“I belong to nobody.”
“So, you’re still on the market. Sweet. Do you like Toy Story?”
“The movie?”
“Yeah.”
“Um. Sure. I like it, why?”
“Gonna have some of the boys bring me my DVD collection later. Wanna watch it with me. Promise to keep my hands to myself. Well, through the first movie at least,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows.
I couldn’t help it. I laughed. What was it with these men thinking they were all God’s gift to women? They were nice to look at for sure but damn were they damn sure of themselves.
Savage more so than any of them.
“As delightful as that sounds, I have other things to do today.”
“No biggie.”
“Well, I’ll leave you to your movie and check on you later.”
“Okay.” He smiled, turning back to the television. Putting his chart back, I walked over to the other room, grabbing the chart before I opened the door.
Quietly making notes, I checked her vitals and blood pressure. I then checked her incision site, before covering her back up. Laying the chart on the bed, I carefully brushed her hair from her face and said, “Hi Remi. You did so good last night. I am so proud of you. When you're ready, a beautiful baby is waiting to meet his momma.”
I believed in talking to my patients. I firmly believed that they could hear and that verbal stimulation was one of the fastest ways to bring them out of their deep sleep. Engaging them and making them feel as if they were still part of life was the best thing for patients who suffered a trauma.
When she didn’t even flinch, I added, “It’s okay. You rest. You need it. When you’re ready you’ll wake up. In the meantime, don’t you worry about your baby. Reaper is taking really good care of him.”
Checking her vitals one more time, I noted them in her chart before leaving her room. Grabbing the baby’s chart, I walked over to a small workstation, then turned to Reaper. “Can you please bring the baby over here and lay him down on the table for me.”
Reaper did as I asked, watching me like a King as I listened to his son’s heartbeat, then lungs. I then carefully removed his diaper and did a visual check. Grabbing a fresh diaper, I quickly put it on him then wrapped him back up.
“Is he okay?” Reaper asked.
“He’s perfect,” I said looking at the baby and cooed. “Aren’t you little man. You are perfect.”
“How’s Remi?”
“She’s still sleeping but that’s normal after what her body has been through. She will wake when she’s ready. How are you?”
“Me?”
“Yes, you?”
Reaper looked drained. His hair was disheveled, he had dark rings under his eyes and he was swaying with exhaustion. “I’m fine, why?”
“Reaper, when was the last time you slept? Ate something? Showered?” I asked, picking the baby up.
“I won’t leave him. Not with Remi the way she is.”
“How about I take care of little man, while you shower, eat and sleep.”
“I don’t want to leave him.”
“You aren’t leaving him. You are just going to take some time for yourself. Be happy that you did, because eventually it will just be you and Remi. Then there will be no sleep for either of you. Now, go. Little man and I are going to get to know each other.”
“Are you sure?”