Joyce looked at her with trust and a lot more alertly than Annette expected.
The doctors had said that Fantino took a couple of hours to become fully coherent, but Joyce's eyes were clear.
Lynette rushed to the bed. "You're awake."
Joyce shifted her head slightly toward Lynette's voice and winced.
"Shh…shh…don't move just yet. Let the doctor and nurses check you over," Annette said.
"I've got to tell Mom and Dad." Lynette left the room to make the call.
Joyce's eyes followed her.
"She's been with you almost every day," Annette said. "Give her a minute to get herself together. You know she doesn't like for anyone to see her cry."
Joyce blinked, but her eyes asked questions.
"There was an accident. Do you remember?"
Joyce's expression filled with horror, making it obvious she did.
"Fantino is fine. He's awake in another room. Maybe now you're awake, you can be moved from ICU to join him."
"That's for the doctor to decide." A nurse came in and approached the bed. "It's good to see you awake, Mrs. Messina." She said to Annette. "We'll need you to leave for the present, but you can come back after she's been assessed by the doctor."
Annette brushed her sister's cheek. "We'll be back. I have some amazing news for you."
Joyce's eyes shifted to something at Annette's left and she realized Carlo was standing there. He must have gone for the nurse when Annette realized Joyce was awake. But he was here now and Joyce was asking silently if he was part of the amazing news.
"Yes, he's part of it," Annette said aloud. "But I'm not telling you more until I come back."
The laughter in Joyce's eyes said she understood Annette was giving her something to look forward to, and also teasing a little, as big sisters did sometimes.
"Fantino is going to be ecstatic that you have woken," Carlo said. "We will go tell him."
Joyce's relaxed expression said that was all she needed to hear right now.
Carlo and Annette left the room, but ran into Lynette as she was coming back.
Carlo put his arm out. "The doctors want a chance to assess your sister and hopefully remove the tubes that are preventing her speech."
Lynnette nodded and then just fell on Annette. "She's all right. I didn't think she would be."
Annette let their oldest sister cry, even as she stood in stunned silence that Lynette would choose her as a point of comfort. It ended as abruptly as it began as soon as their parents voices could be heard in the corridor.
Lynette broke from Annette and ran for them.
They stood together, a tableau of three, no room for her.
Carlo once again slid his arm around her, pulling her into his body. "Come, we have an appointment to keep and then we will return and share our good news with your sister."
Annette was nervous going into her appointment, still bothered by the fact it had never even occurred to her she might be pregnant. The youth in her program would be laughing their heads off at her if they knew. However, the doctor was kind with an approachable manner.
"We could do another urine test to confirm your pregnancy, but as we would then perform an ultrasound, we might as well start there, with the added benefit of not emptying your bladder."
So, there was a reason the office had instructed her to drink at least four cups of water an hour before her ultrasound. And it wasn't just to leave her with an urgent need for the restroom.
Laying on the exam table a few minutes later, naked from the waist down and her stomach covered in cold gel, Annette wasn't prepared for what she saw on the monitor. "I can see their little mouth and eyes."