’s hand was tangled in her hair, the first time he’d moved since she’d found him wounded and bloody over a week ago. Listening to his heart beating steadily, she realized that he wasn’t hot anymore, his fever had broken. Not wanting to move, but feeling her back beginning to cramp up, she sat up, gently untangling her hair from Calvin’s hand. Feeling his forehead just to make sure it was cool, she breathed a sigh of relief and got up to wake Cooper and Carter who were both sleeping in the hut.
Brooke gently shook Carter awake. “His fever’s broken and he moved his arm,” she said, beaming down at a groggy Carter. He jumped up and crossed the room in two strides, quickly checked Calvin, then slumped against the wall in relief.
Calvin slowly became aware of voices in the room. They sounded strange and it was hard for him to understand exactly what they were saying. As he concentrated, he realized that it was Carter and Brooke having a heated discussion. Much of what they were saying meant little to him, he heard concern in Carter’s voice, mention of an exam and the word baby. But by that point he’d exhausted himself and he hadn’t even opened his eyes.
Time had no real parameter for Calvin. Sometimes he’d wake up in pain, his ribs throbbing. But other times he’d wake up floating on a painkiller haze to the certain knowledge that Brooke was sitting next to him. At those times, he’d feel that familiar pull he always felt around her and tried harder to open his eyes, desperate to see her face. But one night, he woke up burning up with fever with the familiar weight of Brooke’s head on his chest.
She was mumbling and at first he couldn’t understand anything she said, but he tried harder, pushed though the burning heat his own body was creating. A few of her words came through more clearly. She was talking about a baby he decided, but couldn’t figure out what that had to with him. Finally exhausted, he started to drift off to sleep, the last thing he heard was Brooke pleading with him to fight. His last thought as darkness slid across his consciousness was, “I promise, princess, just hold on, I’m coming back.”
It took days, but Calvin stayed true to the promise he’d made and turned the corner, finally opening his eyes one morning when Carter and Brooke began to quarrel about something. “You need to get more sleep,” Carter said. “It’s not good for either of you and we can’t carry you both out of here.”
Brooke said something back to him but so quietly that he couldn’t hear. Carter hissed something back at her, then made a sound Calvin knew all too well. It was the sound he made when he wasn’t getting his way and he knew that Carter was about to lose his temper.
“Hey, what are you two fighting about?” he managed to say.
Brooke was across the hut and kneeling next to him so fast, it took him a second to gather his thoughts. “What are you doing here?” he finally asked, deciding that was the first thing he wanted to know.
She hadn’t quite gotten control of her emotions, so Carter answered for her. “She’s been charming the natives into helping us save your life,” he said, kneeling down on Calvin’s other side and beginning to examine him. “She’s even managed to get us an escort back to the village, including men to carry you down.” Satisfied with Calvin’s condition, he added, “You had us scared for a little while there. I’m going to give you two a few minutes alone, but, Calvin, you need to rest.”
Carter gave them some time alone, but neither said a word the entire time; there weren’t words to express what they felt. The words would come later, for now Brooke simply rested her head on his chest and breathed a sigh of contentment when he twined his finger through her hair. They were both sound asleep when Carter came back into the hut. Instead of waking Brooke up, he covered her with a blanket from her pallet and let them sleep.
Once Calvin began to recover, he did so quickly and was soon well enough to travel. They prepared for the difficult journey through the jungle. Many of his wounds had healed completely, but his broken ribs would make the trip especially painful and Carter was hesitant to give him too many painkillers. True to his word, the chief had assigned not only a guard but men to carry Calvin on an improvised stretcher to the village where they’d arrange for better transportation, possibly even an air lift.
Brooke said goodbye to Mary right as they were leaving, wanting to wait until the last possible moment. Although they could barely communicate with words, they’d formed a bond that only women put in a difficult situation could. Wishing that they could stay in communication but knowing that it was impossible, Brooke waved as they headed into the jungle knowing that she’d probably never see her again. It would be a long time before the words South Africa would even be spoken in her home. Calvin had already expressed his wish to be out of the country and to never return.
When they got to the village, the natives helped them find a place to stay for the night and gave them their satellite phones back. Cooper had Donovan on the phone in minutes arranging for transport out of the village for the next day. The trip had been especially difficult and Carter had given Calvin a strong sedative and painkiller when they finally got settled in.
“He needs to rest tonight and then tomorrow we can move on,” Carter had said when Cooper got Donovan on the phone.
Brooke collapsed on the pallet next to Calvin just as exhausted as he was. The trip hadn’t been that easy on her either and she was glad to rest for the night. Carter made them both eat something, but had brought it to the room then left them alone to sleep. Brooke slept soundly, waking in the morning with Calvin wrapped around her, his hand on her belly which was clearly round with the child she was carrying.
Not ready to tell him yet, she slipped out of bed, knowing that if he woke just then he’d know her secret for sure. She found Carter and Calvin in the little kitchen of the house where they were staying making plans for the day. Carter shot her a dirty look, then nodded his head when she heaped some food on a plate and headed back up to the room she and Calvin were sharing. She knew that he wanted to her to tell Calvin about the baby so he could fuss at her openly, but she wasn’t ready for the anger she knew she’d be facing when she told him.
Donovan came through and arranged for a van to transport Calvin to the next village. It would be a difficult trip since the road wasn’t in very good shape, but no helicopter pilot was willing to fly that far into dangerous territory. They simply had no choice but to make their way slowly and painfully down the mountain. The days took on a familiar pattern, they were up early and had a big breakfast, not sure where their next meal would come from, then into whatever transportation Donovan had managed to find.
At the end of the day, Brooke and Calvin collapsed onto any bed they were offered, ate the food Carter or Cooper gave them, and fell asleep. It took far longer to make their way out of the jungle this way, but it was the only choice with Calvin still hurt. When they finally arrived in the capital, they were all exhausted, and Carter insisted that Calvin spend a few days in the hospital, partly because he wanted to be sure he was fine and partly to get Brooke to rest a bit.
Calvin had been in the hospital for a few days and was beginning to feel like his old self. If he’d thought that he loved Brooke before, he was completely and totally committed to her now. She’d come halfway around the world and saved his life, that alone was testament to how much she loved him. Not for the first time, he cursed himself for almost ruining what they had by being stupid and stubborn, not wanting to take help. If he’d listened to Donovan, none of this would have happened. The government and the natives would have taken General Santiago down and he would have been off the hook.
But watching Brooke sitting in the chair next to his bed, her hand in his, his heart swelled with love. They’d be fine, nothing would ever come between them again. He’d learned his lesson, he’d never hide anything from her again. He knew deep down that if he’d told her she would have made him take the more sensible route, but he’d stubbornly refused to share his troubles with her.
He was drifting off to sleep thinking about getting out of the hospital and being alone with Brooke when Carter came into the room. He stopped in doorway assuming that Calvin was asleep and said, “You and I have an appointment with a sonogram machine down the hall.”
Brooke jumped to her feet and shushed him. “Be quiet, I don’t think he’s quite asleep.”
Calvin was so sleepy that he was having a hard time following their conversation and wondered what a sonogram was. “When are you going to tell him? He’s going to figure it out soon enough. Are you afraid he’s going to be angry? Because I promise you, he’s going to be, at first at least. It might help if you could tell him that the little one is healthy,” Carter said, only pieces of what he was saying penetrating Calvin’s brain.
“I might be a little afraid. Carter, we never talked about having kids or getting married or any of that. How am I supposed to tell him that the decision is already made for him?” Brooke was suddenly unsure how she was going to tell him.
“Okay, calm down. Do you really think my brother is going to turn his back on you?” Cater asked, looking Brooke in the eyes.
“No,” she finally answered. “But I don’t want us to only be about the baby. I love him. I don’t know if I can stand it if he doesn’t feel the same way.” Brooke completely forgot who she was talking to, but Carter understood her fears.
“Hey, look at me. That man,” he pointed to the bed where Calvin was lying, “loves you more than he’s ever loved anything or anyone. I’ve known him my whole life, and once he commits to someone, it’s for life. Tell him, Brooke. He’s going to be mad at first, but trust me, he loves you and he’s going to want you for you. The baby is just a nice bonus.”
Brooke let all the air out of her lungs in a giant whoosh, Carter’s words calming all her fears instantly. Impulsively, she hugged him. “Okay, Dr. Carter, let’s go see how this little monster is doing,” she said, resting her hand on the little bump under her shirt.
“Well, what a pleasant surprise to have such a cooperative patient. Shall we?” Carter said, holding the door open for her.
She ran back over to the bed and gave Calvin a quick kiss on the cheek. “I’ll be right back. I just have to take care of something real quick.”