8/18 Instance: Daddy Issues

[Svartfreja]

Right after [Instance]Hospitality.


<Hope> At last, the hospital room was quiet. The doctors had done all they could, but Hope's baby was gone. No heartbeat. With her security detail in the hallway, Bobby had been yelled at no less than 10 times that he better get Tony and Shaw there immediately. The yelling left Hope even more exhausted than she had been. She pushed the button on the remote to turn the TV off and stared out the window.

<Hope> Where the hell was Chris now that it really mattered? She reached for her phone and called him again. Voicemail. "Please call me... please." She swallowed hard before hanging up and tossing her phone aside again. Nothing now to do, but wait.

<Shaw> They appeared in a room down the hall from Hope's, and he was relieved Sarkissian's assessment was correct. The room was empty, and he immediately turned to Jessica to make sure she was alright. "That's rather jarring, but I must admit I expected worse." He barely kept the worry from his tone. "Are you okay, love?"

<Jessica> Jess nodded, leaning on him a little until the world stabilised, "I'm okay... just makes me dizzy...." She shook herself.

<Shaw> He put his arm around her, his hand resting on her stomach. Kissing her temple, he stayed still for a moment and closed his eyes. Drake's message had been nonspecific, but he knew something was wrong with Hope's baby. "As soon as you're ready," he murmurred.

<Jessica> She nodded again, turning her head to nuzzle him gently before she straightened up, "Okay... I'm alright."

<Shaw> With a nod, he led her to the door and checked the hall, locating Hope's security detail. Lacing their fingers together, he straightened and started down the hall. Drake gave him a startled double-take and looked at his phone. He smirked, realizing the man was checking the time.

<Hope> Hope watched a bird land on the tree outside. Maybe she should go flying. She just needed to kidnap someone to go with her that could also fly. The noise from the hallway didn't even register to her, though she thought she heard the faint click of the door.

<Shaw> Sebastian exchanged a few quiet words with Drake before he went inside, pausing when he saw her staring blankly out the window. "Hello, little Stark."

<Hope> His voice, however, did register. She turned to him blankly, blinking. "Shaw... I..." she swallowed.

<Jessica> Jess lingered in the doorway, not really sure if she was welcome there or not, given her condition. She chewed her lip, eyes wandering over the room.

<Shaw> Sebastian gave Jessica's hand a tug, but then let go to go to Hope. "How are you?" He hesitated for a moment, then sat on the edge of the bed.

<Hope> How was she? She could sum that up in two words. "No heartbeat," she forced out. She pushed her hands over her face immediately before either of them could see her tears.

<Jessica> "Oh Hope..." Jess leaned against the doorframe, the words bringing back all of the pain from her own loss earlier in the year.

<Shaw> "Oh." He licked his lips and glanced at Jess, at the bump of her belly, and then back at Hope. "I'm so sorry, my dear," he finally said, moving up the bed to slide his arm around her.

<Hope> Hope leaned against Sebastian, choking back a sob. "I know it wasn't exactly a wanted thing... but it was still... still my baby."

<Shaw> "I know, Hope." He swallowed harshly. It was possible this was another of his own children dead before it was even born, and he hadn't found the words to tell Jessica. Sebastian held her closer, then looked at Jess and held out a hand to her. Come, love, you're still her friend.

<Jessica> Jess fought to pull herself together enough to straighten up and move over to join them. She pushed a shaking hand through her hair and blew out a breath before attempting the trip.

<Hope> Her hand reached out for Jess too. "How much more death do we have to go through?"

<Shaw> Sebastian didn't have an answer for her, but he stroked her arm and her hair.

<Jessica> Jess took Hope's hand and gave it a squeeze, resting her other hand on her belly. She was holding out hope for no more.

<Hope> "I just can't anymore," she told them softly, shutting her eyes tightly. And she missed Chris so, so much.

<Shaw> Noticing her gesture, he put his hand over Jessica's and met her eyes. Trying for reassurance, he smiled at his wife and tried to keep their link calm. "It's hard, I know... we know."

<Jessica> Jess released Hope's hand to wrap both her arms around her friend and hug her, "I'm so sorry, Hope...."

<Hope> "What's the point of being the most protected woman in the world, if this happens?" She shifted her arms to hug and hold onto them both tightly.

<Shaw> "There are some things we can't ever truly be safe from." He sighed and held her, realizing there was something missing from this strange situation. "It's unfortunate, but true."

<Hope> Hope sniffled as she tried to stop crying. "Yeah... and once again, I am the cause of a death."

<Jessica> Jess shook her head, "No... this wasn't your fault..."

<Hope> "Isn't it though?! I am... was the mother. There's nobody else's fault that it could be at this stage."

<Shaw> "Of course not - no, Hope it isn't. Sometimes..." His eyes slid to Jessica again. "The fetus may not have been developing properly, and that's no one's fault."

<Jessica> "It's not like jumping in front of a car..." Jess added, somewhat quieter.

<Shaw> He gave her a stricken look, feeling sick himself.

<Hope> Hope looked over at Jess and shifted her head to lean against her, at a loss for words now. That was possibly worse, but at least there was a reason for it. It wasn't just her body rejecting her baby.

<Jessica> Only days ago she'd been telling Hope that she hadn't really finished dealing with all of that and here it was staring her in the face again. Maybe she should have just not said anything. Now everyone was uncomfortable. She bowed her head onto Hope's to hide her face.

<Hope> The tears started flowing again as Hope clung to the two of them. "Thank you for coming. I know I shouldn't have called."

<Shaw> Sebastian swallowed. No, in this instance it was just as possible to be his fault, or Christopher Nord's. He kept this observation to himself for the moment.

<Jessica> Jess shook her head at Hope's statement, "Of course you should have called. What else are we for? We're family...."

<Shaw> His spine stiffened.

<Hope> Hope's crying quickly turned to laughter. She couldn't help it. She just laughed against them, unable to get the word out that she wanted.

<Jessica> Jess wasn't sure what she'd said that was so funny... maybe it was hysterical laughter.... She wasn't sure what to do about that.

<Hope> "Auntie Jessie!" Hope finally got the words out.

<Jessica> Jess lifted her head to stare into the middle distance for a moment then she started laughing too.

<Shaw> Sebastian looked between them, perplexed and uncomfortable.

<Hope> With a sigh, Hope let the laughter fade out. "I had almost forgotten about that. I'm glad you reminded me."

<Jessica> "Well I wasn't trying to because it's weird, but you're welcome." She gave Hope a small squeeze.

<Hope> Hope squeezed her back. "Thank you again for coming."