"That's a beautiful name."

By the time we reached the nursery, we found Tess hooked up to so many monitors, it was hard to get close to her. I made way for Regan, holding tubes and wires up, being careful not to dislodge anything. Regan reached out and touched the infant's hand. Tears streamed down her cheeks.

"It's gonna be all right, Tess," Regan said, stroking the hand.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Douglass, we have to go now. The helicopter is here," one of the nurses said.

Regan nodded and kissed her daughter's hand.

"Don't worry, we'll take good care of her." The OB flight nurse scooped up Tess and carried her down the hall and out to the awaiting helicopter while Regan and I looked on. Regan's body heaved against mine as she broke down in heavy sobs. I held her close, my heart breaking for her and little Tess.

"Come on, let's go back to your room," I said. "I'll make you some tea or something."

Regan nodded. Once back in her room, I helped her into bed, practically having to lift her. I got her tucked in and turned to go to the kitchen to make her some tea when Regan's mother appeared in the doorway. She looked at me and blinked.

"You? What are you doing here?" Regan's mother asked.

"I...".

"I thought I told you a long time ago to leave my daughter alone," Regan's mother said, anger boiling in her eyes.

"Mom, stop it!" Regan shouted from her bed.

"You have no business being here...get out...get out and leave us alone," Regan's mother shouted.

"Mother! Leave her alone. I want her to stay. She was here when I needed her. She delivered Tess and she was the first one up here when the baby got in trouble."

"What do you mean, the baby's in trouble...Regan, what's going on?"

"They think Tess may have a heart condition. They just life-flighted her to Children's Hospital so a pediatric cardiologist can take a look at her."

Regan looked over at me to see if she had the info right. I nodded.

"Where's Jim?" Regan's mother asked, her face as white as the hospital sheet. "He should be here, not her. Did you call him?"

Regan looked at me. I knew I couldn't lie to her, she'd see right through it. I might as well come clean.

"Regan...I called..."

"Mother, I tried to reach him," Regan interrupted me. "I called Clancy's, and they told me he wasn't there. In fact, they told me that Jim never even worked there."

Regan looked up at me, asking for my compassion. "This isn't the first time he's done this. I don't know where he is, Mother, and to be honest with you...I don't care."

"Well, he's your husband and Tess is his child. Don't you think he has a right to know what's going on?" Regan's mother said.

"Yes, he does. But I have a right to a husband who checks on his pregnant wife once in a while rather than lying to her. I'd love to tell him that he has a daughter and that his daughter is gravely ill, but I have no idea where to reach him." Regan was fierce. "So unless you know where he is, be quiet and let me handle this my way!"

As Regan's mother got ready to respond to her angry daughter, I quietly slipped out of the room. I went to the kitchen and rummaged around for a couple of tea bags and Styrofoam cups. I was lucky and made tea for all of us. Back in Regan's room, I was surprised when her mother took the Styrofoam cup from me without tossing the hot tea in my face.

"I have to get back downstairs," I said to Regan. "I'll be on duty until six a.m., so if you need me, just have the operator page me, okay?"

Regan nodded. "Thanks, Mina. I don't know how I would have gotten through this without you." Regan's eyes were heavy with sadness as she forced a smile and waved goodbye.

"Goodbye, Mrs. Martin," I said, nodding to Regan's mother.

She didn't respond.

CHAPTER SEVEN.

I let myself into Sean's house with the key he'd given me the day before. The house was eerily quiet; the only sound was the swoosh, swoosh coming from the oxygen compressor. Muted sunlight bathed the living room as I tiptoed in and found both guys sound asleep. Ed stirred a little as I checked his vital signs and listened to his breath sounds, but never fully woke up. He was stable and he seemed comfortable. At this point, that was the best we could hope for.

Sean was asleep in the recliner next to his father's hospital bed. I watched him a while as he slept, thinking of the lifetime of events we had experienced together as husband and wife. The next experience in store for us, probably the toughest one of them all, we'd go through together as friends. Strangely, this felt good. I wanted to be Sean's friend, his best friend, there for him whenever he'd need me. I picked the afghan up off the floor and covered him.

"Hey," Sean whispered as he woke.

"Hi, I didn't mean to wake you. Sorry," I said. "I'm just checking in on Dad."

"How is he?" he asked, trying to get up. But I motioned for him to stay in his recliner. I wasn't staying but a minute and he needed the rest, too.

"He's doing fine. He seems comfortable."

"Good. Thanks for coming over and checking on him." Sean pulled the afghan over his shoulder. I touched his arm and said goodbye.

Driving home, I was so exhausted, I could barely keep my eyes open. Finally in my apartment, I dropped everything at the door. I undressed on my way to the bedroom and climbed into bed, not even bothering to shower. Sleep came quickly, a welcome, thick, and dreamless sleep.

I was awakened by the sound of a couple of blue jays engaged in an act of domestic violence. So much for sleeping in on my day off.

From the comfort of my bed, I picked up the phone and dialed Rosetti's number.

"Hey, are you up?" I asked.

"Yes. Coffee's on and I just made myself some toast."

"You sound bright-eyed and bushy-tailed this morning. You must've had a good night. Did you catch your criminals last night?"

"Not yet, but we're closing in on them. Pam Grier, one of the detectives I'm working with, made a couple of good drug buys last night, so the evidence against these guys keeps piling up."

"Sounds dangerous," I said. "What a way to make a living."

"It's not like you have the safest job, either. You never know who's going to come through those doors looking for drugs. Those addicts are so desperate to get their fix, they don't care what they do or who they do it to to get them. All they care about is their next high," Rosetti said. "Just last week, an addict walked into a doctor's office in broad daylight and demanded OxyContin. Thank God the office manager acted quickly and pushed the panic button attached to their alarm system. Our guys got there before anyone got hurt."

"It's scary to think that someone can be so desperate for something that they would hurt or even kill another person to get it."

"I hope hospital security keeps you guys safe there in the ER. I worry about you a lot over there, especially on night shift," Rosetti said.

"There's usually an officer stationed in the triage unit all night. They do a pretty good job. And if they get into trouble, they call the city police or sheriff's department for backup."

"Speaking of night shifts, I can't wait to get off this one and back to a normal life. My social life is taking a beating."

I laughed. "Rosetti, your social life could use a rest."

"By the way, how are you doin' with Regan being back and all the drama that must come with that?"

"Okay, I guess. I'm still numb. So much has happened in the last twenty-four hours, it feels like a bad dream."

Rosetti's comments made me realize I had a lot to catch her up on. So I did, telling her that Regan had been Ed's hospice nurse, that Sean didn't want her, and that Regan had fallen and delivered her baby early.

"Sounds pretty traumatic. Is she okay?" Her inquiry sounded born more from obligation than true concern. For a moment, I entertained the idea that Rosetti was jealous of Regan, and I had to smile.

"Regan is fine. But the baby got into trouble right after I talked to you last night. Her heart stopped. It was pretty scary for a while, but they got her back. She was life-flighted to Children's Hospital."

"She?"

"Yes, a little girl. Regan named her Tess."

"What about the father? What's he like?"

"I don't know. He wasn't there."

"He wasn't there when his wife was giving birth?"

"No. Like I said, everything happened so fast, by the time I tried to reach him...well, that's a whole different story."

"What do you mean?" Rosetti asked. "Don't leave me hanging." So I told her all about my call to Clancy's, as well.

"So the entire night, I'm going over in my head how I'll tell Regan that her husband's been lying to her. It was really eating me up inside because she's got enough to deal with. So I'm getting ready to tell her in private after the baby was flown out, but guess who's there?"

"The husband?"

"No, Regan's mother."

"Oh, God...not that psycho. Does she still want to kill you for turning her daughter into a lesbian?"

"Rosetti!"

"Well, it's true, isn't it? I mean, she did threaten you."

"She never meant that. Besides, Regan put her in her place. But the best thing was, Regan knew that her husband wasn't at Clancy's all along. Apparently, she'd tried to call him there, too, at some point. She knows her husband is lying to her."

"So if she knew he wasn't there, why did she give you the number to call him?"

"I don't know. Maybe she was hoping he would be there."

"Wow, what a mess," Rosetti said. "Makes our lives sound boring, doesn't it?"

"I like boring."

"So if Regan's marriage is on the rocks, you could step right in and rescue her from her miserable life."

"Rosetti, are you nuts?"

"Well, I think she came back for a reason. Maybe she realized what she left behind," Rosetti said, crunching her toast in my ear.

"She's obviously moved on with her life. There's no room for me."

"If she has any sense, she'll realize that you were the best thing that ever happened to her, Mina. She was crazy to leave you in the first place."

Her comment made me blush. Was she pushing me to try to pursue Regan? Part of me wanted to, but I was afraid I'd set myself up for another heartache.

"You there?" Rosetti asked.

"Yes, I'm here."

"You okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine."

"I think she might have come back for you."

"You know, Page said the same thing. How can you be so sure of that?"

"Because I know you, Mina. I know what a great person you are and she'd be crazy not to come back to you."

"But what if I don't want her back?"

I think my comment caught Rosetti by surprise. She'd been by my side the entire time I pined away for Regan. I'm sure hearing that now, when Regan was back, I was having doubts caught her off-guard. It caught me off-guard, too.

"I don't get it. You yearn for this woman for years because she left you. She comes back and contacts you out of the clear blue, says she feels bad for leaving you like she did, and now, you're not sure that's what you want? No, I don't get it."

I didn't get it, either, but something inside of me was throwing up all kinds of red flags. It was almost like it was too good to be true. I didn't trust it.

We both were silent for a long time.

"I don't know, Rosetti. Part of me wants to run right to her. Throw my arms around her and never let her go. But part of me is scared to death that if I do, she'll up and leave again. I guess I wish I could be sure of her intentions."

"I think we both need a night out to mull this over and over again," Rosetti said. "I'm off duty until tomorrow night, so I'm all yours tonight."

I didn't respond immediately. Butterflies rustled in my belly. Rosetti and I had always been great friends, but another reason I was apprehensive about Regan's return was that there was a secret place in my heart that flickered a hope that my relationship with Rosetti could be more.

I was attracted to her from the day we met when she admitted her mother into the nursing home where I worked. Her dark Italian looks and perfect white teeth made my heart skip. She was patient and gentle with her aging mother, which made her even more attractive. But back then, my life had been a mess. I was still married to Sean and was in the middle of the rocky affair with Regan, an affair destined for a devastating end. Rosetti helped me through the devastating end of my affair and my marriage. She was stable, kind, and caring, all the things I thought made a person a perfect candidate for a long-term relationship.

Rosetti's view of herself was quite different. "Any woman crazy enough to get involved with me must be insane," she would always say, referring to her wild past in her rowdy days in Cleveland. That and the fact that she was still seeing her longtime girlfriend, Linda, helped me push any romantic thoughts about her to the back of my mind where they belonged. Rosetti and I were friends and that was that.