"Hi Mr. Anoa'i, my name is Katy I am calling you from Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola. I was calling you to inform you that your fiancée has been admitted to the hospital after being in an accident. The doctors have been able to stabilize her but we sadly don't have any updates on the baby yet."
Joe could have sworn his heart stopped after hearing those words, had he heard her right? "B- baby?"
Joe looked down as he let the news process, 'baby? Fiancée? What is going on?'
"Look ma'am, I think you've got the wrong number and the wrong person"
"Oh, let me just ask you a few questions to follow procedure. Do you know a Tori Moreau?" Joe looked down knowing this might not be a mistake after all. He was so confused, he had seen Tori a few days ago and she had not mentioned being pregnant. "Hello? Mr. Anoa'i? Are you still there?"
"Yes I am and yes I do know her."
"Okay, good Mr. Anoa'i. Ms. Moreau has you listed under her emergency contacts as her fiancée. Following protocol, I had to contact you. "
"I understand, thank you for letting me know."
"You are welcome Mr. Anoa'i, do you have any questions or concerns?" Joe told her no and hung up a few minutes later. He paced around the patio feeling frustrated and overwhelmed. He was going to be a father… again! He couldn't believe it! He looked out to the city letting it all sink in. A part of him was worried he was wasting time just standing there thinking and the other part of him was worried about how Rose would react to this news. He felt like just when things were getting better, things had to go downhill. He looked in the hotel room and saw Rose sitting there with a concerned look on her face. He took a deep breath and walked back in knowing another big conversation was on its way. He just hoped she would understand.
As soon as Rose saw Joe walk back inside, she quickly stood up and walked over to him "Hey Joe, is everything okay?". She saw Joe nod and felt him grab her hand, pulling her over to the bed to sit down and talk. She felt herself begin to worry as she saw the look of worry on Joe's face. "Joe what's going on?"
"Rose there's something I have to tell you…" Rose nodded and waited for him to continue. "I just got a call from Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola…" Rose's eyes opened wide and look at him with worry in her eyes. "Joe is everyone okay? What's going on? Is it someone in your family?" Rose asked and worried even more when she saw Joe close his eyes and lower his head.
"It's actually Tori, she was in an accident" he answered and saw her face turn from a worried expression to a confused one. "Okay… is she alright?" Rose asked. Even though Tori had basically ruined her life, it was in her nature to worry for others; no matter how much she knew she shouldn't. One thing that was bothering her was why had they called Joe? 'Well they were engaged so maybe she still has him as her emergency contact' she thought.
He nodded, "The nurse told me they've been able to stabilize her but…" Joe stopped himself and looked down, he didn't know why he couldn't just tell her about the baby. "But what Joe?" Rose asked. She noticed he was having a hard time continuing so she put her hand on top of his to comfort him.
Joe took a deep breath and continued, "They also told me she was pregnant…". Joe saw Rose look at him for a few minutes before pulling her hand away slowly as she stood up. "Oh" Rose said as millions of things were going through her mind. 'Pregnant? Tori is… pregnant? How? Since when?' she thought as she paced around the room.
'Oh? That's all she's going to say? This is bad…' Roman thought as he saw Rose keep pacing the room. He wanted to stay and have this conversation with her but he needed to catch the first flight out to Pensacola. He couldn't just sit here knowing his child might not make it through the night. He needed to be there. He let out a long sigh as he stood up and walked over to where she was. "Look Rose, I know this is a lot of information to take in, and I wish I could stay here and keep discussing this with you but I can't. The baby is not doing too well and I can't stay here; I need to be there" Joe said as tears began to form in his eyes.
Rose didn't know what to say or how to feel about this. It broke her heart seeing Joe like this. She was trying her best to be supportive and understanding but hearing Tori was pregnant broke her heart into a million pieces. She had always thought her bond and love with Joe was special because of Maia. Now Tori was also having his child and Rose couldn't do anything to stop it. She felt helpless and frustrated at the same time. A part of her wanted to run away and never come back because she feared getting hurt by Joe and Tori again, the other part of her wanted to stay and fight for Joe. She didn't know why but deep down, she also had a feeling this whole baby thing was a lie. She knew she couldn't tell Joe this because she feared it would cause a fight between them but she was certainly going to get to the bottom of it. Right now, she needed to get herself together and support Joe.
"Don't worry Joe, everything is going to be alright" Rose said as she took his face in her hands and looked at him straight in his steel grey eyes. "I'm not letting you go through this alone okay? Why don't you pack your things and call your boss to let him know what's going on. Meanwhile, I'll look for our plane tickets for the first flight out to Pensacola. Sound like a plan?"
"Our tickets?" Joe asked with the biggest smile on his face. Rose nodded and gave him an adoring smile, "Yes OUR tickets! I told you I'm not letting you go through this alone". Joe pulled her into a tight hug and kissed her forehead, "Thank you Rose, I don't know what I would do without you in my life" he whispered. She grinned and leaned up on her tiptoes, "You'd probably die" she whispered back before pulling away with a smirk on her face. She hurried Joe to get his things packed as she looked online for the plane tickets. She knew it was pretty late so Joe's parents were probably already asleep. She quickly sent Summer a text telling her what was going on and if they could please watch Maia for another day. She smiled when Summer assured her it would not be a problem and went back to purchase the tickets. Rose knew she had a lot ahead of her, but it was time she stopped living in fear behind the wall she had built up. If Tori wanted to come back and take what was hers, fine, she could try; but Rose wasn't going down without a fight. She knew Tori had something up her sleeve and that all this was probably part of her big plan. Rose didn't know whether Tori was really pregnant or not, or if the baby was even Joe's, but she was going to get to the bottom of it one way or another.
Rose was woken up from her slumber when she felt the plane land. She looked over to Joe and could see he was tense and deep in thought. Joe felt Rose put her hand over his and saw her smile as he looked over to her. He didn't know what he had done to deserve this but he was glad she was there with him. He wasn't going to get ahead of himself and think that this meant Rose was giving him a second chance, but it was a start. They quickly collected their luggage and got in the first taxi they could find to head straight to the hospital. Joe looked out the window as the worry began to come back, he just hoped his baby was okay.
As soon as they got to the hospital, Joe rushed in to the nurse's station. "Hi, my name is Joe Anoa'i. I'm here to see Tori Moreau" he said.
"Mr. Anoa'i! We spoke earlier, I'm Katy, the nurse that called you." Joe nodded and looked at her with an impatient look on his face. He didn't have time for introductions. "Alright, if you'll follow me I will take you to see Ms. Moreau" Katy said as she walked around her desk and headed to Tori's room.
Rose was getting more and more nervous by the minute. She was wondering how Tori would react to seeing her there with Joe. She took a deep breath and tried to remain calm as the nurse opened the door to Tori's room.
"Ms. Moreau, you've got visitors" Katy softly said as she went into the room. Tori slowly sat up as she saw Joe walk in. 'I knew you'd come back to me' she thought as she tried to hide the smirk forming on her face. It completely disappeared when she saw Joe turn around and softly pull Rose in the room by the hand. 'THIS I was not expecting! What the hell is she doing here with MY man?!'
"Hey Tori, how are you feeling? How's the baby?" Joe asked with a concerned look on his face.
Tori look at Joe shocked and looked down to her hands, "You know about the baby?" she asked. "Yes Tori, I do" he answered and waited for her to answer his question. "The doctor said that the baby was in critical condition Joe. I still don't know what is going on and I don't know what to do!" she exclaimed as tears fell from her eyes. Rose tightened her grip on Joe's hand to comfort him as she saw his eyes begin to water. She knew those weren't the news he wanted to hear and it broke her heart to see him this way.
"I don't want to lose my baby Joe! If something happens to this baby I WILL DIE!" Tori yelled as she cried hysterically. Joe nodded and looked down, seeing Tori like this was making it all sink in. There was a big chance they could lose this baby and it scared the crap out of him. Joe cleared his throat and got himself together as he saw the doctor walk in.
"Ms. Moreau, how are you doing today?" the doctor asked as she stood next to her bed. Tori wiped her tears away and regained her composure before answering, "I'm doing better doc but what about my baby?" she asked with her eyes full of worry.
"Well that is what I came for Ms. Moreau. I'll have to do another sonogram to see how the baby is doing. Let me get everything ready and I will be right back" the doctor said before walking out.
Once she got everything set up, the doctor applied the cold jelly to Tori's stomach and put the sonogram wand to work. Joe and Rose both sat down next to the bed for a better view of the screen. Joe felt tears well up his eyes as he heard the baby's heart beat for the first time. Rose also began to get emotional when she saw the baby and heard its heartbeat. It reminded her of her pregnancy with Maia. Her baby girl was truly her little miracle. Seeing Joe's reaction to seeing his baby for the first time made her feel even more horrible for not letting him be there for her pregnancy.
"Well Ms. Moreau, I'm very happy to tell you that the baby seems to be getting better. The heartbeat is certainly stronger than it was last night and from what I can see, the baby is making a fast recovery." The doctor said with a smile on her face.
Joe felt the world be lifted off his shoulders. His baby was going to be okay! Words could not explain how happy he was feeling. 'I'm going to be a dad! Again!'
"Now, we will keep monitoring the baby's health and hope that it keeps recovering quickly. Any questions?" The doctor asked as she turned the machine off and gave Tori a towel she could wipe the jelly off with. Tori shook her head and smiled, "No doctor, thank you so much!" she exclaimed with a big smile on her face.
Once the doctor left, Tori took advantage of Joe being right next to her and pulled him in for a tight hug. "Our baby is going to be okay! We are having a baby Joe!" she exclaimed with tears of joy. Joe was caught off guard by the hug but hugged her back as he laughed.
Rose couldn't help but smile seeing how happy Joe was but her smiled completely disappeared when she saw Tori smirk at her while she hugged Joe. 'He's mine' Tori mouthed as she waved goodbye to Rose. Rose felt anger rising from within her but she quickly pushed the emotion down. 'Well played Tori, well played." Rose thought as she saw Tori with Joe. 'But don't think you've won just yet, I'm not going to let you win so easily. I'm not going anywhere this time, not again.'
Uh-oh! Tori better watch out! She's playing with fire and she's about to get burned! Or will she…?
Woah! A long chapter huh? I felt like I owed you guys since I haven't updated in a little over a week! What did you think of the chapter? Let me know in the reviews! Thank you guys for reading it! I hope you are enjoying reading it as much as I'm enjoying writing it! Have any ideas? Like always, let me know in the reviews or PM me your ideas! Your help is always appreciated! Until next time!
-xCenationNative